 Revelation chapter 3 verses 7 through 13, we're looking at Philadelphia, the faithful church. So beginning at verse 7, reading to verse 13, and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia right, these things as he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. I know your works, see I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it, for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. As you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold I am coming quickly, hold fast what you have, now no one may take your crown. He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So let me give you once again the introduction as I have been. I want you to know these things so I repeat them. I've mentioned to you that each letter has at least three applications. You have the primary, which means that this letter has a direct bearing on the church's being addressed. In other words, it's the actual church that the letter is sent to. You have the personal, because each church has people within the church who need to hear what the Spirit has to say, and you have the prophetic. And the prophetic represents the seven stages of the life of the body of Christ throughout history. So we've gone through several churches. We've looked at Ephesus, the church from the apostolic age to 160 AD, a church that's leaving its first love. We looked at Smyrna, the church from 160 to 312 AD, the church under persecution. We looked at Pergamus, the church from 313 to 600 AD, the compromising church. We looked at Thyatira, the church from 600 to 1500 AD, the church in apostasy. And we looked at Sardis, 1500 to 1750 AD, the church of dead orthodoxy. So today we're going to be looking at the church of Philadelphia, and if you take notes, it's called the Faithful Church. As we look at this church, the origin of the church is unknown. It may have been founded when Paul was ministering in the city of Ephesus. According to Acts 19, 8 through 10, it says he, Paul, went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of tyrannous. And this continued for two years so that all who dwell in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And so people believed that because Philadelphia was in that region, it may very well have been founded at that time. The city of Philadelphia was located about 30 miles southeast of the city of Sardis. It was named after a king, the king of Pergamos. His name was Adelus Philadelphus, who built the city in 189 BC. It was situated in a fertile region and it was known for agriculture, especially for its grapes. It was at a junction of several trade routes and became known as the gateway to the east. As a result of its great production, it was also known for its wine. And the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, was one of the chief objects of pagan worship. What we have here prophetically is Philadelphia representing the faithful bride of Christ through the ages. Philadelphia is the last day's church, living during a period of lukewarm indifference. Like the letter to Smyrna, not a single word of condemnation is found in this letter. And so we begin by looking at the church of Philadelphia. In verse seven, he says to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write these things, says he who is holy and true. Jesus' self description in this letter is different than it's been in the previous letters. In his other letters, he referred to what he had written or was written of him in chapter one, but here he begins in a different way. Notice how he begins. He begins by referring to himself as the one who was holy and true. He's holy in his life and he's true in his teaching. Jesus is holy in life. Now holiness by definition speaks of being separated, separated from that which is unclean, that which is profane. In other words, it speaks of being separated from defilement. In Hebrews seven, 26, it says such a high priest was fitting for us who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens. That's speaking of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus is the only one who ever lived who could challenge people to find sin in him. In John 8, 46, he says it, which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Which one of you can say that I have sinned was the question and not a single one could ever convict him of sin? Mark records how that Jesus was in a synagogue and while he was there, a demonized man spoke to him. He's found in Mark 124 because when the demonized man saw Jesus, he cried out saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Now why would he identify himself in this way? He does it because holiness is an essential attribute of God. Concerning the holiness of God, the Bible is filled with Scripture revealing this. In Habakkuk 113, it says, you are of pure eyes than to behold evil, cannot look on wickedness. In Leviticus 11, 44 and 45, for I am the Lord your God, you shall therefore sanctify yourselves. You shall be holy for I am holy. For I am the Lord that brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy for I am holy. So as a holy God, he is unblemished, he's perfect, he's flawless. He's separate from sin. Isaiah 40, 25 asks the question, to whom then will you liken me, or shall I be equal, says the Holy One. So this attribute is something that has been obscured today in our churches. Many pastors have focused on his grace, but have not emphasized his holiness. Moses asked God to show him his glory, and God made it clear that that could not happen. In Exodus 3320, God said, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live. When Isaiah had