Continuing with our
study on the book of Revelation. May God BLESS us as we read and keep the
sayings within.
Daniel and the
Revelation by Uriah Smith
Revelation Chapter 3
-
Verse-
7 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;
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
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.
13 He that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The Church of
Philadelphia.--The word "Philadelphia" signifies "brotherly
love," and expresses the position and spirit of those who received the
Advent message up to the autumn of 1844.
The great religious
awakening in the early part of the nineteenth century which resulted from a
study of the prophecies, culminated in this advent movement.
Men from all
denominations were convinced that the coming of Christ was near.
As they came out of
the various churches, they left sectarian names and feelings behind, and every
heart beat in unison as all joined to give the alarm to the churches and to the
world, and pointed to the coming of the Son of man as the be-
Page 387
liever's true hope.
Selfishness and covetousness were laid aside, and a spirit of consecration and
sacrifice was cherished.
The Spirit of God
was with every true believer, and his praise upon every tongue. Those who were
not in that movement cannot fully realize how great was the searching of heart,
the consecration to God, the peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and the pure, fervent
love for one another which true believers enjoyed.
"The Key of
David."--
A key is a symbol of
power. The Son of God is the rightful heir to David's throne; and He is about
to take to Himself His great power and to reign; hence He is represented as
having the key of David. The throne of David, or of Christ, on which He is to reign,
is included in the capital of His kingdom, the New Jerusalem, now above, but
which is to be located on this earth, where He is to reign forever and ever.
(Revelation 21: 1-5; Luke 1: 32, 33.)
"He That
Openeth, and No Man Shutteth."--
To understand this
language, it is necessary to look at Christ's position and work as connected
with His ministry in the sanctuary, or true tabernacle, above. (Hebrews 8: 2.)
A figure, or pattern, of this heavenly sanctuary once existed here upon earth in
the sanctuary built by Moses. (Exodus 25: 8, 9; Acts 7: 44; Hebrews 9: 1, 21,
23, 24.)
The earthly building
had two apartments,--the holy place and the most holy place. (Exodus 26: 33,
34.) In the first apartment were the candlestick, the table of shewbread, and
the alter of incense. In the second were the ark, which contained the tables of
the covenant, or the ten commandments, and the cherubim. (Hebrews 9: 1-5.)
In like manner the
sanctuary in which Christ ministers in heaven has two apartments, for it is
clearly stated in Hebrews 9: 21-24 that "both the tabernacle and all the
vessels of the ministry" were "patterns of things in the
heavens."
As all things were
made after the pattern, the heavenly sanctuary has also furniture similar to
that of the earthly. For the antitype of the golden candlestick and altar of
incense, in the first apartment, see Revelation 4: 5; 8: 3; and for the
antitype of the ark of the covenant, with its ten commandments, see Revelation
11: 19.
Page 388
In the earthly
sanctuary the priests ministered. (Exodus 28: 41, 43; Hebrews 9: 6, 7; 13: 11.)
The ministry of
these priests was a shadow of the ministry of Christ in the sanctuary in
heaven. (Hebrews 8: 4, 5.)
A complete round of
service was performed in the earthly tabernacle once every year.
(Hebrews 9: 7.)
But in the
tabernacle above the service is performed once for all. (Hebrews 7: 27; 9: 12.)
At the close of the
yearly typical service, the high priest entered the second apartment, the most
holy place of the sanctuary, to make an atonement; and this work is
appropriately called the cleansing of the sanctuary. (Leviticus 16: 20, 30, 33;
Ezekiel 45: 18.)
When the ministry in
the most holy place began, that in the holy place ceased; and no service was
performed there so long as the priest was engaged in the most holy place.
(Leviticus 16: 17.)
A similar opening
and shutting, or change of ministration, must be accomplished by Christ when
the time comes for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.
The time for this
service to begin did come at the close of the 2300 days, in 1844. To this event
the opening and shutting mentioned in the text under consideration can
appropriately apply, the opening being that of Christ's ministration in the
most holy place, and the shutting, its cessation in the first apartment, or
holy place. (See exposition of the subject of the sanctuary and its cleansing,
under Daniel 8: 14.)
Verse 9 probably
applies to those who do not keep pace with the advancing light of truth, and
who oppose Christians who do. Such shall yet be made to feel and confess that
God loves those who obey His word, and follow in the knowledge of his truth.
"The Word of My
Patience."--
John says in
Revelation 14: 12: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Those who now live
in patient, faithful obedience to the commandments of God and the faith of
Jesus, will be kept in the hour of temptation and peril. (See the comments on
Revelation 13: 13-17.)
