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Begin from verse 7 to get the continuity.
Of the address to the Church in Philadelphia.
And Revelation 3 verse seven, and to the Angel of the church.
In Philadelphia, right?
These things have he that is holy, he that is true.
He would have half the key of David. He that openness, and no man shutteth and shutteth, and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have shut before thee an open door, and no man can shut it, For thou hast a little strength, and has kept my word, and has not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.
Behold, I will make them to come, and worship before thy feet, and to know.
That I have loved thee.
Because ours kept the word of my patience.
I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.
To try them that dwell upon the earth.
Behold, I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Can that overcome us? Will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out?
And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name.
He that happened here, let him hear what the Spirit said unto the churches.
And unto the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans right.
These things set the Amen, the faithful, and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would thou work over heart. So then, because I would lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because **** I am rich, and increase the goods, and have made of nothing, and Norris not to follow Richard, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked.
I conservate to buy of me gold pride in the fire that thou mayst be rich.
And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.
And tonight thine eyes where I shall that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chase him.
Bezel is therefore and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will Sup with him and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and then set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said unto the churches.
All of the plural features that we get in Philadelphia speak of Christ.
All of these traits are what he was, for instance, it says.
That a little strength, It's a picture of weakness.
That was his path.
It was a picture of weakness. He was crucified in weakness, but now he lives by the power of God.
He was born in a condition that speaks of weakness and poverty, Born in a stable, laid in a Manger. Nothing great and impressive to the natural man was his pathway.
A bruised Reed. He would not break smoking flax. He would not quench, He would not strive, nor cry, nor lift up his voice in the streets.
When they in John six came to make him a king, he having fed the 5000, or what a what a thing that would have been to have a king like that to provide for their every physical need. But he of course refused that.
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Their state was not right. So when we read of the moral features of Philadelphia, we are reading of what was true of him.
What was true of Him, a true Philadelphian, is Christ like making nothing of himself and and everything of Christ, even as the Lord Jesus made nothing of himself, and everything of the Father, He was here for the Father, as the living Father hath sent me, and I live on account of the Father, he said, So he that eateth me, even He shall live on account of me, his whole purpose was.
For the Father he was living here for his glory, and we are here for one purpose, and that is the glory of Christ the Son.
That's why he's left us here, to represent him, not to make a name for ourselves, not to be some great religious movement that the world can take note of an account of, but just a little strength, just a picture of weakness. But faithfulness. Thou has kept my word. Thou has not denied my name. Now that's not a little thing in the midst of the state of things. Where Philadelphia.
Exists because his name is being denied everywhere. His word is being spoken against. You don't believe that book. Why? That's been disproven by science long ago. That's out of date, full of fables, nice stories. But you don't really believe that, do you? The Philadelphians says. I believe every word of it.
Thou hast kept my word.
And not denied my name. Beloved, that's not a little thing when the masses are going the other way. It was easy to join the company of the disciples in the palmy days of the book of Acts, when there was a marvelous, wonderful working of the Spirit of God.
People wouldn't dare to join the Christian testimony if there wasn't reality.
That was the real fear upon them. Today anything goes.
And the greatest enormities and evils that are committed in the world are committed in the very bosom of Christianity and Christendom.
And to be a Christian nowadays doesn't mean much, but to be true to him?
In weakness, faithfulness, maintaining his glory, that means everything to him. That's Philadelphia.
And it's nothing to be ashamed of, is it, Brother Chuck? I know sometimes we think of that expression as a little strength, as perhaps being in comparison with the others. But if you notice with Thyatira and with Sardis and Laodicea, strength is not mentioned at all.
Someone made reference yesterday to the removing of the Candlestick in Ephesus. God threatens to remove the Candlestick if they don't repent. Well, what is the Candlestick? I would suggest that the Candlestick is the testimony in this world to a company which is not of this world. A company which God has called out of it. It's a testimony to the heavenly calling of the church.
Well, when the church started to slip in Ephesus, and it's significant that it is in Ephesus where it started, that was the church that had that high truth committed to them. Not that others didn't have it, but it's particularly given to us in the book of Ephesians. And so the church lost its heavenly calling and it went down, down, down, down. What characterizes Philadelphia? It is a remnant of the real thing, if I might use the expression very reverently, but we'll all understand it.
Philadelphia is not, as our brother has brought out, the power of Pentecost.
