In this verse Jesus promises to "come soon," which in this Greek context means something that will happen "quickly or suddenly," not necessarily "a short time from now." In the meantime, He urges the believers at Philadelphia to keep a firm grip on the truth and on their loyalty to Him. By doing so they would prohibit an enemy from grabbing their crown.

The Philadelphian believers would have been familiar with marathon races. To complete a marathon successfully, a runner had to adhere to strict discipline and abide by the rules governing the race. If he won the race, he would receive a crown as his reward. The apostle Paul understood that the Christian life is not a 100-yard dash but a marathon. Paul ran the race patiently, adhered to a strict disciplined and kept the rules. He ran to win and expected to receive an imperishable crown (see 1 Corinthians 9:24–26).

At the end of His life, Paul testified that he had finished the race and anticipated the crown of righteousness as a reward from the Lord, the righteous judge (2 Timothy 4:7–8). We, too, are running a marathon that requires discipline, diligence, and patient endurance. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and not be distracted. Upon completing the race successfully, we will receive the crown of righteousness.

Revelation 3:7–13 contains Jesus' letter to the church at Philadelphia. Philadelphia, was a center for exporting the Greek language and culture into the interior of Asia Minor. Thus, it had a secular missionary calling. Just as the city had an open door to the interior, so the church had an open door to spread the gospel. Jesus commends the church in verse 10 and promises to keep it from the tribulation period. He also instructs the church to retain the truth and promises each conqueror special recognition in the New Jerusalem. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only churches in Revelation not to receive any particular criticism. The church at Philadelphia's characteristics are similar to those of the Church in the 19th and 20th centuries that was a period of frequent revivals and missionary activity.

These final letters symbolize Church history from AD 1500 to the Rapture, the event that transports the Church from earth to be with Jesus. Sardis had a good reputation, but it was actually spiritually dead. Philadelphia had a good opportunity to spread the gospel, and it had kept Jesus' word and had remained loyal to Him. As such, Jesus promises to reward this church's conquerors. Laodicea was proud of its wealth, but was spiritually lukewarm, a characteristic that Jesus detests. He promises to fellowship with anyone in the church who would heed His voice and welcome Him. Laodicea is the only church given no praise by Christ.

This chapter concludes the letters Jesus instructed the apostle John to write to seven churches in Asia Minor. Those messages began in chapter 2. This passage ends the section of Revelation that describes the things that are (Revelation 1:19), meaning the things which existed in John's lifetime. Chapter 1 describes what John had seen (Revelation 1:19), and chapter 4 begins John's account of what was to take place in the future (Revelation 1:19).

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/7/2024 9:50:54 AM

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