The lutheransermons's Podcast

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 15

Last week, we heard words of “reproof and discipline” from Jesus to the church at Laodicea. He speaks this way because He loves the people there and wants them to stop being “lukewarm” believers and return to Him as “repentant” and “zealous” believers. That is His wish for us all.

Jesus follows up with a famous, often quoted portion of God’s Word, Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and He with me.” This is a passage often used by CRU (Campus Crusade) and many other churches and groups to call people to make a decision for Christ. This passage is often used with a picture of Jesus outside, knocking on a door that has no doorknob on the outside. It can only be opened from the inside, when a person makes a choice, as an act of his own will, to follow Jesus, as the true beginning of his life as a Christian. In other words, we must make the first move toward Christ, and some would say we cannot be saved without being able to identify our “moment of decision” and opening the door for Christ.

Using this passage this way takes this passage totally out of its context and creates other problems in the perspective of the Bible, though. First of all, Jesus is writing this letter to a church, to a group of believers in Laodicea, some of whom had come to faith many years before. Certainly, some had become weaker in faith, over time, and needed to repent and be renewed. Jesus is not talking about initial faith in Him, though.

Secondly, the Scriptures say that we cannot decide to become a Christian by our own power and will. I often refer to Ephesians 2:1-3, but it is worth looking at again and again. Paul begins by reminding us that we were “dead in our trespasses and sins” because of our sinful nature. We “all once lived that way in the passions of our flesh” and were “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” And how much can a dead person do, on his or her own? Absolutely nothing. We cannot open the door to Jesus on our own.

Then, Paul says, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Paul goes on to define that grace as His undeserved love and favor for us, His gift to us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” And even faith “is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” Our good works follow, but they are enabled by our Lord and are only a thankful response to His saving work in Christ.

Think also about another passage, John 1:13, often linked with Rev. 3:20. “To all who did receive Christ, who believed in His name, God gave the right to become children of God.” Some would say that we must first receive Jesus and believe in Him, on our own, and then God will follow up with making us His children, etc. However, the very next verse, John 1:14 says, “…children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” We did not give birth to ourselves physically or spiritually but by God’s miracle and blessings. Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” It is by the Holy Spirit, working through the water of baptism and the Word of God that we are born again (John 3:3-5, 8 and 1 Peter 1:3, 23, also). It is not by our flesh and will.

Remember the story of Lydia, too, in Acts 16:14-15. She did not first open her heart. “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Soon she was baptized, and her household, as well, and a church was begun in her house. See Paul writing, in 1 Thessalonians 1:3-5, and speaking of the faith, love, and hope, of the people of this church. He also adds, though, “For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you, not only in Word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” God was at work, in all that happened. Listen also to Philippians 2:12-13. Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” That makes it sound as if it is our work and effort, but then Paul adds, “For it is God Who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” It is His Word and will at work, above all.

A better way to look at Revelation 3:20, then, is to see it in light of Luke 12:35-40. Jesus is encouraging His believing people to be ready for His return on the last day, by continuing faith in Him (12:40). We do not know when He is coming, so we need to be spiritually awake (12:38-39). When the Master comes home from a wedding feast and knocks on the door, we can then “open the door to Him at once” (12:35-36). Surprisingly, then, Jesus says that when He returns, He will dress Himself for service and have His people recline at table, and He will come and serve them” (12:37-38). Twice Jesus says they will be blessed by Him if they wait for Him in faith and trust.

That is just what Jesus promises in Revelation 3:20. When He returns for His people, waiting in faith in Him, on the last day, and they hear His voice and eagerly open the door, He will come in to them and he will eat with them and they with Him. It is part of the continuing joy from that time forward with the Lord Jesus in everlasting life.

In Revelation 3:21, Jesus again speaks of the ones who conquer (and as we have heard, we conquer only through Christ and His power and final victory over sin and Satan and death, described near the end of Revelations). Jesus even promises that believers will, in a certain sense, reign with Christ and be blessed by His victory for us. (See Revelation 3:21, Matthew 19:28-29, and 2 Timothy 2:12, for example.)

I suspect that when we reach heaven, whether it is at the moment when we die or when Christ returns, if we are still living then, we will not care just what our place will be. We will just be amazed to be in the perfection of heaven and the presence of our Lord Jesus and all His blessings, though we deserve none of them. We will just sing our praises and thanksgivings to our Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with great joy. May the Lord give us His grace and strength to stay firmly in Christ all our days through His Word and Sacraments. May our confidence be not in ourselves and our decisions, but in Christ and His faithfulness to and forgiveness for us. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:21-22).