But it's a chip off the old block, if I might use that very reverently. It's a remnant testimony, but it's to the real thing. It's a testimony, on the one hand, to the ruin of the church. But why is it that? Oh, it is because by grace, Philadelphia holds to the whole truth of God, to the heavenly calling of the church as God gave it at the beginning. Not very popular, perhaps, but it's a little, but it's a little of the real thing, the others.
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Strength is not mentioned there because they do not represent.
The true character of what God has before him in this dispensation, the Philadelphia does. Would you agree with that? Amen. Amen. That's it. I wonder if we don't have a little contrast here, too. Speak of a little strength. And in the ninth verse you have those that are holding that testimony, apparently downtrodden.
But we turn over to the.
12Th verse.
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.
The contrast that was a little strength, a little strength down here, a pillar up there.
Downtrodden down here.
Oh, and he shall, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name now to me that is Christ declaring You are mine.
In olden days.
Peril gave Joseph her name. Nebuchadnezzar named those captive Hebrews. They belong to him, and he could do what he liked with them. We belong to Christ, and Christ is declaring downtrodden down here now, declaring that we belong to him, that we're his. In keeping the remnant testimony we are exhorted.
To go forth unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. But here we.
Will go no more out. Now we go out unto him, then we will be gathered to him. And I've enjoyed connecting that.
With the last of the revelation, where we find that neither the sun nor the moon is needed there.
As going on with God and the truth and The Walking and the light of the truth, enjoying Christianity, we are going to be brought beloved into circumstances where even the highest order of the day and night are no longer needed. The lamb himself is the later. So we're not only made pillars and we are no longer going out, but we're brought into circumstances where nothing of the original creation is needed.
Don't you think, Brother Lloyd, that in each church the reward to the overcomer corresponds to the test that they had been through? And it's very much so here. These who were downtrodden and despised are set in the forefront. Those who confessed his name didn't deny his name, have his name written on them Up there. Now we have 2.
Types of this.
I believe it's time to turn to them in the Old Testament in the days of Josiah, by which we said that Philadelphia corresponds in this way that.
In the days of the Kings, there were two revivals, one under.
Hezekiah, which corresponds, we believe, to the.
Light that was brought by the Spirit of God in the days of Reformation.
And then the recovery in Josiah's time turned to Second Chronicles 34, which corresponds to the revival where the Word of God was taken up and read and accepted. As our brother Chuck has so beautifully put before us, Philadelphia believes that this is the word of God.
Now disordered come in and times of the kings and Josiah is raised up, I'll say as a young man, he begins. This is for young brother. He was used of God when he was 8 years old. He got into the position like a child of God that's born as an 8 year old boy. He has new birth, he becomes a king and then he begins to.
Work in the eighth year of his reign. He was 16 years old.
And then when he's 20 years old, he began to clear out the temple. The disorder was in the land. And then when he was 26 years old, you might say a full grown man, a powerful king, he draws the people together and the book of the law was found.
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And not only could the scribe read it, but the king was educated, and he read it. Think of that king standing up and reading in the book of the law. And he commanded that they stand to it.
He was a forceful king. He said, This is God's word, you better obey it. And that's what we have in our chapter.
That was kept my word. Josiah kept the word of God, and then he commands a Passover in chapter 35, just touching on these points and the moreover Josiah.
Kept a Passover unto the Lord. Now there's the name. He brings in the name he confessed the name. It's the Lord, not these idols.
And then notice that not all of them kept that Passover. I'm just touching on high points because we have much time but in the third in the 18th verse.
The second Chronicles 35 it says this And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. The one that Hezekiah had kept went back as far as Solomon.
But this went to Samuel, and then like it no Passover like that from the days of Samuel.
Neither did the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept.
And the priest noticed this. And the priest.
And the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present.
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the 18th year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover cap. There must have been a big crowd, but it still all were present. And so it is in the days of recovery of the truth. It's not the numbers that make the strength, it's the joy of the Lord. And we just touch on Nehemiah 8, which has a similar.
Recovery to our.
Light given and the time when Philadelphia was raised up.
They stood in the 8th chapter. Ezra stood the priest in the 8th chapter of Nehemiah and he read in the book of the law.
And it was before the Watergate.
And he taught them.
And verse 8, Ezra 8 And verse eight. Well, I should read.
Verse 5. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people.
And when?
