Jesus identifies Himself to this church as “He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.” (Revelation 3:7) This corresponds with Isaiah 22:22 - “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his (Eliakim’s) shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one will open.” (Isaiah 22:22) This is a prophecy concerning the restoring of the House of David to the care of Eliakim. Shebna (probably during the reign of King Manasseh) had taken the place of Eliakim who served King Hezekiah. In this prophecy Eliakim is a type of Christ. His name means “whom God raises up”. God “raised up” Christ in the last days to save His creation. The epitome of this “raising up” occurred at the resurrection of Christ. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40) It is interesting to note that the name, Shebna, means “vigor, youthfulness, growth”. These words describe what the NATURAL man (and spiritually dead church) long for. Ours is a world that lusts after vigor, strength, stamina. We spend billions to hold on to youth and despise the consequences of growing old. We count success in numbers - bigger sales than the year before, larger homes, cars. Even churches play the numbers game and boast of the numerical size of their congregations. But the Lord recognizes all of this as the pride of man and something foreign to a true Christian. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, IS NOT FROM THE FATHER, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” (John 2:16-17) Shebna had to go; Eliakim was prepared to take over. The prophecy in Isaiah speaks in the future voice; Jesus in fulfilling this prophecy with the Church at Philadelphia is spoken of in the PRESENT voice. This Church represents the Body of Christ that rules and reigns with Jesus.

            A door has been opened, a door which no one can shut and when Jesus opens a door it matters not if you have much strength or little strength, the will of God will be done. In fact it was necessary for “Shebna” (vigor, youthfulness, growth) to be replaced by one who did not depend upon anyone or anything but Christ. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the WEAK things of the world to shame the things which are strong,” (1 Corinthians 1:27) Paul learned this so well he was able to say, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) Whatever you are facing in life, whatever it is you believe the Lord is trying to accomplish in your life or the life of another, understand that once the Lord opens the door NOTHING in Heaven, on Earth, or in Hell is able to conquer you. When the Lord raises us up it matters not that vigor or youth or growth are not present. Jesus knows that once we have surrendered all to Him, all our plans, all our dreams, all our natural abilities, He is able to do great things through us.

            The Church of Philadelphia had remained true to Jesus and had not denied His name; that is, His nature and character. Though they appeared weak to the world, and were despised, ridiculed, mocked, slandered, persecuted, and blasphemed they in turn blessed and prayed for those who abused them. This Church of love responded as Christ Himself responded to those who hated Him. Along with the feet of the other Apostles, Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot even though he would shortly betray Him to be killed. And to those who crucified Him, Jesus said, “Father, FORGIVE THEM; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) What the world considers weakness is actually a sign of strength and power. Which is easier? To seek revenge or forgive? We are told to “overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) This is love in action and when we so behave we are exalting the name of our Lord. To do otherwise is to deny Jesus’ name.   

            And what is the result of this behavior? Are we walked on? Treated as doormats? Yes, for a time that is what happens. Evil is not overcome in one fell swoop. It is a process, but when love has run its course, evil is vanquished. Think about this the next time you feel like a doormat. Consider what a doormat is and what its function is. It is normally left outside, just as being a true Christian, one who remains faithful to the teachings of Christ Jesus, is many times excluded from the fellowship of others. Loneliness is a NATURAL  experience for ANYONE seeking to travel on the narrow path that leads to Life. However, when others come in contact with you, even if it is to “wipe their feet” on you (doormat) look what is accomplished. A doormat removes dirt from shoes or feet making it acceptable to enter into a house. Is this not what Jesus did when He washed the feet of His disciples (again, including Judas Iscariot)? Why did Jesus do this? “And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for {so} I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.’” (John 13:12-15) Jesus voluntarily performed an act, the washing of another’s feet, that not even the lowest Jewish slave would do. Symbolically He was removing the sin that we come in contact with as we “walk” in this fallen world. But in order to do that He had to humble Himself to a degree that puzzled and even offended His disciples. They now had no excuse not to also humble themselves to whatever degree necessary to help another. Nor do we have any excuse to not humble ourselves. If we feel life a doormat at times raise up a pray of praise that the Lord would find us worthy of such an honor. Some make a big show in the flesh of washing the feet of another. They do it in front of a crowd of people or even in front of TV cameras. They are modern day Pharisees and just as Jesus condemned them for being hypocritical by saying, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1), so He would say to them. The greatest acts of love are done when no one notices. As we SUBMIT ourselves to the needs of others and allow ourselves to be used however the Lord desires, our reward will be great in Heaven.           

