The Pearl of Great Price
A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 76
Jesus began His message to each of the seven churches in Revelation in the same way:
“I know your works.”—Revelation 3:8 (NKJV)
Usually, that was followed by words of correction for specific issues that needed to be addressed. But with the Philadelphia church, it was different. He knew their works, and yet Jesus had no words of correction for this church as He did for other churches. Jesus’ words to the Philadelphia church were filled with praise and promises.
Each of these messages to the seven churches corresponds to one of the seven parables of the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13. This sixth message to Philadelphia corresponds to the sixth parable. It is the parable of the pearl of great price.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.”—Matthew 13:45-46 (NASB)
As it applies to the Philadelphia Church Age, I believe we can look at this parable in two ways.
I don’t believe it would be wrong to say that the Philadelphia church is that pearl of great value. No church is perfect, but Jesus had nothing negative to say about the Philadelphia church. He praised them. Their works pleased Him, and they kept His Word. They never denied His name as some in the Sardis Church Age may have done, risking having their names blotted out of the Book of Life. This is the kind of church that Jesus gave His life for. Jesus is that merchant who gave everything He had on the cross to pay the price for this church.
Another way to look at this parable in light of the Philadelphia Church Age would be to see the message of sanctification as the pearl of great value. Discipleship through sanctification by the Word of God was the primary message of this Church age. This was the perfect message to build upon the message of justification by faith, which had been restored to the Church in the previous church age.
When John Wesley and others discovered this truth that had been lost to the Church for centuries, they gave their lives, selling everything they had, in order to pay the price to restore this truth to the Church.
Jesus praised the Philadelphia church, saying, “You followed my command to endure patiently” (Revelation 3:10 ERV).
This is true of a valuable pearl because a pearl is formed over a long period of time as a result of responding to an irritation. A piece of sand or grit gets into the shell of the oyster. The oyster responds to the irritation by coating it in layers of nacre, producing a pearl. The process can take months or years. It takes patient endurance to produce a mature pearl of great value.
Spared from the Tribulation
Because of their obedience to Jesus’ command to endure with patience, Jesus gave this church a wonderful promise that He did not give to any of the other churches.
“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”—Revelation 3:10 (NIV)
The “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world” is the Great Tribulation. Those of the Philadelphia Church Age were spared from this great time of trial and testing. They have already been tried and tested. There is no need for them to go through it again.
This is an important principle for all of us to learn. If we will pass the tests that the Lord places in our lives early, then we will not have to face them again later.
It’s important for us to realize that the Great Tribulation will not only be a time of judgment of the wicked, but it will also be God’s last-ditch effort to prepare His Church to meet the Heavenly Bridegroom. It will be a time of testing, purification, and cleansing for the Church.
Tribulation is a fact of life for all true disciples of Christ.
“It is through many tribulations and hardships that we must enter the kingdom of God.”—Acts 14:22 (AMP)
John himself encourages us in this at the beginning of the book of Revelation:
“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation”—Revelation 1:9 (KJV)
But James encourages us to endure the tribulations that come our way with patience:
“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.”—James 1:2-4 (AMP)
Those Overcomers of the Philadelphia Church Age fulfilled the conditions to escape the Great Tribulation, as Jesus promised in Luke 21:36:
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (NKJV).
On the other hand, Jesus promised tribulation to believers in some of the other churches.
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”—Revelation 2:10 (NASB)
“Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works”—Revelation 2:22 (ESV)
There are many in the Church who teach that all Christians will be spared from the Great Tribulation. If that is the case, then why would Jesus give a special promise to the church in Philadelphia, telling them that they would be spared from the Great Tribulation? That wouldn’t make any sense if every Christian was already going to be spared from the Great Tribulation. In promising to spare Philadelphia from the Great Tribulation, Jesus is implying that other Christians will not be spared from experiencing that severe time of trial and testing.
The Overcomers in the Philadelphia Church were spared from the time of Great Tribulation because they had already been tried and tested and they were ready to meet the Lord.
The Great Tribulation has been saved for the believers of our day—the Christians of the Laodicea Church Age who so sicken the Lord that He promises to vomit them out of His mouth.
Read the rest of the series at SpiritOfWisdomMedia.com.
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