6 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The church was urged to listen closely to the letters that they were going to receive because they contained God’s message for them.
7 “Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens says:
Jesus Christ has all power and authority and no one can stand in His way.
8 I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close.
The phrase “I know your works” means the Lord examines the heart and weighs their true motives and they were found to be truly faithful.
Their strength against their foes was limited but even so, they held strong to their faith in Jesus Christ. The phrase “an open door” means that the Lord was going to give them victory over their enemies. The door that Jesus opens, not even the gates of hell can close it.
9 Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
There were some Jews that were persecuting the church in Philadelphia thinking they were doing God’s will but were not (John 16:1-2).
The sad reality was that they were being used and directed by Satan to attack the truth by trying to stop it by any means necessary.
The Lord was going to make them recognize that God was with the church and through His blessings, He was going to humiliate their opponents.
10 Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
The members of the church of Philadelphia were a model to be copied because of their faithfulness.
That statement was a proclamation for anyone in the future that if they have not compromised God’s Word and endured Satan’s attack on their faith by trying to invalidate scripture (Genesis 3:1) that He was going to shield them from the great tribulation that was coming upon the whole world.
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Spiritual Minefield 
“Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”
This reminds me of Luke 21:35-36. Although the word “escape” in verse 36 gives me great hope that God will shelter the believers from the great tribulation. However, we don’t know what our lot will be… we could be one of those who are martyred but nevertheless, we are called to endure even unto death.
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That’s right and also those who are saved, just like Noah and his family who entered the ark and was protected from the flood. In the same way through faith in Jesus we have entered The Ark of protection from the wrath of God.
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Hi Spaniard,
The true church will be “kept from the hour of trial” that is coming upon the whole earth. The Greek proposition ” ek” can mean “out of” or “from”. Does this mean that the church will escape the Great tribulation or be preserved though the Great Tribulation?
The word church does not appear in chapters 6 to 19. Are the twelve tribes of Israel meant to be interpreted literally or are they symbolic of God’s true Israel (the Jew and Gentile converted to Christ and in the one body of Christ)?
Thanks for your post, Spaniard,
John Arthur
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John-“Does this mean that the church will escape the Great tribulation or be preserved though the Great Tribulation?”
The text is very clear that those who are faithful as that church will not go through the great tribulation regardless if the rapture happens before or after, the important thing to see is what it is saying, that they will be kept safe.
John-“Are the twelve tribes of Israel meant to be interpreted literally or are they symbolic of God’s true Israel”
The way to know if it’s literal or not if the context and language reveals or tells you. Just let scripture tell you what it is saying without adding your own assumption or bias.
144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:
Then it mentions the tribes without indicating anywhere in the whole context as being symbolic or referring to gentiles. It is safe to say that it is literal Jews that Jesus has chosen to sing a special song for His glory (Revelation 14:3) and in verse 9 describes gentiles from all nation indicating a difference between verses 4-8 and 9
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