For those of you who don't know me, I haven't met yet. My name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of
Trinity Cambridge Church, and it is my joy and a great privilege to preach God's Word to you
this morning. We are in a sermon series through the book of Revelation, and we are in chapter 3
today, verses 7 to 13, which is the letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, we do desire to keep your Word and to keep the name of Jesus
for our whole lives, but we cannot do that without your help, without your empowering Spirit,
without your Word to guide us and to ground us, and so we gather ourselves here before your Word again,
and we submit ourselves to your Word again. Won't you please speak to us?
change us, and stir us up to love you with our whole heart,
and to serve you with our whole lives.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Please stand for the reading of God's Word from Revelation chapter 3.
verses 7 to 13.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
the words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
I know your works.
Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.
I know that you have but little power,
and yet you have kept my Word and have not denied my name.
Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan,
who say that they are Jews and are not,
but lie.
Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet,
and they will learn that I have loved you.
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.
I am coming soon.
Hold fast what you have,
so that no one may seize your crown.
The one who conquers,
I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.
Never shall he go out of it,
and I will write on him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God,
the new Jerusalem,
which comes down from my God out of heaven,
and my own new name.
He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This is God's holy and authoritative Word.
You may be seated.
Whether it's a film producer
who takes advantage of job-insecure actresses,
or a politician who goads interns into engaging in illegal activity,
people in positions of power often get away with evil deeds,
at least in this life,
because they're able to pressure people into compliance or silence.
And when we feel that we have but little power,
and when we feel that someone else has power over us,
and when we feel like that person has the key,
holds the key to our future,
the key to unlock career opportunities,
or to open networks,
or to open doors for the future,
we too can be cowered into compliance and silence.
This can happen to us in terms of our Christian witness as well.
When we think that being a Bible-believing Christian
can hurt our chances in making friends,
or in being awarded a fellowship,
or in getting a job,
we can lie low and hide our faith,
or even deny our allegiance to Jesus as Peter once did.
After all, those guys have the power.
They have the keys to open doors,
and I don't want them to shut me out.
As we have seen throughout Revelation 2 and 3,
Christians in the first century faced persecution and pressure to conform,
not only from the Romans,
but also from the Jews.
We can see this already in the Gospel of John.
In John 9, 22,
the parents of the man born blind that Jesus heals
refuses to acknowledge that Jesus is the one who healed him,
even though they know the truth,
because they feared the Jews who had already decided and decreed
that those who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah
would be put out of the synagogue.
Likewise, in John 12, 42,
it says many of the authorities,
even of the Jewish authorities,
came to faith in Jesus.
They believed in Jesus,
but for the fear of the Pharisees,
it says they did not confess the name of Jesus
so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.
This was not an uncommon struggle,
and we see that both the church in Smyrna
that we saw earlier in chapter 2, verse 9,
and the church in Philadelphia here in chapter 3, verse 9,
were being persecuted by what John calls,
or Jesus calls, the synagogue of Satan,
which is a reference to Jews
who are doing the bidding of Satan
by persecuting the people of God.
Most of the early Christians were Jewish,
and their allegiance to Jesus
often put them in the crosshairs of the Jewish authorities,
and this was a fearful thing
because Jews, by virtue of their antiquity,
and because they'd been around in the Roman Empire for a while,
and because also they had rioted many times,
and they had found ways
to get some kind of acceptance in Roman society.
They didn't have to worship the emperor
as long as they honored the emperor,
and so being a Jew was a benefit
because then you can still survive in society and get by,
but if the Jews also rejected you,
then you'd have nowhere to go as a Christian
to gain social acceptance.
You would lose your family ties,
your social respectability,
your cultural acceptance,
your career opportunities,
and perhaps even your own life.
These Jewish authorities and the Roman authorities
were the cultural and social and vocational gatekeepers
of their world,
and they held the keys to their future,
or so it seemed.
But Jesus here reminds the church in Philadelphia
of an even deeper truth
and an even greater reality,
that he is the one who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
and who shuts and no one will open.
And that, therefore,
they should hold fast to their profession of Christ's name,
even through trials.
That's the main point of this passage.
We should hold fast to our profession of Jesus
through trials,
knowing that he has the key to the kingdom of God.
We're gonna first talk about the one
who has the key of David, it's Jesus,
and then we're gonna talk about the church
that keeps Christ's word,
that's the church in Philadelphia.