            Many times the greatest abuse we take as Christians is from those who claim to be Christian, but are not. They are false brethren and teachers. They claim to know God and worship Him, but instead follow their own carnal minds. They teach that which is contrary to the Bible, excepting sin, being tolerant of abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, fornication, pornography, filthy speech. They look and act like the world. Nevertheless, the time will come when the Lord, “will cause {those} of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie-- behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” (Revelation 3:9) Just as an unsaved man can be won to the Lord by the quiet submission of his wife (1 Peter 3:1) so we will, by our submission to the leadings and promptings of the Holy Spirit overcome the evil that surrounds us. This is not accomplished by man’s programs, no matter how good they look or the amount of money that is spent. It is when we are weak that God’s miracles take place. “‘Not by might nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT,’ says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) The Lord will open the Door (“I am the door” John 10:9) and because we have allowed ourselves to be humbled to the point of being a doormat, when the Lord calls His children, wherever they may be, they will have been cleansed because of us.       

            Notice they are made to bow down at our FEET. That position the world hates so much because it speaks of humility and the death of pride. They have come to the point in their own existence where they would fall at our feet in gratitude to us. This is the response Paul and Silas got from the jailer when he thought all the prisoners he was responsible for had escaped after the jail had been rocked by an earthquake. On the point of killing himself Paul cried out for him not to harm himself for all the prisoners were still in jail. Realizing that, “He called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, HE FELL DOWN BEFORE PAUL AND SILAS, and after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” (Acts 16:29-30) But rather than exalt in victories such as this and take any of the glory unto ourselves we will respond as the angel did when John fell at his feet. “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, ‘Do not do that; I AM A FELLOW SERVANT OF YOURS and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; WORSHIP GOD. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” (Revelation 19:10)  We who have been saved first, who have not denied the name of Lord, who have submitted ourselves to the Lord regardless of the cost, will freely lift up our brothers and sisters with no thought of superiority. Rather, we will rejoice that the Lord’s grace extends to all His creation realizing that our salvation too is a gift and not something we earned. There is no boasting in the light of the Truth. If we are willing to be a fool for Christ, should we not be willing to be a doormat?

            Another reward of the true Christian is given in verse ten: “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you FROM the hour of testing, that {hour} which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10) This testing that is coming is thought by many to be the Great Tribulation of which most of Revelation speaks. They take comfort that this verse says they will be kept FROM the hour of testing. But, what exactly does that mean? This word in the Greek is “ek” and means ‘OUT OF, FORTH”. It refers to motion out of the MIDDLE of something. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary states this verse means, “(so as to deliver thee) out of - NOT TO EXEMPT FROM temptation.” The Rapture is a belief held by many, if not most, denominations. It appeals to the flesh because no one likes the idea of suffering or persecution. But when have the true followers of the Lord been exempt from this? From the beginning of the Bible all those who belonged to God endured the wrath of evil men and women. Abel was killed by Cain; Joseph was hated by his brothers; the prophets were ridiculed, mocked, and killed by rulers and false prophets; Jesus was crucified; the Apostles unmercifully tortured. Job was tried at the instigation of God Himself. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. AND THE LORD SAID TO SATAN, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘HAVE YOU CONSIDERED MY SERVANT JOB? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’” (Job 1:6-8) The Lord pointed out Job to Satan. Why? Part of the reason was to further purify him and to give him greater blessings than he started with. (There are other reasons, of course)