For he was above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
Now here he read in the word of God. He had the word of God. Philadelphia keeps the Word.
And he blessed the great, the Lord the great God. Now there's the name. He brings in the name.
And they have a delightful time, and they learn verse eight They read in the book of the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading.
They had a teaching meeting that day from the word of God.
And the people were very happy. So we've gone down and read verse 10.
Then he said unto them, Go your way, Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions under them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is wholly unto our Lord. Neither is there, neither be sorry. This is the point I wanted to get. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Now that's the strength in Philadelphia, brother. It's the joy of the Lord.
In his people have these requirements.
To realize the strength, I like to say little strength instead of weakness. Because that's the way it is. It's a display. There's no shortage of strength. When you have the Lord there, it's the display. It's not a weak display. It's a little strength display. And then keep his word and not deny his name. Oh, it's a happy place to be. Brother, would you have anything to offer on the fact that?
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Under Hezekiah recovery, there was an invitation going out to.
The 10 tribes. You don't find that in Josiah. What can we learn from that? I think you're going to tell us. Go ahead.
Well, maybe someone can correct it if it isn't right, but.
It seems to me that.
When it comes to the Reformation and to choose, recover.
It was a more public appeal to all of Christendom to accept the truth presented. But the work of Philadelphia did not have that character, and it is more.
You might say a quiet work of the Spirit of God in the hearts and lives of souls, and the truth of being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus is one of the truths we covered during that period, and it is a work of the Spirit. It is not so much a public thing. In other words, the Lord is not calling on us to get.
On the radio and television and things like that and try to tell people come and be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
That's the work of the Spirit of God. Would you agree with that? Oh yes, of course.
Would we have a thought in that respect in Acts 28?
Verse 30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in under him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
All was in change. He couldn't go out, but he did receive all that came to him.
Is there a thought there that the testimony is, is here is that, But as you say, it doesn't go out in the same way as it did in the Reformation. I think that's a nice reference. Paul Stockton is rather restrained and squeezed in, but there is an open door old saying and it's wonderful to see how the book of Acts ends.
Stops. It really never ends. It just stops. And that preaching and teaching still goes on. God is saying to us in the book of Acts, there's no way, man, it's still going on. I've written this much and I'm going to stop writing. But the same work goes on preaching and preaching, and there's still false doctrine, and it's rather limited, but the open door is there to all.
These thoughts brought to my mind just to read one verse in Luke 12, verse 32, the Lord says at the very beginning of things fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. And here now down at the very end with the recovered truth, it's little strength and how those go together, don't they?
Picking up looking at this.
Maybe going back over a few things that were already said, but the Sardis which represented the Protestant movement comes from the word protest. When we think of the Protestant comes from the word protest. And they actually protested against what was in Thyatira, but it was never a complete return to 1St principles. Whereas Philadelphia is those that went back to the very beginning and they picked up the word of God to see what the scriptures had to say about how believers should meet.
And the heavenly calling of the truth and the truth of the rapture, and all these things that were recovered at that time.
But so there were those who were willing to settle for nothing less or nothing more than all that they saw in the Scriptures. They didn't want to take a cow path. Through the Scriptures we meet many today who say, well, I believe that the Bible is the Word of God from cover to cover, and yet when it comes to certain truths in it, they don't want to bow to them. Whereas the Philadelphian would want to walk in all the narrowness and yet all the broadness of the Word of God. And so.
He could say they'll have to little strength, for the word in the Greek is dunamis, which means power. A little power because thou has kept my word and not denied my name. I appreciated your comments, Chuck, in connection with how this is a picture of the Lord Jesus throughout his whole life. I believe it's close to 30 times we see it in the gospel. That expression from his lips. It is written from the beginning of his ministry, right up into the end in Luke 24, just before he's taken up, he lived.
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By the scriptures it is written. And so with those of Philadelphia you see that same character.
But also they had not denied his name. Now I believe that takes in more than just saying, well, we don't believe that the Bible is the word of God, but the name takes in all the attributes of the person of the Lord Jesus. And so there's many today who say we believe that the Bible is the word of God. And yet they make might deny the eternal sonship of Christ. They might deny the Trinity, they might deny the sinless humanity of the Lord that would be denying the name of the Lord Jesus in all of his character.