Sermon for All Saints Sunday - November 5, 2023

Sermon for All Saints Sunday, based on:

Revelation 7:9-17

1 John 3:1-3

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon originally delivered November 6, 2011

Preparing for Worship - November 5, 2023

In many of our churches, “All Saints Day” will be celebrated in our worship this coming Sunday. Some churches may be using alternate readings. I will list them at the end but only comment on one of those readings.

The first lesson is from the New Testament again, as last week, from Revelation 7:9-17. John sees another vision of heaven, where an uncountable number of people of every people and nation and language, stand before the throne of God and the Lamb (our risen Lord Jesus) and sing praises for the salvation brought to them. They wear white robes, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. The tribulations of this life are gone, and they are saints, in perfect peace and joy, in the presence of the One True Triune God.

The Psalm is Psalm 149, as God’s “humble” people praise their “Maker and King,” who has “adorned them with salvation” and “takes pleasure in them.” His people make melody and dance and give “high praises” to God, in return. They will be present with Him on the day of “judgment” of all unbelievers and will be honored as His godly ones.

The Epistle lesson is from 1 John 3:1-3. Before the visions given to the Apostle John in Revelations, he speaks of the certainty of who “we now are,” the “beloved children of God,” through “the love given to us by God the Father,” through Jesus Christ our Savior. (See 1 John 4:11-13 for the great certainty of this for us who believe in Christ Jesus.) We do not know just what we will be in heaven, but we will be sinless and purified and able to “see Jesus as he is.” In the meantime, we try to be “pure,” but are so only by the grace and forgiveness of Christ and His counting us as righteous by faith in Him.

In the Gospel lesson, Matthew 5:1-12, the beginning of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus tells us that we are blessed only if we know that we are “poor in spirit” and “mourn” that we are sinners and “hunger and thirst for righteousness" that comes only from God and is credited to us through the saving work that Jesus did for us. Seeing the meekness and mercy of Christ Jesus, we then try to be “pure in heart” and “merciful peacemakers” toward others, and willing to be “reviled and persecuted” in standing with Christ (though we sometimes fail).

The alternate readings for this weekend are:

• Micah 3:5-12
• Psalm 43
• 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
• Matthew 23:1-12

In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, Paul reminds his fellow believers how they “ought to walk in a way that pleases God.” He especially encourages them to “abstain from sexual immorality,” which was a very serious problem in the ancient world and still is often today. He calls believers to “love one another with brotherly love.” They do not have to be spectacular as Christians. Rather, he says, “Aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands… that you may walk properly toward outsiders (those who do not believe) and be dependent on no one.” Again, we are still “poor miserable sinners” and live finally by the grace and mercy and forgiveness of Jesus our Savior.

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 14

Last week, we worked through Revelation 3:14-16, and heard that the people of the church at Laodicea were saying proudly of themselves: “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” In contrast, Jesus knew them and their works and saw them as “lukewarm” Christians.

In v.17, Jesus says that they did not realize that they were wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked, in a spiritual sense. Jesus had taught, at the beginning of His “Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” People need to know how spiritually poor they are on their own so that they can see how much they need Jesus as their Savior. The people in the church at Laodicea were saying, “I…, I…, I…,” focused on their accomplishments, and Jesus used the set of words in Revelation 3:17, paralleling some of the pride the Laodiceans had in their city, to show how “wretched” they were, in spirit.

Jesus “counsels” them to “buy” some things from Him, in v.18. He is using words we find in other places. What He wishes them to have is actually free, a gift. See Isaiah 55:1-3. “Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live.”

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:22). See a similar statement in Revelation 22:17: “Come… Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” Remember also that we heard last week that a real weakness of Laodicea was that it did not have an adequate water supply. The people said, “I need nothing;” yet they really needed so much, in a physical and in a spiritual sense, with their continual need for the water of Life (John 4:13-14 and John 7:37-39).

They thought they were “rich,” in terms of “gold,”  but Jesus says, in Revelation 3:18, that they really needed “gold, refined by fire, so that they might be (spiritually) rich.” See 1 Peter 1:7, where Peter speaks of “the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire.” They needed faith in Christ, which “results in praise and glory and honor” of Jesus, at His revelation” on the last day.

The Laodiceans were proud of the beautiful garments produced in their city with bright colors and black wool. What they really needed was to be covered with “white garments” (Revelation 3:18) provided by Christ Jesus Himself that would cover the shame and nakedness of their sins. (See the “garments of salvation” and the “robe of righteousness” provided by God in Isaiah 61:10; the new, clean garments provided to Joshua in Zechariah 3:3-5; “the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, which cleanses us from all sin,” in 1 John 1:7-9; and the vision of the believers in heaven, “clothed in white robes… white in the blood of the Lamb (Jesus), in Revelation 7:13-14; etc.)