his vision of the Lord, he was overwhelmed by what he saw. In Isaiah 6 verse 1, it says, in the year that King Isaiah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. God is holy, and Jesus is describing himself in the same way. When Jesus claims this quality, he's claiming to be God. This is something that the Apostle Thomas recognized about him. In John 20 verse 28, Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord, my God. You see, the New Testament reveals Jesus as being holy, being set apart. In 1 John 3, 5 it says, you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. But Jesus describes himself first and foremost as the one who is holy, separate from sinners, and yet he is incarnated and has lived amongst us, demonstrating to us what God is like by living amongst men. But he also refers to himself as the one who is true, and when he says, I'm the one who is true, that's in contrast to what is false. That's a reference to his essential nature. As the one who is true, he is the originator of truth. From Jesus, all truth springs forth. Truth begins and ends in him, and it doesn't begin and end in false religions or false religious leaders. That's because by nature, Jesus Christ is truth. In John 7, 18 it says, he who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth. There is nothing false about him. In 1 John 5, 20 it reads, we know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true. Even in his son, Jesus Christ, he is the true God and eternal life. And so Jesus Christ is identifying himself. He is the one who is holy, and he is the one who is true. He speaks concerning a key. He says, again, these things says he who is holy and he who is true, he who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. So when Jesus says this, he's saying, I hold the office of Messiah. In Revelation 22, 16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. So he's saying, I am holding the office of Messiah, and he has a key. So what does the key represent? Well the key represents his absolute sovereignty. It's similar to Revelation 118, when it says, I am he who lives and was dead, behold I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Hades and death. You see a key opens doors, it grants access. And Jesus has authority over who enters the kingdom. They enter in based not on their works, but in their relationship with him. In Acts 412, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. He holds that key to that door. And he's the one who gained, we gain access to heaven through, is the point he's making. And as he identifies himself in verse eight, he continues and says, I know your works. And so he's making it very obvious that he's observing everything. See I have set before you an open door, no one can shut it. You have a little strength that kept my word and have not denied my name. He begins with the commendation. I'm aware of your sincere service to me. I've seen your good works. And remember this good works are the earmark of a Christian. We're not saved by good works because we're saved by grace through faith. We produce good works because it reveals genuine faith in Jesus Christ. In John 14 verse 15, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. So we've been saved and that makes it possible for us to have good works. Romans 2 10 says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Before we were saved, our good works were tainted with self-interest. We did things to be seen by men. We did it so that people would take notice of us. So that would people might say we're a good person and all of that. But Hebrews 6 verse 10 says God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We perform good works because we've been created for them. It's an evidence of salvation. And he says I'm aware of your works and I'll reward you accordingly. He also says I have set before you an open door. No one can shut it. No matter how hard men try to silence you, you will remain productive. I give you an open door for ministry, my message, and it will go worldwide. You know, there are those who are trying to shut up the church right now. You're aware of that. I know I don't have to be labor this point. We have we have a here we go. It's going to sound political. It's just that I'm just trying to apply this to our what's what's happening now. But we have been told, you know, don't be gathering together for Thanksgiving. We've already been told, don't be gathering together for Easter. And on the horizon is don't be gathering together or celebrate Christmas. Now people say, okay, I won't gather together. But does the church say that? Does the church say, oh, I see you want me to wear a mask and take it off when I chew and put it back on and on all of those things that you're saying when you yourself don't do that? You asking me to do something you don't do because you're trying to convince me that you love me. Even right now in the church is trying to be silenced. It's trying. There there's an attempt. If you don't see it, let me let me say it and then think about it, pray about it and see if you agree. The church is being told to shut up. The church is being told to keep your mouth shut. You can go to church, but don't sing, right? You can go to church, but don't don't get too close to each other. Now, on one hand, we all understand that. You know what? I think wisdom, there's a wisdom in being very careful. I don't presume upon the Lord, I don't go out saying, oh, you have COVID. May I kiss you? I don't do that. You know, I think we're all wise enough to take care of ourselves. But at the same time, when you have a nanny