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The Book of Revelation - Part 11

03 May 2026 · this lesson on the church site

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

Introduction (00:00)

Turn back to the book of Revelation. We're in Revelation chapter 3, letter 6, the church number 6 of the seven letters to the seven churches. If you're just joining us today, welcome to Sunday School. We're working verse by verse through the book of Revelation. It will be a bit longer of a study because it's a 22-chapter book. Once we finish the seventh church, Lord willing, we'll kind of shift into overdrive and pick up the pace a little as we move into the next visions of the letter. It's interesting that we actually start to get into some of the nuts and bolts of what we're going to read in the subsequent portions of the book here in chapter 3 today, with the letter to the church at Philadelphia.

Just to remind you, we have our introduction here in terms of the way the book is structured. We have the letters to seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. Then the largest section is a series of visions that reference the things that take place after. If we root the historicity of this book in the first century, with actual seven churches that existed in the mid-90s AD when John is likely receiving this vision and writing his letter, we see that what follows are those things to come, and we'll get there shortly.

Locating the Seven Churches (01:04)

So where are these churches? As you know, look for the red letters on the western side of Turkey. Those red letters represent the seven churches:

We're just going to come across the way here from Sardis, where we talked about last week, almost due east to Philadelphia. Then finally we come down to Laodicea, which is just northwest of Colossae.

This is the diagram of the book so you can track with us. The top blocks represent the chapters. The yellow blocks represent the various visions represented throughout the book. And then it gets really exciting down here as we get into all the details. But this is our roadmap of sanity to keep us from getting bogged down in the details as we move along.

The Letter to Philadelphia (03:10)

Today we have the church at Philadelphia, so let's read the letter. Look with me at Revelation 3:7:

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore. 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 out of heaven from my God, and my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Ancient Philadelphia (04:15)

Philadelphia. Yeah, right? Oh, not that Philadelphia. Okay, you want to see the ancient Philadelphia. The ancient Philadelphia looks more like this. Those are ruins, not many ruins. Do you know why there's not a whole lot of ancient ruins of the old city of Philadelphia? What's that? An earthquake. That's right. So we don't have a whole lot there to look at.

A lot of it has to do with how they've rebuilt the city too. If you've been to Europe, or really anywhere other than the United States where we don't have a vast history of civilization upon civilization, you know that cities get built on top of cities. Some of these excavations relate to how much is able to be uncovered and how much has been built on top. So at Philadelphia, there's not as much there. There's a basilica, actually called the Basilica of St. John, but it was built around AD 600. I'll show you some of those pictures. This is an old Byzantine wall, a Byzantine arrow wall, and here is that Basilica of St. John. Again, this is much later, hundreds of years after John would have received the vision from Jesus, but you get an idea of what some of the things look like here.

So here are the basics:

The Christ Who Writes (08:30)

So we come back to the letter itself. It starts off just like most of the other letters to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. Remember, that could be an actual angelic being sort of assigned to the church. It could be a human messenger. It could be representative of an elder or pastor. Jesus writes to the church in Philadelphia, and we have a slightly different introduction here. In the previous letters, Jesus typically introduces himself using elements of the vision of Jesus that we saw in chapter 1, like the feet of burnished bronze and the eyes like a flame of fire. But here, listen to the description: "He who is holy and who is true." Remember, we see righteousness and truth emphasized later on in subsequent visions in Revelation, with the book referencing Jesus. Here, he who is holy and he who is true. And then he says this: "who has the key of David."

So let's put all this together. Any ideas on the emphasis on his holiness and truthfulness here? Remember, this is an interactive class, so if this is your first time, shout it out. Don't be shy. There may not be a specific significance other than that it points back to the vision of Jesus as the Holy One of God, the promised Messiah, the coming ruler. The whole emphasis of Revelation is putting the spotlight back on the person and work of Christ, the coming in terms of his judgment, the coming in terms of his second coming, his kingdom, and all that sort of thing. So perhaps "the one who is holy" references back to that vision. Not individual attributes, but his holiness in general.

"And he who is true." We've seen that already. He says many times that his words are true and sure, that they are reliable. That reminds us that what we're reading here, as bizarre as it might get, is coming from the mouth of the one who epitomizes truth. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. He's incapable of that, and so Jesus, as his Son, is true.

