I am speaking to you from a plus recording studio in East Orlando, otherwise known as my office at RTS. The reason for that is because last week during Sunday school for some reason the tape didn't work. The tape recording didn't take. So, I am sure that's not the result of a communist plot but simply due to my own ineptitude. Anyway, I am going to try this again having plot. Oh, most of the afternoon with this recorder here at RTS to see if I can get it to work. Anyway, I hope that does not affect my mood too much. I am sitting here staring at my books as my only audience, born with all the junk on my floor. But anyway, we are going to have a go at it. I am going to try to go over again some of the points from last Sunday's left and which included most of the letters of the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Let's pause to pray before we begin. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bring our minds and our hearts to a point of concentration that we might think about the things that you would have us to know from this portion of your word. Lord, take away our sins this morning. Take away our doubts and our inhibitions about our inability to understand this portion of your word. And fill us with prayer with anticipation as we look to see what you have to say to us in Jesus' name. We take up our study again at the end of the letter to the church at Ephesus. We have covered most of this. I want to go straight to the promise to the conquerors in verse 7 to him who conquers. I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. A point that I wanted to make about the letters as a whole is that I think the promises to the conquerors are best understood as pertaining first of all to the Heavenly world that now exists where Jesus now reigns as Father's right hand. That is the promises of course have to do with eternity and they go well beyond what is happening right now in heaven. But I think they do pertain as promises to us when we leave this world in death they are after all promises to those who overcome. And later on in the book we will read that the saints overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word their testimonies because they did not love their lives unto death. So I do think it is talking first of all about precious promises that are given to us for overcoming in this life and what happens to us after death and even before the resurrection. So we see here in this first letter the promise to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. This of course brings us all the way back to Genesis and the world as God created it apart from sin before sin into the world. The young broken fellowship between God and man and the tree of life which symbolize eternal life in the blessed presence of the Lord. Now as we know that paradise was taken away from us and it has come back to us only as a promise. In Revelation later on we will read of the tree of life again in chapter 22 and there we find it in the new heavens and new words after the resurrection and the judgment. But I do think that we must see this as also a promise to us now as we leave this world in death. I think back for a moment to another place where the word paradise occurs and that's in Luke's gospel, Luke's account of the crucifixion where the penitent thief beside Jesus asks him just before they're about to die. Ask Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom and Jesus utters that great promise to him truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise indicating that not some future time along ways down the road but even that day the thief would be with Jesus in paradise. So I do think this pertains to the present heavenly world and our enjoyment of that. Well that finishes the letter to Ephesus. On to the letter to Smyrna if we want to characterize these churches in their situations perhaps going back to Ephesus we could call Ephesus strong in teaching weak in love strong in teaching weak in love and maybe Smyrna faithful unto death. 35 miles or so north of Ephesus was the city of Smyrna a very famous and beautiful city by all ancient accounts. It was home of the celebrated Christian leader Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna who was Bishop there most of the first half of the second century looked to quite a ripe old age before he was martyred in about one fifty five or one fifty six. We'll have something to say about him later. But you'll notice that the way Jesus identifies himself at the beginning of the letter he says he is the first and the last who died and came to life again. This refers back to the vision that John saw him in chapter one verses seventeen and eighteen and this form of reference to Jesus this self reference is also appropriate for the church at Smyrna in a very special way. This is appropriate because later in verse 10 he says to them he will give them life if they are faithful unto death he is the one who died and came to life and he will give that life to them if they are faithful unto death. He promises them that they will not be hurt by the second death the church at Smyrna is commanded for their tribulation and poverty their endurance of slander from false Jews something that Jesus calls the synagogue of Satan those who say they are Jews and are not. It is interesting to observe that some hostility between Jews and Christians was evidently a constant part of life in Smyrna for quite some time to come. There is an account of Bishop Polycarp's martyrdom from later in the century in which the story of the martyrdom is told and in it the role played by non-Christian Jews is quite prominent in calling for their rest of Polycarp and his execution. So we see the roots of that tension and hostility here already in the book of Revelation. There are some who are persecuting Christians. Now it's interesting to observe as well that some scholars have pointed to a situation a historical situation that makes this a bit more understandable. I think this is a