Rev. 3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
Aside from the Church of Smyrna, it is to the Church of Philadelphia that the Lord has no complaints with. This Church comes out as a protest against the dead, lifeless, Spiritless condition prevailing in the Church of Sardis because of Protestantism. Out of the deadness of the state churches over and over again came forth companies of believers, energized by the Holy Spirit. To name a few are the following:
1. Missionaries like William Carey and his work in India, David Livingstone in Africa, Adoniram Judson in Burma and Hudson Taylor in China.
2. Movements / Revivals like the Great Awakenings in America, the Welsh revival in Wales – the Welsh rugby fans still sing ‘Bread of heaven’ (Guide me, o thou great redeemer) as their adopted anthem to this day, and this comes straight from the days of Welsh revival in 1904.
3. Preachers / Teachers like Jonathon Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, H.A Ironside, Various Brethren writers like Darby and CHM who rediscovered and taught the hope of the imminent return of Jesus and the place of Israel in Bible prophecy.
4. Evangelists like George Whitefield, John Wesley, D.L Moody, William Booth and Charles Finney.
The Philadelphian Church was the glorious Church of the Lord and He set an open door before them which they used to preach and teach about Him, all around the world!
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