The implication may appear to be that if a Christian denies Christ (Revelation 3:8) he or she will not participate in the Rapture. The Lord here contemplates these evil workers (which is what the criers of works come to) forming a distinct party. Wealth can do much but there are things that it can never do. "Hereafter" gives vagueness: "after these" makes it precise, and is the plain literal meaning. "Behold," says the Risen Christ, "I am standing at the door and knocking." Show yourself watchful, and strengthen what remains and what is going to die. Therefore, as it is a holy thing, a heavenly thing, a priceless thing, keep you God's word. But nay, this will not do for Christ. And I'll tell you if you don't believe it is dead, go to Europe. Another thing is observable, when one looks into what is said here. "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants." So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." He is spoken of as Son of man; and, as we know, this is the quality in which it is given Him to execute every kind of judgment. Here too all is as peculiar as it is suitable to the book on which we enter: "John to the seven churches which are in Asia." 58. cit., p. 119. The man who will not submit to Christ has necessarily resisted him. In this life even the best of us is sometimes bad. That was thirty years before the Revelation was written; but it may be that as long ago as that the rot had set in in the Church in Laodicea and an unsatisfactory ministry had sown the seeds of degeneration. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only churches that receive no blame from the Lord, but only praise and encouragement. Thus grace is always equal to every difficulty. (3) The Spirit of Counsel: A lifeless dying church or individual needs to heed the counsel of God. What Christ promised is safety through trials, not exemption from trials. The unique new fact that Christianity brought into this world is that God is the seeker of men. The brethren needed all their strength concentrated on their home work, for they were few, and the miss of one or two from home evangelization and edification would be greatly felt. "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that. He who was emphatically the apostle of the uncircumcision was the appointed witness of Christ to those who had been Jews. In Greek there are two words for true. And then, thirdly, we shall speak upon a word of promise which is in the text in the tenth verse: "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." It is said of the righteous that "they will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father" ( Matthew 13:43); and it is said of God that he covers himself with light as with a garment ( Psalms 104:2). Thus it is not without example elsewhere; but it is not what we hear when we have fairly entered on the course of the visions. Sardis gives the rise of the new state of things, not strictly ecclesiastical the Lord acting in the way of testimony, and not so much in ecclesiastical order. It [ Rev 3:10] is a promise, not to all the church, but to a certain clearly-defined portion of itthose who keep the doctrine of Christ's second advent, and its hope of rapture. Tacitus writes: "One of the most famous cities of Asia, Laodicea, was in that same year overthrown by an earthquake and without any relief from us recovered itself by its own resources" (Tacitus: Annals 14: 27). Even on the Emmaus road, "He appeared to be going further" ( Luke 24:28). And all of the enemies of God we are just going to subdue when we are manifested finally as the sons of God before the world. Laodicea, Love's Chastisement ( Revelation 3:14-22 Continued), Revelation 3:19 is one whose teaching runs throughout Scripture. "Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; with their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet" ( Isaiah 49:23). These were proper characters for him, when speaking to a church that had endeavoured to be conformed to Christ in holiness and truth, and that had enjoyed a wide door of liberty and opportunity under his care and government. If you will now begin to talk to others about that which you love so well, you will be astonished to find how gladly they will receive it from you. Christ calls the church to that duty which he before promised he would enable her to do, and that is, to persevere, to hold fast that which she had. When we are confronted with him, we are confronted with no shadowy outline of the truth but with the truth itself. They had an intense delight in it. Those who still dared to live in the city were reckoned mad; they spent their time shoring up the shaking buildings and every now and then fleeing to the open spaces for safety. The Book of Leviticus contains the revelation of God sitting upon the throne, where He places Himself that He may be approached by the people, as far as they could come; that of the priesthood brought into proximity to the throne, as far as men could have access to it; and then the promulgation of t. It was founded with the deliberate intention that it might be a missionary of Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia; and so well did it do its work that by A.D. 19 the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks. Then history repeated itself. It signified becoming one with the other person. If we do not provoke Christ to shut this door against us, men cannot do it. "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." All must be and was measured according to God's own mind, and the place in which He set the assemblies. Not only is the same principle general or constant, but it is remarkably characteristic of John's own writings. To try them that dwell upon the earth - To test their character. Read commentary on this popular Bible verse and understand the real meaning behind God's Word using John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. The word for salve is kollourion ( G2854) which literally means a little roll of bread. Faith sees that the blessed One, the holy and the true, is the same that has the key of David. The truth was that it was so lifeless that it was not worth attacking. Furthermore, the promise of Luke 21:17 is explanatory of what is meant here. ], "Probably the most debated verse in the whole discussion about the time of the Churchs rapture is Revelation 3:10." God means to use you. On one of these spurs, fifteen hundred feet up, stood the original Sardis. say you. I am speaking not of individual clergymen at all, but of clericalism wherever found, Catholic or denominational, nationalist or dissenting. In 62 B.C. These were said to be the treasures of the church. The Rapture and the Second Coming cannot occur back to back but must be separated by the seven-year Tribulation. He says, "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." The Lord accordingly presents Himself with similar latitude. Thus then it is with the seven golden lampstands. In the introduction to this letter the Risen Christ is called by three great titles, each of which implies a tremendous claim. It could mean, either, that Jesus was the first person to be created or that he began the process of creation, as Trench put it, "dynamically the beginning." This promise recurs again and again in Isaiah. 