state, when you have people telling you what you're supposed to do 24 seven, that gets a little old. It gets a little old. It's not that I don't care. I do care. It's not that I'm not concerned. I am concerned. That's the reason why we do church the way we do church. I want to, I want to keep you as safe as I can. And it's not that I don't know people who have been stricken with this virus. I've been communicating to one of my sisters, my sister, Rebecca, and she wrote me just yesterday and it looks like my sister Madeline and her husband may very well have COVID right now. So it's not that I don't care. I do care. It's not that I don't have feelings. I do. But at the same time, guys, I can't live in fear either. I can't live with my freedoms restricted by somebody's opinion, especially somebody who doesn't even keep their own advice to me. I can't do that. And so we have to live with freedom and wisdom, but we have a time we're living in a time when the church is trying to be silenced. You have to see it. Some of it at least. I mean, when we're told don't celebrate the resurrection of Christ and will be told don't celebrate the birth of Christ. And when we're told not to celebrate the reality of a nation that I think is a great nation. Don't have thanks. If you do eat outside, make sure you wash your hands, chew with the mask on. This is going a little too far. Don't you think? I think it's going a little bit too far. And so we have to be aware of these things. We have to be aware. And yes, the enemy does attempt to silence the mouth of the church. But right now, I have people in this, in our community here, and we have churches throughout our city, throughout our state, throughout our nation that are meeting to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we do. And right now online, we have between 35 and 45 foreign countries watching us as a word of God goes forth because that's what it's intended to do. So he says, I've given you an open door for ministering my message. And it's going to go worldwide. Even right now, the message that God gave to Philadelphia 2000 years ago is being repeated here in this church. And he's saying, my message is going to go forth. And don't be opening doors on your own. Don't be pushing doors open. He is opening the doors for them. You see, in some people's quest for importance or attention, they may begin to try to force doors open. That doesn't result in the glory to God. It results in glory to the efforts of the person who pushes those doors. So we need to pray. We need to seek the Lord to open doors, to enter the door when it is opened, because the door that is speaking of is a door of opportunity for the proclamation of his message. In 2 Corinthians 2, verse 12, Paul said it like this. He said, when I came to draw us to preach Christ's gospel, a door was opened to me by the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 16, verse 9, he said, a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. So God is in control. God desires people to be saved, and God moves to promote this. So submit your plans to God and watch him move obstacles out of the way. In Proverbs 16, verse 3, it says, commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. So Jesus is speaking, and he says he opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. He says in verse 8, I know your works. See I have set before you an open door, no one can shut it. For you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name. These are three qualities he took notice of. First he says you have little strength. When he says you have little strength, it means you are fully dependent on me. You are small in numbers, but you are having a great impact on the city. Many of the members may have been poor. They may have been from a lower social class, but in spite of the smallness of the congregation, in spite of the financial stresses that they had, they were strong. He says secondly you have kept, you have guarded, you have protected from loss or injury my word. They didn't distort. They didn't dispute. They didn't dilute. They didn't replace. They didn't ignore his word. They faithfully kept it, and they defended it from false teachers. They knew that false teachers twisted the message of God. They closely guarded his word. Now that's something that Paul knew very well. In the church of Philippi, teachers arose who were drawing attention to themselves. They preached the gospel, but they were adding to it. They were changing it a bit to suit themselves. And they did it because they wanted to draw away people from Paul's teaching and they wanted to cause Paul personal pain. And Paul spoke about it in his letter to the church of the Philippians. In Philippians 1.15 through 17, this is what he said. Paul said some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition. Not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel, knowing that I am appointed for defense the word defense is the word apologia, and it means an apologetic, knowing that I have been placed here strategically to give a clear answer concerning the things we most closely guard, the things that we believe in so truly. You see the Philadelphia church guarded the word of God. They preserved it faithfully. And that's what we're supposed to do, by the way, as believers. You know, we're living in a time, and I'll say it like this and I'll say it briefly, but it's true. As a pastor, I see this. We're living in a time when people sometimes believe that they're being taught when in fact, they're getting a lot of things outside of teaching. I was, I'll never forget, I was on