31 May '14 21:20>3 edits
Originally posted by KellyJay
Revelation 3: 11-13 NIV
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The verses you supplied are helpful.
They show the connection and continuation of the practical genuine church life and the New Jerusalem at the close of the book of Revelation.
They show also the connection and continuation of the normal church life and the kingdom in the millennium.
The crown is already obtained by the church in "brotherly love" - "Philadelphia". The saints in this harmony of love must simply be vigilant that the crown is not taken.
I wrote that Christians should be in the foretaste today of what we will have a full taste of in eternity future. The passage you referred to above bears this out. The church in Philadelphia is at the standard and merely needs to not lose the prize already being foretasted.
The exhortation is quite like that to the Colossians -
"Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize ..." (v.18)
"Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ." (v.8)
The tone of both warnings is that the saints in the normal church life have the prize. They should see to it that they do not in anyway lose it. This is not the eternal salvation they are exhorted not to lose, but the prize of the most normal and up to the standard being victorious and overcoming believers.
See the similarity?
"11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown "
Just before the second coming of the Lord we know that some believers will be in the normal overcoming church experience.
Notice also that those for whom Jesus says He will make pillars in the New Jerusalem are characterized by love for the brothers. Otherwise the exhortation would not be to "Philadelphia" - which means "brotherly love".
Briefly, we can see by this that the building of both the church and the New Jerusalem must be in divine love between Christian brothers and sisters. Transformation and love are the ingredients which go into the "building" of the church and the New Jerusalem. To underscore this one might review First Corinthians chapter 13 which shows the preeminence of love in God's economy.
Notice also that the church here which is so closely connected to the New Jerusalem is not a church of so-called "spriitual giants". She has only a little strength. We could take this to mean that the saints are quite typical everyday believers. They are not particularly strong in themselves or extraordinarily gifted. But their love for one another makes them prevailing.
Right here - " ... because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name." (v.8)
They are faithful to exalt only ONE name - the name of Jesus.
They are not particularly endowed with power. But they are faithful to what they have from the Lord.
Notice that not only Christ promises them an unremovable place in the New Jerusalem but an open door into the millennial kingdom age as well.
"I know your works; behold, have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, ..." (v.8a)
This should be the door into the next age of the millennial kingdom where the overcomers will reign with Christ as co-kings. I say this because of this passage just previous -
"And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens." (v.7)
The "key of David" certainly is related to opening the Messianic kingdom which is to commence at the second coming of Christ. These saints in brotherly love and holding to the one name of the Lord Jesus have before them an open door into the coming kingdom in which Christ will sit upon the throne of David ruling the earth from Jerusalem.
No one can shut this door. He opens it and no one can close it. They only need to hold fast to the ovecoming testimony that they enjoy in the church age.