Lesson 8

 Name means brotherly love  Rom. 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love  I Thess. 4:9 You have no need for anyone to write to you about loving the brethren  Heb. 13:1 Let love of the brethren continue  I Pet. 1:22 Love one another from the heart  2 Pet. 1:7 Because we have escaped the corruption that is in this world..add..brotherly love

 Because of its strategic location, it served as a vital link in communication and trade between Sardis and Pergamum to the west and Laodicea and Hierapolis to the east.  An earthquake destroyed it in A.D. 17 but Tiberius rebuilt it  It was an agricultural center along with the leather and textile industry  It lived longer than any of the other 7 churches  They were the “Keeper of the Gateway” to Asia Minor, so this was a very strategic place

 “He who is holy”: hagios – separated, set apart, consecrated, worthy of reverence and veneration (deep respect, awe)  He alone is qualified to call the believers to holiness  Luke 1:35 Angel called Him holy  John 6:66 The disciples said, “You are the Holy One of God”  Mark 1:24 The unclean spirits, demons, knew who He was  “He who is true”: as opposed to those of the synagogue of Satan who lied (Rev.2:9, 3:9)

 “He who has the key of David”  Rev. 5:5; 22:16 both say Jesus is the root of David  “What He opens, no one shuts and what He shuts, no one opens”: keys lock and unlock  He who had the key to David’s palace had regal authority and unlimited access to all that was IN the palace

 Jer. 23 & 33 Righteous branch of David and allows Israel to live securely  Luke 1:30-33 Son of the Most High and David  Rev. 1:5; Matt. 28:18 He rules over the kings of the earth and has all authority in heaven and on earth. Has keys of death and Hades  Jesus has authority over who enters the kingdom of God.  He opens or shuts the door  Philadelphia had the open door BECAUSE Jesus opened it  Those Jews there didn’t; they believed a lie

 You have a little power/strength  You have kept My word  You have not denied My name  I will keep you from the hour of testing  Jews said they were the true people of God, when they belonged to the devil  Synagogue of Satan: Rev. 2:9; 3:9  John 8:47 “He who is of God hears the words of God: for this reason you do not hear them, because you are NOT of GOD”

 From: ek- out of Testing: peirasmos – trial  John 17:15 Jesus prayed for believers to be kept from the evil one while in the world  John 12:27 Jesus prayed for Himself that the Father would save Him from that hour  Luke 21:34-36 Be alert; be on guard so you escape what is to come  Rev. 3:10 The Philadelphia church was to be delivered from this hour of testing

 Unbelievers living during the time of testing  Rev. 6:10 Judged for the blood of the martyrs  Rev. 11:10 Two witnesses will torment them  Rev. 13:8 Names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life  Rev. 13:14 Deceived by the false prophet and the beast

 Hold fast so that no one takes your crown  I am coming quickly  “quickly” in method, not time frame  Hold Fast: Pergamum was holding fast His name Rev. 2:13  Thyatira was to hold fast until He comes (2:25)  Philadelphia was to hold fast what they had so that no one would take their crown (3:11)  They were enduring with their “little power”

 He will make them pillars in God’s temple  They will not go out of His temple  He will write on them God’s name  He will write the name of His city, the new Jerusalem, on them  He will write His NEW name on them  They will be secure

 Have I walked through the open door that God has set before me?  Have I kept His Word?  Have I denied His name, or does my life proclaim His name?  Do I KNOW He has and does love me?  Am I persevering?  Remember the same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you: USE IT!!!