Well, if we're going to walk in all the narrowness and yet all the broadness of the word, Satan would have us think, and I think particularly the young people here this morning, that if you walk in these narrow truths that there will be no opportunities to serve the Lord. Well, there's the door of service closed to those who are willing to walk in obedience to the word of God. No, just the opposite is true, he says, I've set before you an open door and no man can shut it, so there's a wide open door of service.
And we shouldn't, I don't believe, just limited to the gospel, because God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. So.
I believe, as the Brethren wrote the even in the early ministry.
It was ministry that was for the whole Church of God.
In the ministry that we have here should be that which would be for the whole Church of God, so though we may not openly.
As has been mentioned, go out campaigning to get people into to the Lord's table. And yet we should be faithful with this truth that's been given to us to minister it in any way we can, not just for ourselves, but for the whole Church of God.
As to how the name of the Lord Jesus can be denied, I believe we need a little more on that as to our individual lives.
And also collectively as assemblies. You know the Lord Jesus is presented here as the holy and the true.
Now, if I allow unholiness or evil in my life, I'm denying the name of the Lord Jesus by whom I'm called.
And I act inconsistent as a Christian, and I'm denying the name of the Lord Jesus. I bring this honor upon the name of the Lord Jesus if I go on with evil in my individual life. The same is true in the assembly.
You know, somebody recently must have made this statement that grace gets us around principles.
Now that's a shocking statement to hear, that being made, in other words.
Grace will cover up evil. Now there is a denial of the name of the Lord Jesus. We are gathered to His name who is holy and true, and holiness is the practice of those who are so gathered. If I want to be an individual that is characterized as a Philadelphian, then holiness.
And truth should be characteristic of me. And if I fail in that, I better judge myself the same as the assembly goes on. You know, let's remember if we're truly gathered to the name of the Lord, He's holy and He is true. Evil needs to be judged. May it ever be so painful.
That part of what is meant by being an overcomer, because he doesn't have anything to condemn them for, and yet he says to him that overcometh.
Race rather than.
Getting around principles is the power by which principles are maintained.
Grace is the power for holiness. The two should never be put.
In opposition to one another, the Lord was the most gracious man that ever walked this scene.
Full of grace and truth, he was the holiest too.
Paul teaches us and Titus who?
That grace that brings salvation hath appeared unto all men.
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Teaching us the denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, that we should live righteously and soberly and godly in this present order of things, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So if we actually have a large sense of grace in our souls, we have the sense of the necessity to judge everything contrary to that which grace brings denying ungodliness and those things that we just pulled you from Titus 2.
Things about service.
It might be interesting for us sometimes. Not now our own souls goes to the book of Acts. I've noticed a lot dark service to my own reading. That service commodities began for the Apostles were where the testimony was. That was less faith than they used to swear to mind his hair. It was assembly related when Steven and and Phillip were used to the Lord men full of the Holy Ghost. What did they do? They served tables.
There was a work that began at the assembly.
And just serving their brethren. It was a heart for the Lord, a heart for their brethren. And then what happened to those men? Steven becomes our first martyr in scriptures in the church age as a a believer, a Christian. And then Phillip, he goes to Samaria, he's got, he's goes to meets by the power of the Spirit of God. He's told to me that the African unit and gives him the gospel and the man safe and then he's caught out by the Spirit.
Service began there at the Assembly.
I do believe we have it bought out.
The Philadelphia that's been mentioned, but it's collective testimony here and the two things that are commended here in verse 8 at the end is really the the characterization and really the basis of a collective testimony in these last days. The name is the place really. You have that in Matthew 1820. But of course in the in the Old Testament times it was geographical and it yet it was the place where he has chosen to place his name.
At but now it's a person and so we have been speaking about that person and that's the source of all our power and testimony and service. But of course the word has kept my word is the truth and it's the basis of going on at that place. There's no other way but according to the whole word of God. So there is a collectiveness here that he's speaking to the church in Philadelphia.
And I believe he's speaking to that position we're in by grace. And I know we've been mentioning we should never claim it, but we better acknowledge it and we better appreciate it that God never commends or asks anything that he doesn't make it possible. And there is that possibility to be where the Lord is. His name is honored in no other name. And then according to the truth, the word of God. And then the open door we've been mentioning, it's open because.
It's the full glories of Christ and the full truth that we enjoy. But it's opened also where the testimony, the light can flow out, and that and the gospel. And so we could cherish that. But let's remember there is that assembly testimony, the collective testimony here.