Page 389
Behold, I Come
Quickly.--The second coming of Christ is here again brought to view, and with
more startling emphasis than in any of the preceding messages. The nearness of
that event is here urged upon the attention of believers. The message applies
to a period when this great event is impending. In this we have indubitable
evidence of the prophetic nature of these messages. What is said of the first
three churches contains no allusion to the second coming of Christ, from the
fact that they do not cover a period in which that event could Scripturally
expected. But with the Thyatira church, the time had come when this great hope
was just beginning to dawn upon the church. The mind is carried forward to this
hope by a single allusion: "Hold fast till I come."
The next state of
the church, the Sardis period, finds the church occupying a position still
nearer that event, and the great proclamation is brought to view which was to
herald Christ's coming, and the duty of watching is enjoined upon the church: "If
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief." We reach the
Philadelphia church still later, and the nearness of the same great event then
leads Him who "is holy and true" to utter the stirring declaration,
"Behold, I come quickly."
It is evident from
this that these churches occupy positions successively nearer the great day of
the Lord, as in each succeeding one, and in a continually increasing ratio,
this great event is made more and more prominent, and is more definitely and
impressively urged upon the attention of the church. Here indeed they see the
day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 25.)
The
Admonition.--"Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." By our faithfulness we are not depriving anyone else of a crown.
The verb rendered "to take" has a number of definitions, one of which
is "to take away, snatch from, deprive of." Let no one, and no thing,
induce you to yield the truth, or pervert you from the right ways of the Lord,
for by so doing it will cause you to lose the reward.
Page 390
The Promise to the
Overcomer.--The overcomer is to be a pillar in the temple of God, and go out no
more. The temple here must denote the church, and the promise of being made a
pillar in it is the promise of a place of honor, permanence, and safety in the
church, under the figure of a heavenly building. When the time comes for this
part of the promise to be fulfilled, probation is past, and overcomer is fully
established in the truth, and sealed. "He shall go no more out," that
is, there is no danger of his falling away, he is the Lord's forever, and his
salvation is sure.
From the moment the
Christians overcome and are sealed for heaven, they are labeled, if we may so
express it, as belonging to God and Christ, and addressed to their destination,
the New Jerusalem. They are to have written upon them the name of God, whose
property they are, the name of the New Jerusalem, to which place they are
going, not old Jerusalem where some are vainly looking. They also have upon
them the new name of Christ, by whose authority they are to receive everlasting
life, and enter into the kingdom. Thus sealed and labeled, the saints of God
are safe. No enemy will be able to prevent their reaching their destination,
the glorious haven of rest, the New Jerusalem above.
*******
This particular
study tonight is very, very important and needs more than a quick one night
glance over.
Revelation Chapter 3
-
Verse-
7 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;
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
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.
13 He that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This part of the
SEVEN Churches- God's PERFECT PEOPLE (for as we've discussed, God's church is
HIS PEOPLE, and seven is His number of completion, of perfection, of
wholeness.) to this part of the SEVEN, the prophecy- the prediction for a
future time coincided with the GREAT ENLIGHTENING of Biblical prophecy. A door
would be opened that could NOT be closed.
The truth of DANIEL
and REVELATION was opened!
We know the book of
prophecy of Daniel had this to say--
Dan_12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and
seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased.
The time of the end
came and KNOWLEDGE was increased- Biblical knowledge as well as all other
knowledge. We know our world - thousands and thousands of years old stayed in
the dark in so many ways, slowly advancing and then suddenly an explosion of
knowledge began and has not stopped. We went from horse and buggy, outhouses,
candle light, gas light, real ice in boxes, wood and gas for stoves, and the
list goes on and on and on. We went from all that to the lives we live now with
technological advances so far ahead of anything even thought of just a mere 150
years ago. THINK about it! Let is sink in deep!
The books of Daniel and Revelation, of prophecy for the end times were
books of complete and utter mystery and then SUDDENLY knowledge increased and
men all over the world began to comprehend, their spiritual eyes were opened,
the truth was now available. History unfolded in that prophecy revealing to us
that all that was predicted came to pass and meaning all that had yet to take
place would inevitably take place beyond a shadow of a doubt! No one who has their spiritual eyes opened
to these truths can ever shut them again, the truth can be denied, it can be
darkened, it can be altered by people who choose to be spiritual blind, but it
will forever be available to those who desire spiritual enlightenment, fully
and wholly regardless of what it will cost to follow that truth.
More on ALL of this
tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!
Please, enlighten us
spiritually we would know ONLY YOUR truth, all of YOUR truth!
Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment