I found this verse interesting because it appears that the three gospels are in reverse order. Luke tells the gospel from the perspective of those who are in the first rapture, Mark is the gospel to the sleeping church that is woken up when the rapture takes place and Matthew is the gospel to those taken at the end of the great tribulation. This is a very interesting theory when you look at the differences between the gospels, what they say, what they don’t say, and how certain accounts are different. So I thought what about the 7 churches in Revelation, suppose those also tell a story in reverse order. Let’s see.
Laodicea -- This is the church that is there at the end of the age. They are lukewarm, apathetic, self satisfied and proud.
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
He is “about” to spit them out of His mouth. When? When he raptures the saints in the first rapture, they’ll be left behind.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
At the end of the age the Lord is standing at the door.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The end of the age is a battle. We are fighting to prevent the thief from breaking into the house and robbing it. If they are victorious in this battle (and they won’t be unless they hear the Lord, open to the Lord and eat with the Lord) then they get to sit on the throne with the Lord. This is a basic promise to all believers that in the coming kingdom we will reign with Him.
Philadelphia -- these are the ones who are raptured at the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
The Lord is Holy and True, these ones have not been dragged away with the apostasy. The key of David is like being the chief of staff who can enter into the presence of the king at any time to make a request. This is a praying church. This church has a little strength, not a lot. They don’t have money, they don’t have political power, but they have faith and the word of God and they have the Lord’s name. There are lots of opportunities to deny the Lord’s name, but they don’t. Someone is trying to shut the door on them but with the Lord’s help, by prayer, by the word, by His name they hold the line and refuse to let that door be shut.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
They are surrounded by liars, but when they are raptured it will be a strong testimony to all that the Lord loved them and was with them. They endure a trial patiently that has tested them. For example, perhaps they have endured the trial of institutional racism, or perhaps they have endured the trial of election fraud. No one wanted to hear their claims but as hard as they tried they were unable to shut the door on them, they persisted and they were victorious.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
You do not inherit a crown, you must earn it. It becomes clear what this crown is when we get to Sardis.
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.
The pillars have to go up first. These are the first ones raptured and they are the strong ones (the man child) who hold things up. Paul talks about when “he that restrains steps out of the way” Which is understood to refer to the Holy Spirit. These ones are filled with the Holy Spirit, just like the wise virgins who were waiting for the Bridegroom and had vessels full of oil. The name denotes the person and work, the name of God means they express God, the name of the city means they express the work of God, and the new name means they are doing something new. Just like Joshua said, the Lord led them by a way they had never gone before.
Sardis -- the sleeping church
3 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
Wake up! They were asleep, they were not watching. Some Christians think that as long as they are a good person and do good things they will be fine. They will say that everything is in God’s hand. Yes, this is the one who holds the seven spirits and the seven stars in His hand and He is telling them “wake up” and “your deeds are unfinished in the sight of my God”.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
The gospel according to Mark begins with the message to repent. This is not a call to repent of the sins in Thyatira, it is a call to repent because they forgot how they had originally heard the word of God and received it. They didn’t hold that word fast, so they need to repent. The word of God is a crown. The prudent are crowned with knowledge. Pr 14:18. The saints that were raptured already were prudent, they were wise, they kept the Lord’s word, their vessels were full. That word was treasured by them, it was their wealth. The wealth of the wise is their crown. Pr 14:24 These are the foolish virgins, they were not prudent, they didn’t have the oil and they didn’t have the word. The crown is of “pure gold” Ps 21:3. The word of God is fine gold, if you are prudent you will be crowned with the pure gold of the word.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This is interesting, in the three gospels the Lord wore three different colors at the crucifixion. White was in Luke and depicts those who get raptured first. It looks like the Lord is saying that Philadelphia will be raptured as a church at the beginning of the Day of the Lord but along with them you will have a smattering of those from Sardis. Just a few. The rest were asleep, the foolish virgins and will need to repent.
Laodicea -- This is the church that is there at the end of the age. They are lukewarm, apathetic, self satisfied and proud.
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
He is “about” to spit them out of His mouth. When? When he raptures the saints in the first rapture, they’ll be left behind.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
At the end of the age the Lord is standing at the door.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The end of the age is a battle. We are fighting to prevent the thief from breaking into the house and robbing it. If they are victorious in this battle (and they won’t be unless they hear the Lord, open to the Lord and eat with the Lord) then they get to sit on the throne with the Lord. This is a basic promise to all believers that in the coming kingdom we will reign with Him.
Philadelphia -- these are the ones who are raptured at the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
The Lord is Holy and True, these ones have not been dragged away with the apostasy. The key of David is like being the chief of staff who can enter into the presence of the king at any time to make a request. This is a praying church. This church has a little strength, not a lot. They don’t have money, they don’t have political power, but they have faith and the word of God and they have the Lord’s name. There are lots of opportunities to deny the Lord’s name, but they don’t. Someone is trying to shut the door on them but with the Lord’s help, by prayer, by the word, by His name they hold the line and refuse to let that door be shut.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
They are surrounded by liars, but when they are raptured it will be a strong testimony to all that the Lord loved them and was with them. They endure a trial patiently that has tested them. For example, perhaps they have endured the trial of institutional racism, or perhaps they have endured the trial of election fraud. No one wanted to hear their claims but as hard as they tried they were unable to shut the door on them, they persisted and they were victorious.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
You do not inherit a crown, you must earn it. It becomes clear what this crown is when we get to Sardis.
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.
The pillars have to go up first. These are the first ones raptured and they are the strong ones (the man child) who hold things up. Paul talks about when “he that restrains steps out of the way” Which is understood to refer to the Holy Spirit. These ones are filled with the Holy Spirit, just like the wise virgins who were waiting for the Bridegroom and had vessels full of oil. The name denotes the person and work, the name of God means they express God, the name of the city means they express the work of God, and the new name means they are doing something new. Just like Joshua said, the Lord led them by a way they had never gone before.
Sardis -- the sleeping church
3 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
Wake up! They were asleep, they were not watching. Some Christians think that as long as they are a good person and do good things they will be fine. They will say that everything is in God’s hand. Yes, this is the one who holds the seven spirits and the seven stars in His hand and He is telling them “wake up” and “your deeds are unfinished in the sight of my God”.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
The gospel according to Mark begins with the message to repent. This is not a call to repent of the sins in Thyatira, it is a call to repent because they forgot how they had originally heard the word of God and received it. They didn’t hold that word fast, so they need to repent. The word of God is a crown. The prudent are crowned with knowledge. Pr 14:18. The saints that were raptured already were prudent, they were wise, they kept the Lord’s word, their vessels were full. That word was treasured by them, it was their wealth. The wealth of the wise is their crown. Pr 14:24 These are the foolish virgins, they were not prudent, they didn’t have the oil and they didn’t have the word. The crown is of “pure gold” Ps 21:3. The word of God is fine gold, if you are prudent you will be crowned with the pure gold of the word.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This is interesting, in the three gospels the Lord wore three different colors at the crucifixion. White was in Luke and depicts those who get raptured first. It looks like the Lord is saying that Philadelphia will be raptured as a church at the beginning of the Day of the Lord but along with them you will have a smattering of those from Sardis. Just a few. The rest were asleep, the foolish virgins and will need to repent.