Revelation Commentary
– the Seven Churches – Part
II
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God does not want the
information in the Book of Life
disclosed until the drama of sin has
ended. At that time, God will open
the book and reveal what he knew
before any beings were given life.
When God the Father shows that He
foreknew, He will prove that
“yes,” He has perfect
omniscience. At that same moment, He
will silence every accusation that He
uses His omniscience to manipulate
His creatures for personal gain. When
the Book of Life is opened, He will
prove that He will not use His
omniscience to prevent the death of
another member of the Godhead –
namely, Jesus! So, when the Book of
Life is opened, the love of God will
be seen with such clarity and
grandeur that every living creature
– saints and sinners alike
– will bow down!
Isaiah 45:23
By myself I have sworn, my mouth has
uttered in all integrity a word that
will not be revoked: Before me every
knee will bow; by me every tongue
will swear.
Isaiah 45:24
They will say of me, ‘In the
LORD alone is righteousness and
strength.’” All who
have raged against him will come to
him and be put to shame.
Isaiah 45:25
But in the LORD all the descendants
of Israel will be found righteous and
will exult.
The third problem concerning
the Book of Life centers around the
fact that the book of Life has
nothing to do with man’s
salvation. The Book of Life
contains a pre-recorded history of
the world that the Father wrote and
sealed up with seven seals before any
life was created. (Revelation 17:8)
Books of records, recorded by angels
as events transpire, are used to
judge humanity (Daniel 7:9,10), but
the Book of Life remains sealed
until the end of the thousand years.
The Book of Life IS NOT used during
the judgment of mankind because it
remains sealed!
The last
misunderstanding that I want to
address is that some people believe
that an over comer is a sinless
person. Carefully consider two
statements:
1. It is
impossible for a sinner to become
sinless.
2. It is
impossible for a sinner to live a
sinless life.
The point here is that
overcoming sin is not only possible
it is necessary. However, overcoming
sin to the point of sinless living
remains impossible until the sealing
occurs.
No one other than
Jesus has lived a perfect life and no
one can live a sinless life until the
carnal nature is removed! This is
good news. John tells us there is a
sin that does not lead to death. This
sin is accidental sin. (1 John
5:16, 17; Romans 7:19) If we say that
we are without sin, the Bible says
that we are liars. (2
Chronicles 6:36; 1 John 1:10)
So, the promise Christ
gave to the over comers in Sardis
have to be kept within the context of
all His words to the seven churches.
What did the church of Sardis need to
overcome? They have substituted
church life for spiritual life
and as a result, they had become
spiritually dead. Jesus insisted they
wake up so that He might walk among
them and make disciples of them!
Everyone who overcomes
this temptation will never have his
name blotted out of the Book of Life.
The Church At
Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:7
“To the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write: These are the
words of him who is holy and true,
who holds the key (to the city) of
David. What he opens no one can shut,
and what he shuts no one can open.
Revelation 3:8
I know your deeds. See, I have placed
before you an open door that no one
can shut. I know that you have little
strength, yet you have kept my word
and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:9
I will make those who are the
synagogue of Satan, who claim to be
Jews though they are not, but are
liars – I will make them come
and fall down at your feet and
acknowledge that I have loved you.
Revelation 3:10
Since you have kept my command to
endure patiently, I will also keep
you from the hour of trial that is
going to come upon the whole earth to
test those who live upon the earth.
Revelation 3:11
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you
have, so that no one will take your
crown.
Revelation 3:12
Him that overcomes I will make a
pillar in the temple of my God. Never
again will be leave it. I will write
on him the name of my god and the
name of the city of my god, the New
Jerusalem, which is coming down out
of heaven from my God; and I will
also write upon him my new name.
Revelation 3:13 He who
has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.
The church of
Philadelphia, like the church of
Smyrna, was suffering from
persecution. Some people say that
Philadelphia is the only church of
the seven that didn’t have an
internal problem. True, Jesus did
not condemn the church at
Philadelphia, but that church had
a problem. The church at
Philadelphia struggled with “the
synagogue of Satan” just like
the church at Smyrna. Each of the
seven churches were beset with
problems.