And third, we're gonna talk about the one
who receives God's name,
and that's all those who hold fast to Christ's name.
Jesus introduces himself to the church
in Philadelphia in verse seven,
and I'm sure this is obvious to most people,
but in case you're really unfamiliar with scripture,
this is not talking about the city of Philadelphia
in Pennsylvania.
Revelation was written around 95 AD,
Philadelphia is named after that city,
but the ancient city of Philadelphia
was in the region of Lydia in Asia Minor,
in modern-day Turkey.
And when the Ottomans conquered the city in 1392,
they renamed it Allah-Shahir.
So that's the modern name now,
but that's what Philadelphia is back in the day.
And Jesus says to this church in Philadelphia,
the words of the Holy One, the true one,
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens.
Jesus is called the Holy One.
He describes himself as the Holy One.
In the Gospels, if you read through it,
whenever the demons encounter Jesus,
they stand in awe and exclaim,
I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
This is a divine title
because often throughout Scripture over 30 times,
God the Father, Yahweh,
is called the Holy One of Israel.
So the word holy in its basic meaning
means consecrated or set apart for God
for a special purpose.
In Scripture, the opposite of what is holy
is what is common.
So holy could even be translated uncommon or special.
So Jesus, like God the Father, is holy.
He's not like us.
We are sinful, but Jesus is righteous.
We are finite, but Jesus is infinite and eternal.
We are fickle, but Jesus is unchanging, constant.
He is set apart from us and he is holy.
And Jesus is also called the true one.
As in the English, here in the Greek,
which is the original language
that the New Testament is written in,
the word true has multiple nuances.
It can mean that someone is truthful or trustworthy,
or it can mean that someone is real or genuine,
as opposed to fake or false.
And I think all of those meanings are in view here.
And that brings Jesus into an intentional contrast
with the detractors of the church in Philadelphia
described later in verse nine.
The synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews
and are not, but lie.
Jesus, in contrast, is the true one.
There were Jews who were denouncing these Christians
in Philadelphia saying,
you are not the people of God.
We're the true people of God.
We belong to God.
You don't.
You're fake.
You're the heretics.
We are the ones who will inherit the kingdom of God.
But Jesus says,
they are liars.
I am the truthful one,
the true one,
the trustworthy one.
So pay attention to what I'm about to say
about who you are
and what you are.
Jesus is the dependable and reliable witness.
He is the real deal.
And so it doesn't matter what anyone says about us,
what our persecutors say about us,
what our flatterers say about us,
what matters is what Jesus says about us.
And Jesus is the holy one,
the true one.
And later on in Revelation 6,
10,
God the Father is described as holy and true.
So again,
this is a divine title.
It's another way to say
what Revelation 3,
14 says about Jesus.
He's the faithful and true witness.
His testimony is utterly reliable.
And this Jesus is the one,
it says,
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens,
as it says in verse seven.
This is a slight variation
of what we saw in the glorious vision
in chapter one,
verse 18.
That's where all these introductions
to the letters and churches
are taken from.
And there in chapter one,
verse 18,
it said Jesus had the keys
of death and Hades.
There it was particularly emphasizing
Jesus' power over death
and over eternal life.
He's the one who determines
who gets to go into eternal life.
He's the one who raises the dead.
And so that power is in view here too.
But this verse is going actually
even further back
beyond Revelation 118
to Isaiah 22.
In Isaiah 22,
there is a steward
named Shebna
and he is a steward
over the royal household
of the household of David
at the time.
It was King Hezekiah.
And he is the one
that's in charge
of basically discharging
the duties of the king
on his behalf.
He's the steward.
But Shebna was unfaithful.
He held the key to the palace.
He determines
who gets to come in
and who gets to go out.
But he was an unfaithful steward.
And so God prophesies,
God says,
and declares in Isaiah 22, 19,
I will thrust you
from your office
and you will be pulled down
from your station.
And instead,
God says,
I will call my servant,
Eliakim,
to be steward
over the house of David.
And this is what he says
to Eliakim
in Isaiah 22, 22.
I will place on his shoulder
the key of the house of David.
He shall open
and none shall shut
and he shall shut
and none shall open.
The exact phrasing
of this verse
in Revelation 3.
In this sense,
Eliakim,
whose name means
the one whom God
will raise up,
is a type
of Jesus Christ.
