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Arkadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church Plant

Eugene Prewitt

Revelation 2 Pergamos and Thyatira


Okay, we're going to begin. Let's bow our heads for a prayer and we'll start. Our Father in heaven, I ask that you will bless us as we consider this book of Revelation, that you'll help us to understand what is true and right. And I ask in the name of Jesus, amen. Turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3.

I teach a class in Revelation at the college, and I've been teaching it this semester, and the result is that I am a little fuzzy on which things I've shared there and which things I've shared here. Have I shared with you a little bit about Revelation 3.17 about being wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked? You think it was here? Not here, according to Pat, and she's here quite often, so I'm going to think that probably that we haven't. So turn up in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14.

We are talking today about the last church age. You said before Thyatira, so not even Sardis or Philadelphia? I believe you, okay, so look at verse 1 then. Revelation 3, verse 1. And unto the angel of the church of Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the 7 spirits of God, and the 7 stars, I know your works, that you have a name, that thou livest, and art dead.

Following the darkness of the Middle Ages, as that darkness was subsiding, God indicated that there would be something better coming. Do you remember in the end of chapter 2 what God promised to the overcomers in Thyatira? That was to the fourth church age. He promised the morning star. Now when you see the morning star, what's coming soon?

The morning is coming, that's exactly it. Like the morning star is an indication that the morning is coming, and that's what John Wycliffe was to the Middle Ages. He was a herald that something better was coming, that a light was dawning on the Word of God, and now when we come to Sardis, this is it. At least it is in name. Do you see in verse 1 that they have a name, that they live, but they are dead?

I'm gonna suggest to you what that name is. It's the name Protestant. Protestant is a living name. I mean, it's a name that represented the breaking away from the darkness of the Middle Ages. The Protestants stood on a couple principles, that is, they would base anything they believed on the Word of God, and that men could not earn any points with heaven by good works that we were justified by faith alone.

Those were the foundations that overthrew the Catholic apostasy. But you see in the end of verse 1 that having the right set of ideas wasn't all that was required. Look at verse 2. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. You ever hear Jesus talking like that, be watchful?

He said, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. You might think, well, that was just the disciples, but what he said is, and what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. I want you to look for a minute at what it means to Watch. Turn in your Bibles to, yeah, you stay there. Turn to Habakkuk chapter 2.

Habakkuk chapter 2, we want to look at what it means to watch. Habakkuk 2 and looking at verse 1. I will stand upon my watch, that is, upon my position in the watchtower. I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower. And listen carefully, and I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

What does it mean to watch? The metaphor comes from this passage in Habakkuk. It means to be on your guard. And you're on your guard for a couple things. 1 is to see what is God going to communicate to you.

Watching to see what he's going to share with you, but that's not all you're watching for, because when he communicates to you, in all likelihood, he's going to correct something about your life. And then what do you need to watch? You need to watch how you're going to answer, that's right, how you're going to respond when you are reproved. That's what it means to watch, to be on guard, to guard your own heart, to make sure you don't respond inappropriately when God sends you correction or reproof or instruction. That's the idea.

Turn back to Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3, and we're looking at verse 3. Remember therefore how you have received and heard and hold fast and repent. Those words don't look like they go together. I mean, on 1 hand, the first set of them looks like it's just saying don't move from the position you're in.

But the last word says repent. But that makes a lot of sense if you've been slipping. Does that make any sense to you, what I just said? What's the connection between repent and hold fast? It's that some backsliding has been going on.

And that's just what happened to the Protestant Reformation. It was followed by a series of backslidings. And what did Jesus say? He didn't say that you didn't start out right. He said, remember the truth that you received.

Remember the truth that you accepted. Stand in that truth. And to do that, you need to repent, to go back. That's very practical for Christians of all ages. Very often the devil doesn't need to lead us to change our doctrinal positions to destroy us.

He merely needs to lead us to slacken up in how firmly we hold to what's right and best. It's often how he works. So just to maintain where we have been requires a work of repentance. Look at verse 4. You have a few names, even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments.

And they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. In verse 4, think it through for a minute, which happens first? You're faithful or you walk in white? In verse 4, first you're faithful and then you walk in white. Look at verse 5 and you'll see the same thought again.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. Which happens first? You overcome or you receive white raiment? You overcome first, then you receive white raiment. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not black out his name out of the book of life.

So by implication, how might someone have their name blotted out of the book of life. That's it. It's by not overcoming, which is kind of a double negative. So we could say by losing. Does that make sense to you what I just said?

It's by losing. By Losing in the battle with self, that's how your name is blotted out of the book of life. If your name isn't blotted out, if you're an overcomer, it says, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Jesus says to the Reformation age that a judgment is coming. In heaven, I'm going to be before the Father and the angels, and either I'm going to blot out your name or I'm going to confess your name.