plausible explanation to see what you think. There was a particular advantage actually to being a Jew at this time in this place. Judaism you may have heard this before was a religio liquito that is it was a licensed religion at the time in Monroe. The Jews had such a long standing relationship with Rome and they had a lot of tension over the years so much so that Jews were exempted from having to offer worship to the emperor. They were not required to do so if they as long as they paid a certain tax. So really there was an advantage to being a Jew. You could see how being a Jew would have made things easier in terms of not having to worship the emperor. It almost is as though Jesus words about these Jews are turning the tables on a criticism or a charge from Jews to Christians. If you say your Jew but are not see that that would be a controversial thing. It's possible that Jews were saying these Christians are not religios therefore they have no exemption they should have to sacrifice to the emperor. And now Jesus would be saying to them know is you who say your Jews and are not. They are not the true people of God, the true Israel of God. Well I think that explanation makes a lot of sense of the situation. Anyway do you notice the complaint about the church of Smyrna? That's right there is not. There are no complaints lodged against the church of Smyrna. This is a remarkable and very encouraging thing because I made all of the difficulties that they were facing. There are some churches compromising the churches of Smyrna as well as the church at Philadelphia are not charged with any wrongdoing by Jesus. Instead they are challenged. They are challenged not to fear what they are about to suffer for Jesus says the devil is about to throw some of them into prison and test them. Later on in a later Sunday school maybe I'll read for you an account of one of the governors in this area, Asia Minor, a letter he wrote to the emperor of Trajan in which he recounts the persecution and that he was involved with Christians which is quite telling. The point being that a greater persecution was on the horizon at this point for many of the Christians in Asia Minor. They are about to be tested. And yet the promise is clear to them that they shall not be hurt by the second death and that if they are faithful, faithful unto death Jesus will give them the crown of life. There are many places in the world today that are suffering persecution, people as Christians are suffering persecution. Even in our country where of course there is nothing organized that is organized on the part of the government let's say. We have seen more or less random acts, lately very tragic acts committed against Christians evidently just because they are Christians. So we should not think that we are ourselves completely immune from this. Even so we have this great promise from Jesus that we will not not be hurt by the second death. Second death comes up again in Revelation in chapter 20 and as well in chapter 21 verse 8 where we find out the second death has to do with the lake of fire that burns with the fire in Brimstone. Well let's move on to the church at Pergamon holding firm but beginning to compromise with culture, holding firm but beginning to compromise. About 50 miles are so north of Smyrna on your map you will see the city of Pergamon. Pergamon happened to be the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Perhaps not as important in many other cultural areas it still was the governmental provincial capital at the time. There was a temple to the cult of the emperor there. There was a large temple to Zeus at Pergamon. There was a large collection of pagan temples at Pergamon. Jesus identifies himself here in the introduction as the one who had the sharp to edit sword. Let's go back to chapter 1 verses 16 where this is related in the vision that John sees before the letters. This too is appropriate for the church at Pergamon because he says in 2 16 that if they do not repent he will come and war with them with the sword of his mouth. So that appearance of Jesus with the sword proceeding from his mouth is a scary one for churches and Christians who are not living the lives that they were called to leave.
Even so this church is commended they have held fast to Christ's name even though they dwell where Satan's throne is and they did not deny his faith even when Antipas Christ's faithful witness was killed there. This point to a time when there was active persecution in Pergamon we do not read that at the present moment they may be out of harm's way for the time being but Jesus of course threatens to come against them if they do not repent. Now what about this this notion of Satan's throne many different possibilities have been offered. Some have related it to the temple of Zeus there. Others to a great conical hill that had a bunch of temples on it that may have looked visually like a throne. Others related to the temple of a particular god there as Sclepius the god of healing. I think there might be something to this why because as Sclepius is symbol for those of you in the medical profession may already know this. Sclepius's symbol was the serpent. Yes that serpent wrapped around the pole but we still see today as an emblem of the medical profession. I believe those back to Sclepius anyway we know that in the Bible the serpent has quite a different connotation doesn't it. In fact in the book of Revelation Satan is specifically called the serpent that ancient serpent and so it could be that the throne of Satan has to do with the temple of Sclepius there at Pergamon. At any rate there are some complaints that Jesus has against this church. He says there are some there who hold the teaching of Balan who taught the Israelites to eat food sacrifice to idols and practice immorality. This possibly connects them as well with the medical evidence from the Ephesian church because the text goes on to say and thus you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolayatins