October 1998
With the coming year of Jubilee and the day of atonement upon us, I feel impressed of the Lord to send this out to His beloved bride! There is an open door to seek the face of the Lord like I personally have rarely known. I feel the Lord crying to me, “Come! Come to me My bride! Let Me take you, come sup with Me and I will show you My face and deliver you out of your afflictions.” Now is the time to ascend the hill of the Lord, our hands and hearts being purified by faith through the Blood of the Lamb!’
In replying to the question we are most often asked when in the States last month, “How are things going in Japan?” I used a word picture to describe our situation here in Japan. I would say something like this, “I feel like we are a pushing a big rock up a mountain and we are about ten feet from the top. It is the coldest part, the air is thinnest, and the wind is strong and that last ten feet is the steepest, but we can see the top and we’re going to get there or die. [Maybe both, Hallelujah, for dying to our agendas will get us to the top!] We’re still in Smyrna, but we’ve been promised if we persevere, we’ll get to Philadelphia!” The road from Smyrna to Philadelphia goes up hill, literally. So, as I share this with you, it is good for me to write it and I hope it will be an encouragement for us to not shrink back but to press on for the things promised. The Lord says that He is not one to promise and not bring it to pass– Isaiah 46:11-13. Let us first look at the church of Smyrna.
Revelation 2:8-11
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
9 I know your afflictions and your poverty–yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Notice here! It is the Lord who is the first and last in both affliction and glory. He is acquainted with death, he personally identifies with our sufferings and struggles and He also is the author of life! Death is a common theme in Smyrna, mentioned three times directly and once by symbolism in its name. The root word of Smyrna is ‘myrrh’, a costly ointment often used in burial. It is a sweet fragrance to remind us that the death of the carnal man though difficult, is sweet. Though death is the theme, Life is the reward! See our Lord’s heart of compassion for those of us who are here! He sees our waywardness, our powerlessness. There are no mentions of powerful signs and wonders or joyous victory here.
Those of us in Smyrna are like the scum of the earth, a suffering people amidst the prosperity of the world, for Smyrna was, and still is, a prosperous city steeped in worldly wealth and false religion. Yet, they are rich, rich in the love of the Lord because we have chosen to forsake the riches of the world and let the Lord have his way with us. “Kill our own desires, Oh Lord!” those in Smyrna have cried. “Have your way, oh Lord! Make us that new wineskin!” Here in Smyrna, the Lord has found them ready to walk through the “shadow of death” (Ps 23) —“even though You slay us, we will trust You” (Job 15:13). We choose to lay down our lives in Smyrna. It is at Smyrna that we learn to “love not our lives to the death”– (Rev 12:11) and the Father is proud to call these His beloved children who are rich in faith as we please the Father by loving, obeying and worshipping him even in the midst of a great, life threatening storm!
These are the ones, like Job, that the Father actually boasts about to the evil one, “Have you considered my servants in Smyrna, see how they faithfully persevere in love though they are in poverty and affliction!”, bringing the jealous rages of the evil one on top of the afflictions they are already suffering. Revelations says they are harassed and slandered by the accuser coming against them in the form of the Jews. The Jews, in this case, are symbolic of the old order of religion or power, and the old order normally is jealous of the new that the Lord is creating.
Also notice that after being faithful and going through the purification of persecution — for ten days (Ten is a symbol of completion and also a sign to us that there will be an end!) — they will receive the “crown of Life“. A crown represents authority and glory, the Isaiah 61:1-4 crown. “Holiness to the Lord” was inscribed upon the crown of the High priest! Life represents Jesus! He is our crown, He is our portion, He is our holiness! Those in Smyrna will be happy with nothing less! That is the purpose of Smyrna. There is no rebuke just a simple word: “Stay the course”. “Endure, persevere and you will get your reward – Me, the crown of life!” He is our exceedingly and great reward (Gen 15:1)!
Smyrna is also a place of martyrdom and the reward from this only the Lord knows. Polycarp was martyred here because he refused to bow to Caesar as a divine deity! The brokenness of Smyrna prepares the ground for Philadelphia. Many who have gone before us died in Smyrna, never seeing Philadelphia established here in their lifetimes but will surely enter into it in the life to come. For those of us who survive and walk through the afflictions of Smyrna, we will suddenly find ourselves over the hill and into Philadelphia simply because the King will be wooed to action by the humility, faithful endurance, perseverance and beauty of His bride!
