May that indeed be our prayer, that knowing what it is that the Lord has done for us, that we might ever be desirous of laying down our lives for him. We know that we cannot do so apart from his grace, but we cry out for that grace, for his mercy and kindness that he might cause us to be such a people as that.

And we're looking at Revelation 3 and looking at the letter or the message to the church in Philadelphia. And we've looked at a couple of these things and we read, I know thy works, behold, I've set before thee an open door. And there is but one door. The Lord Jesus said he was the door. And by him alone do men go in to the kingdom of God. And he said, no man can shut it.

For thou hast a little strength, or thou hast little strength. Thou hast no strength. Now, when the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, be thou removed and cast into the sea. And so a lot of people look at that and they think of it in terms of, well, we'll have to get us, we can get just a little bit of faith and we'll be able to cast the mountain into the sea. That's not what he said. He said, if ye had, faith at all.

If faith was present, you could do that. But the fact that you are men who have no faith, we don't have any faith. The only faith you have is that which God has given you. And our faith is right here before us. not specifically in these carnal elements, but in what they represent is Christ. He is our faith. He's the one in whom we trust. We have no confidence in anything else whatsoever that men could bring before us.

And so he's speaking about the fact that he has the key of David. He's the one who has the power. as a king, as the key of David, that's speaking not as a key as we think of it, although we think of a key as opening the door, and surely he has the key to open the door, or to close the door, or whatever. But when he speaks about the key of David, I believe he's speaking about the scepter. You remember when Esther went in to King Ahasuerus, and she said, you know, well, if he holds out the scepter to me, I'll live, and if he doesn't, I'll die. And that's what the key of David is.

It's the scepter of God. He has it in his hand. He's the one that holds the scepter. And he can receive a man or he can reject a man according to the good pleasure of his will. And we must understand that. Whether you understand the doctrine of election, predestination, and all of that stuff, it's not necessary for you to know everything about that. But it is necessary that you know that God is the one who holds the key. He's the one who holds the scepter. And apart from his grace and his mercy being extended to you to bring you unto himself, you will not come, you cannot come. You cannot approach unto God except through Jesus Christ.

Now that's important that we think about that as we come to read what he is saying in the next verse here. He said, 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.

Now those would seem to be harsh words to those that have established the fellowship of Christians and Jews. Now you may have heard of this charity that helps people in Israel, and we certainly have no, we're not against helping Jews who are in Israel who need help from the standpoint of, you know, if a Jew or Gentile is in need of food, is a good thing to help them, is it not? I mean, there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but it is a grave error to consider that we can have fellowship with Jews. Now I'm not talking about somebody that's born a Jew because there are Jews who are believers. So I'm not talking about the, I'm talking about the religion. That is the thing that if you think about what a Jew stands for, that is totally contrary to what we stand for. I mean we cannot have fellowship, light and darkness cannot have fellowship together.

And so when he says those who are the synagogue of Satan, he's talking about those, cause the Jews have persecuted the people of God. It was the Jews who said crucify him. Now don't think for a minute that I believe that they alone were in that, because the Gentiles were complicit in that as well, according to the good pleasure of God. Nobody is without blame in the crucifixion of Christ. The Jews are no more to blame for it than the Gentiles are, no less, I should say. And the Gentiles are no less than the Jews.

But when he says here, speaking about the synagogue of Satan, anything that is opposed to the lordship of Jesus Christ is of the devil. And if a person rejects Christ, and they say that he is not who he said he was, that he did not rise from the dead, that he is not presently interceding for the saints in glory. Anybody who would reject that, where are they getting that message from?

It didn't come from heaven. The Lord said over in 8th chapter of John, he said that he came to do his father's will and the Jews said, you're of the devil. And he said, look, he said, if you had known my father, you would have known me. And if you knew me, then you would know the Father. So there is no way, now when a person says, oh well, we don't worship Jesus, we worship Jehovah. Well then, you're saying that Jesus is not God? You're saying that Isaiah was wrong when he said, that the infant would be born, and you'd call him the everlasting father? You're saying that's not true?

See, these things are born out of lies. There is but one truth, and he walked among men, and he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. That is a very narrow passage. He said so. He said, straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it.

And so, we have nothing against the Jewish people, but we understand that they are in darkness, and that we cannot embrace what they believe in any shape, fashion, or form, because they believe that the one whom we say took away our sin is an imposter. They say that he is of the devil. Therefore, how can we embrace that?

And so, John says here, or he reports, as the angel said, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews. Now we speak of those descendants of Judah. That's where the name Jew comes from, was originally the descendants of Judah, and they became known as Jews. And so it is that he says in the scripture, we need really to define who a Jew is. Now we speak of the Jews in the carnal fashion in which we speak of it as a race of men, as those descendants from those tribes.

