by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 2 Study # 4 November 5, 2023 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Letter To The Angel Of The Church In Philadelphia.
A. Jesus' Self-description.
B. Jesus' Message.
1. I know your works.
2. Behold, I have given before you a door, having been opened, which no one is able to shut.
3. Because you have a little power (dunamis) and you have kept My word and you have not denied My name.
4. Behold, I give of the synagogue of the satan (adversary) who say themselves to be Jews, and they are not, BUT they are lying.
5. Behold, I shall make them that they come and bow down before your feet and they should come to know that I have loved you.
6. Because you kept the word of My endurance, I also shall keep you out of the hour of the testing which is about to come upon the entire inhabited earth to test those who are dwelling upon the earth.
7. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have that no one should take your crown.
8. The one who overcomes I shall make a pillar in the temple of My God and he shall NOT go out at all.
a. The "overcomer".
1) The "nikon" (from nikao) is "the one who overcomes" as presented in fifteen texts in this "Revelation".
a) The references to this concept in this book include one for each of the seven churches (2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, and 21) and eight others. In each case, there is a "problem" that serves as a barrier to one's pursuits.
i. The particular barrier in Philadelphia is the "problem" of losing the hope of the promise of the coming of Jesus from heaven as it serves to bolster "endurance".
ii. The eight other references to "overcoming" in this Book.
i) 5:5 -- The Lion of Judah qualified Himself so that He was given the sealed book to open. No one else in all of creation had been able to "overcome" the problems associated with the responsibility of "judgment" so as to be able to bring the world to its subjection to the "Wrath" of The God.
ii) 6:2 -- The rider of the white horse went forth "conquering" (nikao) and "to conquer" (nikao). In this case, the issue is bringing the entire world into a suitable attitude of heart and mind so as to establish the Kingdom as a real experience.
iii) 11:7 -- The "beast' makes war against the saints so as to "overcome" and "kill". The saints are significant hindrances to the rule of the beast, so that he persecutes and murders as many of them as he can.
iv) 12:11 -- "They" (the constantly accused brethren) "overcame" The Accuser by the blood of the Lamb and their "word of testimony" as they refused to value their "souls" above physical death.
v) 13:7 -- The "beast" was given the ability to make war with the saints and "overcome" them.
vi) 15:2 -- Those that "overcame" the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name were standing upon the sea of glass mingled with fire.
vii) 17:14 -- The Lamb will "overcome" the beast and the other kings of the earth as they combine their forces against Him.
viii) 21:7 -- He that "overcomes" shall inherit all things...
b) There are two other references where the "overcomers" are the Nicolaitans who subjugate others with evil intent (2:6 and 16).
2) All of these references present an adversary that is vanquished by some powerful means. At the root of every situation is a particular "value" and a particular "truth" so that all "overcoming" will ultimately come down to whether a person is empowered to trample the opposing values and beliefs and succeed to some degree in his/her pursuit(s).
b. "I will make him a pillar": this promise is linked to Revelation 7:15 where perpetual service to God is rendered in the temple before His throne.
1) According to 21:22, there is no temple in the City when the New Heaven and New Earth are created because "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it", and the promise that one will be a pillar also makes the "Temple" not a building, but, in some sense permanent residents of some kind of group of special fellowship with God and the Lamb.
2) Galatians 2:9 makes the "pillars" leaders in terms of doctrine and practice.
3) Psalm 84:10 expresses the longing of the psalmist to have such a treasured position.
4) This promise exalts the fact that none of the privileges extended to us by God are of sufficient "worth" to supplant this "ultimate privilege" of constant participation in the presence of God.
9. I shall write upon him the name of MyGod and the name of the City of My God, the New Jerusalem which is coming out of heaven from My God and MyNewName.
a. In this Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, there are 31 texts in which the word "name" appears.
b. At issue in the concept of "name" is an attribution of certain characteristics that the "name" points to in the person bearing the "name". The attribution may be superficial and not at all what is true of the person (3:1), but the "name" always appears to be legitimate.
c. In this text, the promise involves having the names written upon this person of "My God", "Jerusalem", and Jesus' "New Name". These names indicate that the one having these names written upon him has a significant relationship to "God", the "New Jerusalem" and Jesus in a "New Identity".
