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In this message we shall cover the last two stages of the church signified by the church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) and the church in Laodicea (3:14-22).
In Greek, “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. As a sign, the church in Philadelphia prefigures the proper church life recovered by the brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love is a reaction to the dead reformed church. This reaction will continue as an anti-testimony to both apostate Catholicism and degraded Protestantism until the Lord comes back.
In 3:8b the Lord Jesus says, “You have a little power and have kept My word.” One outstanding feature of the church in Philadelphia is that she kept the Lord’s word. According to history, no other Christians have kept the Lord’s word as strictly as those in the church in Philadelphia. The church in Philadelphia, the recovered church, does not care for tradition; she cares for the word of God.
The church in Philadelphia keeps the Lord’s word with the little power she has. We should not regard the church in Philadelphia as being strong, powerful, and prevailing. Whereas we may estimate the church in Philadelphia very highly, the Lord says that she had “a little power.” What pleases the Lord is not that we are strong but that we use our little power to do the best we can. The strong ones may not please the Lord as much as those who do their best with the little power they have.
In 3:8 the Lord also says that the church in Philadelphia has not denied His name. The brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century did not take any name other than the name of the Lord. The word is the Lord’s expression, and the name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and has become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself with many other names. The recovered church has not only returned to the Lord’s word in a full way but has also abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord’s word is apostasy, and to denominate the church with any name other than the Lord’s is spiritual fornication. The church as the chaste virgin betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) should not have any name other than her Husband’s. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church life we have no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (2:24); we have only the pure word of the Lord. Likewise, the recovered church has no denominations (names) but the unique name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The deviation from the Word to heresies and the exaltation of so many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure Word from all heresies and traditions and the exaltation of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name are the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church.
In 3:8a the Lord says, “I know your works; behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut.” As the One who has the key of David and who opens and no one shall shut (v. 7), the Lord has given the recovered church “an open door which no one can shut.” Since the recovery of the proper church life began, in the early part of the nineteenth century, until now, a door has always been wide open to the Lord’s recovery. The more that organized Christianity tries to shut the door, the wider it is open. In spite of much opposition, the door today is open worldwide. The key is in the hand of the Head of the church; it is not in the hand of the opposers.
The church in Philadelphia subdues the Judaizers and their Judaic teachings. Whereas the Catholic Church has brought in many Judaic things, adopting many of the Old Testament practices, the brothers in the recovered church in the early nineteenth century abandoned all Judaic teachings.
Concerning the subduing of the Judaizers and their teachings, the Lord says in 3:9, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie; behold, I will cause them to come and worship before your feet, and they shall know that I have loved you.” The Jewish synagogue holds on to Judaism, which comprises the mediatorial priests, the ordinances of letters, the material temple, and the earthly promises. The recovered church has subdued Judaism by exposing its error and stubbornness in holding on to the above four things and has made the Jews know that the Lord has loved her.
“Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (3:10). This promise actually refers to the rapture of the overcomers before the great tribulation. “Trial” in 3:10 undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21) “which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth,” as indicated by the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets with the seven bowls (Rev. 8:13 — 9:21; 11:14-15; 15:1; 16:1-2). The “trial” may also include the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets. The Lord promises the recovered church that He will keep her “out of the hour of trial” (not only out of the trial but out of the hour of trial) because she has kept the word of His endurance. This promise of the Lord, like that in Luke 21:36, indicates that the saints who have kept the word of the Lord’s endurance will be raptured before the great trial.
In Revelation 3:11 and 12 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers in Philadelphia. To overcome in this epistle means to hold fast what we have in the recovered church.
In verse 11 the Lord says, “I come quickly; hold fast what you have that no one take your crown.” The recovered church has gained the crown already. However, if she does not hold fast what she has in the Lord’s recovery until the Lord comes back, her crown may be taken away by someone. Being a reward from the Lord, this crown needs to be kept until He comes back.
In 3:12a the Lord says, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore.” In 2:17 the overcomer becomes a transformed stone for God’s building. Here the overcomer will be made a pillar built into the temple of God. Because he is built into God’s building, “he shall by no means go out anymore.” This promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom as a prize to the overcomer.
In 3:12b the Lord goes on to say concerning the overcomer, “I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” Here the Lord speaks of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is not a physical city but a composition of the believers. This composition will appear first in the millennium as the totality of all the overcomers. These overcomers will bear the name of God because they have God’s nature in them; and they will bear the name of God’s city because they are God’s city. This means that the overcomers will be the New Jerusalem. The name of God and the name of the New Jerusalem written upon them will describe their nature and declare what they are. Furthermore, they will bear the new name of the Lord whom they have experienced in a particular way.
The name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s new name written upon the overcomer indicate that the overcomer is possessed by God, by the New Jerusalem, and by the Lord; that God Himself, His city, the New Jerusalem, and the Lord Himself all belong to him; and that he is one with God, with the New Jerusalem, and with the Lord. The name of God means God Himself, the name of the New Jerusalem means the city itself, and the name of the Lord means the Lord Himself. To write the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the name of the Lord upon the overcomer indicates that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into the overcomer.
