Is This The Face Of Philadelphia?
Philadelphia Means Brotherly Love
Clarity, or the ability to see clearly, is what we need in this day and age. We are living in the shadow of a world government that, though not yet fully formed, is working its evil in the background of our daily lives. Moreover, the message we hear from many pulpits does not accurately reflect the will of the Holy Spirit. Thus, like the “instead of Christ”, which is what the term Antichrist means, we hear a pseudo gospel that sounds “like Christ”. This world is a house of mirrors where everything is distorted by sin.
It’s not sin to be deceived, just dangerous. Dangerous in the way that playing on a highway is for a young child who doesn’t understand their peril. In our day, lack of clarity prepares us to receive and follow the Antichrist. Without a love of “The Truth”, we necessarily fall victim to “The Lie”.
Living in the age of Philadelphia
God says,
“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 heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”
Revelation 3:7-11
First the natural, then the spiritual
The church of Philadelphia was an actual church in Asia Minor during the fist century A.D. Therefore, the primary application of these scriptures is to that literal church at Philadelphia. However, there is a second, and broader application of Christ’s words which speaks to our present time. Not only does Christ talk about seven literal churches in Asia Minor, but he describes 7 distinct periods that span the Gentile church age. Each of these periods of time have the characteristics, in a broad sense, of the literal church it is associated with. Just as God used the story of Jonah to foreshadow the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, God uses these seven churches in asia to foreshadow seven church ages before the second coming of Christ.
The first church, beginning with Sardis, is analogous to the period following Christ’s accension. In that age, like the actual church, many fell away from the faith. Comments that Jesus makes to the saints at Sardis prophetically speak of conditions that apply to Christians in general at that future time. Each of the other natural churches has spiritual parallels too. Thus, these historical churches prophetically foreshadow conditions and events that happen to God’s people as a whole, during the next 2000 years. I believe that we are currently in the 6th church age foreshadowed by the church at Philadelphia. We are now coming into the age of brotherly love.
A people who have a little strength
To begin with, the door Jesus opens to the Philadelphians is the same door the apostle John saw in heaven. To the church of Philadelphia, Jesus provides a way of escape for saints who embrace His Divine Love. The reason that Jesus opens this door for us is we keep His word and do not deny His name.
Keeping God’s word is not just believing doctrine. Keeping the word of Christ is also listening and obeying God’s voice each and every day. Those who are led of the Spirit, these are the sons of God. It does little good to read and understand God’s word if we will not hear His voice.
Many scholars want the Bible to be as definitive as a baking recipe. If God speaks about one event in one text, they want Him to use the exact same wording in another. Therefore, when reading the Word of God, many people miss obvious connections, because God doesn’t say everything exactly the same. A door in heaven represents a portal through which people journey to God and to His throne. Translate, rapture, caught away, all talk about one central phenomenon. Some theologians get lost in the terminology (woods) because they can’t see the forest for the trees.
A world undone by Love
In the future, as the man-child takes shape, God brings about a stunning reversal of fortunes. The Dragon of Revelation 12, thinking to kill a newborn child, instead confronts a fully grown man-child. Like a whole nation born in a single day, God’s offspring suddenly appear on the world stage. Philadelphian Christians allow God’s Divine Love to reveal itself through them, bringing the Antichrist government to its knees.
The true miracle of the Body of Christ is love. As people feel the love of God through His body, they will not fight, harm, or otherwise oppress anyone. Thus, when the powers that be demand evil things, people simply don’t obey. Divine love is the ultimate passive resistance. People bent on evil lose influence over the masses who are experiencing God’s love. This is how God deals a death-blow to the Antichrist government.
Is Satan targeting the church of Philadelphia?
The church of Philadelphia is, at present, mostly invisible. People who follow the Holy Spirit are generally outcasts in todays Christian church. I am beginning to suspect that the elect don’t look very “Churchy”. Perhaps drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics, and groups that don’t look like Christians are, in fact, the face of Philadelphia. Maybe they look and act like the woman at the well who was one of the first to recognize Jesus as the Christ. Could it be that Satan targets certian people because he recognizes their potential? What if those who abuse drugs are people with a special need to connect with God? Maybe the “high” drug users seek is just a deep need to feel the presence of the Lord? It could be that women who turn to prostitution are targets for abuse precisely because of their capacity for Divine Love. I suspect these outcasts, as they encounter God’s Divine love may, in turn, love much.