so this may explain the problem with the Nicolayatins as well. Balan, you probably remember him most from the talking ass incident and that Balan was not allowed by the Lord to prophesy against Israel but if you go back to some of the later chapters of the book of numbers you'll read about an occasional apostasy that Israel got sucked into and its apostasy has been related to Balan and his work and his deception. There was as we know a tremendous pressure from the trade guilds in these cities to conform in festivals of celebration for their trade guilds at which pagan sacrifices would be offered and then the feasters would feast on the remains of the animals and if you didn't attend those you could be snubbed or not patronized and so forth. But in this situation to join with them in those feasts would have been a tacit approval and a participation in that pagan worship. So this church is challenged to repent and if not Christ will come to them soon and war against them with the sword of his mouth. Yet there is a promise given to these Christians promised to the conquerors that Christ will give them some of the hidden mana, the hidden mana. Where is mana hidden? In the Old Testament there was some mana hidden in the ark, wasn't there? Some of the mana that was left over from the wilderness wandering was put in a jar and put away in the ark of the covenant. Jesus of course in John chapter 6 even identifies himself as the mana, the bread of life that comes down from heaven to give life to the world which if anyone eats of it actually will never die. This must at least be a promise of the presence of God in heaven near the very throne of the ark of God. What about the white stone that's promised? That's pretty difficult I think. So we related it to a coupon or a ticket that one would use to get into a theater or a game or something. Maybe because of the presence of the mana here I wonder if the stone tablet is some kind of illusion to the ten commandments which were written on tablets of stone and also kept in the ark in the Old Testament. Well at any rate the conquerors are promised also a new name written on that stone which no one knows but Him who receives it. These possible references to the ark of the covenant, the ark which this would be the true ark in heaven, this might be especially significant given what has been said about the throne of Satan and Pergamon. Because the ark of God was the throne of God in the Old Testament so there is a connection there as well. At Thyatira we have a church that is full of good works but tolerant of a false Christianity, good works but tolerant of a false Christianity. Thyatira you may remember from earlier in the Testament where it's mentioned in the city of Lydia in Acts chapter 16. Lydia you remember was a seller of purple and indeed Thyatira was famous in the ancient world for its purple dye. We know that it also was the home of a lot of trade guilds or unions with various industries including the metal industry. A metal industry which probably produced an alloy which is mentioned in the letter here in verse 18 where Jesus is described as having these feet like burnished bronze. The word translated the burnished bronze or fine brass in your translation is a very rare word and describes an alloy that was probably produced there in Pergamon, excuse me, in Thyatira. Jesus introduces himself as the one who is the son of God and has eyes like a flame of fire feet like burnished bronze. This too goes back to the description of him in chapter 1 and it is appropriate for the fire tyrants because he later says in verse 23 that he is the one who searches mind and heart. That has to do I think with his eyes like a flame of fire. He is the searcher of mind and heart. As for commendations, Thyatira is commended for their good works. Jesus says, I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance. Not only that but that their letter works exceed the first. Now that is a lot of great stuff. I mean what church wouldn't like to have a commendation from Jesus for all those things. Unlike the church at Ephesus, its love has not faded but its letter works exceed the first. And yet he had this against them that they tolerate something. They tolerate the woman Jezebel. What are her crimes? She calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling his servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. That is similar again to what we saw at Pergamum and likely at Ephesus. A problem of conformity with the culture around in terms of eating food sacrificed to idols and in impurity, probably sexual immorality.
There is some discussion about Jezebel. This of course would not have been a common name. In fact then it is perhaps a symbolic name. Most commentators would probably say this refers to an actual person, a prophetess and this is possible. But I do wonder if instead the notes a group, maybe a house church or a group that is leading the Christians astray here, we do see elsewhere where churches are represented in feminine imagery. As in second John, where John addresses a church as elect lady to the elect lady and he even finishes the letter by saying the children of your elect sister greet you. So it is possible that this is a false church or false group within the church that is leading the rest of the group astray. The challenge to them is to repent. There are those who have committed adultery with her and that I also think might be, might be explicable on the order of adultery, spiritual adultery which in the Old Testament is a name for idolatry. The woman, Jezebel herself, is not given a challenge because her time for repentance is over. She is offered no repentance. She is doomed to the sick bed and her children are doomed to death. Another indication I think that this may be talking about a group and not an actual person. For the rest of the church Christ says only hold fast what you have until I come.
