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Grace and Peace: Revelation #29

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Rev. 3:8).

We see in this verse a recurring biblical principle, which is that what belongs to Christ belongs to those who are in Christ. In the previous verse, we saw that Christ is the one with a key that opens what no man can shut, and who shuts what no man can open. Because of this authority that the Lord Jesus has, the words spoken in the next verse apply the very same reality to the Christians at the church in Philadelphia.

The Lord mentions four things that relate to their faithfulness. He knows their works, first. Second, their works were done despite having “little strength.” Third, they have kept the Lord’s word, and last, they have not denied His name. So they worked though they had little strength to work, they kept the word that had been entrusted to them, and they did not deny the name of the Lord. The Lord commends them for all this, but more than commending them, He bestows on them what He only can give. He sets before them an open door, which no man can shut.

The progress of the faithful church is never by might, or by power, but by God’s Spirit (Zech. 4:6). God is therefore the God of disproportionate results.

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Grace and Peace: Revelation #28

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)

 

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth” (Rev. 3:7).

 

The church at Philadelphia is next, and is a church that is simply praised and encouraged. They had done well, and are not admonished for any significant sin. The words to the angel of the church at Philadelphia are words from the one who is identified as “holy” and as “true.” So this continues as a series of messages to the churches from the Lord Jesus.

 

This opening greeting to the church also contains a messianic reference from a prophecy by Isaiah. A man named Shebna had been comptroller during the reign of Hezekiah. He was a prideful man, and because of this was ejected from his place (Is. 22:15-25). He had built himself a very fancy sepulcher, which Isaiah mocked, and the lintel of which now occupies a place in the British Museum. Shebna was a conceited man who had removed a godly man named Eliakim from his place. Shebna was likely a traitor, or some kind of double-dealer, a man with secret communications with Judah’s enemies. Ambrose Bierce calls a mausoleum the final and funniest folly of the rich, and in this case at least, God agreed. He was building a grand memory for himself in a country he was betraying, and God promised that he would be hauled off to die somewhere else.

 

After Shebna had received his comeuppance, Eliakim was placed in Shebna’s role. There, as a faithful steward, the key of the house of David would be laid upon his shoulder. When he opened something, no one could shut it. When he shut and locked something, no one could open it. He would be permanently settled. As such, this Eliakim is a type of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the steward of all human history, having replaced a treacherous steward, that is, the devil.

 

Because the key was in the possession of the Lord Jesus, the opening for the church at Philadelphia was a true opening, and would remain such.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #27

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:4–6).

The church at Sardis was dead and defiled both, but not all of them. There were a few names there—and note the force of the word “few”—who had not defiled their garments. The implication is that the rest of them had defiled their garments. A contrast is set up between the undefiled garments now and the white garments they would be given in the future. Because they kept their garments clean in the present, they would walk with the Lord in white in the future. The reason they would walk in white is because they are worthy, and they are overcomers.

It is also promised that their names will not be blotted out of the book of life. If the implication is that some names are blotted out of the book of life, then this means that the book of life is the book of the covenant, and not the book of election. If the book of life is the book of election, then the emphasis should be on the fact that the promise is that their names would not be blotted out of it.

Given how the phrase is used elsewhere in Scripture, it would be best to take it as referring to decretal election. Paul rejoices in certain fellow-workers of his, “whose names are in the book of life” (Phil. 4:3). Later in Revelation, those who behold the beast in wonder are described as those whose names were not written down in the book of life (Rev. 17:8). And those who are truly saved, destined for Heaven, are those who names are written then (Rev. 21:27). That which accompanies “not blotting” out names is for the Lord to confess those names to His Father, and to the Father’s angels.

Those who have been given an ear to hear should make a point of hearing what the Spirit of God says to the churches. In Sardis, there were only a few.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #26

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee” (Rev. 3:3).

But a handful of the saints in Sardis were still in good shape, as we will see in the next verses. They are the ones to whom this exhortation applies because they were the ones who could hear it.

christ kirk - prayer - moscow idahoThe exhortation is an odd combination of “hold on” and “repent.” If you had held on to this point, what is the need for repentance? If you need to repent, shouldn’t the charge be to grab on? The solution to this is to remember that this is a letter to a congregation that was both dead and virtually dead. There were many who needed to grab on, and a small number who needed to hold on. In that kind of situation, where you have a basic identity shared with those who are far away from God, the charge is to repent. We might describe this as vicarious repentance. Those in Sardis who had not defiled their garments were repenting on behalf of those who had.

The prophet Daniel offered a great prayer of confession (Dan. 9:4) even though there was no evidence that he had done any of the things he was confessing. This is because we are not just distinct individuals. He was an Israelite and Israel had sinned. The saints in Sardis were in a church that had a reputation for being alive and yet was dead. American Christians belong to a church that has grievously backslidden. How can you tell which Christians have not backslidden? They are the ones who are willing to admit that they have.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #25

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God” (Rev. 3:1–2).

Sardis was in the region of Lydia in Asia Minor, and was the regional capital. It is the next church of the seven, and according to the message they received, it was in a dire condition. The church was apparently a busy place, for it had a good reputation and that good reputation was connected to their works. But the Lord Jesus says that He knows their works, and in His judgment, their works were imperfect. This is yet one more instance of men being impressed by something that God was not impressed with at all. God told Samuel centuries before that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Jesus put it even more bluntly. “And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15, ESV). [Read more…]

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