Revelation: Pillar in the Temple

 Revelation: Justification by Faith

Pillar in the Temple

Revelation 3:11-13 (ESV)
"I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

To the pure church of Philadelphia, it was promised that if they overcame, they would be made a pillar in the temple of the God of Jesus. They would receive a new name from the city of the new Jerusalem, from God Himself, or also from Jesus.

In a previous study, we discussed what a name means. It represents how we are known, our reputation, or our character.
This name would be written on them. They would be so identified with it. They would be associated with the new Jerusalem, God, and Jesus. They would share in that glory.

But here, it is also promised that they will become a pillar in the temple. This temple is not a literal building, but a temple of people.

The New Testament clearly speaks of this:

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

What the apostles and prophets have said and done forms the foundation. The entire temple ultimately rests on Jesus.
Thus, we are part of the "house" of God in the Spirit. It is meant for us to build upon this.

But this promise was also given in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 56:3-5 (ESV)
"Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people'; and let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord: 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'"

Here, the foreigners, the Gentiles, were promised that if they held fast to God's covenant and kept the Sabbath, they would be placed in God's house and receive a name better than sons and daughters.

This promise was given to the church of Philadelphia.
They were to hold fast to what they had so that no one would take their crown of victory from them.

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