There is an interesting epilogue to this. Later in the second century there was a group, maybe some of you have heard of called the mantinus. The mantinus were big in Asia Minor in the late second century. That movement was a so-called prophetic movement. They claimed to have a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit and led people away from the organized churches there. One, two of the mantinus early prophets were women and eventually we were told by other writers that the whole church in Thyatira went over to the mantinus. Now we read later that a church reappeared in Thyatira eventually but perhaps we are seeing even the beginnings of that problem which will lead eventually to a falling away. Perhaps we are seeing that already in Thyatira. Well, Jesus still promises the conquerors there that He will give them power over the nations and they will rule with Him with a rod of iron. Even as He has received power from His Father and He will give them the morning star. This is another indication that Jesus has already received this power. It's already in His hand. And when He says He will give them the morning star, well He interprets this for us later in the book in 22-16 where He says that He, Jesus, is the morning star. He is the one who liked the morning star, heralds the dawn and announces the coming of the new day. This He promises to those who overcome. Well, let's go on to Sardis. Sardis, a church at the point of death in his introduction. Jesus identifies Himself as the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. This goes back to chapter 1, verse 16. And it's appropriate here because He says in verse 5 that those who are faithful, He will confess their names before the Father and before His angels. He is the one who holds the angels in His hand and He is the one who will confess our names before the angels and before the Father. For commendations, well, you'll look pretty hard for commendation here at Sardis. There is one, but it's not even in the ordinary place. It's tucked away towards the end in verse 4 and it's like this. You have still a few names in Sardis, which have not soiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. Jesus is able to find still a few of minority who have not compromised. But for the rest of them, His complaint is that they are complacent. They have the name of being alive and yet they are dead. He's not found their works perfect in the sight of His God. So the challenges to awake and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death. Remember what they have received and heard. Keep that and repent. And the warning, Jesus will pay them a surprise visit. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Jesus will come but it will not be for a blessing. It will be for judgment. He offers, yet this promise to the conquerors, that they shall be clad thus in white garments. And I will not block His name out of the book of life. I will confess His name before my father, before His angels. Now this is a good reminder to us, I think, even when we see churches that, well, it may look to us as though they are dead churches, that Christ may still have a few in that church who have not soiled their garments, who shall walk with Him in white for they are worthy. It's a good lesson to us, I think, to remember that He has His remnant in places where we may not expect it. In the class last week, there was a brilliant question put to me by a beautiful young lady who happened to be my wife. About one of these promises to the conquerors, the Jesus would not block His name out of the book of life. Now it doesn't sound as though Jesus might or one could have one's name blotted out of the book of life. It isn't the book of life usually thought of as an indication of, well, election before the foundation of the world and how could it be that there would be a threat to blot one's name out of it. Well, I think this should be simply read as a positive promise put in the negative. That is to say that He will not blot their name out. It's like saying that they will not be hurt by the second death. In other words, it's not really a threat of possibly being blotted out, but it's more to say that if your name is there, it will not be blotted out. Jesus will not turn away those who come to Him, all who come to Him, He will receive and He will in no wise cast out. So again, I think it's a negative way of stating a positive promise. And if you want to talk some more about that, maybe we can talk about that alive in class sometime. Going on to the church at Philadelphia, keeping the word along with Smirna, this church is faithful and you won't find a complaint on the part of Jesus here. Jesus identifies himself in this letter as the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens. I think this relates back to 118 where Jesus says that He has the keys of death and hate. And so I think the open door here is not so much an open door for ministry that they will have great opportunities of bringing the gospel. It may certainly be that they do, but I think it's talking about a door to heaven that He is able to open and no one is able to shut. After all, He calls this the key of David. Now if you go back and find the Old Testament background for that, you'll find it in Isaiah 22-22, where the key of David is really the key of the city of Jerusalem. And of course that makes sense. David was the king of Jerusalem. Now it's appropriate here in Philadelphia because later in verse 8, Jesus says that He sets before them an open door, but He also in later on, verse 12, He says that He will make the conquerors a pillar in the temple of His God. And that's not the earthly temple. That's the heavenly temple in the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven. And therefore it's talking about not the key to the earthly Jerusalem as in David's day, but the key to the heavenly Jerusalem, where Jesus, and He alone, is able to open and to close, He indeed has the keys of death and hate. He has the keys to the portal that leads to life in the new and