vacation, Marie and I, and a friend of mine had asked me, seeing that I was on vacation, he had been in our church for a number of years, and he said, pastor, would you do me a favor? And he was a friend. He was very dear to me, and I was on vacation, and he said, would you do me a favor? Would you come to the church that I'm attending? He says, I'd like your opinion. And seeing that he was very close to me, and seeing that Marie and I were off that weekend, I went and I sat with him in church. Not as some kind of, oh, some spy to try and spy out, you know, and find bad things, but just to come and listen, because he wanted my opinion, and I was able to do it. So I did. And I sat with him, and I watched when the pastor got up and led worship. I watched as the pastor read the bulletin. I watched as a pastor taught. I watched him everything. I listened to his message, and at the end, my friend said, what do you think? And I said, what do I think? I don't think he studied. I said, I don't think he trains up people to do work sub-ministry, because he does it all. But I listened to his message. I said, and he didn't rightly divide the word. He just spoke from his experience, gave illustrations, gave stories. I said, I think he poured himself into the message, and I didn't get much of Jesus out of it. And that happens a lot, guys. I hope I don't do that to you. But it happens a lot, where the word actually is not being divided. What you're ending up with is a set of propositions or opinions that that person holds as he's teaching, and it flows out. These people defended the word of God. They presented it for what it was. They held fast to that, and that's what we're supposed to do. Pastors are supposed to do that. In 1 Timothy 6, verse 20, this is to pastor Timothy, Paul said, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge. You see, that's what the church is to do. The way some are afraid of offending sensitive hears dilutes the message. When we look at the whole counsel of God, we're able to hear its blessings as well as its warnings. And the church, not just the pastor, is to hold fast to truth and to present it as it is. In Jude 3, it says, dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints, contend for the faith, to actually have some energy put into making sure that it's presented properly, and it was entrusted to us. So as we go through Revelation, we're going to be getting a picture of what happens in the last days, and we're being prepared for such times right now. When asked what the primary sign of the return of Jesus is, Jesus made it clear. He said, take heed that you're not deceived. The primary sign of the last days is failure to guard the word through sloppy teaching, and that results in deception because the church is infiltrated by false teaching and false teachers lead sheep astray. All you need to do is read your Bible, Matthew chapter 24, 1 Timothy chapter 4, 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Peter chapter 2, Acts chapter 20, verses 29 and 30. There are warnings about this all through Scripture, and the mark of a genuine believer is that he is being commended by Jesus Christ because of his obedience to him. In 1 John chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, it says, he who says I know him and keeps not his commandments as a liar, the truth isn't in him, but whoever keeps his word in him truly is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him, it's not the hearing alone, it's the hearing and doing. And he says, and this is how you know you're saved, is that when the Lord speaks you want to obey him. He went on in verse 8 and he said, and you have not denied my name. You haven't departed from the Lord. They lived openly for Jesus Christ. They never departed from him. They never denied him. We need to remember that pressure was great for them to compromise, so watered down the demands of the Lord, but they refused to do so. They remained strong and open about their faith in him. In Matthew 10, 32 and 33, whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven, whoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven, do not compromise, do not water down the demands to live them out. When I was, Marie and I had just been married for a short time. She was pregnant with my daughter. I was hired to work at a particular place. Turns out that my overseer had given me faulty weights as I would write bills of lading and things. And I went home and I told Marie, I said, he's having me falsify information, Marie, I found out today. I said, I can't work for a place that makes me compromise my faith. And we have, we had bills, we had cars, we had a little apartment, my wife is pregnant. I said, I have to quit. I can't work in a place that makes me compromise my faith. And I quit that day. And I told the supervisor, I said, I said, you've been giving me false numbers. I said, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian and you've been making me lie. I said, and I won't work for a company that expects the employees to lie. And he says, I'll move you into a different place, David. He says, you don't have to do that anymore. I said, no, you've already demonstrated to me your lack of integrity. And I'm not gonna work for you. And I quit. And I have to tell you, that was a big thing because we had bills, we had an apartment, we had cars, we have a pregnant wife and all of that. It was really rough. But that's how deeply I found about it. It's kind of funny. I told you that story because I just told Marie this morning. I had a dream just last night where for some reason I was looking