He's a figure
of Jesus Christ
who prefigures
that the Messiah,
Jesus,
will come
as the one
whom God raises up
to be over all
of the household of David
and to reign in his throne.
So this Eliakim
is foreshadowing that.
And the fact
that Eliakim here
is a type of the Messiah
is confirmed
by the fact
that he's called
by God my servant.
And in Isaiah,
that's a key expression
because the Messiah
is described
over and over again
by God in Isaiah
as my servant.
So then Jesus
is saying here
in Revelation
that he is
the ultimate fulfillment
of what Eliakim was.
At the end of Isaiah 22,
we're told
that even Eliakim
would fail.
He'd had the throne
of honor
to his father's house,
but he would also
be cut down.
And he would be cut down
and he would fall.
That was predicted
in Isaiah 22 also.
But Jesus,
in contrast,
sits on the throne
of David forever.
And he will never
be cut down.
And Jesus is saying
that I am he
who holds the key
of David.
And that means
Jesus has the key
to the kingdom of God.
No one can enter
the kingdom of God
except through him.
And this is why
the church in Philadelphia
can be assured
of Jesus' promise
in verse 8.
Behold,
I've set before you
an open door
which no one
is able
to shut.
this is an amazing
comfort
to the church
in Philadelphia.
The expression
open door
does sometimes
refer
to opportunities
for ministry
throughout the New Testament.
So Paul writes
that a wide
open door
of ministry
has been opened
a wide door
for ministry
has been opened
for me
in 1 Corinthians 16
and other places.
And it's possible
that Jesus
is kind of getting
at the same idea
here,
that he's opening up
their door
for ministry.
However,
I think the immediate
context of this passage
kind of points us
in a different direction.
I think the open door
is a reference
to the door
to the kingdom of God
because Jesus himself
just said
that he has the key
of David
and he opens
and no one shuts
and he shuts
and no one opens.
Revelation 4.1
confirms this.
It says,
Behold,
a door standing open
where?
In heaven.
So remember
that the church
in Philadelphia
is facing opposition
and persecution
from hostile,
unbelieving Jews.
As we see
in the Gospels
and throughout
the book of Acts,
some of the Jews
were putting Christians
out of their synagogues
and refusing
to give them
a platform
to proclaim
the gospel.
They contradicted,
reviled,
and stirred up
persecution
against Christians.
So imagine
how discouraging
it would have been
to face
such forceful opposition,
especially from
their Jewish brethren
whom they had expected
to embrace the Messiah,
their long-awaited Messiah,
but instead,
all we have
are closed doors
everywhere.
We're now shut out
of the synagogue.
We're shut out
from society
because of our allegiance
to Jesus.
And then,
in that situation,
to hear this assurance,
I have set before you
an open door.
which no one
is able to shut.
Yes,
they might shut you
out of the synagogue,
but they can never
shut you out
of the kingdom of God
because I have
the key of David
and no one can shut
what I open.
Let this be a comfort
to you
when you're ridiculed
by your friends
for being a Christian,
when you lose
the respect
of your coworkers
or your professors
for voicing
your Christian beliefs,
or when you feel
like you've lost
academic or career
opportunities
because of your
allegiance to Jesus,
remember that there
is something
that no one
can ever
take away from you
because you have
an inheritance
that is imperishable
and undefiled
and unfading
kept in heaven
for you
by Jesus.
Remember that
that door to heaven
and the kingdom
of God
has been opened
by Jesus
who alone
has the key.
So Jesus,
the one who has
the key of David,
is the sender
of this letter.
Now let's look
at the recipient
of Jesus' letter
and what Jesus
says about them
in verses 8-10.
The phrase
I know
precedes statements
about the church
in Philadelphia
and then the word
behold precedes
statements about
what Jesus says,
has done,
and will do
for the church
in Philadelphia.
And usually
if you look
at the pattern
of the seven letters
in Revelation 2 and 3,
the statement
I know your works
is usually followed
immediately by
the recounting
of those works,
a list of those works,
whether that's good
or bad.
But here,
the usual sequence
is interrupted
by a parenthetical
remark in which
Jesus says,
I know your works.
Behold,
I have set before you
an open door
which no one
is able to shut.
It's kind of a,
kind of an odd
and then he resumes
the thought again,
I know.
So it's as if
Jesus is so eager
to command
and comfort
this little church
in Philadelphia
that he interrupts
his own flow
of thought
to embrace
and uphold them
and says,
I know,
I know
your works.