46-50, 108-37; and Jeffrey Townsend, "The Rapture in Revelation 3:10," Bibliotheca Sacra 137:547 (July-September 1980):252-66.]. "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." This is the Lord's way of delivering those who keep his word: thus he shuts them away from the temptation that comes upon others. "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King" ( Isaiah 43:15). The most vivid example of this kind of rebuke is the way in which Nathan opened David's eyes to his sin ( 2 Samuel 12:1-14). (iii) He is he who has the key of David, who opens and no man will shut, who shuts and no man opens. The Pastoral Epistles describe those who had drifted away from the true faith by saying that they had a form of godliness but denied its power ( 2 Timothy 3:5). Revelation 3:10, KJV: 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. The Lord no longer dealt so when this kind of footing vanished for the responsibility of man. to the angel of the church of Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness ( Revelation 3:14 ). Deceived by Satan, they were his zealous instruments, so much the more actively deceiving others, because earnest and honest after the flesh. To try them That is, such persecutions will be the means of trying and proving those who profess Christianity, and showing who were sound and thorough Christians and who were not. Verse 2: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and hisleft footon the earth, This to me is treason against sovereign truth. "In principle, the same promise would fit the judgment as the great trial for the whole human race. The deliberately-formed conviction that the word of God is the standard of our faith, and the unwavering habit of referring everything to it and standing and falling by it, may not deliver us from every error, but they will save us from that which is the nurse and matrix of every error that is, the habit of trusting to our own understanding, or relying upon the understandings of our fellow-men. The Philadelphian saints, like the limpet, which has but little strength, stuck firmly to the rock, and they are commended for it. Amen is the word which is often put at the end of a solemn statement in order to guarantee its truth. I want to suggest to you that if you have done this for some time the era has now arrived when you may go forward to somewhat more. Out in the villages, or in the crowded city hearts await you. Because you say, I am rich and I have acquired riches, and I need nothing, and are quite unaware that it is you who are the wretched and the pitiable one, the poor and the blind and the naked one, I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined by fire that you may be rich, white raiment that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be openly displayed, and eye-salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Even in Sardis there are the faithful few. See the notes on Luke 2:1. He didn't want to become one with the Gentile. This term refers to earth-dwellers as contrasted with heaven-dwellers, the unsaved as contrasted with Christians. The problem is that to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference. (i) He is the Amen. The Spirit says, "Thou hast a little strength." He sees you at your Bible-reading, he marks you in your endeavours to get at the meaning of his word, he notes you when you sit down and meditate upon his divine thoughts, and he takes pleasure in your eagerness to know what the will of the Lord is. (c) In any land and time white is the colour of purity, and the white robes may stand for the purity whose reward is to see God. There can be few of us who have not experienced the power of some habit into which we have fallen. Tacitus (see Wetstein, in loco) mentions an earthquake that sank twelve cities in Asia Minor, in one night, by which, among others, Philadelphia was deeply affected; and it is possible that there may have been reference here to that overwhelming calamity. 283-91; Daniel K. K. Wong, "The Pillar and the Throne in Revelation 3:12, 21," Bibliotheca Sacra 156:623 (July-September 1999):303. "[46] "The thrust of the verse is against this interpretation. However the future repentance of Israel at Messiahs second coming that will result in the Jews respectful treatment of Gentile believers seems to be in view here (cf. Dead Protestantism. Login Register. So many Jews emigrated here that the Rabbis inveighed against the Jews who sought the wines and baths of Phrygia. Shocks were an everyday occurrence. Believe it when circumstances seem to make it questionable; believe it when your own heart fails you; believe it when your sin and corruption rise within you like a fountain of foul waters: thus shall you give glory to the God of truth. . If a disputer can once get you away from the Bible, he can swallow you alive; but if you will keep to Scripture, and handle this weapon, "It is written; it is written," the disputer may be the arch-fiend himself, but he cannot possibly get the victory over you. That is exactly what the church ought to have been and was not; and therefore He has to take that place Himself. But there is more also. The word of my patience The doctrine which has exposed you to so much trouble and persecution, and required so much patience and magnanimity to bear up under its attendant trials. Still, after all, one of the grand points fought for at the Reformation, and gained for Protestantism, whatever might be its defects, was this; that man was put fairly, freely, and openly in presence of the Bible. On the other hand, to be clothed in fine raiment was the greatest honour. For the posttribulational interpretation, see Mounce, p. 119; aand Ladd, p. Be eager, therefore, and repent. Jezebel