The church at Smyrna was a small church wholly dedicated to
serving the Lord, but they were struggling just to survive constant persecution
by people who claimed to be Jews and know more about God than the Christians did. The church at Philadelphia was in a similar
situation except that the opposition was not as strong, and they were still
able to openly worship and follow the Lord.
God reminds the church that he Is the one in control and
that he is aware of their efforts to serve him in 3:7-11. “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.”
Like the church at Smyrna, the biggest problem was people
who claimed to believe in God but were actually following Satan. God promised that he would enable them to
continue to reach out, and that because of their faithfulness, he would keep
them from falling away when those around them turned their backs on God. Like the Church at Smyrna, he advised them to
just keep on doing what they were doing so that they did not lose their
rewards.
From the messages to the churches, it appears that the other
churches had a great deal more prestige and their activities were better known than
either Smyrna or Philadelphia, yet they are the only two God was satisfied with
just the way they were. Unfortunately,
many times those who attract the most attention are not the ones who are most
closely following the Lord. Instead of
following the other churches or teachers, we need to focus on just doing what
God told us. If we follow others, we
are going to end up in the same place they do, with the same results. It doesn’t matter if we following the example
of the church at Epehsus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis or even Laodicea, we will
not be pleasing God. Unfortunately,
people tend to look at the outward appearance rather than looking at the heart.
Like he promised each of the other churches, the Lord
promised eternal life to those who believed in Christ in Revelation 3:12. “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.”
Those who have placed their
faith in Christ have overcome the world and are assured of a place in heaven
with God.
Once again we are instructed to pay attention, in Revelation
3:13. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.”
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