In Greek “Laodicea” means the opinion, the judgment, of the people or of the laymen. The church in Laodicea as a sign prefigures the degraded recovered church. Less than a century after the Lord recovered the proper church in the early part of the nineteenth century, some of the recovered churches (“assemblies”) became degraded. This degraded recovered church differs from the reformed church signified by the church in Sardis; it also differs from the proper recovered church signified by the church in Philadelphia. The degraded recovered church, signified by Laodicea, will exist until the Lord comes back.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth” (3:15-16). Once the recovered church becomes degraded, it is lukewarm — neither cold nor hot.
According to verse 16b, the Lord is about to vomit the lukewarm ones out of His mouth. Once we become lukewarm, we are not fitting for the Lord’s move and shall be vomited out of His mouth. When the recovered church becomes degraded, she is in danger, unless she repents to be hot in seeking the rich experiences of the Lord, of being vomited out of the Lord’s mouth. To be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth is to lose the enjoyment of all that the Lord is to His church.
In verse 17 the Lord continues, “Because you say, I am rich and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” The degraded recovered church (“assembly”) boasts of her riches (mainly in the knowledge of doctrines). She does not realize that she is poor in life, blind in sight, and naked in conduct.
In the eyes of the Lord, the degraded assemblies are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They are wretched because they are proud of being rich in the vain knowledge of doctrines but are surely poor in the experience of the riches of Christ. They are miserable because they are naked, blind, and full of shame and darkness. They are also poor in the experience of Christ and in the spiritual reality of God’s New Testament economy. They care mainly for vain knowledge but scarcely care for the living experiences of Christ. This is real poverty, the poverty that makes the degraded recovered church wretched and miserable.
In the eyes of the Lord, the church in Laodicea is not only poor in the riches of Christ but also blind in genuine spiritual things. Although she has some amount of knowledge about spiritual things, she does not have true spiritual insight.
The Lord points out in verse 17 that the degraded recovered church is also naked. We Christians have all received Christ as our objective righteousness to cover us like a robe. This is for our justification before God. After being justified by Christ, we need to live by Christ and live out Christ so that He may be our subjective righteousness as another splendid robe to cover our daily walk. Because of the lack of the subjective experience of Christ, the degraded recovered church is naked in the eyes of the Lord.
In verse 18 the Lord goes on to say, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.” To buy requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church needs to pay a price for the gold, the white garments, and the eyesalve, which she desperately needs.
First, the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to buy “gold refined by fire.” In the Bible, our working faith (Gal. 5:6) is likened to gold (1 Pet. 1:7), and the divine nature, the nature of God, which is the divinity of Christ, is also typified by gold (Exo. 25:11). We partake of the nature of God by faith (2 Pet. 1:1, 4-5). The degraded recovered church has the knowledge of the doctrines concerning Christ but not much living faith to partake of the divine element of Christ. Hence, she needs to pay the price to gain the golden faith through the fiery trials that she may participate in the real gold, which is Christ Himself as the life element to His Body. In this way she may become a pure golden lampstand (Rev. 1:20) for the building of the golden New Jerusalem (21:18).
Second, in 3:18 the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to buy white garments that they may be clothed and that the shame of their nakedness may not be manifested. In figure, garments signify conduct. “White garments” here refer to conduct approvable to the Lord, which is the Lord Himself lived out of the church and which is required by the degraded recovered church to cover her nakedness.
Third, the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to buy from Him eyesalve to anoint their eyes that they may see. The “eyesalve” needed to “anoint” their eyes must refer to the anointing Spirit (1 John 2:27), who is also the Lord Himself as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Because the degraded recovered church has been distracted by the dead knowledge of letters, she needs this kind of eyesalve for her blindness.
In Revelation 3:20a the Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” The door here is not the door of individuals but the door of the church. The church in Laodicea has knowledge, but she does not have the presence of the Lord. The Lord, the Head of the church, is actually standing outside the degraded church, knocking at her door. This means that, in a very practical way, the degraded recovered church is Christless. This church has Christ in name but not in presence. In actuality, the Lord is outside her door.
In 3:20b and 21 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers of this stage. To overcome here means to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the degraded recovered church, to buy the needed items, and to open the door for the Lord to come in.
In verse 20b the Lord says, “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” According to the Greek, the word “dine” signifies the principal meal of the day at evening. To dine is not merely to eat one item of food but to partake of the riches of a meal. This may imply the fulfillment of the type of the children of Israel eating the rich produce of the good land of Canaan (Josh. 5:10-12).
The dining promised in Revelation 3:20b is not only for the future but also for today. If we are overcomers, when the Lord comes in the kingdom we shall have the special privilege of eating with Him. Before that day, however, we may enjoy His dining with us.
In verse 21 the Lord says, “He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” To sit with the Lord on His throne will be a prize to the overcomer that he may participate in the Lord’s authority in the coming millennial kingdom. This means that the overcomers will be co-kings with Christ ruling over the whole earth.
The seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 not only signify prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages but also symbolize the seven kinds of churches in church history: the initial church, the suffering church, the worldly church, the apostate church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church. The initial church had its continuation in the suffering church; the suffering church turned into the worldly church; and the worldly church became the apostate church. Hence, the first four churches eventually issued in one kind of church, that is, the apostate church, the Roman Catholic Church. Then, as a reaction to the apostate church, the reformed church came into existence as another kind of church, a church not fully recovered. Following this, the recovered church was raised up as a full recovery of the church life. By the degradation of the recovered church, the degraded recovered church came into being. These four kinds of churches — the Roman Catholic Church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church — will remain until the Lord comes back. Undoubtedly, only the recovered church can fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and only she is what the Lord is after.