About a little strength.
On Saturday it was referred to.
Ruth arriving in.
The land that belonged to the Lord amongst his people she had adopted.
The people of Naomi and the God of Naomi and she had arrived there.
And she was told to glean not at another man's field. We had that before us.
Now Boaz means in him is strength.
We find this at the building of the temple when there were two pillars in the forefront of that temple. One was named Jason, which means he shall establish. The other was named Boaz in him as strength.
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Well, that is a beautiful picture of what we have seen about the reward to the overcomer as well, set there as a pillar in the temple of God in that coming day. But who establishes Philadelphia, who has set this up? It's a work of the Lord, and in him is strength.
Now Naomi and Boaz both counseled Ruth not to glean in another man's field.
And she followed that out.
And she not only got food, but she got Boaz. She got him. Brethren, this is so. Today. The Lord is the one who sets up Philadelphia. He knows where Philadelphia is. He establishes it and his presence there is the strength. If we get into the field that belongs to Boaz, the word of God, where the truth is ministered, we will find the true Boaz. We will find the Lord.
He became his bride rather than we were going to come to the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a beautiful picture.
For and we have that which would separate us unto the Lord.
Because I was kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from or out of the hour of trial, the temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Now we have been mentioned that this is a history.
We want to call it that of the Assembly from the Daisy Apostles down to the end. And beloved, here in this Philadelphia we find the time has come when the Lord comes for us.
I also will keep thee out of the hour of temptation.
That time has come when the Lord will come forth, we're going to see him.
Face to face. And if we hold our truth, as we should, every man that hath this truth, this.
Every man that has this hope in him glorifies himself, even as he is pure. All dear ones, If we can only grasp that it may even be today that the Lord will come for us. Take it out of this scene, for his judgment is about to fall on this scene which has rejected him. He's going to take us out of it, and a baby today that will find ourselves with him.
And all is redeemed.
Around himself, there in glory.
His first hand.
Who was talking about the heavenly calling and the the heavenly hope and the heavenly citizenship? That's what you have in verse 10, the word because I was kept the word of my patience. He is the man of patience, waiting now, waiting for his bride longing to have her with himself.
He's waiting and we are waiting. The time for the establishment of the Kingdom has not come. He will take his rightful place down here, won't he? But this is the time of His patience. And so we're keeping those who are. Philadelphians are keeping the word of His patience that involves the heavenly calling and the heavenly hope.
We're waiting for the time when he will come for us to take us out.
To our proper portion on high. So it's a patient waiting. It's just the opposite of what is being promoted nowadays in in many appropriate in the Christian world and that is to get involved in politics. To get involved in social reform. To write your congressman and and protest comment was made about the Protestant movement was a protesting.
Against the evils of Rome, whereas the Philadelphian is not a protester.
He is a possessor of the heavenly truth which separates him from this world and and links his heart to heavenly things. So it's the word of His patience. He's waiting patiently for us. We are waiting patiently for him. So it brings in the truth of the heavenly calling, doesn't it? And all the heavenly truths of the assembly and the Philadelphia movement involves as we brought out.
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The collective testimony, it's not just individual Protestant scientists was individual. The all sufficiency of the word of God and the justification by faith altogether apart from works. That's individual. But assembly truth was recovered and very importantly, dispensational truth was recovered in the last century at the Philadelphia movement.
So that's you lose that. What's happening today is a revival of Covenant theology, which is going back to Sardis. That's the light they had back then. The reformers, they never understood Dispensational truth. The the translators of our King James Version did not understand Dispensational truth. It's very easy to prove that because you go back to the Psalms and the Prophets.
And you'll read the headings on some of those Psalms, and it'll say the Church does this and the Church does that. And then you read the Psalm or the prophecy. And it's not the Church at all. It's Zion, it's Jerusalem, it's Israel, It's the Jew. That's not the Church. But they didn't understand that. They didn't understand the difference between the church, which is a heavenly company begun on the day of Pentecost and formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And Israel? Now those truths were recovered, rightly dividing the word of truth. To go back to covenant theology is to go back into the twilight from the bright sunshine that we're we've been given in the revealed truth. So it's a dismal descent compared with the darkness of Thyatira. The twilight of Cyrus was wonderful, but compared with the sunshine of Philadelphia, to go back to Sardis.