The Key of David (09:37)

Now, what about the key of David? It's actually singular, "the key of David." Any ideas? It's in your notes, but don't look at the screen; look up here. I'll give you some help. Do we see that language used anywhere else in Scripture? We'll have to pace ourselves, but there's a reference back in Isaiah 22 that we can peek at. The first thing I want you to see, and I'll have you turn there, is that we're trying to figure out what this means. Oftentimes Jesus will say things early in the book of Revelation, and then he'll come back to them later on. There are two other references to David in the book of Revelation. Let me show them to you.

Flip the page to chapter 5. The first reference comes immediately after these letters, in Revelation 5:5. When the book with the seven seals comes, we've seen in chapter 4 this scene of heaven where everyone is bowing down, "Worthy are you, O Lord our God, to receive honor and glory and power." That vision has happened. Then the book with the seven seals arrives, and they're trying to figure out who can open the book. John says, "I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it." Then one of the elders said to him, "Stop weeping. Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome, so as to open the book and its seven seals." So the book wants to root our thinking about Jesus and the coming Messiah in the fact that he comes from the line of David. That's a reference to "the root of David," the root system, the family of David, we might say.

The second reference is all the way at the other end of the book, in Revelation 22. We're just looking at references for a moment; we'll see these passages unfold in their significance as we work through the study. But at the very end of the book, as Jesus concludes, he says, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." So even as Jesus concludes the vision, he wants us to think that his work and his heritage are rooted in David.

You say, why is that? For a number of reasons. One is that Jesus in the book of Revelation fulfills the provisions and descriptions of the Davidic covenant that we read back in 2 Samuel 7. You'll recall that David makes a covenant, or God

The Key of David (12:46)

makes a covenant with David in his kingship, and that there would be a succession of kings on that throne. Ultimately, as we see the promises given to David and the promises of the Messiah, those merge, and we see that Jesus, the coming Messiah, will be the one to sit on David's throne when he brings in the kingdom.

It's possible that way back in chapter 3, if you want to go back to Revelation 3, as Jesus introduces himself to this church in Philadelphia, he says, "I have the key of David." Who's David? He's the king. The key would point to his authority, his right and rulership. There's a reference, which we won't look at right now, back in Isaiah 22 that references the keys of David and, interpreted in its context, is a similar reference saying that a particular ruler had authority in that situation. So we're probably thinking here, again back to Revelation 3, that the key of David:

  1. Links Jesus to King David and his covenant and to the coming kingdom, where Jesus will sit on the throne of his father David. We have lots of passages that talk about that.
  2. Specifically references Jesus' authority.

And how do we know that's what it means? Keep reading. He kind of interprets it for us: "who has the key of David." Well, what does that mean? "He opens and no one will shut, and he shuts and no one will open." That's kind of a weird way of describing it, but what do you think he's getting at? He has all authority. He can do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to open an opportunity, he can do that. If he wants to keep that opportunity from being open, he can close it.

When we read about the attributes, not just of God in general but of Jesus in particular, the Son of God is co-equal with the Father, and God's attributes remind us that he is sovereign overall. He has all authority and rule. He's omniscient. He's all powerful. There's nothing that he can't do. Remember what Isaiah says about his outstretched arm? Meaning he's getting ready to do something, who can stop it? No one. He is able to do whatever he wills according to his character and his plan.

So the key of David links Jesus specifically to the family of David, to the Messianic line, to the Davidic covenant. That's one stream. In a more specific way, it references his authority, which would be consistent with him being the king. A couple of references to look up:

And when's that going to happen? When will Jesus sit on the throne of David? You need to come back in subsequent weeks, when we read about it in the book of Revelation, because we're going to see that actual prophecy fulfilled there. And it's awesome.

Does that make sense? Questions on that? I'm trying to kind of weave my way through this. Yeah, Aaron?

Can we try Revelation 1:18, where he talks about the keys of...

Yes, ma'am. You guys are such great students. I mean, such great students. The specific key is different, but the imagery is the same. When it says he has the keys of death and Hades, it means he has authority over those things, right? So the key of David is the same thing. He has authority. Very good.

And the keys of salvation...

We can talk about those references here. It's not the only time in the Bible that keys symbolize authority. Really good. Isn't it more fun to study together like this? Okay. Let's move on.