I see everything.
Don't worry.
I have opened
a door for you
that no one can shut.
And then Jesus
resumes his recounting
of the works
of the Philadelphian church.
What works
do they have?
It says in verse 8,
I know that you
have but little power
and yet you have
kept my word
and have not denied
my name.
This idea of keeping
the word of Christ
is repeated in verse 10
because you have kept
my word about
patient endurance.
The church in Philadelphia
is a church
that has kept
the word of Christ,
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Despite persecution,
they have not denied
Jesus' name.
despite opposition,
they have continued
to hold fast to
and proclaim
the name of Jesus.
And they have done this
despite the fact
that they have
but little power.
It's ironic
that the church
in Sardis,
which had the reputation
of being alive,
and the church
in Laodicea,
that's next church,
which boasted,
I am rich,
I have prospered,
and I need nothing.
that these two churches
are precisely
the churches
that receive
the most severe rebuke
from the Lord Jesus.
But this little-known church
in Philadelphia
that had but little power
receives Jesus'
highest commendation.
In fact,
Jesus only has good things
to say about this church.
Outwardly,
the church in Philadelphia
was unimpressive.
They had but little power.
Later in Revelation 13.2
and 17.13,
it connects the word power
with political power.
This church lacks
political power.
They don't have much influence
in society.
They're not the church
that attracts media attention
or gets visits
from presidential hopefuls.
They don't have hundreds
of thousands of followers
on their social media accounts.
They're a bunch of nobodies.
They're also likely poor.
Revelation 18.3 speaks
of the merchants
of the immoral nations of earth
who have grown rich
from the power,
the same word,
of Babylon's luxurious living.
The church in Philadelphia
had no such economic power
because they keep the name of Jesus
and refuse to deny him
and because they refuse
to compromise their faith
and their ethics
and because they refuse
to confess the name of Caesar,
they are likely cut off
from the corridors
of economic power.
They don't have a seat
at the table of power.
This is not a church
that can host large conferences
and symposia
or make sizable,
impactful donations
to causes.
They have but little power
and yet
they have kept
Jesus' word
and have not denied his name.
That's so encouraging
because that means
this kind of faithfulness
that the church in Philadelphia
gets commended for
is accessible
to every single church.
Whether that church
is in the city,
a major global hub
or in the countryside
by the farms,
whether this church
is in a place
where there's religious freedom
or in a place
where there's great
religious persecution,
whether this church
is in a first world country
or in a third world country,
in every place,
any church
can do what this church
in Philadelphia is doing
because they had no power.
Yet they kept
his word.
Brothers and sisters,
that means we also
can hear this commendation
from Jesus
if you are faithful.
Is that what you desire
above all else?
Church in Cambridge?
To hear the commendation
of our Lord Jesus?
Is that not what you want
above all else?
So let's hold fast
to the gospel,
to the word of Jesus.
Hold fast
to the precious name
of our Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Let's be people
who say,
even if I have to let go
of everything else,
to hold on
to the name of Jesus.
Even if I have to
let go of power.
Even if I have to
let go of prestige.
Even if I have to
let go of prosperity.
I am not letting go
of the name of Jesus.
Even if I am shut out
of every place.
Shut down
by everyone.
Even if I'm shut out
of the ivory tower
and shut out
of the public square
and shut out
of the marketplace
and shut out
of Washington DC.
Even if I am canceled.
I will never deny
the one who has
the key of David.
because he's the one
who gives us access
to the one place
that we cannot do
without.
The kingdom of God.
Because that's the one place
where we can dwell
forever
with God
in love
and fellowship.
Let goods
and kindred go.
This mortal life
also.
The body
they may kill.
God's truth
abides still.
His kingdom
is forever.
And look at
what kind of vindication
awaits those who are
faithful to Christ
in verse 9.
Behold,
I will make those
of the synagogue
of Satan
who say that they are
Jews and are not
but lie.
Behold,
I will make them
come
and bow down
before your feet
and they will learn
that I have loved you.
All those naysayers
who said that you
don't belong to God.
You don't know
the true God.
We're the people
of God.
You're just schismatics.
You're a counterfeit.
Jesus says,
I will make them
come down
and bow down
before your feet
and they will learn
that I have loved you.
I will vindicate you.
I will show them
that you are
my people
that I have chosen you.
that I love you.
They will see that
and they will say,
I see now
that you are God's people.
