Philadelphia —Rev. 3:7-137And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9Behold, 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. 10Because thou hast 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. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12Him that overcometh 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. 13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:7‑13).
In Philadelphia we find another state of things connected with the coming of the Lord. “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true,”—we have not had this before. These two characters are attached to Christ; and, then, “Behold I come quickly.” First you get holiness, and truth, and then power; “He that path the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, I know thy works.” What are they? He does not tell what they are. He says he knows them, and for faith that is enough. “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” No one can hinder His having His sheep out to follow Him, “for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” Here I get what specially characterizes the saint who lays hold on Christ; he has “a little strength,”—but he has it; not great power—not forcing the door open—it is open for us, and Christ says, I will take care that no one shall shut it. Christ Himself manifested outwardly but very little strength, yet “to him the porter openeth;” and now He opens it for us; and no matter how feeble the instrument may be, His promise is, “I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” You may have very little strength, but if you walk before me, even in feebleness, they shall know that “I have loved thee.” Are you satisfied with that? Christ is holy and He is true, and faith is called to walk in expectation of His coming. There is no thought of great strength, but a little strength and an open door, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience.” See how Christ associates the saints with Himself, “the word of my patience,” while He waits; that is the thing which even a child may do. It is Christ’s word, a child might keep that. I have no other word to look to-no other authority. We should be thankful for gift when we meet it, but Christ’s word alone is sufficient. If we have not that we have nothing. Any other word is not worth a breath, because it is the breath of man. You may say it is ancient-let it be ever so ancient, it is not as ancient as Christ, and I will have nothing to do with it. I must have “that which was from the beginning.” Thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” Doing, this may seem a poor thing, humanly speaking; but to be faithful when all are faithless is a great thing!
The cry of the bridegroom’s coming awoke all the virgins (Matt. 25), and there was time enough before He came to test their faith, and put each class in its true place, but only they who were “ready” went in with him to the marriage. So is it with us, the Son is testing us now by the word of His patience, He is now “expecting” till His enemies are made His footstool. (Heb. 10:1313From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (Hebrews 10:13)). When that will take place no one knows-you go and act in the power of the Holy Ghost until He comes. It is a blessed thing to know that if we have to wait, that He is waiting—it is His patience. “Now you must wait, and I must wait, and you have only just got to wait as long as I am waiting, and then I will come and receive you unto myself.”
Note how the word “my” runs through the whole thing —how Christ associates us with Himself. “Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise.” (Heb. 10:3636For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:36)). God knows how long He may still delay, but it is one of the characteristics of true faith that it lasts out to the end! Flesh may go on apparently right a long way. Samuel told Saul to wait for seven days at Gilgal till he came to him (1 Sam. 10:88And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do. (1 Samuel 10:8)), but he only waited six days and a half, or so, and thereby lost the kingdom! (1 Sam. 13:88And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. (1 Samuel 13:8)). Had he kept the commandment of the Lord and waited, his kingdom would have been established forever. But he had not the faith that can wait. Where faith is, it knows it can do nothing without God, and must wait till God comes in.
“Because thou hast 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.” Those who have even a little strength will be kept from that dreadful time. It is to try them that dwell on the earth—this characterizes them. We are strangers and pilgrims an earth but dwellers in heaven— “seated in heavenly places in Christ.”
Here we have not the kingdom as in Thyatira; or, “I will come on thee as a thief,” as in Sardis. But see how He comforts them, “Behold I come quickly;” and so the heart is cheered. We must wait for Christ keeping His word till He comes. It is a dark and dreary world through which we have to pass, but it is in the night that, when all around is darkness, if I see a light it seems the nearest thing to me. Is this so with you as to Him who is the bright and morning star? Is He indeed seen in the dark night of this world, as the nearest and brightest object before your he arts? None of us know how soon He will come. I believe it is false in principle, as well as in fact, to try to ascertain the time of His coming. Counting of times and dates all belong to Jewish things, and there is no use in counting them. They can be no help to us as to marking the time when He will appear. No one knows the moment He may come, but the heart has got this—His own word— “Behold I come quickly.” It is the immediate hope which Paul said the saints should expect. Some may say, Did not Paul make a mistake when he directed the saints to wait for God’s Son from heaven? A mistake! Why, he is going to get the brightest crown in heaven for believing it! Has Paul lost anything by being with the Lord before He comes? When He comes Paul will come with Him. No, the thought kept them from setting their minds on the world—kept them waiting. If your heart says, “He is coming quickly,” you will not lose anything; though “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day;” it will give you a character as a waiting people.