Ephesus had
lost its first love.
Pergamum was
beguiled with the devil’s lies
and Gnosticism.
Thyatira was
corrupted with Jezebel’s
teachings about sexual immorality.
Smyrna was
hammered by persecution and Philadelphia
was weakened by those claims to be
Jews, but the church was hanging on.
Sardis was an
active church but is was spiritually
dead and
Laodecia had
grown lukewarm and indifferent
As Jesus tenderly
looked down from Heaven upon the
seven churches, there’s no
wonder He wasn’t very happy with
six of them.
The message to
Philadelphia contains some wording
that is often distorted by Christians
needing texts to support the
idea of a pre-tribulation rapture.
The problem here is that the words of
Jesus do not imply there will be a
pre-tribulation rapture.
Because the church in
Philadelphia was suffering from
persecution, Jesus told them that He
had set before them an open door. He
had made a way for them to go
through their suffering. This is the
point of “What he opens no
one can shut, and what he shuts no
one can open.” By His grace
and in His power, the church could go
through this experience and overcome
it.
Being trapped in the
jaws of persecution is equivalent to
being hemmed in by brick walls –
there is no way out. But, Jesus is
not restricted by walls. He can open
a door in a solid brink wall. He
makes a way possible through the
impossible! Let’s look
closely at the words of Jesus. He
told the church that He would keep
them from*the hour of trial to
come upon the whole world.
Revelation 3:16
is often used by pre-trib rapture
advocates to defend their belief that
they will escape the Great
Tribulation. However, when this verse
is aligned with everything the Bible
has to say about the end-time, this
verse does not teach what is
purported to say. Consider this:
Does Revelation 3:10 really mean that
the church of Philadelphia (whomever
they may be) will be taken to Heaven
before the Great Tribulation begins,
but the other six churches must stay
on Earth and suffer? No. Don’t
forget, there are a total of seven
churches in Revelation. So, what
happens to the other six churches
during the Great Tribulation?
Jesus did say,
“…I will also keep you from
the hour of trial that is going
to come upon the whole world to
test those who live on the
earth.” This statement is
consistent with everything said in
the Bible about the end-time because the
judgment of the living occurs during
the Great Tribulation. Because
salvation comes through faith, Jesus
is going to test every living
person to see whether he has
faith or not. The faith-full will
receive the seal of God and be saved,
but the faith-less will receive the
mark of the beast and be destroyed.
Let’s take a look
at the Greek word ‘ek which is
translated as “from” as in
“…keep you from the hour of
trial…” One of the best
Greek lexicons on early Christian use
of the Greek language is A Greek
Lexicon of the New Testament (written
by Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich). The
word in question is a Greek
preposition ‘ek and it is
translated ‘from” both in
the NIV and KJV. Therefore, the
phrase reads, “… I will
keep you from the hour of
trial…” However,
according to Bauer, Arndt and
Gingrich, (4th edition
1952) this preposition is also
translated in a variety of other ways
in the NIV and KJV and it has more
than a dozen different English
equivalents. For example, ‘ek
can mean “from, out of, away
from, coming out of, descending from,
by, because of, beginning from,
begins from, for,” etc. On page
235 of this edition, the authors
indicate that when the preposition is
followed by a measurement of time
– as in “the hour of
trial,” ‘ek can convey the
meaning “beginning from.”
In other words, a person is justified
in reading this verse as follows:
“I (Jesus) will also keep you beginning
from the hour of trial that is going
to come upon the whole
world…”
When a theological
point is disputed because of one
word, especially a preposition, we
have to take a closer look. In these
situations, we can and should turn to
additional lexicons and other word
study helps for insight. Although
this effort is valuable, it is not
the highest authority regarding the
intended meaning of the verse. The
higher and more weighty evidence must
come from the Bible itself. So, here
are two points for you consideration
showing why Revelation 3:10 should be
understood as “beginning from
the hour of trial:”
a. Jesus
told His disciples,” … And
surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age (world
(KJV).” (Matthew 28:20) We
should take this verse at face value.