heavenly Jerusalem. And praise be to Him for that. Well, this church is commended. They have little power. They're not strong in worldly terms at all. They're being trampled down, but they've kept His word and have not denied His name. Again, this church seems to be suffering at the hands of some who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Another synagogue of Satan, Jesus says that they will learn that He has loved the Christians there. And that He will keep them because of their patience and endurance. He will keep them from the out of trial, which is coming upon the world. For their challenge, He says, hold fast to what you have so no one may seize your crown. And again, the promise to the conquerors, He will make them pillars in the temple of His God. They won't have to worry about being thrown out of the temple as they may be faced with being thrown out of synagogues around there. No, they will be pillars. They will be permanent fixtures in the heavenly temple of the God of all creation. And the name of that God will be written upon them. The name of the city of that God will be written upon them. And the new name of Jesus will be written upon those pillars, those living pillars in the new house of God. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This, again, I think has to have to do with the temple that now exists in heaven because when we get to chapter 21, there's a very interesting, very interesting statement about the New Jerusalem. It will need no temple. It will have no temple because God himself and the Lamb will be their temple. So, I think this is another indication that we're talking about the heavenly world as it now is and our promise to be part of that. Finally, we come to the last of the churches, Laodicea, the lukewarm church. Laodicea's recent history probably figures in here. It had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1817 and then in another in 1860. And although it had suffered such devastation, it was a wealthy city and was able to rebuild itself without the help of Rome. This sort of self-sufficiency and idea that it has plenty seems also to be reflected in on the part of the church here who is very confident that it is rich, prosperous for 17, needing nothing. But Jesus gives it a devastating judgment. His judgment of them is that it does not know that it is wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Well, Jesus identifies himself here as the one who is the man, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. This is the only introduction where Jesus identifies himself in such a way that does not come directly from the vision in chapter 1. You can read into that what you want, perhaps it's part of his rebuke, I don't know, but in a way you can certainly see that he is kind of the opposite of what they are. They are anything but faithful and true witnesses. This is a church that has the condition of luke warmness. Now, as to that, Jesus says that he knows their works that they are neither cold nor hot, wood that they were cold or hot, but because they are luke warm he will spew them out of his mouth. This has been related to actually to Leo de Sia's water supply. As you may know, there were some great feats of Roman engineering in some of those places to bring in good water to those cities. Leo de Sia had to have water sort of piped in from hot springs nearby and these would come in through aqueducts. Now, we know that these were hot springs as the source of their water supply, but by the time the water would get to the city it was not hot anymore, it was luke warm. It was not cold and refreshing and it was not hot and therapeutic. That would have been probably seen as therapeutic to have hot water. But this was luke warm and so it's thought that Jesus is picking up on some of their local situation and using that in his complaint against them that they like their water supply are neither cold nor hot. In fact, the water supply was full of minerals and didn't really taste very good. This would fit into what Jesus is saying that he will spit them out of his mouth. And yet, though he counsels them to buy from him gold refined by fire and white garments and saft to anoint their eyes, there is this touching verse 19, those whom I love, I reprove in chasing. Even amidst all this compromise and self-sufficiency and pride on the part of the latissians, Jesus' rebuke to them is done out of love, those whom he loves he reprudes in chasing. And then follows even this very tender invitation that he stands at their door and knocks and if any of them hear his voice and open the door he will come into them and eat with them and they with him. How striking that is uttered to a church in this state of backsliding that Jesus will yet have fellowship with them. To those who conquer, he promises that they will sit with him on his throne even as he is already conquered and sat down on his father's throne. Well, this indicates as well once more that Jesus has conquered that he is on the throne of heaven and one more indication that he promises such an honor to us when we overcome. Well, I am sorry, I am unable to entertain any of your questions at this point but come to class and maybe we can talk about your questions later. Next time we will go on to the second vision in chapter 4 and 5 and hopefully we will get even a bit beyond that. But as you read chapters 4 and 5, you might want to look at chapter 4 in terms of the worship of God, the Creator and chapter 5, notice that there is a new notice struck the note of redemption and notice who is in the center of the throne and receiving the worship as redeemer of his people. Okay, that is it for now. Hope to see you in class next week. A beautiful young lady in the front who happened to be my wife. And she said, she asked this question, what about this blotting out of somebody's name out of the book of life? Doesn't that sound like it is a clash from what we usually think of? The book of life, if your name is written in the