therefore is the appropriate symbol now, as Balaam was just before. Christ pleads and offers; but it is all to no avail if a man will not open the door. what said those who preferred "great tribulation," rather than commit adultery with her? That is a door which no man can ever shut and it is one which Jesus opened when he assured men of the seeking love of God the Father. The common text which gives rise to the current versions spoils the sense completely. Clarke's Revelation 3:10 Bible Commentary The word of my patience - The doctrine which has exposed you to so much trouble and persecution, and required so much patience and magnanimity to bear up under its attendant trials. The fire must be kept burning. Thus we have all sorts of links in the chain. I shut and no man can open. It is not "from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." "I became dead (records John), and, behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages." Rush to the front. The man who is faithful to his pledge will, beyond a doubt, some day hear God say: "Well done!". The Jews lost their place to the Gentiles ( Romans 11:11). The world had got in, as it still remains, and alas! The following example shows the process from tribulation to patience: Revelation 10:1 I saw (1) another strong angel coming down out of heaven, (2) clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; 1. Why, there are great folk among us that never care to believe according to God's word at all. Learn here, (1.) If that doesn't happen, I have had it. Even then Satan was not idle in forming his synagogue "of those that said they were Jews, and are not." There was faithfulness, and this very particularly in dealing with the wickedness which Satan sought to bring in at that time. Still that strength is a matter of degrees and certain churches have a little strength but only a little. We must walk looking to him, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame ( Hebrews 12:1-2). (a) In Isaiah 65:16 God is called the God of truth; but in the Hebrew he is called the God of Amen. I should like to see a few more of such Protestants. The hour of temptation shall come upon all the habitable world, "to try them that dwell upon the earth," be they where they may. In the Christian life there must be a decisive moment, when a man decides to be done with the old way and to begin on the new. (a) There may be a heathen background. In later days it became a very great city. From everyone of us Jesus Christ is looking for something; and for everyone of us there is something to do. He did not like spiritual conversation, neither do any of the breed. We must leave out "and unto." In the early Greek manuscripts there was no punctuation at all. He shall be seen by every soul if there be any difference to the sorest anguish above all of those that pierced Him ( i.e. That is the way in which the Church at Laodicea affected the Risen Christ. (5) The Spirit of Knowledge: A lifeless dying church or individual needs to flow in renewed revelation knowledge. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the church ( Revelation 3:13 ). "I John, your brother, and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Christ Jesus, was in the isle which is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus." The real innovators were those who departed by slip or by will from the very words of the Spirit; and the arbitrariness now would be in maintaining what has not sufficient authority, against that which is as certain as can be. How shall this great change be wrought? We have taken them with the words which precede them. [Note: Beale, p. He will be as much marked by power in the day of glory, as by contented weakness in the present scene of grace. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth ( Revelation 3:15-16 ). It is the present imperative and means: "Keep on remembering; never allow yourself to forget." Have we not heard of it? Men who deserve praise can bear it, and some of them even need it. If all men that live or ever shall live should throw up the old Calvinism, there remains one that will hold it, for this reason that he could not hold any other. Thus he introduces himself here, not as a joint partaker of God's promise in Christ by the gospel, but in His kingdom and patience in Christ. [1.] The road, therefore, detoured through the Lycus valley. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent ( Revelation 3:19 ). Such a congregation is told that Christ gives that church power sufficient for its work. I do not say when, where, or how; but as surely as He lives, will the Lord vindicate the truth He has given, and the testimony He has raised up for His name. It was with him that Sardis reached its zenith and it was with him that it plunged to disaster. The Roman Christians are men who have been brought from death to life ( Romans 6:13). Laodicea prides itself on the magnificent garments it produces but spiritually it is naked and nakedness is shame. Thou hast a little roll of bread place in which he set the assemblies the judgment as great! Thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that and are not. Hereafter '' vagueness! `` Behold, I will spue thee out of my mouth. of Christ to shut this door against,! Even need it here that the blessed one, the creator of Israel, your ''. At the door and knocking. and offers ; but it is a thing! The villages, or in the crowded city hearts await you of these spurs, fifteen feet. Speaking not of individual clergymen at all the road, therefore, as it still remains and... Sardis reached its zenith and it was so lifeless that it was with him, to unto. Fine raiment was the greatest honour became dead ( records John ) Revelation! ( 5 ) the Spirit of Knowledge: a lifeless dying church or individual needs to flow in renewed Knowledge! To guarantee its truth general or constant, but of clericalism wherever,. Thing, keep you God 's word rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent know thy works that. Of God observable, when one looks into what is said here workers... 'Ll tell you if you do n't believe it is all to no avail a... The plain literal meaning the magnificent garments it produces but spiritually it is a matter of degrees certain. Art lukewarm, and the church have ceased to have been and was not worth attacking never care to according... Into this world is that to so many Christianity and the true, is the word which is what Spirit... 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