Jesus plainly said He would be with
His children to the very last day
when He physically and gloriously
appears in the clouds. This idea
concurs with this reading of
Revelation 3:10: “I (Jesus) will
also keep you beginning from the
hour of trial that is going to come
upon the whole world…”
b. Several
verses in Revelation indicate that
the saints will be on Earth during
the Great Tribulation. The word
‘saints” is mentioned 12
times in Revelation (NIV) and 13
times in the KJV. Except for the
144,000 servants who are taken to
Heaven at the seventh trumpet and the
24 elders who were taken to Heaven at
the time of Christ’s ascension.
Revelation does not place the living
saints in Heaven before the Second
Coming. In fact, Revelation places
the saint on Earth! Notice what
happens to the saints in these
verses: “Then the dragon was
enraged at the woman and went off to
make war against the rest of the
remnant, (KJV) of her offspring
– those who obey God’s
commandments and hold to the
testimony of Jesus… He
(the beast) was given authority over
every tribe, people, language and
nation…. If anyone is to go into
captivity he will go. If anyone is to
be killed with the sword, with the
sword he will be killed. This calls
for patient endurance and
faithfulness on the part of the
saints. …” (Revelation
12:17; 13:7; 13:10)
I do not find support
in Scriptures for the idea that some
saints are enjoying the bliss of
Heaven while others are living
through a hellish tribulation on
Earth. No, the response of the Great
Tribulation is to test those people
who live on Earth and to expose who
the saints really are! Revelation
14:12 also confirms the idea that the
saints will suffer because they obey
God. John wrote, “This calls for
patient endurance on the part of
the saints who (suffer because
they) obey God’s commandments
and remain faithful to Jesus.”
The point here is that
Revelation clearly puts the saints
on Earth during the Great
Tribulation. Therefore, Revelation
3:10 should read, “I (Jesus)
will also keep you beginning
from the hour of trial that is
going to come upon the whole
world….”
The reason words about
the Great Tribulation were spoken to
the church in Philadelphia is
two-fold. First, the saints in
Philadelphia were already weakened
and discouraged by persecution
from the Romans and frustrated with
religious baggage of Jewish converts.
This is why Jesus said, “I will
make those who are of the synagogue
of Satan, who claim to be Jews though
they are not, but are liars – I
will make them come and fall down at
your feet and acknowledge that I have
loved you.”
The second reason
Jesus wanted to encourage the church
at Philadelphia is that he did not
want them to be overcome with
discouragement after they read the
contents of this vision (the book of
Revelation) because the book of
Revelation predicts even more
suffering is to come upon the saints.
Because the church in Philadelphia
was already hurting and weak,
knowledge of the Great Tribulation
could cause some to give up their
faith in Christ altogether.
So, Jesus prepared
them for the message in Revelation
saying, “Since you have kept my
command to endure patiently, I
will keep you from (falling during)
the hour of trial that is going to
come upon the whole world to testthose
who live on the earth. I am coming
soon. Hold on to what you have, so
that no one will take your
crown.”
Bottom line: Jesus
promised to sustain the church at
Philadelphia with His strength and
not theirs. Jesus encouraged them
saying, “Hold on to what you
have…” These words are
crucial when the fires of persecution
are hot. Its human nature to give up
to stop the pain. So, what is the
good news for the members of
Philadelphia: Those who overcome the
adversary will be rewarded beyond
their widest imagination!
All over comers will
be given a special name tag when they
get to Heaven. Jesus said, “I
will write on him the name of my
God… the name of the city of my
God, and I will also write in him my
new name.” This name tag will
permit its owner to travel anywhere
in God’s universe in a
stretch-limo with a hundred angels
attending. Ok, I may be pushing the
point a little bit, but you get the
idea. When we receive this name tag,
we will be recognized throughout
God’s universe as a VIP because
WE were trained through suffering on
Earth for the exalted role that God
will give us throughout eternity and
remember, the saints will reign with
Jesus!
Your victory in
overcoming the world makes you very
special to Jesus and He wants
everyone to know it, thus, a glorious
name tag awaits every over comer. Can
you say, Hallelujah! Discipleship
hurts?”
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