And it's not in error to do that. The scripture even does that. But Paul said, he is not a Jew which is one outwardly. whose circumcision is that of the flesh and not of the heart. And so if a man has a circumcised heart, it means that he's been given grace to believe in Jesus Christ, who is the truth. And so he is actually a Jew. Now, you know, there's a lot of confusion that goes on in the Grace Gazette this week.

I set forth a little bit about this, about who Israel is. Of course, you know, all the big Bible prophets and all that tell us that the Jews are the people and Israel is that country over there. Well, there is a country called Israel. There has been a country called Israel in the Bible. There's been a people that were Israelites.

But the reason they existed was not so that we might see the perpetual relationship of God to a particular nation of people that live on the earth, but rather that we might have illustrated for us the love that the Lord has had for his people from the beginning, those who are the true Israel, those who are the Israel of God, those who he came to save, which is not the same.

You see, he didn't come to save a nation that you can go visit. He didn't make a land holy on the earth so that you could go over and get a vial of the water that flows down a river and you could, you know, somehow or other it would have medicinal value to you. Or that you could go over there and be baptized in the same river that the Lord Jesus was baptized in. And what good would that be? It's not of any use whatsoever. Cause in the first place, the water that flowed down the river when he was there, it couldn't possibly be there now, could it?

I mean, you know, the things that people come up with is so foolish, but the true Israel of God are those whom he's loved from the beginning. He's always loved Israel. And he will love Israel through the ages to come. But not a people descended from Abraham in the flesh. That's not who the people of God are. He has a people of every kindred, tribe, tongue on the face of the earth. They belong to him. And just like the illustration that Brother Al brought up about The widow of Zarephath. Why did this anger these Jews so much? Because they understood what he was saying, that the Lord came to the Gentiles.

They don't want that. See, those who are of the synagogue of Satan, they say, well, you're not the people of God. And when they say that, it's not just an insult to the people of God, but it's an insult to the one who poured out his blood for them. And so make no mistake that those who are looking at their natural, the blood, natural blood flowing through their veins to call themselves Jews, they are not the Jews. of the scripture. They're not the Jews who are the chosen people of God. The chosen people of God are those whom God calls by His grace, and He manifests that they are Jews because of the circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh.

And so we're not mad at the Jews. You know, we're not desiring that they be destroyed and we're not wanting to persecute them in the flesh, but we want to make it plain that there's one way of salvation. You cannot be saved by being a Jew after the flesh. It will not profit you in the kingdom of heaven.

And to adhere to such a thing is to be of the synagogue of Satan, and to say you're a Jew when you are not. That's what he said, isn't it? He said they say they're Jews, but they're not. He said because there's one that holds the key of David, and he opens and no man can shut, and he shuts and no man can open. And he said they lie.

I will make them, behold, I will make them to come down and worship before thy feet. Now not before the feet of us, but before the feet of Christ. Now I believe that the Lord calls Jews, Gentiles, and whatever else there are, Whoever he died for, he calls them unto himself. My people shall be willing in the day of my power. What a glorious God he is, as we have learned earlier. I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. He will cause the world to recognize that Christ is the king, and that he has a people.

Now, they will bow down before us, not because of us, but because we're in Christ. See, we've been made heirs and joined heirs with Christ. He said that we would judge the world. Now, does that mean we're gonna individually do that? No, it means that because we're in Christ, that will be the case. I will make them come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

And so anybody who is a descendant of Jacob, who comes into the kingdom of God, will come in the same way that every Gentile has come into that kingdom, because there's no other way. But it's through Christ. They must worship him. They must worship Him exclusively. They cannot reject Him. They cannot turn away from Him.

To be such is not to be a Jew. As Paul said, He is a Jew, which is one inwardly. May the Lord put these things on our heart and help us to understand that. And again, we're not against those who are of natural Jewish descent. We're not fighting against them. We don't hate them. And we're recognizing, you know, we have a great ally in carnal things in the nation of Israel that's over there in the end of the Mediterranean Sea. We have a great ally in them in the sense that they have stood with us And, you know, we've helped them and they've helped us. So from that standpoint, we're not against them, but we don't in any way embrace them and say we're worshiping the same God because we're not.

May the Lord help us to understand that 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Now the Lord gave us this supper, and he said to do it until he comes.

And at the bedrock of what we believe, at the very basis of what we believe, is that we are here in a temporary fashion. This world's not our home, we're passing through it. And the Lord has told us not to be concerned about that. Now anybody that tells you they're not concerned about their passage from this world is telling you a story.