The Laodiceans were proud of their medical school and an eye salve that was developed or produced there and was widely used. What they really needed was God’s “salve to anoint their eyes,” so that they might truly “see” what they needed to see and believe, in Jesus as Savior. See, for example, Psalm 146:8, which says that “the Lord opens the eyes of the blind,” physically and spiritually; Isaiah 35:4-5, where the blind (and the deaf) can see and hear when Jesus the Savior would come (Matthew 11:2-6); and John 9, where Jesus healed a blind man physically (9:1-7) and then spiritually (9:35-41).

Then Jesus says in Revelation 3:19 that He is speaking all these words of “reproof” (rebuke, disapproval) because He “loves” the people of the church at Laodicea and wants to help them “repent” of their sins and be more “zealous,” rather than “lukewarm" about their faith. “Jesus says He is providing some needed “discipline” for this church, showing people their sins, through the Law of God, and turning them away from trust in themselves to trust in Him and His Word of true Life and hope. See Scriptures about “discipline” such as Psalm 94:12, where the psalmist says that people are “blessed” who are disciplined by the Lord; Proverbs 3:11-12, where discipline is a sign of the Lord’s love, “as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights;” 1 Corinthians 11:32, where Paul says, “When we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world;” and Hebrews 12:5-11, where the writer to the Hebrews says that God disciplines us “for our good;” it may seem painful, but “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Jesus speaks harshly in some of this letter; but He speaks in love, for the good of this congregation. This is an important message for us all. Are we sometimes “lukewarm” in our own faith and need to be called back to a more “zealous” Christian faith and life? Are we sometimes too focused on ourselves and forgetful of Christ and His good gifts? That’s why we have a time for repentance for sins and renewal in our life in Christ, week after week, in our worship, as a “discipline” and reminder to us all.         

I will stop here, as I want to spend a little more time on the closing portion of this letter, next week. A proper interpretation is important. The Lord’s continued blessings.  

Sermon for Reformation Sunday - October 29, 2023

Sermon for Reformation Sunday, based on:

Revelation 14:6-7

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

Sermon originally delivered October 30, 2011

Preparing for Worship - October 29, 2023

This Sunday is celebrated in many of our Lutheran churches as Reformation Sunday. The Scriptures focus on key passages that were important for Martin Luther in discovering and emphasizing what he saw as at the center of our Christian faith. I will list each passage for you to read, with only a brief comment.

The first lesson is from Revelation 14:6-7. The eternal Gospel (the good news of Jesus as Savior) is a message to be shared with all people everywhere. God created all things, and He will come again in judgment, but we are ready by faith in Christ Jesus.

The Psalm is Psalm 46, the inspiration for Luther’s hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble… Therefore we will not fear… The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge.”

The Epistle is Romans 3:19-28, describing the central teaching of the Scriptures. The Law of God shows that we are all sinners, and that no one can be justified in God’s sight by keeping the Law well enough. The righteousness of and from God is received only by faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ for us. “We are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law… through God’s grace as a gift.”

The Gospel reading is John 8:31-36, where Jesus reminds us to “abide in belief in Him and in His Word,” for only then will we know the truth, the truth that sets us free from “the slavery of sin.” Jesus, the Son of God, sets us free by His saving work for us, and we remain forever as God’s children, now and to eternity.

(Some churches may use a different set of readings, if they do not celebrate the Reformation. Here are those readings:

• Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
• Psalm 1
• 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13
• Matthew 22:34-46

I will comment only on the Epistle, since 1 Thessalonians 2 is part of a series of readings from this letter of Paul, and Paul also talks here of key Reformation teachings, in Chapter 2. Paul and others had “declared the Gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” They had been “entrusted with the Gospel, not to please man but to please God.” They acted “gently, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children” and at times, “like a father with his children, exhorting and encouraging." Finally Paul speaks of the Scripture alone as the source and norm for what we believe. In 2:13 he wrote, “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 13

Our study this week is on the last of the seven specific letters to churches in Asia Minor, sent from Christ Himself in Revelation 2-3, through the apostle John. This letter is to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. It follows the same pattern as the other letters. It is addressed to the “angel,” the pastor, the “messenger” and leaders of the church.

