REVELATION 3:7-13

The synagogue of Satan refers to the Jews who say that they follow the true God, but they do not: they reject Jesus Christ.
And Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the very One who came into the world to reveal God. Therefore, to reject Jesus Christ is
to reject the revelation of God, to reject God Himself. Remember who a true Jew is in the eyes of God:
g159 a true Jew is any person who believes in Jesus Christ.

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which
he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though
they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also” (Ro.4:11).

g159 a true Jew is not a person who claims outward racial descent. A true Jew is a person who is a Jew
inwardly, who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is out-
ward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart,
in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Ro.2:28-29).

g159 a true Jew is a person who walks in the steps of the faith of Abraham, who walks in a faith that is
placed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“And [Abraham is] the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision
only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being
yet uncircumcised” (Ro.4:12).

g159 a true Jew is not a person of an earthly race, but a true Jew is a person who has the same faith that
Abraham had.

“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:
but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these
are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this
is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son” (Ro.9:6-9).

g159 the true Israel is the church.

“And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon
the Israel of God [the church, believers]” (Gal.6:16).

The point is striking: to God a Jew is not some earthly race. A Jew is a person who truly believes God, believes all the
promises of God including the promise of the Messiah. A true Jew is a person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Re-
member: God Himself gave birth to the Jewish race. He raised up the Jews to be His followers and witnesses to the human
race. Therefore, to God the true Jew is a person from any earthly nation who follows and bears witness to Him.
The point is this: there were Jews in Philadelphia who were persecuting the believers. They were claiming to be Jews, the
chosen people, the followers of God, but they were not. They rejected the Son of God, the very One who came to reveal
God. Therefore, they were lying. They were an assembly of Satan, not of the only living and true God.
Now, with this as background, note the great hope given to the church that is alive and faithful. The hope is twofold.
1. Believers shall be vindicated before all their persecutors. The persecutors of the church shall either be saved or
judged. Note that the Jews are going to come and worship at the feet of the church.
a. Believers shall be vindicated because some of their persecutors will be saved (v.9). Note the verse: the Jews
are going to come and worship with believers. This points toward the salvation of Israel in the end time.
Note this closely, for it is the picture painted by Scripture.
g159 In the Old Testament Israel is seen as the true follower of God and the other peoples of the world are seen
coming to Israel and worshipping the God of Israel.

“Thus saith the LORD, The labor of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the
Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall
come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they
shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else,
there is no God” (Is.45:14).
“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they
shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet;
and thou shalt know that I am the LORD : for they shall not be ashamed that wait for
me” (Is.49:23).
“The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they
that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call
thee, The city of the LORD , The zion of the Holy One of Israel” (Is.60:14).
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