Revelation 3:8 I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

      The Lord had opened a door for the church of Philadelphia because even though they were of small strength, they had kept and obeyed the Lord’s word of faith and not denied the name of Jesus during the Roman persecution and the infiltration of anti-Christian Jews who pretended to be Christians. They stirred up the anger of the citizens of Philadelphia in ancient Anatolia, using the false narrative of blasphemy. God had opened a door of favour for the Philadelphian members that no one could shut. Not even Satan could shut this door as he had with some of the compromising churches in Asia at the time. God wanted the pretenders of the faith to know that He was pouring favourable love upon these Philadelphian Saints because they had kept God’s command to persevere in the ministry of God’s salvation plan for mankind. Jesus also promised to keep them from a test that the world would go through. Rev. 3:10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

      Jesus emphasized in His declaration of favour to hold on to what they had in Christ so that no one could take their crown. Rev. 3:11 I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The promise that Jesus would write His new name on them could be counted on because it was Jesus who had made the promise. I love the way God admonishes and favours the body of Christ who attend the Philadelphian church. Jesus is blessed with their obedience to God’s Word. Like many commentators of the Bible over the years, I, too, wonder why the church of Smyrna, which was also obedient to the Word of God, would be persecuted to death in some cases. One church is promised deliverance from the hour of trial, and the other is asked to go through persecution. The church body truly belongs to Christ. The thing about grace is – there is nothing Jesus cannot ask of us because it is His loving grace that saved us, and it is His covenant with God the Father that is to be obeyed.

      The open door that Jesus offered to the church of Philadelphia remains open to us. The promise that no man can shut the door remains a promise of God to put our faith in. However, we need to step through and complete the work of the Great Commission that the church was instructed to do by going out into the world and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. We are to go forth and, through the Spirit of God, judge with the righteousness God gave us through Christ. The work and instructions that were given to the churches through the letters John had sent are still to be read, followed, and judged as if we had received the letters personally.

      One of the sad observations regarding the seven churches in Asia is that they no longer exist. There are some ruins where tourists can visit and speculate about the reasons they are no longer there, but these particular church assemblies did not make it. After a few hundred years, they had become a memory on the pages of history. It is reported that the church of Smyrna lasted the longest. The persecuted church made a mark within church history for its bravery, but it, too, had become a memory of the past. This should give us pause when thinking about the assemblies we are members of or the church bodies we attend. Is the Lord speaking to our leaders and members about the changes that need to be made so that Christ is undoubtedly the head of the church? Are we sowing programs and social agendas that are socially acceptable rather than the obeisances our Mighty God deserves because of all He has given us through His gift of salvation? Rom. 14:11 For it has been written: “I live, says the Lord, that every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will confess to God.“

      It is to our benefit that we remember that the Word of instruction Jesus gave the Churches in Asia still belongs to us today. We need to double down by paying attention to Christ’s warnings concerning His church, because we already know that the extinction of an assembly can occur when a lackadaisical attitude is taken towards God’s instructions. Even putting off the Lord’s desires until later can produce a lazy Laodicean heart toward the love of God, and that will hinder the maturity of heart that we need to fulfill the Lord’s vision of salvation throughout the world and for all nations. Psalm 86:9 All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.

      It would be wonderful if we could all have a report card like the one the Philadelphian believers received in their letter from the Apostle John. However, as human beings, we are all different and are at different levels in our maturity and relationship with the Lord. Therefore, the merciful judgments of God are needed to train, direct, and save our lives from the destruction that we often cause and also save us from the insidious strategies that Satan has planned to destroy our lives. God is forever helping us walk the holy path He has set before us so that we do not become castaways of the faith. The Lord’s demonstration of love for us by offering God the Son as the acceptable sacrifice for our sins points to our Heavenly Father’s heart to see us all eternally saved. 1Tim. 2:3 This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

      The open door that has been set before us is there to walk through hand in hand with the Lord. God’s plan for His church is also a plan for our good. We would be wise to make sure we are following the Lord’s instructions as He builds the ecclesia, the Godhead has ordained to be righteous and true. Amen, let it be so, Lord.