Revelation. 3:7-13
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars–I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
See what the Church of Philadelphia has. Well the first thing we need to notice is its name, Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love, affection or even more accurately unity or oneness!! The root word of Philadelphia is :phileo love, the delightful love of God that He has for those who please Him and do His will! The word one or oneness or unity is a very powerful key word in Scripture. It is the first part of the great commandment. “Here oh Israel the Lord, the Lord God is ONE” (Mark 12:29) God is a three person being that is so in love, and so trusting and understanding of each other that they are One. It is the foundation of the great commandment. Later, in the real ‘Lord’s prayer’ in John 17:20-26, Jesus prays for us who believed in him through the apostles teaching, that we might be ONE, and we were created to be part of that One! This is the abundant theme of Jesus’s prayer for us (one is mentioned 6 times) just before he went to the cross; to be One with each other and to be One with Him and the Father! It is John’s redundant recourse as well. This oneness, this city (“delphia” the second word in Phila’delphia) of love and unity is what Philadelphia means and it is what they had and because of it they have many other wonderful promises. We should note that of the seven churches listed, only Philadelphia is the only openly victorious, overcoming church of the seven listed in Revelation. We should carefully consider what the Lord says to this church.
They have the key of David. What is the key of David? A broken and contrite heart of Psalm 51 and the unquenchable desire to know the Lord from Psalm 24! And the “tabernacle of David” (Is 16:5, Amos 5:11, Acts 15:16) is the house of continuous praise, prayer and worship and justice and righteousness. David was a simple shepherd who continually worshipped the Lord — (His last words began with these words: ‘David the son of Jesse, The anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet Psalmist of Israel’. 2 Sam 23:1) — and trusted and looked to Him for help and salvation! Another major key of David is that he was like the Lord in that he would lay his life down for the sheep. Twice David put him self in harms way to defend the sheep from a bear and then a lion. Outside of his failure with Bathsheba, (WHICH HE OWNED AS HIS SIN and did not blame shift- selah) David constantly had the best interest of his men and others at heart. He did Philippians 2:3-4! And finally the ‘key of David’ is exactly that, a key. A key that unlocks doors, that the gates of hell cannot prevail against – Matt 16:19. He who has the key has authority over what ever he has the key too! He had the authority of the King!
Philadelphia has deeds or works; this is fruitful labor or acts of love and obedience. That the Lord acknowledges them is a confirmation that these are good works! He would not recognize dead works done in ‘selfish ambition or bitter envy‘ (James 3:14-15). Hebrews tells us to repent of dead works (Heb 6:1. Heb 9:14), but here the Lord commends their deeds.
Philadelphia has an open door that no one can shut. The Father has been so moved that He is going to bring His power to bear for these and nothing shall withstand Him! Philadelphia has “a little power” [ the word power here is “dunamis” the word used for the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit] the Lord seems to be careful to say they have a LITTLE bit of Dunamis, not a lot. We can become drunk on supernatural power and actually be led astray by the pursuit of signs and wonders! It is not for no reason that Jesus told the returning disciples not to rejoice over supernatural power or the authority they had over the evil spirits through that power, but that they had been restored to a relationship with God, Father, Son and soon to be, Holy Spirit, their names being recorded in His book (Luke 10:17-20).
Philadelphia has obeyed the Lord’s word and overcome the fear of death and persecution by not denying His name. Where Smyrna is in the process of learning character by enduring tribulation by the “synagogue of Satan“, Philadelphia has the noticeable blessings and love of the Lord to a degree that this same “synagogue of Satan” will see the Lord through the love of the Philadelphians and they will fall at the feet of Philadelphia and acknowledge that He, the Lord has loved them. Did not Jesus say in John that “all will know you are my disciples because you have love for one another?” Yes, he did. (John 13:35)
[I long for this; it is here that those who are deceived and bound by the enemy and, unknowingly or through intimidation, that are a part of the “synagogue of Satan” can be set free! When the bride gets to Philadelphia, it will be “a city set on a hill” (Matt 5:13 and Is 60) full of the grace, wonders, and love of the Lord! Those who desire light and truth will come to it. At the very least, the implication is that our enemies will be afraid of us! Philadelphia literally is a city set on the downside of a hill. Notice also, that it is the Jews who will come and lay at the feet of Philadelphia and know that they, the gentile bride, has been loved of the Lord. It is the love and kindness and power of the Lord demonstrated through the Philadelphia church that will lead our ancient brothers back to the Lord! Jerusalem, the city set on the side of Mt Moriah, (Zion) is the older sister of Philadelphia; her younger sister’s beauty will provoke her back to the Lord! Philadelphia will not feel complete until her older sister is restored to the Groom.]Whereas Smyrna is enduring even in darkness as in Isaiah 50:10, Philadelphia has faithfully obeyed the command to persevere and therefore will be kept from the troubles of the world that are continually multiplying to test those on earth. It also specifically says that Philadelphia will be kept from the hour of trial that will come in the last days! Think about that, only Philadelphia has this promise! Philadelphia will be visited by the Lord! That is something worth pursuing, yes?!