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” How thorough is. the saint’s association with Christ! He will make him a pillar who just now has but “a little strength.” But it is ever so, when weakness is apparent strength is found. “The weakness of God is stronger than men, and the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” What are we? What can we be in the things of God? Simply nothing! —but that is the time that God is everything. What are you? Nothing—subject to death. Can you reveal God to a soul? What can you do God may speak to the heart through you, but in yourself you are simply nothing; but it is just in the measure in which we are nothing that there is strength for us in Christ.
Look at Gilgal in the history of Israel. What was Gilgal? the place where they were putting down the flesh in death; where the reproach of Egypt was rolled away. Circumcision was typical of death to the flesh; they were there in weakness. We see that time after time Joshua and all Israel returned to Gilgal—it was their abiding place. The book of Joshua, looked at typically, is a description of the spiritual triumphs of the Lord over His spiritual enemies. Judges gives the history of the failure of Israel in putting out the evil. You have not a word about the angel of the Lord in Joshua; you get the angel when you come to Judges; (chapter 2.) we read, “And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim “-i.e., tears. “And when the angel spake those words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept, and they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.” They worshipped with tears. It was Gilgal lost, and Bochim gained; but this was not the true circumcision of Christ-death to the flesh and the world in the power of resurrection. The camp was at Gilgal; there was always a taking away of strength when the Israelites did not return there. It is very well to see the true state of things when there was no strength. We have always to return to Gilgal-even if you have been gaining victories, you must get back to self-judgment, which strengthens the heart and separates it to Christ. If not, you will get some Achan to trouble you, as they did when they went out against Ai and were beaten. They had not felt weakness, and did not inquire of the Lord. God could not go out with them and thus put His seal upon the wickedness which was amongst them. The secret of all strength is, “the Lord is with thee.” The Lord said to Joshua, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life, as I was with Moses so I will be with thee, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” He promised success and blessing-“only be thou strong and very courageous.” (Josh. 1:5-75There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:5‑7).) In contrast to this, they “could not stand before their enemies.” (Chapter 7:12.) We find the character of the strength Christ gives when He says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Paul was caught up to the third heaven; did that make him strong? on the contrary the flesh would puff him up, and say, “now Paul, nobody ever was there but you.” He could not even tell what he had heard or seen there. Must he be brought to a fourth heaven to sanctify him more? No, he is made to feel his weakness—that is not strength; no, but it is the emptying of strength—the condition in which we get strength—so that we can say, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Cor. 12:1010Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10).) “I glory in my weakness.” Paul needed “a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him;” something to make him despicable in the presence of others. Whenever there is conscious strength, there is sure to be real weakness; but when we tune consciously weak and dependent there is real strength! Christ’s grace is sufficient for us when we are consciously nothing.
That is the character of Christ, “He was crucified in weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God, for we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God.” (2 Cor. 13:44For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. (2 Corinthians 13:4)). It is so in every step of our path, He identifies us with Himself.
“He shall go no more out.” (verse 12). It is a common ease for good men to be east out here-their names cast out as evil,—but there they 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 cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name.” Remark the word “my,” the complete and thorough association of Christ’s heart with the weak believer. I will inscribe upon him my new name; he has been identified with my weakness when all was failure; he shall be identified with my glory when all is strength and joy! You may have been cast out here below for my name, but up there you shall go no more out forever. People may judge you harshly, but if you are keeping the word of Christ’s patience, it is joy when He says, “I have loved thee;” are you content with that? Is Christ’s approbation the thing that satisfies your heart in this world of trial, difficulty, and conflict? Is that the thing that cheers and satisfies you in this scene of confusion? Is it enough for you to say I have Christ’s word—I know He loves me, and that by and bye I shall go no more out forever?
The Lord give us, beloved friends, not to have that day come on us unawares; but to have His testimony, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience I also will keep thee.” Perilous times have come, but we have got His word, He casts us upon it; we have all the immediate affections of Christ with us, it is His patience. He is the waiting Bridegroom, waiting to have His bride with Him, who should be waiting for Him. He is waiting with patience, though I am sure He has much more love in His heart for us than we have in our poor hearts for Him. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” Amen.