Philadelphia was one of the better churches as measured by its works.

Christ appeared to this church as the Holy and True, the Holder of the Key of David, the One with the authority and power to open and shut regardless of the efforts of people.

Maybe we are in this church today. Maybe the emphasis today is on holiness and truth.

We do see in the churches what may be an unprecedented emphasis on binding and loosing in the Spirit. But holy behavior and truth must come first if we are to avoid the spirit of the False Prophet.

The power of Christ must never be exercised apart from the moral image of Christ.

We don't have to worry about the doors for missionary work being closed. The problem today is with the churches. When we repent and begin to live righteously, seeking the Presence of the Lord instead of running off to try to do the work of the Kingdom in our own strength, every door will open that Christ wants open.

There are numerous people in our churches who have every appearance of being "Jews," that is, members of God's elect. (We are not speaking of Jews by race.)

Peter and Jude have much to say about the deceivers among us. When Jude speaks of the Lord coming with His army of saints to judge the wicked he is referring to the wicked in the churches. Check the context!

We do not like to think about it but just about every Christian assembling has Korahs and Absaloms in it.

As John says, they go out from us because they never were of us. Socially this is very difficult to adjust to. Let me tell you this. The people who will remain in your assembling, if it really is an assembling of the Lord, are those who are related to Christ and His Word. All who are part of the assembling but related to it on a social basis or for some other reason will finally be offended and leave. The Lord knows those who are His. His holy fire will discover and burn away the chaff.

In the Christian assemblings there are many who are present for social and other reasons, and then there are the victorious saints. Periodically, there come divisions between the two kinds of believers. Because of the social bonds between the two groups there is much grief and pain over the rending and tearing that occurs.

You can imagine the ripping of the social environment when Korah and a number of leaders of the assembling defied Moses and Aaron. Even after the ground swallowed up the rebels the congregation grumbled and gathered together against Moses and Aaron for harming "the people of the Lord." Can you imagine? How dumb could they be?

To be continued.