These are the words, again, of Christ Jesus Himself. He is called “the Amen” (Revelation 3:14). The word “Amen” means “truly,” “true,” and “most certainly true.” This word is tied in with God in Isaiah 65:16, where one blesses himself by “the God of Amen.” (This is what it literally says, though many translate it “the God of Truth.”) When Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “Truly, truly, I say unto you,” He is literally saying, “Amen, Amen, I say to you.” (See examples of this in John 3:3, 5:24-25, and 8:51-54, etc.) Paul then says of Jesus that “in Him it is always yes. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20). Therefore, Jesus is also “the faithful and true Witness” to what is true. Revelation 1:1-2 tells us that John “bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is “the faithful witness,” though, John says (Revelation 1:5, 3:14).

Jesus is also called “the Beginning of God’s creation” (Revelation 3:14). This does not mean that He was the first created being, as some heretical teachers have tried to say, in the past. It means that He, as God the Son, with His Father and the Holy Spirit, existing as the One True God from all eternity, was the Source of God’s creation. (See John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Jesus Himself prayed, predicting His ascension and return to heaven: “And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). See also the very detailed words of Paul about Christ in Colossians 1:15-20 and in Colossians 2:1-3.)

Did you notice in Colossians 2:1 that Christians at Laodicea were mentioned, as they also are in Colossians 4:13 and 4:15-16? This is because Laodicea was only about 11 miles from Colossae and about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians from Rome about 60 AD, and it was to be passed on to the Christians at Laodicea and Hierapolis, too. The “letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16) was probably Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, written about the same time, with the intent of its being circulated also to the other churches. That is eventually what happened with all of the letters of the apostles, along with the other parts of the Scriptures.

This means that the church in Laodicea had had solid Biblical teaching available to it in the past. This is now about 35 years later, assuming that this letter was written around 95 AD. From what we know about the city of Laodicea itself, it may have greatly influenced the thinking and attitudes of the church members there. Laodicea was the wealthiest city in this area. It was a center of business and commerce and banking; had a strong textile industry, producing cloth and clothing goods; and had a respected medical school and produced a famous eye salve. The city seemed very proud of itself and self-sufficient. There had been a bad earthquake earlier, but the city was able to bounce back and rebuild, without needing much help at all from Rome. One major weakness was not having a good water supply.

The people in the church seemed to have developed a self-centered, self-sufficient attitude, too. Jesus says that He knows their works: that they are “neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm,” presumably in their Christian faith and life; and Jesus is about to “spit (literally, to spew or vomit) them out of His mouth,” like a drink that is at the wrong temperature and can’t be tolerated or makes one sick (Revelation 3:15-16). The church members are saying, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” while they are really in a “wretched” situation, and cannot see their many spiritual problems (Revelation 3:17). They need to “be zealous and repent” (3:19) and receive again the blessings from the Lord and see again their genuine needs.

Next week, we will look at Christ’s response to them in more detail. We’ll also talk about “discipline” from God and the famous passage in v.20 which is often used and misused by people. Think about how this passage applies to churches today. The Lord’s blessings on your week.

Sermon for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost - October 22, 2023

Sermon for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 45:1-7

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon originally delivered October 16, 2011

Preparing for Worship - October 22, 2023

The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 45:1-7, is an amazing prophesy of the coming of Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, long before he was even born. “For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel, My chosen,” God says that He will “anoint” and raise up Cyrus and “go before” him, so that he could easily conquer Babylon and then set God’s captive people free from the Babylonians to return to Israel. The Lord could predict and plan to do all this, long before it happened, because He alone is God. “There is no other,” and He is God for people “from the rising of the sun to the west” - for all people.

The Psalm is Psalm 96:1-9 (10-13). The psalmist calls upon “all the earth,” “all the peoples” “among the nations” to “sing a new song” to the Lord. He is to be “greatly praised” because He “made the heavens” and “established the world,” and “all the gods of other peoples are worthless idols.” He is to be “worshiped” and “glorified” in all the earth. He comes “to judge the world in “righteousness” and “faithfulness.”

The Epistle lesson begins a series of readings from 1 Thessalonians. Paul wrote to the people of this church as people God had “chosen.” They had “received the Word (of God) in much affliction” and “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” They were living now in “faith” and “love” and “hope in the (risen) Lord Jesus, who will deliver them (and us) from the wrath to come. (You can read more about Paul and the Thessalonians in Acts 17:1-9.)