In several places
throughout Isaiah,
the Lord declares
that a day is coming
when he will make
the Gentile nations
come to Israel
and bow down to them
and acknowledge
that they are
favored of the Lord.
These nations
that once conquered
and despised
Israel will bow down
in submission
before them
and they will say,
surely God is in you.
There is no other,
no God besides him.
They shall call you
the city of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One
of Israel.
In this way,
those who wait
for the Lord
shall not be put
to shame.
They were proven right.
They will be vindicated.
Jesus will bring about
the fulfillment
of all of Isaiah's prophecies
and what comfort is this
for Christians
who are persecuted
for their faith?
There's more overt persecution
in Buddhist, Hindu,
and Muslim cultures.
In those places,
Christians are often disowned
by their own family members
and lose their jobs
and are cut off
from society
as apostates
and infidels
and in many cases,
killed.
But still,
in less intense ways,
this can happen to us
even here.
We have church members
here
who have been treated
as pariahs
by their own family members
because of their faith
in Jesus.
But don't be disheartened
because the day
is coming.
It's surely coming
when Jesus will
make all those people
come and bow down
before you
and acknowledge
you were right.
Jesus really did love you.
This is a great reversal
in more ways than one.
In Isaiah,
God said that
the Gentiles
will come to Israel,
the Jews,
and acknowledge
that they are
the chosen people of God.
But here in Revelation,
it's the Jews
who will come
to Christians
and acknowledge
that God has loved them.
Jesus is once again
making a theological point
that he made earlier
in chapter 2, verse 9,
that there are ethnic Jews
who say that they are Jews
but are not
because they have rejected
their Jewish Messiah.
Jesus the Christ.
For it says
in Romans 2,
27 to 28,
no one is Jew
who is merely one outwardly,
nor is circumcision
outward and physical,
but a Jew
is one inwardly,
and circumcision
is a matter of the heart
by the spirit,
not by the letter.
It's those who are united
by faith to Jesus
and whose hearts,
therefore,
have been circumcised,
made new
by the spirit of God.
They are the true Jews
and they are true Israel
regardless of whether
they are Jew or Greek,
slave or free,
male or female.
That's the glorious reality
of what Christ has accomplished
in his death and resurrection.
So Jesus continues
to assure the church
in Philadelphia
in verse 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.
The repetition
of the word keep
here emphasizes
the logical connection
between those two things.
It's because
they have kept
Christ's word,
that Christ is keeping them
from the hour of trial.
Keeping the word
of Jesus Christ
requires patient endurance.
It's hard to say
definitively
what this hour of trial
is referring to
specifically.
I think it refers
to some kind
of universal judgment
and trial
because it says
that the hour of trial
is coming on
the whole world
to try those
who dwell on the earth
and that phrase,
those who dwell
on the earth,
is one that's used
repeatedly throughout
the book of Revelation
to refer to all those
who are idolatrous
on earth.
So I don't think
this is a local trial
that's coming upon
the church in Philadelphia.
I think this is
a universal trial
of some kind.
I also don't think
Jesus is talking here
about a physical rapture
of Christians on earth
so that they are spared.
God takes the Christians away
so that they are spared
this coming judgment
of God
because throughout Revelation,
we see the expectation
that Christians will suffer
and experience tribulation.
It says in Revelation 7, 14
that Christians are not
those who are taken away
from tribulation.
Rather, it says
they are those who come
out of the great tribulation.
they make it out of the great tribulation
in victory
precisely because
they have washed their robes
and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb
because they were faithful
unto death.
So if anything,
I think it's more likely
to refer to spiritual protection
and there are several
biblical parallels
and especially
the high priestly prayer
of Jesus in John 17.
And there,
Jesus prays for his people,
his future followers,
for those who have kept
your word.
Jesus prays for them.
And he asks God the Father
to keep them in your name.
And then later,
Jesus says,
I do not ask
that you take them
out of the world,
but that you keep them
from the evil one.
So I think that's the idea
that Jesus has in mind
here in Revelation 3, 10.
Jesus will not take his people
out of the world,
but he will nevertheless
keep them from the evil one,
keep them from that hour of trial
so that they can endure
without failing.
So that they can keep
professing the name of Jesus
through that hour of trial.
Another possibility
is that the hour of trial
is referring to God's
ultimate final judgment
since the word hour
is often used in Revelation
to refer to that
final hour of judgment.
