And 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; I 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. 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 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. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
I Will Keep Thee From the Hour of Temptation
Beloved of the Lord...... On
the very night He was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus earnestly
prayed not only for His disciples, but also those future disciples who would
believe God's Word. Jesus prayed,
""Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which SHALL
BELIEVE ON ME through their word; That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us." This
prayer dear believer, was and still is a prayer for you. Moreover… as Jesus is your Substitute as a
Man, yet He is also your Substitute as Almighty God, your Prince of Peace, this
2000 year old prayer still has power and still is working even now in your
life. When you are fearful the trials
God grants you may be too powerful for you to endure, remember that Jesus
prayed for you and still prays, mediates, and intercedes on your behalf. His prayer is still that the Father will
uphold and keep you from falling in that hour of temptation so in the end you
overcome and obtain the victory, that crown of everlasting life. If only we overcome this world by faith in
Christ, we will be one in heaven with the Father and the Son, "one in
us" as Jesus said. Hear then in the
words of Jesus today, the wonderful promise Jesus gives you regarding
temptation. "Because thou hast kept
the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation". What a strengthening promise that is!
Our Lord Jesus Christ now has a particular message for
the congregation of Philadelphia.
"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." The key of David here
symbolizes the power to rule David's city.
There is more than one City of
David in the Bible. In Luke two for
example the Bible says, "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the
city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem." Bethlehem means
"house of bread" and Jesus is our Bread of Life. "I am the living bread which came down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world." The other City of David in
the Bible is Jerusalem. Moreover Zion
was once David's fortress on the highest hill of Jerusalem, the City of
David.
When Jesus therefore says he has the
key of David, and He shuts and opens the door, Christ is speaking as a King who
opens and closes the doors to spiritual Jerusalem, the Holy Christian Church. Being the Son of God, as a Man our Savior,
Christ received from the Father the keys to this city, by the atonement of the cross,
and now Christ is highly exalted in heaven, ruling all things on earth, in the
best interest of His Church named Zion, or Jerusalem, that spiritual city of
David. For us today this means the doors
to the New Jerusalem above us are permanently fixed OPEN, and no man can shut
them. That is why Isaiah 22:22 says, "And
the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open,
and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." We lose heaven only if we close the doors ourselves
by denying Him in unbelief, and dying in the same. Yet for Christ's sake we should see these
mighty doors forever open, "for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is
given."
Let us then picture in our minds that
holy night Christ was born in a stable on earth, with the white background of
Bethlehem, in the light of the moon above.
When Christ is born in the stillness of the night, and carefully placed
in the manger by Mary with love, not only do the angels see and rejoice in the
brilliant light of heaven above, but the heavens are now forever open, and a
light shines up from the manger to heaven. When we die in the faith of Jesus Christ, it
will be much like that. As our soul
slips away, we will suddenly see Jacob's ladder, our stairway to heaven, the
angels ascending and descending. The Son
of God will also be waiting there at the top, and the angels descend only so we
ascend and see Him face to face in that eternal Kingdom of Light. For "Jerusalem which is above is free,….
is the mother of us all." We are
born from mother Jerusalem, but we are also born into mother Jerusalem, by the
Means of Grace, Baptism and the Gospel Word.
Heaven therefore is never far away, but it is as close to us as Christ
Himself who is with us always, as Jesus said, "I am the door: by me if any
man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture." Similarly "Him 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."
Just as Christ is ever near and with
us, so He is attentive to His Church on earth, both watching over us and
encouraging us in good works, for "I 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." This too we must keep in mind, to never deny
the holy and saving name of Christ our Savior, for death is better than life
and "for me to lie is Christ and to die is gain." "We brought nothing into this world and
it is certain we will carry nothing out."
And Jesus said, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall
the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be
denied before the angels of God." If
God then allows our capture by the enemy, even a martyrs death, to die is gain
knowing the crown of everlasting life awaits.
Therefore "hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." "They that endure to
the end shall be saved."
As for this open door which Christ set
before the congregation, this means God would give them an open door to bring
the Gospel to the community around them.
God would bless their mission work "for Thou hast a little strength
and hast kept my word". Let us not
then forget our duty and high calling this Christmas and New Years', to invite
others to learn the true meaning of Christmas, "For as the rain cometh
down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the
earth….So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please." When this happens, even the Synagogue of Satan
can be converted and "come and worship before they feet, and know that I
have loved thee." Imagine the joy
of the Philidelphia Christians when their enemies were "born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever."
Our Lord now says, "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." We see here things were going to get much
worse for the congregation, but God would surely help them to patiently endure this
hour of temptation. Under Emperor Trajan
this great persecution did come, so that many Christians died and some were
even fed to the lions at the circus of Rome.
God nevertheless kept them "from the hour of temptation." God's temptations then are always a limited
time of short duration. Even if He
allows us severe persecution, God by His
grace limits such, and He never gives us more than we can bear. Though Satan always desires, plots, and plans,
to sift us as wheat, Christ long ago prayed for us, that our faith would not
fail.
While the devil always tempts us to
evil, let us remember God tempts us only so we will do good. By such temptations, God in the long run is
purifying our faith, getting rid of the dross, that we might be better vehicles
of His mercy. Through such He surely
will strengthen us more and more. When
tempted them always remember God's promise, "I Will Keep Thee From the
Hour of Temptation". That is why
James writes, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations; Knowing this, that
the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." "Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him."
When
tempted also remember, "Behold I come quickly." God is here saying that when it gets bad, He
will quickly come and rescue us so we won't despair. "Behold
I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." Bear your cross then with
patience, looking unto Jesus and that crown of everlasting life. Moreover, this Christmas stand in the stable
with Joseph, Mary, and the Shepherds, and see in that cradle the Light of your
everlasting life. By this Child the
doors to heaven are still open. For
Jesus' sake they cannot be closed.
"Him that overcome will I make a pillar in the temple of my
God." Our new names in heaven are Victory,
Triumph, Exaltation, and Glory.
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To
the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen.
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