Is a sad departure. No one who knows what the Great Tribulation is the temptation would ever want to go into it, and this very book is so clear on the point. This is a book of prophecy, and it sets things in order. There is a great change between Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 where the hour of temptation begins, and it's so definite for this assembly.
That she will not be here when chapter 6 arrives. Now let's go back and refer to Jeremiah 28 again that we referred to.
Just for our comfort, on Saturday we referred to what the word of God is and what we're to believe in the 28th chapter of Jeremiah.
There was a false prophet there, and there was a true prophet.
We have them today.
Both Travis and those who tell us the truth because they have gotten the truth and in the eighth verse.
The ninth verse.
Jeremiah 28 nine The prophet which prophesied the peace.
Now the proof of that when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent him. Now just refer that much of it to John who was writing a book of prophecy that he got from the Lord.
And it's all in order.
And prophetically, given the toll of the church period, as we have noticed, comes in in chapters 2 and three.
And the hour of temptation doesn't come in until Chapter 6, and in between is Chapter 4, Philadelphia is told I have set before then open door that's on earth, but there's an open door in heaven in Chapter 4, and that's set for Philadelphia too.
She enters there. It's not the rapture, but it corresponds to it, and she's not seen there as a church, but as the elders.
He gets a change that way and becomes the bride in chapter 19 in between.
She is seen there with the whole of the heavenly company. That's where the heavenly side of truth comes in. It's all heavenly in chapters 4:00 and 5:00, but that's where we're going to be. That's where Abraham is and Abel is, and all redeemed are in heaven, But they're going to be there and made perfect and seated on Thrones, a figurative number.
00:45:16
Disturbed, sitting there, Not troubled about the hour of temptation. Oh, what a horrible thing the seven years of the great tribulation is, brethren. We shall never be there. Now, the point is this. If we have arrived down to the time when we can see the stage of all these seven churches and pretty much the full development that we've noticed, particularly in Sardis, I should say.
Philadelphia and I should say Laodicea, how near are we to the Lord's? Coming very near. What a comfort, what a company.
How to Tribulation? So those who are confused by Covenant theology are also not clear on the rapture and whether the rapture would take place after the Tribulation or in the middle of the tribulation and so on. Now what our brother Clem has brought before us in Revelation chapter?
5.
We have.
The question raised who is worthy to take the book and to open its seals? Now what book is this? And what about the seals?
Well, this is the book of judgments, and the book has not even been given to the one who has a right to take it and to open one seal after another. One judgment after another is poured out, and before this book is given to that blessed one, the Lord Jesus, our Redeemer. The redeemed are already in heaven, so how can they be subjected to any of the tribulations or sufferings connected with?
The punishment that is poured out upon this world. But there is still another scripture that I like to refer to because our young people do well to listen to get clear on this because the truth of the rapture is being given up more and more even among so-called fundamental Christians. Now in 2nd Thessalonians 2 we have these verses verse one.
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, Let ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither be by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ it should be, the day of the Lord is at hand. In other words, there was a letter written.
Troubling the Saints. And it was forged as if Paul had send it that the day of the Lord.
Was at hand. You know, that has to do with the judgments and the tribulation.
But he encourages them with our being gathered unto him. You know what a gathering that will be when all the redeemed everyone will be called up. And he gathered around the Lord Jesus. What a comfort that is to my soul. When I think of my loved ones that I had to separate from, and many of the dear Saints of God I love. Then they all will be gathered around him, you know. So he encourages them by that truth.
Because if you really know that truth and enjoy it, we don't have to be confused by such who try to influence the Saints, as in this forged letter. But then it goes on to say, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come of falling away 1St And that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition who opposes.
And exalted himself above all that is called God, for that is worship, So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these things. And now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work.
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Only he who now let it, or restrained will let until.
He be taken out of the way, and then shall the wicked be revealed. In other words, what Paul is saying, You cannot have the day of the Lord before.
The falling away, the apostasy comes, and the Antichrist be revealed and the Antichrist cannot be revealed before the Spirit of God and the Church is taken out of this scene.
So when we really clearly see the teaching in 2nd Thessalonians 2A law.
With Revelation chapter 5, no one can confuse you anymore as to the tribulation and whether the church will go through it or not. The church will be taken out of this world and will be with the Lord Jesus before any judgement falls upon it. What a wonderful truth that is.