And if that's what's in view here,
then the church in Philadelphia
is spared that judgment
and punishment
that comes upon
unbelieving,
on the unbelieving world.
Jesus exhorts them
in verse 11,
I'm coming soon.
Hold fast what you have
so that no one may seize
your crown.
Whether we are truly
among God's elect or not,
God's chosen people or not,
whether we truly belong
to him or not
is borne out by
our perseverance
till the end.
That's why,
even as it is
Jesus himself
who keeps us
from the evil one
and keeps us
in God's name,
we also have the responsibility
to hold fast
and keep the word of Christ.
This is not saying
that we are saved
by our good works,
but rather that we are saved
by grace through faith,
but
it's our perseverance
till the end
in faith
that gives evidence
of our true salvation.
an Olympic athlete
endures grueling workouts
and Spartan diets
so that one day
he or she may be crowned
with that Olympic wreath
and receive that gold medal.
And likewise,
we as Christians
have a prize
that awaits us
as we run this race,
spiritual race.
There is laid up for us
a crown of righteousness,
the crown of eternal life,
the unfading crown of glory,
as it says
in 1 Peter 5, 4.
And we don't need
to be strong and gifted
in order to get
to that finish line.
We just have to,
even when we have
little power,
we can make it
because the Lord Jesus himself
keeps us.
All we need to do
humbly
keep the word of Christ,
keep believing
in the name of Jesus
which alone can save.
Jesus adds even more
motivation for us
in verse 12
by promising us
that the one who conquers
will receive God's name.
It says,
the one who conquers
I will make him a pillar
in the temple of my God.
Never shall he go out of it
and I will write on him
the name of my God
and the name of the city
of my God,
the new Jerusalem
which comes down
from my God
out of heaven
and my own new name.
We confess the name
of Jesus Christ
till the end,
then God will make us
a pillar in the temple of God.
What does that mean exactly?
A pillar in the temple of God.
I think the next sentence
tells us exactly
what that's pointing to.
Never shall he go out of it.
That's what being a pillar means.
Pillars are immovable
and for that reason
they are symbols
of permanence.
This kind of promise
of permanent dwelling
would have been
very evocative
for the church
in Philadelphia
because historians
observe that the church
or the city
of Philadelphia
experienced
and suffered
more earthquakes
than any other cities
named here
in Revelation chapters 2
and 3.
When you look at
the ancient Greek temples
when the ruins
of the ancient Greek temples
I know Bailey was there
not that long ago
if you look at pictures
of those
what do you see?
There are no walls left
there's no roof left
you see pillars
because pillars
are built
to last
because they hold up
so much weight
they're durable
they're symbols
of permanence
and so
like that
we will get to remain
forever
in the temple of God
we will be immovable
fixtures
in the temple of God
this is another way
of saying
what Jesus said
earlier in verse 8
behold I set you
before you
an open door
which no one
is able to shut
no one is able
to remove us from
or shut us out
from God's heavenly kingdom
where God's going to dwell
in our midst forever
and we'll be like
the pillar
in the temple of God
moreover Jesus promises
I will write on him
the name of my God
and the name
of the city
of my God
the new Jerusalem
which comes down
from my God
out of heaven
and my own
new name
as we see
in Revelation 21
2
the holy city
the new Jerusalem
that comes down
from God
out of heaven
is the bride
of Christ
which is a reference
to the church
of Christ
that God
has redeemed
and sanctified
for himself
and adorned
as a bride
Jesus is our bridegroom
the church
is the bride
as Ephesians 5
talks about
and we will receive
the name
of the new Jerusalem
that city
as the bride
of Christ
but we will also
receive
the name of God
name of God
will be written
on us
name of Christ
his own new name
will be written
on us
I don't know
if people
I think people
still do this
when you
put your name
on something
you own it
it's your way
of marking
that it belongs
to you
it's your way
of identifying
with it
saying it belongs
to me
it takes a lot
of money
nowadays
to get buildings
named after you
it probably always
cost a lot of money
one of the most
prominent buildings
in Harvard Square
is Harvard's
Smith Campus Center
named after
Richard A.
and Susan F.