for a job. You guys aren't gonna fire me, are you? But I was looking for a job and I was talking to a guy. And in my dream just last night, this morning, I said to this guy in my dream, I said, I'll work for you, but I won't lie for you. In my dream. That's how rooted in my soul that is, is to have integrity, to live with honor. That your name means something, your word means something. And that comes from Scripture. That comes from what the Word of God has taught us. And he says, you haven't departed from me. You haven't denied me. You've lived openly for me. And he says, and this is something I commend you for. Notice in verse nine, indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie. Indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you. And so like Smyrna, they're facing hostile opposition from unbelieving Jews. These Jews were racially and culturally and ceremonially Jewish, but they're not Jewish spiritually. They may be referred to in our day as what are called non-observant. In Romans two, 28 and 29, Paul said he is not a Jew who has won outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. He's a Jew who has won inwardly. And circumcision is that which is of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter and his praise is not from men, from God. So these are, these are those in, in name only. You see in Israel, unbelieving Jews were often the greatest persecutors of the church from very early in the history of the church opposition was growing. And the greatest persecutor of the church was a young Jewish rabbi by the name of Saul. In Acts 22, when Saul who later became Paul when he was speaking, he said I persecuted this way to the death, finding and delivering into prisons, both men and women. Jewish opposition and persecution went beyond the borders of Israel. In 1 Thessalonians two, verses 14 through 16, Paul said you brothers became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the same things. Those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displeased God and our hostile to all men in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they always heap up their sins to the limit, this rejection of the gospel and this attempt to keep people from hearing it. Marie and I were in Israel on one occasion and sometimes we have these stereotypes of what Jewish people look like and those stereotypes are not true because you go to Israel and there are Asians, Chinese and Japanese who are Jewish. There are Africans who are Jewish and people from around the world. We were in Megiddo and I went into a souvenir area. Marie dragged me into it. We went into a souvenir area and she says you got to meet this guy. And there's a guy behind the counter and he's a Mexican guy. I'm looking at him. He's a Mexican guy. And I said, what are you doing here? It's a long swim. I said, what are you doing here? Now somebody's going to write, I'm Mexican, OK? All right, I can get away with it. Anyway, I'm just cheesy. But I said, what are you doing here? He's from Mexico City and he says, I'm Jewish. We go to a taco place in Jerusalem, guys. Awesome. I shouldn't speak about it. It makes me hungry. What's it called, John? Tacos Luis. We have pictures of us eating there. Kosher tacos. Amazing, amazing. But they're from all over the world. We've gone into shops in a place called Benyuta Street. And Marie walks in and the man behind the counter looks at her, immediately speaks Spanish to her, immediately. And she speaks back and she says to him, why are you speaking Spanish to me? He says, well, you're Spanish, aren't you? And so he was a Spanish Jew. They're from all around the world, all around the world. And you see that. And God is doing a work around the world. And there are those who were from a Jewish background who are being saved and all. But God was pleased. Some rejected, but not all did. And in spite of the hostility that was going on in the beginning, God was pleased to save some of them. Some of them were saved, but others were not. This one, as he speaks, he refers to him in verse nine as the synagogue of Satan. He says, who say they are Jews, but they're not, they're lying. In other words, a truly Jewish person would have received Messiah. He says, indeed, verse nine, I will make them come and worship before your feet. So Jesus is saying, some of the Jews who were hostile would ultimately worship. The word worship is a word that speaks of bowing down. To bow at someone's feet is to show surrender. It speaks of humility. The faithfulness of the church will result in some of its enemies to come to faith in Christ. And some of the Jews who rejected Jesus would receive him. In Philippians 2, 10 and 11, it says that the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. In heaven and on earth and under the earth, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He says in verse 10, because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I'm coming quickly, hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. I will keep you from, that word from speaks of being kept out of. I will keep you out of the great trial which shall come upon the whole earth. So this promise is not just to the church at that time. It's a promise to the church throughout its history. It's applying to faithful churches. The promise is to keep the church from going through tribulation. It's the hour of trial that comes upon the whole world testing every living person. So that promise we interpret to be the promise of the rapture, the rapture, the taking of the church which comes before tribulation. You'll see that and you can see that. You'll