Christ's Authority Over Doors (16:59)

"Who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one will open." Again, that's a reference to Christ's sovereignty, his rulership overall, his authority. You say, why is he bringing that up? You almost have to keep reading. Jesus is going somewhere. He wants to make a point about what's going on with the church of Philadelphia, but he gets a running start. He says, I just want you to know that I have the key of David and I can open and no one shuts, and I can shut and no one opens.

That reminds us that no one can thwart God's plan. As crazy as this last week was, and as tragic as life is, I said to one of my kids this week, quoting Proverbs, that "the mind of man plans his ways, but God directs his steps." God thwarting our plans is not a function of his judgment. It's a function of his sovereign care. He knows best, and he's managing and adjusting and making these plans.

Here's the crazy part, and Jesus does not reference this specifically here, but remember that his plan for your life is customized and tailored for your flourishing. That's mind-boggling, that he would have that much insight and wisdom to customize things for exactly what we need.

So that's where he's going. He's going to mention something that has happened in Philadelphia that should not have happened, but he's front-ending it by saying, I have sovereignty, I have all authority, I'm in the line of David, so I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me.

The Commendation (19:09)

"Here comes the commendation: I know your deeds." We've seen this before. Jesus knows his church. He knows everything about them, the details of what's going on, both good and bad. Remember how the letters to the seven churches seem to be arranged in something of a chiastic structure, where the message to Philadelphia mirrors the message to Smyrna? One of the things we saw in Smyrna, and we see it here with Philadelphia, is commendation, a lot of encouragement for good work that's done. Most of the other letters have a little bit of good and a lot of bad. Here there's a lot to commend.

Your Bible probably says something like this. Look back at the text. "I know your deeds." My Bible has a period, and then it says, "Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept my word and have not denied my name."

In the original letter, as John penned it while receiving the message from Jesus through this angel, there's no punctuation, and sometimes that means we have to infer some of the punctuation and even some of the grammatical references. If you read it in Greek, or even in English, you kind of scratch your head. So probably what's happening is that the clause in verse 8, "Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut," is more of a parenthetical thought. He says, "I know your deeds," and then he sort of says this, and remember, I can open and close doors, just as he said he does. Then he comes back and says, in light of that, even though you have little power, you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

The Open Door (21:22)

What is "little power"? Perhaps they were small on the side of society. Maybe they were a smaller church, maybe they didn't have great staff and preachers and elders. We don't know exactly what it means that they had little power, but in spite of that reality, Jesus commends them: you've kept my word and have not denied my name.

So what do you think that open door that no one can shut is? I gave you a couple of possibilities. Open door gives access. It's access to something. If you look at the biblical data on open doors, Paul talked about an open door for the gospel in the book of Acts and in several of his letters. So that's one possibility:

What he's saying is that their perseverance has demonstrated what? That they're genuine Christians. You remember that's not the first time. That fits the context, because what Jesus is very interested in with many of these letters is this: he says, okay, I know your deeds, and then he gives them feedback. And why is he giving them feedback? Because the nature of the fruit shows you what type of tree it is. Jesus talks about that in Matthew 7, and we see it here.

Perseverance and Suffering (22:30)

We talked last time about what we sometimes call the perseverance of the saints. Real Christians continue to believe, and sometimes we call this eternal security. That continuance in belief is fueled by God's grace to keep true Christians in the faith, and it demonstrates that their faith is real.

These churches were suffering. We see it in the churches Peter writes to, in James's letter, and in virtually all the New Testament letters, which are written to Christians suffering persecution. There's a common theme: suffering and trials test your faith and show you whether that faith is real or whether it is lacking. Many of these churches, when the pressure came, gave in. We talked about syncretism. Remember that word? What does it mean? Yeah, you merge belief systems. You take a little bit of Jesus, a little bit of the culture, a little bit of this deity and this pagan practice, and bring them together.