Smith
the couple
donated
tens of
millions of
dollars
to get that
building
named after them
you can't get
it named after
you otherwise
but God
paid
a much
much
higher
price
to redeem
us
as his
people
1 Peter 1
18-19
tells us
that we
were ransomed
from the
futile ways
inherited from
your forefathers
not with
perishable
things
such as
silver or
gold
but with
the precious
blood of
Christ
like that
of a
lamb
without
blemish
or spot
as Hosea
1 tells us
our names
used to be
lo-ami
not my
people
our names
used to be
lo-ru-hamah
not
no mercy
because God
hadn't shown us
mercy
we were people
who had rebelled
against God
we were
treasoners
we tried to
usurp
God's throne
by setting
up idols
and gods
for ourselves
or seeking
to be
God
ourselves
masters
of our
own fate
instead of
submitting to
God
who are
creator
and Lord
that's what
we have
done
and so
we were
castaways
we're like
orphans
ones without
a name
without an
inheritance
and yet
God
because he's
rich in
mercy
because he
loved us
with a
great love
he sent
Jesus Christ
to die
for our
sins
on the
cross
so that he
could put
his name
on us
again
say
my people
to whom
I have
shown
mercy
that's
what's
in view
here
we've been
purchased
by the
blood
of Jesus
so Jesus
says
I will
write on
him
the name
of my
God
and the
name
of the
city
of my
God
the
new
Jerusalem
which
comes
down
from my
God
out of
heaven
and my
own
new
name
why does
it say
it's going
to be a
new name
of Jesus
I think
it's telling
us that
we'll get
to know
Jesus
personally
and intimately
like we've
never known
him before
once you
get married
the couple
starts to
develop like
pet names
for each
other
and
there are
things that
Hannah
calls me
there are
names that
Hannah
calls me
that
I will
never
utter
here
it's
too
embarrassing
it's kind
of like
that
we'll
know
Jesus
new
name
like we
have
never
known
him
before
that
new
name
will
be
written
on
us
and
we'll
get
to
enjoy
him
and
love
him
forever
it's
the
fulfillment
of the
prophecy
in
Isaiah
56
5
that
we
read
in
our
call
to
worship
that
he'll
take
these
foreigners
and
eunuchs
who say
I don't
have a
place
among
God's
people
and
he
will
take
them
and
give
them
a
monument
within
his
walls
of
his
house
a
name
that
is
better
than
the
name
of
sons
and
daughters
and
then
verse
13
Jesus
closes
his
letter
with
the
same
invitation
that
is
appended
to
every
single
one
of
the
seven
letters
he
who
has
an
ear
let
him
hear
what
the
spirit
says
to
the
churches
that
clause
he
who
has
an
ear
let
him
hear
is
taken
from
Isaiah
6
9
to
10
and
it's
an
utterance
of
God's
prophetic
judgment
while
this
letter
is
proclaimed
to
all
only
those
who
have
ears
to
hear
given
by
the
spirit
of
God
will
be
able
to
hear
and
believe
and
obey
divine
revelation
always
opens
the
eyes
of
the
blind
those
who
seek
him
and
humble
themselves
before
him
and
yet
it
blinds
those
who
believe
they
already
see
and
how
do
we
know
whether
we
belong
to
the
first
category
or
the
second
category
do
you
believe
in
the
word
of
Jesus
do
you
hold
fast
to
the
name
of
Jesus
that's
how
you
know
that means
you
have
ears
to
hear
so
heed
the
gospel
of
Jesus
Christ
that
you've
heard
this
morning
this
is
the
same
gospel
that
Christians
have
been
preaching
for
the
last
2,000
years
and
if
you're
here
this
morning
and
you
are
not
yet
if
you
have
yet
to
put
your
faith
in
Jesus
do
so
don't
hesitate
then
he
will
fill
you
with
your
spirit
and
he
will
put
his
precious
name
on
you
he
who
has
an
ear
let
him
hear
let's
pray
oh
Lord
Jesus
we
can't
wait
we
can't
wait
to
have
your
new
name
written
on
us
to
be
identified
forever
with
you
to
have
eternal
unbroken
communion
with
you
Lord
Jesus
we
cannot
wait
to
be
vindicated
for
you
to
be
able
to
tell
the
world
I
have
loved
you
see
how
I
have
loved
them
Lord as
we
long
for that
day
as we
wait
for that
day
help
us
to
persevere
in
patient
endurance
faith
so that
we
never
cease
confessing
the name
of
Jesus
our
Lord
it's in
your
precious
name
the name
of Jesus
we pray
amen
whatever
God
am
Everybody
comes
from
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die
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