book of life, how could it be blotted out? Isn't that an indication of election before time? And so we discussed that question a bit and I am not really happy with my answer. So it is a wonderful thing that the tape was not on after all. So now I can revise my answer and give that to you now. Well, what about the blotting out of the names from the book of life? I think this should not be read as a threat. It is more or less you might say just a negative way of stating a positive promise. It is just a negative way of stating a positive promise. I will not blot his name out of the book of life. It is like saying so and so in the church at Smyrna, like saying that they will not be hurt by the second death. It doesn't imply that others of their group will be, but here Jesus is just stating this promise in a negative way. I will not blot his name out of the book of life. If your name is in the book of life, it is a promise that Jesus will not erase it. It is a permanent thing. It is not something he is going to blot out or that you have to worry about. It is a note of security. Now there is maybe a challenge to this coming from a couple of Old Testament references in Exodus 33 and then in Psalm 69 there is reference to God actually blotting someone's name out of a book. Moses, you remember, prays that God if he will not go up with them will blot his name or not forgive. He will blot Moses' name out of the book he is written. God even says that he will blot a sinner's name out. But it has been pointed out and I think rightly so by some commentators that this is in the Old Testament almost as if everyone has their name written in a book. And it is that book, the book of the living that God may blot one's name out of, maybe even simply signifying that this person will die when their name is blotted out. It is really the image that comes to light in the book of Daniel in chapter 7, verse 10, an adjudgment scene where books plural are opened at the time of adjudgment and then later on in Daniel 12, 1 and 2 mention as well of a book or books in the context of judgment that we see I think the background, the real background for this image in Revelation. And one of the key things is to note that there are books plural in view here that is the book of life would have written the names of those who will have eternal life. But there are other books and we learn about those in the book of Revelation in chapter 20 when at the great white throne judgment the book of life is open but there are other books that are open to contain the deeds of those who will be judged by them. And so I think that is the gist of the image here in the promise to the conquerors that it is a promise of security that Jesus will not blot their name out of the book of life meaning your name is there and it's there to stay. This goes along with the other very positive and reassuring elements of the promise. They will be clad in white garments and he will confess the conquerors name before my father and before his angels. And that promise, that last promise about confessing the name going back to a promise Jesus had made in the Gospels Matthew 1032 and Luke 12, 8 and 9 which mentions Jesus confessing the names of his faithful ones before the father and his angels. Alright on to the church at Philadelphia, keeping the word with the church at Smurna, Philadelphia singled out for their faithfulness and you will not again find a complaint lodged against the church at Philadelphia. Again that is a wonderful thing out of seven of these churches well at least two, at least two do not draw Jesus complaint and charge in that respect. Jesus identifies himself in this letter as the holy one, the true one who has the key of David, who opens and no one can shut, who shuts and no one can open. This too I think goes back to the vision in chapter one. You remember from chapter one there is a mention of a key in Jesus' hand. It's not said to be the key of David but it is said to be the key or the keys of death and hate. I guide and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and hate. How does this key, the key of David relate to the key of death and hate and how does this all relate to the church at Philadelphia? Some have related the image of the keys and the open door, Jesus says he opens no one will shut, he shuts no one will open. Some relate that to an open door for ministry that was before the Philadelphiaans that they could have great freedom in the sharing of the gospel. That could be but because of the use of the term here and the use of the word key, I think it has more to do with an open door in heaven such as we'll read about in chapter four verse one. An open door in heaven and a secure place that no one will close the door on them when they get there. This particular expression key of David goes back to Isaiah 22 verse 22 where the key of David is the key to Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem. Natural because David of course was king of Jerusalem but it's appropriate here for Jesus to mention the key of David not because of the earthly city of Jerusalem but because of the heavenly Jerusalem. Notice later in the letter verse 12 he who conquers I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God never shall he go out of it that is nobody's going to shut the door on him. And I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven and my own new name. So the image of Jerusalem and the image of the heavenly temple in the heavenly Jerusalem is a very precious image here at Philadelphia and therefore I would relate the key of David. To the key the key which is to the the city heavenly Jerusalem heavenly Jerusalem and this also would tie in with the keys of death and Hades because Jesus opens the gate of the city of Jerusalem, new Jerusalem he opens that for us when we die. Yes for the commendations then he says you have but little power but you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie and here again a similar situation as to Sardis