The Gospel lesson is from Matthew 22:15-22. Some of the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees, and the Herodians, people who ruled on behalf of the Romans, came to Jesus with a question, hoping to trap Him and condemn His for his words. They pretended to be complimentary of Jesus, but Jesus knew they were hypocrites. The question was “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” Jesus used a coin to show that they lived in two kingdoms. In the kingdom of this world, where government is needed, they should pay their taxes and give support. Also being in the Kingdom of God, they should give God the honor and worship and trust due to Him. The questioners went away marveling at Jesus and His answer.

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 12

This week, we look at the letter to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13. The letter starts the same way as the others (Revelation 3:7). It is addressed to the “angel,” the pastor and messenger for the church. The letter contains the very words of Jesus Himself, who is “holy” (sinless and set apart to serve His Heavenly Father and His perfect will - see Luke 1:35, for example). Jesus is also “the True One.” (See John 14:6 and 1 John 5:20: “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the True God and eternal life.”

Jesus also has “the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." This is a quotation from Isaiah 22:22, where Eliakim, a representative of King Hezekiah, is addressed. Hezekiah, like David, had authority to open and shut things, and God answered his prayers by shutting down the armies of his enemy, the great King Sennacherib. This power to open and close passed on finally to Jesus, the Son of David, who opened up the Kingdom of heaven to us by all He did and gives some of those powers to the disciples and the church. (See Matthew 16:19, 18:15-21, and John 20:21-23, for example.) This adds to what Jesus said of Himself in Revelation 1:18, too - that He has “the keys of death and Hades.” Later on, He “opens” a scroll and its seven seals that no one else could open (Revelation 5:5). Jesus then speaks with authority to the church at Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was a city founded by King Attalus Philadephus in the 100’s BC, in honor of his brother. Our US city, Philadelphia, is named after this city, as a city of “brotherly love.”  It was southeast of Sardis in a good location and was a rich and commercially important city. As Martin Franzmann notes, the church in Philadelphia “was neither rich nor important” - but it was “faithful” to the Lord. Jesus knew its works. It had “little power” and yet its people “kept the Word of God and did not deny Christ’s Name.” (This is, in fact, the only one of the seven churches that receives no direct criticism from Jesus.) Instead, Jesus promises to this little church “an open door which no one is able to shut” (Revelation 3:8).

This will happen in two ways. In v.9, Jesus says that there was a synagogue in Philadelphia that was rejecting Jesus as the promised Savior, the Messiah. Over time, Jesus promises that at least some of these people would realize that Jesus was the Messiah and that He loved that little church, because they were speaking the truth about Him. Some of these people would then become Messianic Jews, who believed that Jesus was the One who was the Savior and the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. The witness, then, to all of those who do not yet know and trust in Jesus, needs to continue - with genuine love and care for them and their spiritual welfare.

In v.10, also, because the people of this church had kept God’s Word with patient endurance, Jesus promises to help and protect them and “keep” them during a time of trial and testing coming on "the whole world,” including the churches. Some think that this refers to the coming of Trajan as Emperor in Rome in 98 AD, with more intensified persecution of Christians (and Jews and anyone who opposed the Roman gods and Emperors as gods). This greater persecution by the Romans lasted for about 100 years and prefigured other times of persecution throughout the centuries, which Jesus also predicted, in other Scriptures, and warned, speaking of even more trouble coming in the last times. Other parts of Revelation speak of these troubled times, as well, but verses like Revelation 7:1-17, also picture the preservation of God’s faithful people.

In v.11, Jesus also said He was coming again soon. His timetable is different from ours, though, as passages like 2 Peter 3:8-9 indicate. Jesus wants His people, including us, always ready for His return, by trusting Him and trying to be faithful to His Word. He encourages the believers in Philadelphia to “hold fast what they have, so that no one may seize their crown,” the crown of righteousness and everlasting life. (See, for example, 2 Timothy 4:8.)

In v.12, then, Jesus speaks again of those who do “conquer” through Christ, through Christ’s help and strength. They will reach eternal life, the new Jerusalem, as heaven and earth as we know it pass away. They will be like “pillars” in God’s presence, with His names written on them. (Philadelphia was a place where earthquakes sometimes happened and pillars in buildings fell, with great destruction.) Such will not happen in eternal life. We are perfectly safe forever, with our Lord. The new names may be a reflection of God’s promise from heaven in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new,” See the promise also in Revelation 21:4. Heaven will be a perfect place.

Finally, Revelation 3:13 has the phrase written in each of the letter, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The size of our church or our community does not matter. Our trust is in our Lord and His strength and blessings for us, in Christ. We believe that He will help and preserve us, through the Word and Sacraments He gives us, and we, too, can “hold fast what we have in our Savior always, by His grace.