            The Rapture is a theology of escapism. We do not want to go through sufferings and tribulations, especially the Great Tribulation, so we seek a way of escape. But the Lord’s method of escape is not to run away from something; rather, it is to OVERCOME it. Thus, the promises to the Churches are given to the overcomers. 1 Corinthians 10:13 is a verse that is also used to comfort those who seek relief from life, but it is frequently misused and quoted, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide THE WAY OF ESCAPE ALSO.” That sounds great. Just pray to the Lord and He will snatch you away from all that torments you. However, the verse does not end as it is given above. There is a clause that follows “also” that reads, “THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ENDURE IT.” It plainly teaches that the Lord’s way of escape is to come OUT OF a situation by OVERCOMING it. The words “you are able” is the Greek “dunamai” which means INWARD POWER. Our English word “dynamo” comes from it. This verse speaks of the inward power of the Holy Spirit strengthening us as we face this world of evil. We love to quote the verse, “I can do ALL THINGS through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians  4:13), but do we REALLY mean it? With the Holy Spirit within us, guiding, directing, convicting, comforting, strengthening us, we can do all things, even face a Great Tribulation. What kind of victory would it be for the Lord to have to snatch us away from Satan because He is afraid we would fail? No victory at all. Was Job better or worse for having endured the loss of his wealth, his family, and his   health? “AND THE LORD BLESSED THE LATTER {DAYS} OF JOB MORE THAN HIS BEGINNING” (Job 42:12) So it will be for us as we come OUT OF whatever the Lord deems good for us, even the Great Tribulation.

            The promise given to the overcomers in Philadelphia is to be a pillar in the temple and to have the name of God and the name of the city of God, and Jesus’ new name written upon them. A pillar is used to support something. Paul refers to James, Peter, and John as pillars in the Church in Jerusalem. (Galatians 2:9) These were the men who were entrusted with the spiritual and physical well-being of the Christians in Jerusalem. They were men who had experienced many trials and tribulations, but had overcome them all. They were to set the example for Christian conduct, thinking, theology. That in turn made the Church at large an example for the world. Paul said, “{I write} so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, THE PILLAR AND SUPPORT OF THE TRUTH.” (1 Timothy 3:15) Our words make a much greater impression upon others if we have faced the same demons that they face. We become pillars by overcoming, not by escaping, and once we have been found to be faithful in all things we will never need to fear being replaced. We will be a pillar forever.

            What does it mean to have the name of God and the name of the city of God and the new name of Jesus written upon us? A name corresponds to a nature or character. Jesus means “Savior”, Eve means “Mother”, Nabal means “Fool”, Elijah means “The Lord is God”, and so on. To have the name of God written upon us does not mean the word “Jehovah” will be tattooed on us. It means we will have the NATURE AND CHARACTER of God imprinted upon our entire being. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you ENTIRELY; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thessalonians  5:23) We are to be as God is. Every thought that we think, every word that we speak, every action that we take is to be an extension of our heavenly Father. Peter said the Lord promised that “you might become PARTAKERS of {the} divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, because we shall see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2)  This is to have the name of God written upon us.

            We are also to have the name of the new Jerusalem written on us. This means we are citizens of Heaven, not earth. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20) If you were born in America you are an American, if Germany you are German, if Japan you are Japanese. If you are born again you are a Christian and thus a citizen of Heaven; this earthly life becomes a place of residence only, but not home. As citizens of Heaven our characteristics change from that which is earthy to that which is of Heaven. Sin becomes foreign to us; holiness becomes our all consuming desire. The physical gives way to the spiritual. We are a piece of Heaven on earth just as say a Japanese in America is a little piece of Japan here.

            We will bear also the new name of Jesus. All that Jesus was on earth, He is more in Heaven. “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him THE name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9) Along with Jesus we will have the name (nature, character) that is above every name (nature, character) in all creation. No more will we be sinful, but “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) Amen.

Return to my Homepage.