Amen ThunderTongue,
God always confirms the messages one way or another. All I know is that He is saying believers absolutely must get close to Him - Only those who are close enough to Him will know His voice from the voice of the enemy. The enemy can not only look like God, but also 'sound' like Him.. That ancient serpent can sound loving all the while accusing us & condemning us. This is the synagogue of satan which the enemy is raising up even as God is raising up His army.. Take a moment to read...
This is in regards to the end times.. Currently, I'm seeing many believers that fit into the Laodicean category (lukewarm), there are some that are dead (Sardis), they have an outward appearance of being alive and very Christian; however, they wield no power and are spiritually dead. The Lord wants us to ascribe to be like Philadelphia:
1.They have "a little strength ['dunamis,' ordinarily translated 'power']." Since this is meant as a tribute, we infer that He is talking about the power of godliness. Their possession of this power will set them apart from others in the Last Days who will have only the form of godliness (2 Tim. 3:5). Through the Holy Spirit, who is the source of this power, they will exhibit a character antithetical to the character of false Christians. The terms describing them will be exact opposites of the terms Paul uses in 2 Timothy 3. Instead of being lovers of self, for example, they will be lovers of God. Yet even so, their strength will be little, no doubt in comparison with the church after Pentecost. Perhaps the Lord is suggesting also that this will not be a large church (they'll be the remnant & elect prior to raising up in full power)
2. Philadelphia will keep the Word of God. They will revere every word of it as inerrant truth. They will reject corrupt texts and versions. They will renounce hermeneutical approaches which belittle the supernatural. And they will study the Scriptures diligently as their rule of doctrine and practice.
3.Philadelphia will not deny the name of Christ. Under persecution, they will remain faithful to Him, and they will not demean His name by encouraging the unruly to believe that they can claim His salvation without submitting to His Lordship. In other words, they will live in the age of easy-believism, when many will use Christianity as a cloak for worldly and corrupt lives (sounds like right now!).
One quality never mentioned in the letter to Philadelphia must nevertheless be the most outstanding quality of this church, for the name Philadelphia means "brotherly love." Now the warning in James takes on added significance (James 5:8-9). "Grudging" here signifies absence of love. Let us therefore be diligent to make real and maintain our love for each other.
Despite the godly character of the Philadelphians, they will not be well-liked in the world. They will particularly suffer the persecution of a synagogue of Satan (v. 9). It was an actual synagogue of Jews that persecuted the original church of Philadelphia. They were Jews by birth, but not Jews in God's sight, for they lacked a right relationship with God. Therefore, they had no right to consider themselves the people of God (Rom. 2:28-29). What is the synagogue of Satan that will trouble Philadelphia on the eve of Christ's return? The word "synagogue" just means "assembly." The assembly of Satan is evidently a church whose members consider themselves the people of God, but are self-deceived. In reality, they do the bidding of Satan. These false Christians will cast reproach on Philadelphia and hinder its work in every way possible, perhaps even calling it a deviant or cultic form of religion. But when the time of judgment arrives, the Lord will show His approval of Philadelphia by requiring all its detractors to bow down and kiss the feet of the saints they so viciously maligned.
I CAN'T WAIT!! Praise God!
HALLELUJAH!