Because death is an enemy. Death is a thing that's contrary to life. Every man that's born wants to live. No man looks forward to dying. Now we may, by the grace of God, look forward to seeing Christ, to being rid of the burdens of this world, but we want to live. And the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, which is a great hope for the sons of God. And so we believe that Jesus Christ is presently alive.

And I've often said this, if you could go somehow or other, you can't, because he's in a different realm in which we are, But he's just as real as we are here, and if you could get there somehow, you could see him. And we can't go to him, but he will come to us. And that's what he said. He said, I'm not gonna leave you. He says, if I go away, and he has gone away. He's no longer with us. in bodily form. But he said, I'm gonna send my comforter. But he said, if I go away, I will come again to receive you to myself.

Now what a glorious thing that is. You know how overjoyed the disciples were when they saw him. When he, after he had risen from the dead. I mean, that was a glorious thing, was it not? They saw him crucified, and then they were downcast, and then he came into that upper room where they were, and I've often thought what a breathless condition they must have been in. when he stood there in their midst. But then what consternation must have come over them when a few days later he left them again. But oh, how blessed they were just a few days from then. till he poured out his spirit upon them in a way that made them bold and thankful. And Peter stood on the day of Pentecost and he preached Jesus Christ in the presence of those who had gathered their forces together against him. And the Lord opened the keys to the kingdom. He opened the door. And he brought 3,000 in, in that one day. Because he calls his people unto himself.

And just as surely as he has done all of that, and he said, I will come again, that's our hope, that he will. And he said, here I, he gives us an exhortation. And he gives a commendation, he says, thou hast kept the word of my patience, or you have been, you have endured. Now why do we endure?

I mean, does the Lord pat us on the back and say, boy, I didn't think y'all could do it, but you have. No, he knows we can't. That's what he said to Peter. He said, Peter, you can't. You stand up here talking about how you gonna do this and you gonna do that. He said, you can't do anything. He said, Satan wanted you and then he'd have you. Except for one thing, I've prayed for you that your faith fail not. You can't endure. But he says to us we have because he loves us and he keeps us. And he said, because you have kept the word of my patience, because I've worked in you to do so.

He says, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which will come upon the earth to try them that dwell upon the earth. And so, you know, some take that and they want to make that into a prophecy about a time period that's gonna happen in the future.

And I tell you, I'm not saying none of that might have some truth to it. I don't see that because I believe this, the hour of temptation comes upon all men. See, every one of us are gonna face the hour of temptation that shall come upon the earth. See, it's an earthly thing, the hour of temptation. And I believe what he's speaking about is the time of our death, the time that shall come to trice. Because you know, it's one thing to talk about, well, I'm gonna be faithful to the end.

But when we're faced with death, and I've been there, I can tell you, I didn't have any strength at all. I couldn't avoid anything. I couldn't do anything. But he said, I'll keep thee. And he did. And I'm not talking about he didn't take my life. I'm talking about he was with me in a way that I can't quite comprehend even now. You know, it's not a matter of being able to explain it because you can't. But his presence and his power to keep his people is real.

And he said, when that time comes, I will be with thee. You remember in the end of or towards the end of the first part of Pilgrim's Progress. And he goes out into the water. And he's fearful. And I believe it was Faithful, or one of them, I can't remember which character it was, but he said, it's fine. He said, you know, you can make it. And he said, I feel the water's coming over me.

But the Lord carried him through. And the hour of temptation is going to come upon us. It's going to come upon us. But the Lord brings us there to know, hey, we don't have any power. So you'll think you've got power until you're brought face to face with the fact that you can't do anything. And you can't bring yourself there. You can say, oh, I believe that. You don't. I didn't. But when the Lord brings you there, he'll bring you through it.

I remember reading the life of Stonewall Jackson by Robert Dabney and he, of course, you know, Jackson, he was shot by his own men coming back from a, what do you call it, a reconnoitering. He was going out looking for, you know, surveying the scene. It was getting towards dark and he was coming back towards the lines and the sentries thought that it was the Yankees coming and they shot him along with, of course, some others.

But he lingered for about two weeks after that. He thought it was going to get better, but he didn't. But he kept going down. But during that period of time, after the initial thing had happened and he was recovering. And he recounted to Dabney that he said, you know, men think that in the time of such a thing as that is they're shot and they're basically dying. that you think that you would think of all these different things you need to do and how you need to call on the Lord. And he said, it came to my awareness that had not the Lord been holding me in the palm of his hand, he said I would have not even thought about calling on his name. Because the trouble that I was in was so overwhelming to me. But the Lord was there.

