Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 2 Study # 3
October 22, 2023
Broadlands, Louisiana
(Download Audio)
Thesis: That Jesus is "coming quickly" needs to be at the forefront of our thinking in regard to our relationship with God.
Introduction: Last week we considered the part of Jesus' message that had to do with His awareness of the works of the leader of the church in Philadelphia and His two promises to him: that some of the synagogue of Satan would come to him acknowledging that they knew that God loved him (rather than them); and that He would spare him from the great trial that is coming upon the whole world.
This evening we are going to look into His exhortation to this man and, by extension, to those who read/hear the words to him.
- I. The Letter To The Angel Of The Church In Philadelphia.
- A. Jesus' Self-description.
- B. Jesus' Message.
- 1. I know your works.
- 2. Behold, I have given before you a door, having been opened, which no one is able to shut.
- 3. Because you have a little power (dunamis) and you have kept My word and you have not denied My name.
- 4. Behold, I give of the synagogue of the Satan (adversary) who say themselves to be Jews, and they are not, BUT they are lying.
- 5. Behold, I shall make them that they come and bow down before your feet and they should come to know that I have loved you.
- 6. Because you kept the word of My endurance, I also shall keep you out of the hour of the testing which is about to come upon the entire inhabited earth to test those who are dwelling upon the earth.
- 7. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have that no one should take your crown.
- a. "I am coming quickly" uses the word "tachu" to indicate "without a significant delay" or "very soon".
- 1) "Quickly" is a relative term with a certain amount of elasticity.
- 2) On the face of it, this is problematical: the word means "without a significant passage of time". Since the Church has been anticipating this event for 2,000 years, many see this declaration as untrue.
- 3) However, Peter anticipated this response in 2 Peter 3:8-9 in the light of 3:3-7.
- b. These words must be taken in the light of 10:5-6 where the angel acknowledges that "time" has passed while many things have fallen into place, but that "...in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished...".
- 1) This applies to Revelation 6:11.
- 2) This also applies to 22:10-14.
- 3) This also applies to the reality of individuals "hearing" this claim with significantly different "ages" (a child of six; a grandpa of eighty) that creates a different expectation because of these ages).
- 4) The sons of the Kingdom have to operate on the basis of the time issues of that Kingdom.
- c. There is no doubt, however, that the words are designed to create a sense of imminency (Sage defines "imminency" as "liable to happen soon") because of the truth of Matthew 24:44-51.
- d. "Hold Fast" indicates the marshaling of what we have been given (ischus) so that we can maintain our grip upon that which we have (kratos); Note 1 Peter 4:7-11.
- e. "That no one should take your crown" is rooted in Matthew 24:44-51.
- 1) The issue of "taking your crown" cannot mean "to take what has already settled" (Mark 9:41).
- 2) This matter must be understood as "potential, but not yet established".
- 3) The "crown" is a reward that is dependent upon the production of the behavior upon which the giving of a crown rests. However, such production is not, nor can ever be, a production of the flesh; it must have its origins in the Holy Spirit as the sponsor of all activities of true godliness.
- a) This concept is crucial lest men turn it into a "merit" issue.
- i. All of our "relational issues" with God are rooted in "merit", but not the merit of the believer.
- ii. Our righteous standing before God is rooted in the "merit" of Jesus, and our productions of righteousness are rooted in the "merit" of the Spirit of Jesus as a Resident in our bodies.
- b) This concept, applied to a "crown", indicates some level of "authority to rule".
- i. There are many declarations of the fact that certain human beings will "rule" with Christ.
- ii. There is a core of realities that must be in place before such privilege is extended (2 Timothy 2:12).
- 8. The one who overcomes I shall make a pillar in the temple of My God and he shall NOT go out at all.
- a. This promise is linked to Revelation 7:15 where perpetual service to God is rendered in the temple before His throne.
- b. Psalm 84:10 expresses the longing of the psalmist to have such a treasured position.
- 9. I shall write upon him the name of My God and the name of the City of My God, the New Jerusalem which is coming out of heaven from My God and My New Name.
- II. The Application To All Of The Churches.