Whereas Smyrna was promised a crown for enduring, Philadelphia has the crown (Psalm 103:4 —loving kindness and tender mercies), they have already been commended for enduring and persevering. A crown represents glory, authority and royalty. They receive one exhortation, to let no one steal it. [One way to lose a crown is to worship (get enamored with) it and lose sight of what it represents! Never worship the gifts, manifestations or moves of the Spirit or become arrogant over God using your as a vehicle for them. That is the quickest way to lose them. We are never anything more then a channel a vessel, the gifts and manifestation of the Holy Spirit are always the Holy Spirit’s. That’s why the Lord noted they had a “little”–not much, power. A little is all we can handle and in truth ALL WE NEED! We can easily become “power addicts” or full of pride over our ‘exalted’ position and miss the true purposes of the Lord–Matt 7:21-23. Be careful of judging and slandering this “little power” by the vessels and manifestations that fall outside your understanding as well, lest you fall into being part of the “synagogue of Satan” and end up in the camp of the ‘accuser of the brethren’! Our stay in Smyrna should purge all this.]
Philadelphia’s reward is being made a pillar in the temple of the Lord with the name of the Lord on him and never leaving the presence of their God again! What are the functions of pillars? They support the house. They are solid and don’t move. This is the city of the kings and priesthood of the Lord (Rev 1:6) Those who rule and reign with Him! The reward they are given verifies that. It was the priest who ministered in the temple in the presence of the Lord. These pillars are set into the foundation! We all know Who the foundation is! Those in Philadelphia have the name of God inscribed on them and some new inconceivable blessing of having His new name written on him. Philadelphia is not a closed exclusive city for the rich and famous. It is an open city for any who will faithfully call out to the Lord and endure, trust and obey! We are all called to be “a holy nation, a royal priesthood (royalty has crowns), a people for God’s possession!” (1 Pet 2:9)
Philadelphia has “brotherly love“; that is what its name means. No one can enter Philadelphia without this! Many of us may be kept out because of our lack of love. This is the place of Psalm 133 (a Psalm of David) where the Lord commands a blessing! The unity of Philadelphia is their passion for Christ which cannot help but give us a deep and real love for one another! An interesting note, the old Asia minor Philadelphia is now called Ala-Sheher which means “City of God”. This is prophetic, when Jesus is enthroned and brotherly love abounds, this city will be, along with its sister, the New Jerusalem, Zion, “the City of the Great King”!
Philadelphia is near at hand, just “over the hill”! The most difficult part of the road is near the top. The Lord encouraged me mightily in a small way towards the end of my visit to the States. I was in Iowa visiting, ‘Marie’s’ brother and sister in law. I had turned 40 years old back in June and since I was in Japan at that time, our families were not able to join us for a birthday party. So, Colleen decided to surprise me with a belated birthday party. She had a wonderful cake and all kinds of gag gifts. She presented me with a big coffee mug with this inscription in big bold letters on it “Over the Hill”. I looked up and yelled out “Yes, Lord, Yes! Get the rock over the hill, to Philadelphia we go!” A prophetic cup! Yes, indeed!
Stand, my brethren and keep seeking the city not built with hands! That which we have sought is close at hand if we only but persevere in seeking His face. We may still be in Smyrna, but Philadelphia is just “over the hill”!
When all is said and done we want to finish our race in Smyrna or Philadelphia, let us endure and look up patiently obeying and following our Lord, lest we end up in Laodicea or Ephesus or the other three churches that were rebuked in these last days! (Side note: of the seven churches listed in Rev only the cities of Smyrna and Philadelphia are not in ruins today!)
Life is good because Jesus is life–on the way to Philadelphia, by the sure mercies of God— ‘Holbert’. Oct 1998