Jesus says,
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
Matthew 21:28-31
Dear Connections,
The Bride of Christ is a shut in. They are afraid of the world because they feel too deeply. Not able to keep out societies emotions, which flood their minds constantly, they remain in the shadows. In their life they have been abused beyond measure, often discarded from birth. Life, for them, is a struggle to survive and those people who should care for them do not. Some turn bitter and fight against God Himself though they are His chosen. Nevertheless, in the valley of their despair, they do not turn to evil. They are the ultimate prodigals, God’s sons and daughters who do return and do their Father’s will.
God is about to do a miracle. Against impossible odds, the Holy Spirit is going to woo the Bride of Christ from the world into His arms. Even though the elect are oppressed by circumstances seemingly beyond hope, they are about be delivered.
Amen.
Michael
Dear Connections,
I found this “Raver’s Manifesto” while researching rave music. It’s author is unknow but I think it describes something very deep and real that draws people.
“Our emotional state of choice is Ecstasy. Our nourishment of choice is Love. Our addiction of choice is technology. Our religion of choice is music. Our currency of choice is knowledge. Our politics of choice is none. Our society of choice is utopian though we know it will never be.
You may hate us. You may dismiss us. You may misunderstand us. You may be unaware of our existence. We can only hope you do not care to judge us, because we would never judge you. We are not criminals. We are not disillusioned. We are not drug addicts. We are not naive children. We are one massive, global, tribal village that transcends man-made law, physical geography, and time itself. We are The Massive. One Massive.
We were first drawn by the sound. From far away, the thunderous, muffled, echoing beat was comparable to a mother’s heart soothing a child in her womb of concrete, steel, and electrical wiring. We were drawn back into this womb, and there, in the heat, dampness, and darkness of it, we came to accept that we are all the same. We came to accept that we are all equal. Not only to the darkness, and to ourselves, but to the very music slamming into us and passing through our souls: we are all equal. And somewhere around 35Hz we could feel the hand of God at our backs, pushing us forward, pushing us to push ourselves to strengthen our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. Pushing us to turn to the person beside us to join hands and uplift them by sharing the uncontrollable joy we felt from creating this magical bubble that can, for one evening, protect us from the horrors, atrocities, and pollution of the outside world. It is in that very instant, with these very realizations that each of was truly born. We continue to pack our bodies into clubs, or warehouses, or buildings you’ve abandoned and left for naught, and we bring life to them for one night. Strong, throbbing, vibrant life in its purest, most intense, most hedonistic form.
In these makeshift spaces, we seek to shed ourselves of the burden of uncertainty for a future you have been unable to stabilize and secure for us. We seek to relinquish our inhibitions, and free ourselves from the shackles and restraints you’ve put on us for your own peace of mind. We seek to re-write the programming that you have tried to indoctrinate us with since the moment we were born. Programming that tells us to hate, that tells us to judge, that tells us to stuff ourselves into the nearest and most convenient pigeon hole possible. Programming that even tells us to climb ladders for you, jump through hoops, and run through mazes and on hamster wheels. Programming that tells us to eat from the shiny silver spoon you are trying to feed us with, instead of nourish ourselves with our own capable hands. Programming that tells us to close our minds, instead of open them.
Until the sun rises to burn our eyes by revealing the dystopian reality of the world you’ve created for us, we dance fiercely with our brothers and sisters in celebration of our life, of our culture, and of the values we believe in: Peace, Love, Freedom, Tolerance, Unity, Harmony, Expression, Responsibility and Respect.
Our enemy of choice is ignorance. Our weapon of choice is information. Our crime of choice is breaking and challenging whatever laws you feel you need to put in place to stop us from celebrating our existence. But know that while you may shut down any given party, on any given night, in any given city, in any given country or continent on this beautiful planet, you can never shut down the entire party. You don’t have access to that switch, no matter what you may think. The music will never stop. The heartbeat will never fade. The party will never end. I am a raver, and this is my manifesto.”
Something about that really rings true. I believe the emerging Body of Christ may be attending these massive raves that are going on all over the world. I am not saying that just because you go to a party, you are searching for God, however, I am saying that those who may respond to divine love are there.
I pray that God help us reach them with the Divine Love of God before the Antichrist snares them completely. Being the Elect of God, those who are chosen will weather Strong Delusion no matter what state they are in now. However, I also feel that many will lose out on eternal salvation simply because no one bothered to look at what is going on with them as God sees them.
God bless,
Michael