Isn't that what's happening today? Is individualism a thing today or not? It's like, "Oh, I'm just going to do my own thing. I'm going to take a little bit of this, a little bit of that." It's the Keith religion. It's the Keith way of living. Expressive individualism. Do you guys know about that? Expressive individualism is not just the idea that I'm going to find my own way and chart my own path. It's like going to a buffet. You ever do that? You've got a plate, and your buddy's got a plate...

and you go through the line, and by the time you get to the end your plate looks different from his. It's because you're taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that, whatever you like. What this letter points to, and several of these letters, is the idea that we can be tempted to do the same thing with our faith. We look out at the culture and say, "Well, I can't do that because that's wrong," and then, "I can't do that, but that looks great." We start adopting practices, ideologies, ways of thinking, habits, and ways to entertain ourselves, and we pull all these things together and somehow make it fit with a little bit of Jesus. That's the way so many of these churches had gone. Yet Jesus singles out the church at Philadelphia and says, even though you have little power, you persevered, you stayed pure, and you didn't adulterate yourself with the culture and all the false deities and religious systems going on around you.

The Open Door (25:36)

I think what fits the context best, in light of the other letters and in light of the immediate context, is that he's saying, "I've put before you an open door that no one can shut," meaning they have access to God and to his kingdom. They're true believers, and their perseverance has demonstrated that. Does that make sense? Okay, yes, Sheila.

Yeah, it's personalized. That's right. He's singling them out, whereas in some of the other letters he says judgment is coming if things don't change. So you're absolutely right. I think that verifies again that we can't totally rule out the possibility of a gospel opportunity, but the second option fits the context. Just remember, guys: context, context, context. We're not going to lose our hermeneutical minds as we work through Revelation. We're going to use normal interpretive tools and let the text speak for itself. I'm reading and studying this every week, and hopefully you are too, and it is amazing how much of Revelation is self-interpreting if you just give it a chance. So let's keep our minds focused on that.

The Synagogue of Satan (26:40)

He says, "Because you have a little power, you have kept my word and not denied my name." That's the commendation. Then he says, "Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you." I didn't give you any hints here, so talk to me. What do you think is going on?

There are some clues from the previous letters about the synagogue of Satan.

Jewish persecution. That's right. We actually know there were two things. The gospel went to the Jews first, didn't it? So we go back to the book of Acts and see the earliest converts, and there's a large-scale Jewish conversion. But there was also the first wave of persecution. From who?

Paul. Yeah, Paul, who was a Jew. So you have the first gospel response among Jewish people, who repent and trust in the Messiah, but you also have the first wave of persecution. The people said no, we don't think that's the case, and they were the first ones to push back and start afflicting the church. So as the gospel spreads, you see that phenomenon: Jewish people who believe Jesus is the Messiah and repent and become believers, and then those who reject the Messiah, many of whom become persecutors of the church. It's in that historical strain that Jesus is writing here and giving this message to John when he talks about those who say they're Jews and are not. He's not saying they're from some other country but pretending to be Jews. What he's saying is they've rejected their Messiah, because a true Jewish person is someone who accepts the Messiah. That's the whole point of the Old Testament, to prepare for that.

So why is it the synagogue of Satan? Ultimately, who's in charge of everybody who rejects the Messiah? The god of this world.

Have you noticed that in these letters Jesus has talked about Satan more than probably anywhere else in Scripture? You picked up on the references here. Paul talks about Satan occasionally in his letters, and Jesus talks about him occasionally in the Gospels, but Jesus keeps coming back to this. I think part of what he's doing is reminding us that if you're not fully in for Jesus and walking with him, there's only one other option for whose team you're on. Isn't it easy to deceive ourselves like this? "Yeah, I believe Jesus, and I want to walk with him, and I'm doing some stuff, but I'm not sure I want to be all in."

There's a notion that is part of the satanic deception that goes like this: I can sit on the fence and look in the direction of Jesus and say, "Rah rah, that's great," but I don't jump over and fully commit. What Jesus does is bring a perspective that polarizes all of life. It creates a binary reality with two choices. You're either fully in for Christ, or you belong to the god of this world. There isn't another option.

Bowing at Your Feet (31:05)

So what does "bow down at your feet" mean?

In Romans, Paul said the gospel was given to the Gentiles to make the Jews jealous.

Yeah, that's right. So this almost parallels: they're jealous because God is blessing the Gentiles. In Romans, Paul talks about how, because of the large-scale rejection by the Jews, God is building in the Gentiles, and that reality makes them jealous in a good way, to provoke them to see that Jesus is truly the Messiah. So that's a parallel there.

