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and a book of judgment. The blotting out of the name means not that names that are there are erased, but that their nominal following of Jesus shows their lack of real commitment to him. For the faithful, Jesus will act as a witness to their status before God and the angels. The same word for “confess” in verse 5 is the word used in 1 John 1:9. Jesus will not be ashamed to confess our association with him as we stay faithful.130

      Conclusion

      The Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty, is the story of a princess who was lured by the evil witch to the castle where she pricked her finger on the spinning wheel and fell asleep. She was awoken later by the prince who had to fight his way to the castle against a dragon and thorns and obstacles. The prince, Jesus, is coming for his church. But what is different in this story is that “Sleeping Beauty,” the church, needs to be awake before he gets here. The church must be alert and vigilant for the coming of the Lord.

120. Osborne, Revelation, 171, notes that the surprise attack of one of Sardis’s men against Sardis, when he found a weakness in the wall at an unobservable point, led to the downfall of the city after only a fourteen-day siege in 546 BC. This led to the phrase “capturing Sardis” in the Greek world for doing the impossible.

121. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 109.

122. Aune, Revelation 1–5, 219.

123. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 273. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 56, adds, “Here is a picture of nominal Christianity, outwardly prosperous, busy with the externals of religious activity, but devoid of spiritual life and power.”

124. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 110.

125. Thomas and Macchia, Revelation, 114.

126. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 111. See also 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10. Johnson, Hebrews through Revelation, 449, believes Christ’s threat of judgment is a coming of historical judgment, not the Parousia. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 57, understands this as a historical visitation as well. I think this can be fairly understood as a both/and situation. Jesus is threatening a coming and imminent judgment, but ultimately, they would face the judgment of the coming Judge and King when he comes back.

127. Osborne, Revelation, 179

128. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 112.

129. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 277.

130. See also Matthew 10:32 and Luke 12:8.

      Revelation 3:7–13

      Jesus’ Message to the Church in Philadelphia

      Introduction

      One summer, in June, my son, Rick, and I got to go to our first Chicago Cubs game. We had a great time. Our tickets cost $18.50 a piece, and we were in the windy section. An icy wind kept blowing right in our faces, but we did not mind, because we had a hot dog to share, a Pepsi to share, a popcorn to share, a cotton candy to share, peanuts to share, and candy to share. And a stomach-ache to share. Before the game started, I took Rick down to the foul line seats, the seats closest to the field. We got to the park two hours earlier than the start of the game, so we got to see all the batting practice. It would have been great to sit there for the game. The wind wasn’t blowing, and the sun was shining right on the seats. We still had a great time, and a very enjoyable day together, but I had an inward covetousness for those seats.

      Would it not be great to have the place of honor every so often? The place of honor at the company banquet or the place of honor at the school program, or the place of honor at the family gathering, or at the Premier League Championship game? There is a place of honor reserved for the faithful follower of Jesus, a place in Heaven with Jesus. When my Step-Father was in the hospital the last few years of his life I got to see him on December 24th. There were a few things I wanted to say to him alone, before we left the hospital that day. After the family was gone, I kneeled down by his bedside, and told him that he had been a great father. I wouldn’t have wanted any other than him. I then told him to save me a place at the Lamb’s table, because I wanted to sit next to him when I got there.

      Now, the more I think of that, the more I realized that my father doesn’t have a say where I sit. I don’t have a say where I sit. But God does. And he will give each of us a place of honor according to his own choosing. In fact, through our lives God is sustaining us for a place of honor. This is what the church in Philadelphia needed to know.

      Exposition

The city of Philadelphia was located about thirty miles north/northwest from Sardis. It was known as the gateway to the East, and this made it a commercially important city, with the imperial road passing through it. Because of the many fertile lands for grape growing, Dionysius became an important deity for the city. Philadelphia suffered much after a major earthquake in 17 A.D. that also impacted Sardis. Philadelphia was nearer the fault line. The name of the city comes from the love of the ruler of the 2nd century B.C. for his brother, who remained faithful to him.131 Osborne writes that in 92 A.D. Emperor Domitian issued a decree that half of the grape vines be cut down. This was to encourage the growing of grain for the Roman Empire because of the famine. This caused a severe crisis in Philadelphia as well as some loosening of ties with the Roman Empire cult.132

Jesus is described here as the holy and faithful one who holds the key of David. This may be a parallel to the keys to death and Hades in chapter 1. Just as Jesus remained faithful and set apart for the task God gave him, bearing witness even unto death, so this church is called upon to stay faithful in the midst of persecution and trial.133 Ultimate judgment is in the hands of Jesus. They need not fear or give up. In Isaiah 22:22 God says concerning Eliakim and Hilkiah, “And 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.” Eliakim was the palace administrator. As palace administrator, he would have had the keys to the King’s palace. Here in Revelation, the application is made to Jesus, who has keys to the palace of his Heavenly Father’s home. These “keys of David” refer the Messianic leadership over Israel, a leadership that is in Jesus’ hands and that he has the right to give to the faithful. The doors of the true synagogue were open to the faithful ones, whereas the doors remained closed to those who rejected Christ, the keeper of the keys.134

Jesus keeps the door open when others want to shut it. While the people of the church may have been shut out of the synagogue, they are not shut out of the kingdom of heaven.135 It seems that the Jews had kicked the small Christian congregation out of the privilege of synagogue worship. They were not welcome to worship with the Jews because the Jews did not believe that God loved the followers of Jesus. They had been told that God had rejected them, and that they were not of the chosen ones. Jesus had previously already rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,

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