I have wondered for a long time why the true church on earth prior to the rapture has "little strength". After all aren't we all worshiping in Spirit and in truth, aren't we all anointed by the Holy Spirit for Ministry and good works, aren't we all praying and fellowshipping together. Also hasn't 2 Timothy 1:7 confirmed that "God has not given the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". So why does this passage say we have little strength ? Revelation 3:7-10 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;8 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. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Maybe the global lockdown is the cause ? In any case I love verse 10 that promises that we will be kept from the tribulation, not preserved through, but KEPT FROM. Amen and Amen David I’m staying on high alert this week ... according to the Creator’s Calendar ... we got another round of feast days. :whistle: Starting tomorrow its .... Tuesday, April 21st - Feast of Passover Wednesday, April 22nd - Unleavened Bread AND it’s “Mother Earth Day - Gaia” for the secular world A good cyber friend informed me yesterday ... “Earth day is coming this Wed. They will basically be worshiping "MOTHER EARTH- GAIA". Now those who worship Gaia say that there will come a time when Gaia will. Shake off of her those who are holding back the evolution of Man. Like a dog shakes off water after a bath. In the New Age/Alien world, they believe that soon the Aliens will come back to take off of the Planet/ mother earth, those workers of darkness that are holding up the Age of Aquarius!! Thursday, April 23rd - Feast of First Fruits - Fair Use- I’m good with a Wednesday, Spring, Evening, Jewish wedding :yahoo: most common day for Galilean weddings are Wednesdays. So crazy, such a belief, but who knows, the crazier, the better for those strong delusions to be believed! :prayer-hands: :flyup: :prayer-hands: :flyup: :prayer-hands: Let it be so Lord! TR https://biblehub.com/revelation/3-8.htm Pulpit Commentary Evidently, the church had been through a time of persecution and had not denied the Lord. This had strengthened them a little, and they were given the opportunity to preach the gospel to others because of it. They weren't very strong in resources, yet they used whatever they had. David, in the Revelation study by Jay McCarl “Decoding the Future” - he agrees with you and so do I, if that matters in my humble opinion. B-) Fantastic study, by the way. Well worth it... key point “think like a Jew” and “what would they have understood John to say” very important in our interpretation of scripture period. We tend to interpret too much of scripture from our narrow “American” view (my small view). Scripture opens up so much more when we look at it through history, Jewish eyes, and common speech and customs of the day in wish it was written. Is it relevant to us today, absolutely! thank you! :prayer-hands: Today is the 50th anniversary of the first “Earth Day” and Pope Francis is pushing the new age religion GAIA :negative: From Geoffrey Grider Back in October of 2019, Pope Francis published a book called ‘Our Mother Earth‘ in which he made the case, as he does today, that we have sinned against our Mother Earth, and we need to do penance and seek her forgiveness and blessing. Catholics listen to this New Age Earth Day drivel, and lap it up obediently as coming from the mouth of God Himself. “Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for protection of the environment on Wednesday’s 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, saying the coronavirus pandemic had shown that some challenges had to be met with a global response.” - Fair Use - The "little strength" may be a reference to those that have kept the faith within the Laodecian church! TR
So, could the Lord send Jesus back.to get us next wed, and " Mother Earth"( sarcasm very high) be blamed for the disappearances and it not really affecting the world because of the lockdown? No one would be expecting it in the Prophecy world.”
Verse 8. - I know thy works. Once more Christ's judgment is based upon intimate personal knowledge. A question arises whether the next sentence, introduced by "behold," should be parenthetical or not. It is possible, as in the Authorized Version and previous English versions, and also in the Vulgate, to avoid what is certainly an awkward parenthesis. On the other hand, it seems clear that in ver. 1 and ver. 15 ὅτι depends upon οῖδα, "I know thy works, that thou," and does not introduce a fresh sentence; "I know thy works: for thou." Then must not ὅτι depend upon οῖδα here? But either arrangement makes good sense, and perhaps the omission of the parenthesis makes the best sense: "Because thou hast little power, and hast made a good use of that little, I have given thee an opportunity of which none shall deprive thee." This seems to be the obvious meaning of the"opened door," in accordance with 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Acts 14:27; Colossians 4:3. The Philadelphian Church, in spite of its small advantages, whether in numbers or prosperity, kept Christ's word when called upon to deny him; and for this it shall ever have the privilege of giving others an entrance into Christ's fold.