Second pass along in chapter one and verse 6.
Seeing it as a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation.
To them that trouble you.
Christ is the judge. He is not going to pour out tribulation on his bride. He's going to pour it out on those that trouble his bride.
I think it's helpful to just again for the sake of some younger looking back in First Thessalonians 4. He brings in the the truth of the rapture and that was as if it was something new to them. And he says in verse First Thessalonians 4.
And verse 13 I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not as others which.
Have no hope. Well, they were wondering about some who had already died if they were going to miss the Kingdom.
And so Paul brings in the truth of the rapture and explains it to them. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him? And so on. And he brings in the the coming of the Lord and he finishes it in verse 18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. So it's a great comfort. We thought we had to go through the tribulation. It wouldn't be a comfort. But then notice we know there's no chapter divisions in the original. And so as we move to chapter 5, here's a little word that says but.
And that brings in a complete contrast. And often this is missed. But it says but so here's something different of the times and seasons, brethren, you need. Not that I write unto you.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall cometh as a thief in the night. So they knew all about the times and seasons.
And the day of the Lord, it was the rapture that was something that was a new truth to them. And he gives it to him. And so he he mentions that that day will come as a thief, as was mentioned with Sardis. The warning about a thief had to do with those who were not true believers at all. And so it says, When they shall say peace and safety, then shall sudden destruction come upon them. Notice the difference in this chapter, chapter five of the day. And the them, and the US and the we.
When they shall say peace and safety, then shall sudden destruction come upon them. And but ye brethren are not in darkness, that that they should overtake you as a thief. Ye are children of the light, and so on. So then finally in verse nine, he says, For God has not appointed us, that's the believer to wrath, but to obtain salvation, or could read to be saved out of this world by our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the salvation of the body, not the salvation of the soul. So we haven't been appointed to that day of wrath.
But I think it's helpful to see that the contrast because at the Rapture the Lord comes to deliver, whereas at the day of the Lord he comes as a hostile, unknown thief to destroy. And for the believer it's eternal gain, whereas for the unbeliever it's eternal loss. And then the believer gets heavenly treasures, whereas the unbelieving world is stands to lose everything that they hold dear. At the day of the Lord, the believer escapes the judgment by being caught up out of this world.
Whereas as it says in verse 3 here they shall not escape and so when we get to Revelation chapter 3 and we finish where it says of way to see it, I will spew you out of my mouth.
If the Lord comes and the Rapture and the true church is taken up and the false church is feud right out into the tribulation. And we never read of the word church again in the Book of Revelation because God doesn't own the apostate church that's left behind. But.
We find has been mentioned. They're referred to again in Revelation 19 as the Bride, the Lamb's wife.
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Wonderful to have these manifold proofs that we won't be here for the tribulation. But it's very interesting to see that God doesn't wait that long in the history of the Thessalonians to tell them that truth. He tells them that in the first chapter. Let's just look at that because I think this is very comforting. Our Lord is so gracious the very time when they're saved, he tells them you won't be there for the tribulation. That's chapter one of First Thessalonians.
And.
In the end of verse nine he says about them. Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come, or our deliverer from the calming wrath, not out of it, from it, not in it, and out of it, but from it We shall not even be present when it comes.
Well, I thank God for these manifold proofs. It's really true. We're going to be caught out.
And we're going to be in heaven where we belong, before the Son, to whom all judgment is committed takes the title deed to the earth. That's Chapter 5, the Revelation. And before he begins to open it, before the judgments are poured out, that attempt to allow me to say that I believe that they didn't know about the hope of the church. You know, like the verse that Brother Clem has thread in chapter one whenever you hear.
Of him as the Son of God, waiting for the Son of God from heaven.
That has to do with the hope of the Church. So they did know that. But what they did not know was that what about those who have fallen asleep? Will they lose out? Now when he comes as king, we know from Matthew. He comes as the Son of Man.
You know we have that in Matthew 2531 when he comes in power and glory, like we sing that him often we wait for the oh son of God and long for thine appearing. You know that is connected with the churches hope and what a wonderful hope that is the blessed hope.
And a glorious appearing.
Notice in our tenth verse in Revelation 3 again the.
These talks about this.
I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, temptation, or trial which shall come upon all the world. So there's a time of trial coming upon the whole world. But it's with with what in mind to try them that dwell upon the earth. That's a moral expression that's found throughout the Book of Revelation, the the earth dwellers.
