“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
‘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. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
‘Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
‘Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.'”
As a counselor, I’ve heard a lot of people wonder if we are living in this “great time of testing” as we live through a pandemic. Are these the last days? We know that the authors of the New Testament wrote that THEY were living in the last days, and we have come after them so logically we must be in the last days too. Everything after Jesus is the “last days.” But are these the LAST last days? It’s hard to say (and in fact the Bible says we will never have any idea, so trying to guess is probably a fruitless endeavor). We do know that other places around the world experience war and suffering in ways unfamiliar to those who have lived their whole lives in the United States. We also know that there have been plenty of plagues and pandemics throughout history. I would encourage us all to think historically and globally before jumping to extremes about our current context.
Let’s get back to God’s heart as he reveals it in today’s passage. What do we know about Jesus from what he says here? We know he values perseverance, we know that those who do persevere will be rewarded, and we know that he is making a new Jerusalem. An eternal city directly from heaven. It’s interesting to see the new Jerusalem described as a city that “comes down” from heaven, as opposed to being the same as heaven itself. There’s a lot we don’t know about what God has in mind for his new heaven and new earth. We’ll hear more about that in coming chapters.
Perseverance is the theme of this letter. Pressing on to victory. Crown of life. It’s an eternal hope that drives us in our faith journey. One thing is for sure: once you reach that crown of life no one can take it from you. You will become a pillar in the Temple of God. In some way those who are faithful to Jesus will literally be the building blocks that hold up the dwelling place of God. Never underestimate the importance of the faithful church in the eternal story.