in that persecution is coming from Jewish people non-Christian Jews. Behold I will make them come and bow down before your feet and learn that I have loved you because you have kept my word of patient endurance. I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth. Their challenge is to hold fast what you have that no one may seize your crown. That is given to the church as a whole and then the promise to those who conquer again we have already read that I will make them a pillar in the temple of my God. Again I think this is a precious promise to these Philadelphia Christians who were evidently being excluded from synagogues in a sense told that they cannot worship God they do not worship God the promise here is especially precious because God is saying oh yes you do and you will worship me forever in my heavenly temple. He who has in here let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Finally we come to the last of the letters the letter to Laodicea chapter 3 verses 14 through 22. Laodicea the lukewarm church. Now Laodicea has an interesting history it is a city that had been destroyed or partly destroyed in earthquake in AD 17 and then once again in a big earthquake in AD 60. But Laodicea was full of wealthy people they were able to rebuild their city without any help from the Roman government. This seems to play into the self-consciousness of the Laodiceans at least it is appropriate because Jesus talks about them as not knowing that they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. No they say I am rich I have prospered I need nothing. This seems like a very self-sufficient group they are well endowed financially they do not need to depend on anyone else but this is part of their spiritual problem isn't it? Jesus identifies himself to this church as the Amen the faithful and true witness the beginning of God's creation. Now it is interesting to observe that this identification is the only one of all the seven that does not relate directly back to the vision of Jesus in chapter 1. I am not sure what to read into that perhaps it is a part of a rebuke but it is not specifically related to his appearance in chapter 1. John himself in chapter 1 calls Jesus the faithful and true witness in verse 5. Jesus Christ the faithful witness the first born of the dead the ruler of the kings on earth but that is not in the vision proper. Yet this description is still appropriate for the church it is almost like the opposite of the problem here at Playodicea. They are anything but the faithful and true witness for Jesus so Jesus identifying himself in a way that should inspire them to become like him and like Antipas. Antipas, that Pergamum who was a faithful witness and again if you are looking for commendations of this church you won't find any. Now he goes right on to his complaints I know your works you are neither cold nor hot would that you were cold or hot so because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will spew you out of my mouth. It has been pointed out that this may be taken from the particular situation of Laodicea's water supply. As you may know in the Roman world there were great engineering feats done with water supply getting fresh good water to cities that was a big problem. In the case of Laodicea their fresh water came from hot springs outside the city and they were brought in by aqueducts. These hot springs of course produced hot water but by the time the water would travel into the city it would be yes lukewarm. Neither cold and therefore not refreshing not hot and therefore not therapeutic. Many people would have thought of hot water as having a therapeutic value and in fact it seems that these springs that fed the water supply for Laodicea were well full of minerals that would not have added to any pleasant experience of tasting the water. This then may be the sort of springboard for some of Jesus comments here that the church at Laodicea is like their water supply. It is neither cold nor hot, it is tepid, it is distasteful and so he will spew them out of his mouth. They say their rich have prospered and need nothing, not knowing their wretched pitiful poor blind and naked. Therefore their challenge is to buy from Jesus gold refined by fire that they may be truly rich, white garments to clothe them and keep the shame of their nakedness from being seen and sav to anoint their eyes that they may see. And here in the midst of this searing rebuke is still a word of comfort. I said before there is no commendation of this group but there is still this promise and this word of assurance, verse 19, Those whom I love, I reprove and chasen. If you feel chasened and reprude by the Lord, well there is still something to be thankful for, isn't there? Because those whom he reprudes and chasens he loves, therefore be zealous and repent. And here comes that great promise, behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me. What an invitation given to this almost faithless church, it is an offer to come back and offer to an invitation to open the door and a promise that Jesus will still come and sup with them and fellowship with them. He who conquers I will grant him to sit with me on my throne as I myself conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. One more reminder that Jesus Christ is ruling now at his father's right hand. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Well, sorry I cannot entertain questions right now. And next week we will go on to the second vision, the heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5. And as you look to those chapters and beyond because hopefully we will even get beyond those next week, just a few words maybe to coax your reading. Chapter 4 is a scene of worship and so it is a scene of the worship of the creator and notice how it shifts in chapter 5 from the focus on creation to the focus on redemption and who is at the center of the worship in chapter 5. Okay, we will be looking at those things and a lot more next time. So