It’s a church filled with joyous expectation of Jesus’ soon appearing to take His saints home to glory.
It’s a church concentrates its efforts upon appealing to the lost and increasing attendance on Sunday mornings.
In short, it’s a tale of two types of churches that one finds in our world today.
Revelation 3:7-22 describes churches in the towns of Philadelphia and Laodicea. In Jesus’ letters to them, we discover aspects of each that help us understand the dichotomy between those that resemble each in today’s world.
On any given Sunday, a casual observer might not notice any difference between these two types. The worship and preaching will sound identical at first. Over time, however, discrepancies become apparent.
What, then, sets apart churches more closely aligned with the ancient body of believers in Philadelphia from the Laodicea-leaning ones?
THE FOCUS
The first distinguishing aspect between the two is the differing focus; one tends to be more inward while the other exhibits one that’s outward more than upon themselves.
In Revelation 3:17, we read Jesus’ words regarding the church at Laodicea:
“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
Among the other things that we notice from this verse, we recognize that the focus of this church is upon itself. Their economic prosperity had blinded the leaders to their spirituality poverty. They were proud of their affluence and assume that numbers imply God’s blessing and approval.
The tone of seeker-friendly churches tends to be self-serving; they frequently emphasize what they are doing. Like the one in ancient Laodicea, they often showcase their achievements.
Jesus, when describing the church at Philadelphia, says this in 3:8a:
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”
Churches that mirror the one in Philadelphia pursue open doors even when such opportunities take the limelight away from themselves. In Jesus’ message to this body of believers, we see both an outward and upward focus.
While both types of churches typically display a high regard for the integrity and inerrancy of Scripture in their statements of faith that one finds on their websites, there’s a critical difference in how they treat all the words of Scripture.
Notice the emphasis on words in Jesus’ opening comments to the church at Laodicea:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.’”
It’s been my experience that many Laodicean-leaning churches cherish the words of the Bible until it comes to the matter of future things. Many of them adhere to replacement theology, which relies on the spiritualization of the words found in biblical prophecies regarding the future of Israel. They overlook what the words of Scripture actually reveal; they tell of God’s glorious restoration of a kingdom for the descendants of Jacob during Jesus’ thousand-year reign on the earth during which time He will sit on the throne of David (Luke 1:30-33).
In other places, the pastors of such churches remain quiet about the blessed hope of the Gospel even though they believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture and God’s future restoration of Israel.
Notice the sharp contrast that we see in Jesus’ commendations of the Philadelphian church:
“I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”(Revelation 3:8b)
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance . . .” (Revelation 3:10a)
The word for “kept” in the above verses can carry with it the sense of guarding something so as to keep it in the state that one finds it. Leaders in these churches retain the words of the Bible in the state that they find them, words that signify Jesus’ imminent appearing to catch us up to meet Him in the air and His thousand-year reign during what we refer to as the “millennium.”
It’s to this church that Jesus’ says “I am coming soon” or quickly as the word suggests in the Greek (Revelation 3:11a). This promise of the Rapture brings us much needed reassurance in these perilous times.
It’s in the words of Scripture that we find hope amid the perils of our day. It’s the glorious hope that’s embedded in the Gospel.
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:10-11a).
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ promise in the above verse applies to living saints? There’s no need to assure the “dead in Christ” that they will miss the “hour of trial” that everyone living in the world in the last days will experience.
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