A Christian, a true Christian who is saved and dwelt with the Holy Spirit. He is not an earth dweller. He's a heavenly man. So this trial that is coming upon the earth dwellers is going to it's going to come upon the whole world. But it's to try. The earth dwellers. Who are they? These trials? This is the Roman earth. The Book of Revelation takes up the judgments that fall upon.
Apostate Christendom.
You have to go to the Old Testament to get the King of the North and Russia and these other nations. But what you get in Revelation is what happens to Christendom, What happens to those that call themselves Christians who aren't real? Well, this verse tells us that he's going to take us out first before he tries those that dwell on the earth.
Those that dwell on the earth are those that were offered heaven today. It's the it's the Christian testimony and said I don't want heaven, I want earth. They have rejected the heavenly truth of Christianity and they are earth dwellers. They've really rejected the heavenly man, the man who's in the glory. You know there's the gospel is presented in two ways in scripture, the gospel of the grace of God. And I like to think of that as God coming down to where we were.
God becoming a man and the gospel of the glory, a man going up into the into heaven.
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So we have the gospel of His grace, God becoming a man, and then the gospel of the glory man entering the glory and representing us there.
The earth dwellers have rejected that. They rejected it all. And so there's a trial that's coming upon them, unprecedented in the history of the world, and will be gone. We'll be in heaven. I will keep thee from that and its tribulation. I believe that's why in Thessalonians 4, first Thessalonians, you have that expression caught up. It's a fast, fast moving expression. I remember Eric Smith said. It really has the sense.
Snatched away before it gets to that point, we can see it coming on. And so he he exhorts hold fast in verse 11. That which thou hast with all this in view and the falling away that we have, we have an expectation here to hold fast. And I was thinking, you know, the way Jude mentions it, it's really what we what we should do and be concerned about in verse three of Jude.
Beloved.
When I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you, that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered under the Saints. That's the whole truth. That's the word we're talking about. And he tells us here.
Till he comes, hold fast that which thou hast.
First, can we have?
Because I was kept the word of my patients.
Patients could have the sense of endurance, and so coupling it with what her brother just said, we quietly go on.
Holding fast to the truth, looking for his coming at any moment. Behold, I come quickly, Lee. We mentioned before that in thyatira, it says.
I will put upon you none other burden but that which you have already. Hold fast till I come.
But now we've come right down to the end and behold, I come quickly.
And so we go on quietly, go on holding past to these precious things have been given to us until we come, and we expect it's coming at any moment.
Offer says that's 2000 years ago.
The believer says that makes it closer than it was.
And it says here just.
Been very precious to my own soul. It says that no man take thy crown.
What does that mean? Well, to my own soul, it means that God is going to have a testimony that will be characterized by what we read here when He comes. There will be a Philadelphia when the Lord comes. No question about it.
The big question is, will I be connected with it? Will I be part of it? That's the question. God will have a testimony. Let us never rest saying as we've had emphasized already in these meetings, let us never take the view we are Philadelphia. We never get that character here as our brother brought out so well earlier. It is a condition and so there will be a Philadelphia. The crown will be there for those that are characterized by it. And I believe there will be a special crown for.
What is given here? Because it takes more energy in these last days to stand for what we have here than it did in the beginning. I believe that to be very true. I can well remember about 10 or 12 years ago more than that, I guess, when a dear brother up in our area was his wife was taken home to be with the Lord, and while at a meal shortly before her funeral, someone made the remark to him about some of these giants in the faith that had gone on before.
Referring back to Apostolic days and perhaps even to the last century.
And the brother who was there, he's along with the Lord now. He made this remark. He said, you know, he said, I often think there will be a greater reward for those who hold fast in the very last days because he said it'll be very, very difficult. And he said, I think in some ways, although there isn't the public manifestation, there will be more commendation of the Lord. But he said the exercise for my heart is, will I be part of it? It won't be something that will bring me much glory down here.
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But there's a crown up there for it, isn't there? Hold that fast. Which thou hast that no man take thy crown. Well, I don't mean that it's going to be for some and not for others. I'm sure there'll be enough crowns for every Philadelphia. And we don't need to feel that God has a certain number and says no. I'm going to hand those out, but God will maintain a Philadelphian character down here. If I fail, he'll raise up someone else. So let me take care that I hold fast.
173.