Revelation 3:7-10

Revelation 3:7: “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;

The church at Philadelphia represents the Age of Missions (1648 – 1900). Here Jesus calls Himself “he that openeth, and no man shutteth”. In the Age of Missions virtually every country in the world was open to missionaries. God opened a door and the church took advantage of it, sending missionaries all over the world to preach the gospel.

Revelation 3:8: “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.”

Jesus has no condemnation for this church. A door was opened for missions, and God was the one who opened the door. He said that this church “hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”. God was very pleased with this church!

Revelation 3:9: “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.”

Who are those who say they are Jews, and do lie? Well, during this time numerous cults arose – Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and others. One of the odd things about these cults is that they claim to be the “true” Jews, even though they are not. Notice that Jesus says these cults are “the synagogue of Satan”! These groups oppose the real gospel, but Jesus said that one day He will make it very clear to them that He has loved us.

Revelation 3:10: “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.”

This is more evidence that these letters have historic interpretations. The actual church at Philadelphia disappeared a very long time ago; they were never in any danger of going through the Tribulation no matter what they did. However, there are still some remnants of the Church of Philadelphia left, in the sense that there are still churches which are faithful, which are pursuing missions, and which have “kept the word of my patience”. These churches (unlike the Church of Jezebel) will be taken up in the Rapture and thus kept from the Tribulation.

Some churches will be a part of the Rapture and others will not. The deciding factor is whether the church is actually alive or dead. The dead churches – those composed of the lost – will be left behind. This would include state churches, Catholic churches, Mormons, etc. The living churches – churches like the one of Philadelphia – will be a part of the Rapture.

Notice also what verse 10 says. We are going to be kept “from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” If this hour of temptation is going to come upon all the world, and will try everyone who dwells upon the earth, then how will we be kept from it? By not being on the Earth at the time! We will be in Heaven, out of reach; Jesus will come and take His bride away before the Tribulation begins.

Some have claimed that this just means that Christians will be protected during the Tribulation, but that is not the case at all: the Beast is actually given power to overcome the saints, and Christians are beheaded by the millions. What this verse is talking about is the Rapture. The faithful church will be protected from it because it will not be around at that time.