The Strand Study Bible

REVELATION 3:8  3:22

2150

Written From the Island of Patmos

adelphia write; These things saith 1 HE that is holy, 2 HE that is true, 3 HE that hath the 4 KEY OF DAVID , 5 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 syna- gogue 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. The promise of Great Tribulation to come, i.e., The DAY OF THE LORD (I Thess 5:1-3) (Fulfilled - Rev 6:5-8 & 13:5) 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the 6 HOUR OF TEMPTATION , which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. P The promise of CHRIST’S return (Rapture) ; of rewards to all who are found faithful when HE returns (Fulfilled - Rev 4:1 & 2) 11 Behold, 7 I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, 8 that no man take thy 9 crown. PP The promise of a New Jerusalem (Fulfilled - Rev 21:2) 12 Him that overcometh will I make a 10 pillar in the temple of my GOD , and he shall go nomore out: 11 and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, 12 which cometh down out of heaven from my God: 13 and I will write upon him my new name. P 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

A message to the pastor at Laodicea “Better off but Blind” (Lesson - Churches need to learn to depend on God, not money)

1. Psa 16:10 & Isa 57:15 & Mk 1:24 & Acts 3:14 2. Jn 14:6 & I Jn 5:20 3. Quoted from the OT - Isa 22:22 4. or, “ultimate authority” - Isa 9:6-7 & Mt 16:19 & Rev 1:18 5. Job 12:12-14 6. Fulfilled - Rev 6:5-8 & 13:5 (Great Trib - Rev 3:3a ) 7. Fulfilled -Rev 4:1 (Rapture) 8. Fulfilled - Rev 4:2 (Rewards) 9. or, “reward” - I Cor 3:13-15 10. or, “solid name” - I Ki 7:21 & Gal 2:9 11. Rev 14:1 & 22:4 12. Fulfilled - Rev 21:2 (New Jerusalem) 13. Rev 2:17 14. or, “messenger; pastor” - Mal 2:7

14 And unto the 14 angel of the church of the 1 5 Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the 1 6 FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS , the 1 7 BEGINNING of the cre- ation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, 1 8 I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and 1 9 poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me 20 gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy naked- ness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest 21 see. 19 As many as I love, 2 2 I rebuke and chas- ten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, 2 3 I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, 2 4 I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. The promise to faithful saints to rule and reign with CHRIST (Fulfilled - Rev 20:4)

11. 15. C olo 2:1 16. I sa 55:4 & Rev 1:5 & 19:11 17. C olo 1:15 15. 18. Hos 13:6-7 19. or, “ poor spiritually” 20. Job 23:10 19. 21. o r, “ see spiritually”

22. P rov 3:11-12 & Heb 12:5-6 23. Song 5:2 24. Jn 14:23 25. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4 (Saints to Reign) (See- Dan 7:22,27) 26. F ulfilled - Rev 20:4,6 (Christ’s Kingdom) (See- Isa 9:6-7)

21 To him that overcometh 2 5 will I grant to sit with me in 2 6 MY throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. P P 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 3:12 a Christians who “overcome” the Devil, the world, and the flesh and remain faithful to Jesus will be awarded leadership roles in eternity (the meaning behind: will I make a pillar in the temple - I Jn 5:4-5 and Rev 2:7 ). 3:12 b Written some sixty years after Jesus died on Calvary for our sins, John here is not saying that Jesus has a God ( my GOD ), as some cults teach ( Jn 20:17c ). The FATHER , the SON , and the HOLY SPIRIT are three distinct, co-eternal persons, called the Godhead ( Gen 1:1c , 26a , Deut 6:4 and Rom 1:20b ). They are all equally God and each O N E is worthy of our worship ( Jn 4:20-25 & 9:35-38 and Acts 5:4 ). What John is emphasizing here is the enormous “eternal” price that Jesus was willing to pay in order to save us. According to Matthew 27:46 , Mark 15:34a and I Corinthians 15:28 , Jesus was willing to give up certain aspects of his eternal authority with the FIRST and THIRD Persons of the Triune Godhead and forever place Himself in a lower order ( rank ) under them as a part of the eternal price He was willing to pay for us on Calvary. NOTE - The relationship in which men stood to God is to be greatly distinguished from that in which Jesus stood to God. While it is true that Jesus taught his disciples to address God in prayer as “ Our Father ” (Mt 6:9), He never used that phrase to include himself. He spoke of God as “ my Father ” and “ your Father , ” but never as “our Father” ( Eph 1:17 ). 3:15 Indifference ( thou art neither cold nor hot ) is the sin that causes Christians to become utterly insensitive to their own personal spiritual condition ( and knowest not – vs 17). Whereas the sin of pride blinds and hardens the heart and mind of the individual