Yeah, I think you're both right. There's definitely that provocation Paul talks about, but then there's the reality that the Jews don't have access to their Messiah, because they've rejected him, and so they don't have access to the kingdom. That's absolutely right. So how are they going to come and bow down at their feet? Is that future or present? It's hard to interpret, but you have another idea.

Yeah, that goes right back to "I open and no one shuts, and I shut and no one opens." So you do see his authority there, in some way. Whenever you see God's people have his victory and the other ones either bowing down or having someone's foot on their neck, it reminds us of Genesis 3:15, that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. And Romans 16:20 says the God of peace will soon crush Satan. Those references are really helpful to give background to all of this.

It's like the timing, right? We don't know what the timing actually is, but we do know that ultimately the Jews will be provoked by God's work among Gentile Christians, and that access to Christ, or access to the kingdom, comes only through the acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. That's going to happen at some point. We're guessing here, using educated guesses, but maybe there was a time when the Jews persecuting this little church with little power saw them endure. They saw their faithfulness, their effectiveness, their love for each other, and at some point that brought some of them to a breaking point of conversion, and they say, "God must really be in your midst." Think of some of those New Testament letters where the writer reminds the church that their testimony is so clear it verifies the reality of what God is doing in their midst. In some way, there's going to be a recognition that God's hand of favor is upon this little church, and these Jews who are persecuting will in some way acknowledge it.

Notice the language here. It's not "recognize, oh, they were right and we were wrong." It's not "oh, hey, maybe we were wrong." Listen to the language: they will recognize that Jesus has loved them. It's personal, not just notional. They see the love of Christ upon that church.

The Hour of Testing (34:13)

He says, "Because you have kept the word of my perseverance," and again, perseverance is a theme in all these letters, "I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."

Here's where it gets fun. Jesus knows where he's going. As he finishes these letters, he's going to turn to the future and start talking about the things to come. Remember the big map of the book of Revelation? The bulk of the book is about that middle section after the seven letters and before the new heavens and new earth. What's that middle section about? Tribulation. It's about testing, God's unfolding judgment on the earth, culminating in a final judgment.

One of the questions all of you have to answer is this: will Christians go through that time of great tribulation? Let me be real honest. There are godly men and women, great scholars, who hold different views:

  1. Christians will go through that tribulation.
  2. Christians will go through some of that tribulation.
  3. Christians will not go through that time of great tribulation.

You say, which one's right? Well, you've got to keep coming to class. We'll figure that out. I can't tell you everything up front, or you won't come back. But I want you to see what this text says: "Because you have kept the word of my perseverance," and again, that's not meaning they're super Christians. It's demonstrating they are true believers. "I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is coming upon the whole world, to those who dwell on the earth."

That's an exegetical clue that Jesus is saying you're not going to go through the worst of it. Now we've got to figure out who that applies to and what the timing of it is. But right here at the beginning of the book, it's telling us something about what's going to come, all that bad stuff, all the tribulation and testing, and here it's saying these true believers will not go through that.

Believers Through the Great Tribulation (37:23)

Okay, I saw a couple of hands. Mr. Parsons, you have a hand. Okay, all right, your call now. What is this hour of testing? We'll flip the page to chapter 7, and let me show you again. We're looking at the internal evidence of the book, that is, what the book says about itself. Revelation 7:14 says there are apparently believers in the great tribulation, but notice the description here. It's hard to get the context here, so we'll get there when we get to chapter 7. Suffice it to say, this is John seeing a vision post-tribulation. He says, "Who are these that come out of the..." Who are these clothed in white? He says these are those who come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So we know that there are some people who come to faith during the great tribulation, and that's what he's referencing here. They've made their robes white. They've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, meaning they've repented and trusted Christ. So we know there are Christians who become Christians during the tribulation. But according to chapter 3, those who already are will not come through that hour of testing.

Those Who Dwell on the Earth (38:29)

Now here's another question we have to ask: who does this reference? The great tribulation is going to come "on those who dwell on the earth." Have you looked into that little phrase? I want to encourage you, as you're reading through the book and you come across little phrases and you're like, "What is that?" Oh, I don't know, Keith will tell us on Sunday. Don't do that. Do the study. Look at a commentary, look it up in your concordance or your favorite Bible app, do a little digging and a little research on your own, and then come and participate in our conversation.

