Sunday School Notes: Revelation 3:12-13

¹² “The one who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will never go outside, moreover I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God–the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. ¹³ The one who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

As you can see, we didn’t make it further than the end of the letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. But that’s okay because we had some good discussion, and there were things in these verses worth getting into.

We started with a brief recap of verse 11 to remind us of Jesus’ exhortation to the church. If you recall, this is one of only two churches out of the seven that receive Christ’s unqualified commendation. There isn’t anything he has against these believers, which is significant since they are a small, “weak” church, being persecuted and pressured by society to conform and compromise. Despite this, they are bearing faithful testimony to the Lord and proclaiming the gospel even at the expense of their own comfort, and possibly their lives. Jesus tells them that he is coming “soon” or “quickly.” I don’t think he’s setting out a timetable for his return, but rather encouraging them that the time is short. This may refer to their earthly life, or it may refer to the Second Coming–either way, they just need to hold on to what they have. This situation is not forever, and Christ’s return is sooner now than it was back when Daniel and Ezekiel gave the prophecies of which Revelation is, at least to some extent, a fulfillment. We also talked a little more about what it means for the “crown” to be removed, and the fact that Jesus’ words imply that they already have that crown. How much would our lives be revolutionized if we understood that we don’t try to honor God to earn the crown, but we live our lives with their cycles of sin and repentance and success and failure while wearing the victor’s crown bought for us on Calvary. All our efforts are not to gain what we don’t have, but to glorify the one through whom we have what we could never earn.

We come now to the promise for the one who overcomes (i.e., the believer, the one who endures to the end). We could summarize the promise by saying that they will be in the presence of God for all eternity, but that just scratches the surface of what Jesus says to this struggling band of Christians (and to us). There are three parts to the promise:

1. They will be made a pillar in God’s temple
2. They will never leave that temple
3. They will be inscribed with the name of God, the name of God’s city, and Christ’s “new name”

When we think of a pillar, we think of something that holds up a structure. Sometimes pillars can be ornamental, but often they are used to support roofs or ceilings, and to keep walls in place. In Galatians 2:9, Paul refers to the leaders of the Jerusalem church as “pillars,” and in 1 Timothy 3:15 he calls the church “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” We also think of great leaders in the church past and present (e.g., Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, R. C. Sproul, Tim Keller) as “pillars of the church.” These are men that have exemplified for us the Christian life, and taught us important truths from Scripture. They have been used of God within the church to glorify God and edify the saints, and because of this we consider them a significant part of the church. Here, Christ is saying that the Philadelphian believers–and by implication all believers–are pillars of God’s temple. We are not just for show, but we are integral to the structure of God’s temple. This is metaphorical language (Jesus isn’t saying God has a physical temple in heaven) to show how important we are to the Kingdom of God, even though we may seem small and insignificant. To the God who called us and redeemed us, we are each a vital part of His work, and His worship (which is, after all, the original purpose of a temple).

The promise that they will never go outside seems a bit odd. The Greek is very emphatic: “and outside you will never go outside” as if going outside is something you would never want to do. This may seem like entrapment, but is in, in fact, a great blessing. Christians should never want to be outside of God’s temple, especially since that temple signifies the very presence of God. The believer’s residence is with God for all eternity, and no believer will ever be cast out from God’s presence. It’s possible there’s an allusion here to the “court of the Gentiles” or the “outer court” in Revelation 11:2. This is the place where the unbelievers are, those rejected by God. That is no place for one of God’s own.

Finally we have the various inscriptions. In Revelation 14:1, the name of the Father and the name of the Lamb appear together, so these can be seen as two aspects of the same name, and their meaning here is the same: the believer is claimed by God. We have the name of the Father and the Son upon us, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Again, Jesus’ words are intended to give comfort and encouragement to this struggling church. They are also residents, citizens of God’s city, their eternal, imperishable home (unlike the earthquake-prone city of Philadelphia). Revelation 21 describes the holy city (particularly vv. 2-3 and 22-27) in ways that echo what we read here, which suggests that 3:12 is a foreshadowing of chapter 12. I think these letters serve as a kind of summation of what we’ll see in the rest of Revelation, so this isn’t surprising. The New Jerusalem coming down from God symbolizes the presence of God with His people. Unlike Jerusalem of old, this is not a physical city, but it is the fulfillment of what the physical “city of David” represented. Ezekiel 48:35 names the city of New Jerusalem as “the Lord is there.” It’s also interesting to note that Philadelphia was re-named twice: once after the AD 17 earthquake when it was called “Neo Kaisareia,” and again during the reign of Vespasian when it was given his family name, “Flavia.” So this idea of being given a “new name” was not a novel concept to the Philadelphians.

This picture of God’s temple and the New Jerusalem would be meaningful to a church located in a city that seems to be in a state of constant construction. Unlike the stone edifices honoring mortal men, the redeemed will have open door access to the presence of God. Not only are believers residents of God’s city, but they are stamped with the Lord’s name claiming them as His own, and made an integral part of the temple, the worship center of the Lord.

“The one who has an ear let him hear…” This promise would mean a lot to the church in Philadelphia at that time, but it is also true for all Christians everywhere: in the US, in the UK, in Europe, in Iraq, in China, and throughout the world.

Next time: The letter to the church in Laodicea.