Now, you know, that's hard for a man to understand how that is, that he couldn't even pray. Because you see, men think, well, I'll pray. No, he said, I couldn't even pray. He said, I couldn't do anything. But he said, I realized God was with me. And he held me. And he said, had it not been so, he said, I would have perished. Because people, they say, well, I'll be like the thief on the cross.

I'll wait right to the end and then I'll repent. No, you won't. You won't do anything. If you're not in, the scripture says, speaking about those in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, says these all died in the faith. Now how can a man die in the faith if he's not living in the faith? He can't. See, you can't die in faith if faith is not alive in you. If the Lord's not working in you, both willing to do of his good pleasure, you're not gonna gather up the strength somehow in your final hour to call on his name.

But he says here, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world. He didn't say, I'll keep you from going in it. He meant I will keep you from the clutches of it. You remember when the Lord said something to the effect of Satan would destroy me, but he has nothing in me. See, there was nothing in the Lord for Satan to, to get a hold of, and he's the one that will be with us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Not because we're special, but because Christ keeps us.

He says, I'll keep you from it, just like he kept Peter. What could Peter have done if the Lord had not prayed for him? And Satan had desired to have him, to sift him as wheat, to destroy him. What could Peter have done? Nothing. But the Lord kept him from it. Oh, what a glorious Savior he is.

And it shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell on earth. Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. When we think of quickly, we think of something happening like that, quickly. And surely the Lord will come quickly in the twinkling of an eye, the scripture says. But when he says I come quickly, he means I come surely.

He said a quick work, a short work will I make in the earth. Now, we've been here for, ever since the Lord came, about 2,000 years. That doesn't seem like a short time, does it? But it is a short time, because it's a sure time. It's that which he will do. It's a certain time. A short work will I make.

It won't be drawn out from the standpoint of all these different things that people will have to do, but the Lord will do what he's going to do. And you won't be able to stop it. I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Hold on to what you have. Now see, the scripture's full of exhortations. to the people of God to hold on, to stand firm, to watch, to pray, to seek.

Do we discount that? No, not at all. We exhort God's people to do those things because it's in that that the Lord keeps His people. See, the world's not worrying about about enduring to the end. The world's not worrying about calling on the Lord. But God's people are.

You know, they want the Lord. They don't want anybody to take their crown. They want to run the race. They want to win the prize. Because the Spirit of God works in them. See, a man that doesn't care if he wins the prize, he's not running the race. Man is not running the race, he's not gonna win the prize. And he's not running the race because the Spirit of God hadn't put him in the race. So you can't run the race if you haven't been put in the race. And the Lord put us in the race. And he said, run. He said, run with all your might. Hold fast what you have, that no man take thy crown. What is our crown? Christ. Don't let anybody take Christ from you.

Don't listen to those that would tell you some other way. Don't listen to those that say, well, we're all serving the same God. No, we're not. If a man is not falling down at the feet of Jesus Christ and giving him all praise and all glory, he is not worshiping the same God that we are. We're not all worshiping.

You know, it really, of course I don't hold out much hope or confidence that our president has much spiritual understanding at all. But it troubled me nonetheless the other day, and I know he was kind of saying this in jest to say praise Allah. As he was talking about, you know, destroying the Iranians and stuff. But that's not, we shouldn't even, who even, you know, it's almost as if the concept is there, well, they're serving a law and he's, you know, just another name for the true God. No, he's not another name for true God, he's a false god.

He's in the synagogue of Satan, or the whatever, not the synagogue, what do the Muslims have, whatever, they have what they call a mosque. It's the mosque of Satan. How'd I know that? Why can I firmly say that? Because it's not of Christ. It's against Christ.

They say he's a great prophet. No, he's not a great prophet. He's the greatest of prophets. He's the only prophet. There is no prophet. of God other than Jesus Christ. God who at sundry times in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. And if a man would hear from heaven or know anything about the true and living God, he must know Christ. We're gonna stop there. May the Lord help us.

We're not against anybody. You know, I'm not against anybody worshiping or doing whatever they want to. I'm not wanting to fight the Muslims about, if they wanna do that, go ahead and do whatever you wanna do. But I'm not gonna sit around and say, well, we're all going to the same place, we're all worshiping the same God, because we're not. We haven't been called to kill people in the name of Christ.

We've been called to worship Christ, to do what he said. He said, love thy neighbor as thyself. He said, do good to all men. That's what we're called to do. May the Lord give us a mind and heart to do so. to recognize that the world is full of people who oppose Jesus Christ. I'm opposed to them with all my heart. I'm not gonna fight them. I'm not gonna try to hurt them. I'm not gonna try to starve them. I'm not gonna try to do any of those things. But I'm gonna declare that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him.