Well, according to Revelation 8:13, that little phrase "those who dwell on the earth" is referencing unbelievers. Verse 13: "Then I looked and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet.'" So we're in the seventh seal, the trumpet judgments, and this eagle flying looks down and pronounces woes on the people who dwell on the earth. Why? Because judgment is coming upon them. So by context, it seems that those who dwell on the earth are referencing unbelievers, and we see that unfold as this great tribulation time comes.

Escape from the Hour of Testing (39:33)

Now, here's the question that Jesus doesn't answer, and I know you're asking it: how are believers kept from this hour? I would say the reference point is the rapture. Yes, before and after. Right. So if people would say they don't prefer the rapture before the tribulation, is that going to say that?

One option, and it's not explicit here, although when we looked at First Thessalonians last year, two years ago somewhere, we talked about this thing called the rapture, referenced in First Thessalonians chapter 4. What is that? It is a time when believers are taken from the earth to meet Christ in the air. Now, not every Christian believes that. Some of them see those passages as referring to the second coming. I spent a whole Sunday showing you how the description of the second coming is different from the description of the rapture, so that's my effort to argue that those are two different events. But one option for how believers are kept from the hour of testing, as Jesus says they are, and from the great tribulation that's going to unfold, is that believers are removed before it happens.

Again, not everybody believes that. There are good scholars on both sides. But here we have exegetical evidence of the plausibility of that, of the logic behind it. If we couple that with Matthew 24, First Thessalonians 4, and other passages, it seems that this is at least a viable option, if not what I believe is the best option. We'll get to that more in time, but just thinking ahead there.

Yes, Haunts?

Well, in the group of the Revelation, first three chapters, your references, the church at all... Yeah, see, I love it. Haunts is getting ahead of me. Isn't this great? I love that you guys are studying with us. That's one argument for why we believe the rapture happens before the tribulation occurs. You have this text that's explicit about them not going through that time, and then we have other verses and contextual clues pointing to that happening.

Okay, and if you're not a pre-tribber, I'm so glad you're here. If you have no idea what pre-trib is, you will by the time we're done. But just know that what we're trying to do is let the book speak for itself, rather than impose a system on it. We want to study it in its normal context and then put those pieces together. What I'm saying is, I think we're seeing some hints here that the rapture happens before the tribulation.

Exhortation and Promise to the Overcomer (42:45)

So, wrapping up here, guys, is exhortation. "I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have." We've seen that admonition, "hold fast," stay to it, "so that no one will take your crown." You say, "What's the crown?" We see those in chapter 4, and those two verses there. The crown is the prize, so to speak, for true believers. We'll talk about the nature of the crown when we get to those verses, but again, that's reiterating that they were truly believers.

Then a final promise: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God." What does that mean? Well, we know that in the final days, when the new heavens and the new earth come and the new Jerusalem comes down, there is no temple. Why? What does John say? That the sanctuary of God is among men. So pillars in the temple simply reference key positions, key roles, in that coming new heavens and new earth. Then he says, "He shall go out no more," 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 I will write on him My new name."

We've seen Jesus, in previous verses, talk about names, writing names, and giving names, and I think we see the same point being made here as in those other verses: the name signifies identity. You know the Rex Steiners, right? That tells us their identity, that's who they are. The good nurse, that's who they are. It's a reference to their identity. So when Jesus says here that for true believers he's going to put on them the name of My God, the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from God, that's pointing to chapter 22. And "My own new name" we talked about in the previous verses. What does it signify? A name signifies:

All of those things that a name signifies, that we belong to Him. And again, that goes right back to this idea that you can't lose your salvation, because He has, in a sense, marked us with His very name.

So, will we have ears to hear what the Spirit has said to the churches? Will we take what we've learned and live in light of it this week? Let's pray.

Closing Prayer (44:54)

And, Father, we pray not just for Jews but for unbelievers all around the world who need to hear the gospel. Might they see, because of our works, our perseverance, and our way of living, that we are recipients of your very love. And might we pursue that this week, confident that we belong to you, this identity that we belong to you, and that we trust you'll complete the work you've started. So we ask that you would make us faithful in our hour, for your glory, in Jesus' name. Amen.

* = the audio was unclear here and the words were reconstructed from context. Scripture read aloud is in red.

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

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