see that later on. But there are three passages that point that out in John 14, one through four, 1 Corinthians 15 verses 51 through 54 as well as 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 17. I'll take you out. And as you look at this promise, three things stand out. One, it's a time of testing that is still future. Two, the time of testing has a limited time. It's called the hour of testing. And three, it's coming upon the whole world testing all who dwell on the earth. So testing those who dwell on the earth refers to the unbelievers. We're gonna see this later on the book in chapter eight and 11 and 13 and a couple of other chapters. The emphasis of this is that Jesus will keep them from or out of the great trial. He does not say through the tribulation, he says out of it. And you'll see the tribulation in chapters six through 19 as we get to those portions. You see the great tribulation is described as the wrath of the lamb. Jesus will inflict his wrath upon Christ, rejecting Jews as well as unbelieving Gentiles. But according to 1 Thessalonians 5, 9, God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. So believers will be kept from the hour of trial through the rapture of the church, the rapture. Looking forward to that very much. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 51 through 53. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep but we will all be changed in a flash in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound. The dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed for the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. I was taught about the rapture when it first got saved. I'd never heard about it that the Lord was gonna remove us. And I was, I'd gone to a Bible study at Calvary Chapel in 1971, it was 71. And Pastor Chuck had just taught about the rapture and he was talking about some things related to the signs, earthquakes and all of that. And I still remember I was laying in bed. I was asleep as early in the morning around six o'clock or so. And I still remember I was laying in the bed and I was awakened by this huge earthquake. A huge earthquake happened in 1971 in February. And I lived in Norwalk and the house began to shake and where I was sleeping began to move. And I was startled out of sleep. And I had just gone to Bible study the night before where they were talking about signs of the times and they'd spoken about earthquakes and that when earthquakes and this and that come, you know, Jesus is returning. I still remember I was 20 years old, a brand new Christian, only two months old in the Lord. And I still remember when my bed was shaking, I remember waking up and I have to tell you it was when the Sanford, I think it was the San Fernando earthquake was a big one and my bed was moving and everything. And I still remember and it startled me out of sleep. And it was scary because the house was really shaking. And I remember as a 20 year old brand new believer, I remember saying, oh, they told us last night that Jesus is coming into earthquakes. And I remember laying there with my hands up saying, take me, take me. He didn't. But you learn these things and you live in anticipation of that moment. And we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. We put that in the nursery for our kids. We shall not all sleep, but we all shall be changed. That's for the kids. But he says in verse 11, he goes, behold, I'm coming quickly, hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. You've been faithful, continue holding fast. This crown is the crown of eternal life. It's given to those who faithfully endure to the end. In James 1 12, it says, blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. He says in verse 12, he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. He will be a permanent resident. He will stand when others fall. He will never be exposed to temptation and trials of this present life, having permanent residence in the presence of God. And he says, and I will write on him the name of my God. When he says I'll write on him the name of my God, this represents God's ownership. They will be identified with him. They will have his name, the name of his city. They will have a new name. And the new name reveals the greatness of who Jesus truly is. We're gonna see him as he is. We'll glorify him even more precisely. We will be brand new, totally redone, completely transformed in the presence of God. And we hold fast to him and God will work within us in a powerful and beautiful way. And that's why he says, if you have an ear, listen to what the spirit is saying. I got saved almost, well, gosh, how long? Almost 50 years ago. Almost 50 years ago in December, 50 years. 50 years, a long time. It's hard to believe I got saved when I was two years old. 50 years. I've been hearing that Jesus is returning any day now for almost 50 years. People say, hasn't that made you kind of like give up? I mean, he hasn't yet, it's been 50 years. The answer to that question is no, it's just one day closer. It's just one day closer. One of these days, guys, one of these days, the trumpet will sound, you'll hear the voice of the Lord come up here and we will leave it all behind. We'll be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever and ever, worshiping, praising, loving, in peace and joy. Oh, how I long for that day, how I long for that day. But until then, let us remain faithful. Let us bring as many as we can with us because Jesus is returning soon. Let us be the church, the church of Philadelphia, the church that Jesus commands for their faithfulness to him.