IS THE MESSAGE TO "THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA" RELEVANT TO US TODAY?
In Revelation 3:1 the
ISR translation reads:
“And to the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write, ‘He who has the seven Spirits of Elohim and the seven stars, says this, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead."
A quick search shows
the "seven stars" mentioned in the following verses as being equated with meaningful words that ‘cuts to
the quick’ of an issue like a "sharp two-edged sword":
Rev_1:16 And in His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,* and His face was as the sun shining in its strength. *Rev. 2:16, Isa.49:2, Heb. 4:12.Rev_1:20 “The secret of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are messengers of the seven assemblies, and the seven lampstands which you saw are seven assemblies.Rev 2:1-7 “To the messenger of the assembly of Ephesos write, ‘He who is holding the seven stars in His right hand, who is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, says this:“I know your works, and your labour, and your endurance, and that you are not able to bear evil ones, and have tried those who say they are emissaries and are not, and have found them false; and you have been bearing up and have endurance, and have laboured for My Name’s sake and have not become weary. But I hold this against you, that you have left your first love. So remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I shall come to you speedily and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have, that you hate the works of the Nikolaites, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes* I shall give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of Elohim.”
*Remember: the name Yisra’ĕl means to overcome with Ěl. Rev. 22:2&14.
MEANINGFUL WORDS
The
following snips are from Johnson’s 1810 Dictionary and define words as they were penned in the founding documents of these united states of America.
As you may be aware, in July, 1776, those who assembled in a Philadelphia congress agreed to the words contained within the first
paragraph of their “unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America". In that first paragraph are three (3) succinctly identified systemic solutions to a historically recurring problem. The recurring problem and those three solutions are as follows:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to (1) dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and (2) to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should (3) declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
THEREFORE
With this objective
conformation of our conditional status of "state" (small "s") which, as you can see in Johnson's 1755 Dictionary does not mention that States (large "S") are defined as "Nobility",
pursuant to Revelation 3:7-22 (The Scriptures ISR 1998+) and the first paragraph of the aforementioned declaration, have we been admonished, to wit?
“And to the messenger of the assembly in Philadelphia write, ‘He who is set-apart, He who is true, He who has the key of Dawiḏ, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, says this:
“I know your works – see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it – that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and have not denied My Name. See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are Yehuḏim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have guarded My Word of endurance, I also shall guard you from the hour of trial which shall come upon all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth. See, I am coming speedily! Hold what you have that no one take your crown. He who overcomes, I shall make him a supporting post in the Dwelling Place of My Elohim, and he shall by no means go out. And I shall write on him the Name of My Elohim and the name of the city of My Elohim, the renewed Yerushalayim, which comes down out of the heaven from My Elohim, and My renewed Name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”’For those who choose not to secure their crown, the Revelation prophecy continues:“And to the messenger of the assembly in Laodikeia write, ‘The Amĕn, the Trustworthy and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of Elohim,1 says this:
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘Rich I am, and I am made rich, and need none at all,’ and do not know that you are wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire,2 so that you become rich; and white garments, so that you become dressed, so that the shame of your nakedness might not be shown; and anoint your eyes with ointment, so that you see. As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. So be ardent and repent. See, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I shall come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes** I shall give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.” ’ ”1Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:6.2Ps. 19:10, Ps. 119:72 & 127, Prov. 30:5.
“Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.”
Seems to me that the bottom line for each
and every stated condition, seems to be summed up in the prophesy given
to the assembly in
Philadelphia as it was memorialized in the pica of their (presumed) 1611 KJV Bible:
IN CONCLUSION
Because ALL law is contractual, and
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states:
All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
Consider the validity of the following pre-18th Century debts, contracts and engagements entered into by our ancestors:
Matthew 16:19 “ . . . I shall give you the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever you bind1 on earth shall be having been bound1 in the heavens, and whatever you loosen1 on earth shall be having been loosened1 in the heavens.” Footnote: 1Binding and loosening is Heḇrew idiom for exercising authority (to prohibit and permit).
Hebrews 10:16-17 “This is the covenant that I shall make with them after those days, says יהוה, giving My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I shall write them,”1 and, “Their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall remember no more.” Footnote: 1Jer. 31:33, Heb. 8:8-12.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
“I
have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have
set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore you shall
choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed, to love יהוה your
Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length
of your days – to dwell in the land which יהוה swore
to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, to give them.”
Think about it.
Is the message to that 1st Century assembly in Philadelphia as relevant to us today as it was then?
More at
Is the message to that 1st Century assembly in Philadelphia as relevant to us today as it was then?
More at
