“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.” Revelation 3:8 NLT
I never go to the end of a book to see how it ends! I read from the beginning and let the author take me where they want me to go. I follow.
Reading the book of Revelation, Revelation not Revelations, is very different. I believe God wants us to, invites us to see how it ends.
In the book that talks most about finality, then eternity, it’s a page burner. It reveals a winner, God and an eternal loser, evil. Yes, evil has a name for the long season called earth, it’s Satan – the deceiver. He was the character to introduce a human rebellion against God. He did so by not only introducing this idea of sin, but also the beginning of deep distrust of our creator. And there are, there will be humans who see God, believe God’s rescue plan from our own choices and spend eternity with him and others who are similar. There are also humans that want to follow the deceiver and play the rebel all the way to their own judgment and permanent separation from God. Each will get their own way.
John writes about these angelic pronouncements as the end draws near. This one is about the churches or types of believers that are like Philadelphia. The angel speaks kind and encouraging words. This “open door,” the protection, crown and a promise of being “pillars” in the temple. This are powerful annunciations to churches who were suffering from intense, bodily persecution. Everyone, if they understand what the angel is saying, wants to be in the Philadelphia church!
Doesn’t everyone want to live a life of meaning and reward that comes with that reputation. However, even knowing it now or reading about it in the first century, doesn’t seem to be enough to convince us of the work necessary, the faith necessary to BE that kind of church.
We want the results but not the lifestyle necessary to get them. This is our human dilemma! This is our cross to bear, our working out of salvation. I want to be the kind of person that obeys God. I want to be a part of a community that endures suffering, and holds on to their crowns of joy and kindness (real godly kindness, not the value-exchange, bumper-sticker kindness of today). The rewards are real. The struggles to BE and DO the deep work are also real.
Prayer
Dad,
You know that I would want these qualities the angel listed to about the churches of Philadelphia, but you also know there’s a lot of flesh-barriers and selfishness still running around in my heart. Plus, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I am just not a big “do it for the reward” kind of person. I would like to think that I’ll do it because it’s right and good. I see small, incremental bursts of goodness in me. But I also see all the other. Can I only think good, be good, do good when I’m not stressed or under pressure of performance? I fear I’m going to end up being one of those other churches 🥴.