To the church in Philadelphia
“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.”
Revelation 3:7,8
Have you ever wondered how early Christians survived persecution? From the book of Acts we learn that they not only survived, but the message of salvation spread like wildfire. How is this so? The Jewish nation in which they lived opposed them, and the Romans, the dominant superpower of their day, persecuted them for two centuries.
I submit to you that believers survived in difficult times through spiritual connections. Spiritual union with one another and God began shortly after they were saved and Spirit filled. The evidence of their union is found in this scripture,
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 4:31-33
This was not a forced communism, but merely a natural outgrowth of a deep, spiritual union between believers. They just felt, out of love, like taking care of one another.
In the coming days of World War 3
Likewise, in the coming days of World War 3, many will wonder how they will survive, too. The world government will become increasingly antichrist, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.
Jesus said,
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
Matthew 24:6
The way that we are not trouble in such fearful times, is that we find union with our Savior in each other. Through yielding to His Spirit as He flows through each of us, we find comfort and help from the Body of Christ. It will be the book of Acts all over again.
What is happening now, is those who are sensitive to God’s Spirit are beginning to connect with other people in the Body of Christ. These connections make little earthly sense, but we feel them deeply and our passion is to be with those Jesus unites us with. In essence, we are being taught to believe God even when nothing makes sense to our natural minds. In this way, our Lord can lead and guide us through the coming days, fitly joined together, each joint in His body supplying what the other needs.
When we either do not have access to the internet or the world wide web is so closely monitored that it is dangerous, we will be led by His Spirit. When someone is in need, we will know through His supernatural voice and go to them. When someone is hurting in their heart, even if they try to hide it, we will lay our hands on them and they will be healed. In uniting by faith, our few loaves and fishes will be multiplied and feed everyone. In the end, even though the world outside is hostile, the love we experience between each other, as led by His Spirit, will more than compensate.
We are a sleeping giant who only needs God’s breath to live and have life more abundantly. This breath of God returned on the day of Pentecost and we continue to be filled more and more with His life as we take Him in. The next stage of this restoration is to spiritually connect with one another so that we will move as one. This is the future of the church of Philadelphia.
Amen.