And the condition of whether I confess or whether I blot it out is whether or not you overcome. If you don't overcome then your name is blotted out. If you do overcome then your sins are blotted out. It's future from Revelation 3.5. Look at verse 7.

We won't get much further than this today. Revelation 3.7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, these things sayeth he that is holy and he that is true. He that has the key of David, he that opens and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man opens." What does God say to the sixth church age? He says that there are some keys that you want to be aware of.

Do you recall any keys mentioned in scripture that are metaphorical keys? What did you say? Okay, the key of David is mentioned right here. Turn back to chapter 1 and look at verse 18. Revelation 1 in verse 18.

I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore truly. And I have, what's it saying? The keys of hell and death. That's it. Jesus is the 1 who has control over hell and the grave.

Come back to chapter 3. Chapter 3 at the end of verse 7 is so interesting. I'm looking to see where it says the same, I know it says it twice. Behold I've set before thee an open door. Where is that phrase?

Behold I've set before thee an open door and no 1 can shut it. How come I'm looking right at the verse and can't see it? There it is, third line, okay, got it. Okay, So in the end of verse 7, he says that I open and no 1 can close, and I close and no 1 can open, and then what's he saying in verse 8? He says, I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it.

This is chapter 3, verse 7 and 8. It's referring to the heavenly sanctuary. Did you know in the Old Testament that the curtains to the heavenly sanctuary are called doors? It's that way even when they're curtains and then they actually became doors in the time of Solomon. They're called doors.

What the Bible talks about here is that the door to 1 part of the sanctuary is closed, and a door to another part is opened. That was important for Philadelphia. Let me explain to you why it was so important for them to understand. Look at Chapter 10. Revelation Chapter 10 is an expansion on the experience of the Church of Philadelphia.

And we're looking at verse 9. And I went unto the angel and said unto him, give me the little book. And he said unto me, take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. He's talking about the Book of Daniel. And If you want evidence for that, you can listen to the Washington Post College Revelation class DVDs.

That's the Book of Daniel. And is it better when it's in the mouth or when it's in the belly, as far as how you enjoy it? Better in the mouth. When the Philadelphia church was preaching about the book of Daniel, they were so happy. They were talking about Jesus is coming back.

We're going to see him soon. The 1 whom our soul delights. This is wonderful news. The gospel was spreading. They were so happy to preach about The book of Daniel and Jesus came back.

But then he didn't come back. Then they understood the book of Daniel, which is represented in this chapter, is when it got into the belt. And how did it feel in the belly? It was bitter. And listen carefully what happens next.

Verse 11, and he said unto me, thou must prophesy, what's the next word, again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. In short, the church is told, you're going to have to give the first angel's message again. What happened to the Millerites, the people who were preaching about this great advent near? When they were disappointed, they stopped preaching. They thought probation had closed.

The door had been shut. You know where they got this metaphor from, the door has been shut? That's from Noah, right? Like he went into the ark and the door was shut. Did the rain start immediately when the door was shut?

No, Noah was in there 7 days, and on the outside, they were probably scared for a few seconds and then worried for a few minutes, and then they just had fun for the rest of the 7 days. But then the rain started, And the Millerites, seeing that, thought that what had happened was that Jesus had closed the door, there was no more hope of salvation, they had given the gospel message, and they stopped talking. And what does Jesus say to that church age? Not only do I shut a door and no man can open it, but I have sat before you an open door and no man can shut it. And then he said to them, you must prophesy.

And again, The Bible predicts in not so many words, but in an easy enough way to see, predicted the great disappointment, predicted the misunderstanding that the church would have for a while, and that God would communicate to them that they needed to give the gospel again. And so it's just going again. So Mr. Johnson and I agreed that Sabbath school today would stop at 1030, so that we could start a church service at 1045, so that we could be out and not trouble our landlords like we did a little bit last time this happened. So we do a 1 minute review and then we'll close.

The 1 minute review is that the Church of Sardis was the Church of the Reformation. The Church of Philadelphia was the Church of the Great Awakening. What God expected of the Church of Sardis is that they would hold on to the beautiful truths God had given them, and even to hold on to those truths might involve some repentance on their part. What he expected of Philadelphia is that they would not give up their work of taking the gospel to the world, that they would preach again, that they would realize that while there was a shut door, there was also an open door, and that he expected them to take advantage of that. He's the 1 that has the keys of hell and death.

And he was saying, there's still time to escape. Aren't you glad there's still time to escape? And we're not even in Philadelphia. We're in Laodicea. We'll have to study more about that at some other time.

Let's bow our heads for prayer. Our Father in heaven, I thank you for the message in Revelation 3. Seems to me that we all can benefit from the command to watch. That we all can understand the command to repent from backsliding. We want to take advantage of the open door that is available to us.

We ask you to give us that gift of repentance, the gift of your spirit. We ask for these gifts in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Revelation 2 Pergamos and Thyatira

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