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THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA /REVELATION 2 - 3

Copyright November 20, 2007

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CHAPTER 13 (1 of 3)

P H I L A D E L P H I A

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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; 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. 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. 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. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:7-13)

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For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, (Hebrews 2:11) 

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And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)

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A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

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Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. (John 15:14)

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When the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles to write to any Church, God being aware of any unique culture and circumstances surrounding any particular church wherever a letter was to be written had them to write accordingly; this could mean writing the same thing using the vernacular, expression common to their culture, character, and personality, so it is with what God gave John to write to the seven churches of Asia.  With every church, Jesus describes Himself in a specific way to get their attention, to impress upon them the attitude of God's heart toward them. Just as with Smyrna, God did not have a significant reprimand for the Believers at Philadelphia, but instead there was a special attitude of love for these believers, even like that of brother to brother.  It was because of this attitude that He gives them a challenge v.8, and a special promise to help them with it, "I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." 

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God wants to use the Philadelphia Saints and those like them, to influence the world for Christ.  They are the Strugglers, who against all odds stand faithful and true. The Philadelphia Christians possessed a special quality about them that was not found in the other churches v.8, for the exception of those in the churches who did not compromise their faith, and devotion to Christ and His doctrine for the doctrines of devils. 

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Jesus describes Himself as "He that is holy, he that is true." Jesus is the faithful and true witness, a statement He makes about Himself to the church of Laodicea.  This is Jesus' view of the Philadelphia Saints, “holy and true.” God says to Philadelphia, "For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 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" Revelation 3:8-9.

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In the beginning paragraphs of this book I wrote: "One constant in all of the seven churches of Asia Minor, is the false and true believers.  Each church has the spectators and the participators. The spectators of God's perfect will create trouble; the doers of God's perfect will do not.  It is because of the true believers, that God is sending a message that encompasses God's reward and judgment."  What is common in all churches so it was in Philadelphia, there were those who were Religious, Hypocrite, and Lukewarm.

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The Philadelphia Saints struggling to walk with God had a heart desire and tenacity to excel, which caused God's favor to be granted them, even though their level of obedience was in need of improvement. The Religious, Hypocrite, and Lukewarm were not making it easy on the true saints, they had "a little strength", but enough not to be swayed by those who had none.  Here God makes a promise that He will exalt them in the sight of those in the church who were opposing them, "...I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee" v.9.

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My Facebook Timeline - www.facebook.com/samuelsiders1 - contains responses I have posted in answer to those who God has had me to share with for over seventeen years on Facebook Forums created to share the Scriptures. My activity about sharing the Word of God with Muslims, other false Cults, and with those who profess to be Christian continues; this open door that the Lord has made available to me as an Apologist/Teacher is one where worldwide opportunities are made available to all English speaking people around the world from many different countries, races, and religious beliefs. 

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It is WRITTEN in 1 Peter 3:15 … “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" God wants us to know AND understand His Word (2 Timothy 2:15), “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Jude 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend [Gr. agonize with fervent zeal] for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
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I have three published books that can be found online, type in the search bar of the Amazon website: “three Samuel Siders Books” and you will be directed to where they can be found.

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A Muslim name Macadaom wanted to know if Matthew mentioning two blind men and Mark mentioning only one blind man is the work of the Holy Spirit. Muslims always believe the differences 1 vs. 2 are a Contradiction. Mark only mentions Bartimaeus not the other blind man. What follows is the response I posted for Macadaom to explain - why - Mark only mentions him and not the other blind man:

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Macadaom C ... unlike the Quran the Bible is - not - dictation. You need to learn the Bible is "Verbal Plenary Inspiration" and what the phrase means because if you did you would understand why Mark mentioned only one of them by his name Bartimaeus, and that God had a - reason - for why Mark only mentioned him.

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One significant fact that Mark tells us about Bartimaeus is the statement about him "Followed Jesus in the Way;" Jesus said He is "the WAY, the Truth, the Life, NO One comes to the Father but - through - Me." There were times when Christianity was called "The Way" (Acts 24:22), and apparently the other blind man did not eventually receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of his life like Bartimaeus did.

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There are scriptures in the OT that give the impression that Almighty God is not All Knowing because of how they are translated, a Muslim name Ibrahim asked a question about this, what follows is response I posted for Ibrahim that validates the True Almighty God – is – All Knowing.

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Ibrahim A ... You should already know that the Biblical Almighty God of the Jews/Christians is Omniscience (All Knowing); If a person does not - Remember - this they will ALWAYS misuse and misinterpret the Bible to come to a False Conclusion against Him being "All Knowing." You trying to prove differently will be a – total – waste – of – time, because like you ALL Muslims have Poverty Level to NO Understanding what the Bible teaches about the True Almighty God, the True Holy Spirit, and the True Jesus.

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The Bible Also teaches Almighty God has FOREKNOWLEDGE of All things BEFORE He Created this Creation from its Beginning to its End. For example, Almighty God - foreknew - Adam and Eve would sin, and for this reason ALREADY had provided a sacrifice for their sin to be cleansed and forgiven; as written about the True Jesus: "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" Revelation 13:8, and as Apostle Peter wrote about Jesus "Who verily was Foreordained BEFORE the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

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To read more responses I posted this past week my FB timeline can be visited. https://www.facebook.com/samuelsiders1   
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Samuel Siders 2/8/2026 [Go deep in your relationship with God not shallow.]