The Rapture

Seven Churches of Asia

Chapters 2 and 3 in the Book of Revelation contain letters from Christ to seven churches in Asia Minor. All seven of these churches ceased to exist long ago, when the Muslims overran that part of the world. Yet a leading traditional view is that in addition to representing actual churches in the first century, they are also symbols with prophetic meaning. After all, we find them in a book devoted to prophecy.

A common view is that these Asian churches divide church history into seven periods. The first church, Ephesus, corresponds to the apostolic period. The last church, Laodicea, corresponds to the modern period. And the other five churches are a chronological sequence of intervening periods spanning almost two thousand years.

The great difficulty in this view is that Christ strongly implies that four churches other than Laodicea will exist when He returns. To show which of the seven will have an end-time presence, we will review the contents of each letter.

The letter to Ephesus makes no mention whatever of Christ's coming (Rev. 2:1-7). Instead, we find an ominous warning. If the people in Ephesus fail to repent, Christ will remove their candlestick, or lamp stand, out of its place (v. 5). In other words, if they refuse to rekindle their first love, He will extinguish their witness, and their church will cease to exist. In fact, no church we could identify as Ephesian remains in the modern world.

Smyrna is the second of the seven churches in Asia. Likewise in Jesus' letter to this church, we find no allusion to His return. Whether Smyrna will still exist in the end times is left uncertain.

But in the letter to each remaining church, we find easy clues that it will last to the end of our present age. The next is Pergamos. To this church, the third, Jesus says, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth" (Rev. 2:16). "Quickly" means that He will come sooner than they expect. He plainly warns them that unless they repent and cast out false teachers, He Himself will take up the fight against these evildoers when He returns. Thus, He must believe that the church of Pergamos will still exist.

We find the same expectation in the letter to the church of Thyatira. Jesus says, "But that which ye have already hold fast till I come" (Rev. 2:25). Thus, He clearly envisions this church continuing until the Rapture. He says, moreover, "Behold, I will cast her [Jezebel, the false prophetess who led many in Thyatira astray] into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds" (Rev. 2:22). This appears to be a warning of what will befall the wicked in Thyatira after His return. The children of Jezebel will then undergo the agonies of the Tribulation.

Beginning with the letter to the fifth church, Sardis, the references to Christ's coming become very explicit (Rev. 3:3). The Lord takes for granted that Sardis will exist at His return. The only doubt is whether Sardis will be ready. He warns them that if they fail to watch, He will come like a thief and catch them unawares. Yet He expects that He will find some in Sardis who are worthy to be taken into His presence, where they will "walk ...in white" (Rev.3:4).

The prognosis is much better for Philadelphia (Rev. 3:10). In his letter to this church, He issues no warning of chastisement or rebuke when He returns, but only the promise that He will keep it "from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Obviously, then, one of the churches remaining in the world at Christ's coming will be Philadelphia.

The last letter, the letter to Laodicea, contains only a veiled reference to Christ's return (Rev. 3:19). The most alarming prophecy in all seven letters is the Lord's threat to spue the complacent Laodiceans out of His mouth. This decisive and violent act of rejection makes no historical sense unless we associate it with a single event. He seems to be announcing a judgment that He will bring upon them at the time of His coming. Specifically, most Laodiceans will be denied the privilege of being lifted up at the Rapture. Instead, they will be rejected as mere pretenders of true faith. Yet even among these left behind will be some that the Lord, in His grace and mercy, will love nevertheless (v. 19). Upon these He will bring a stern hand of discipline, designed to produce repentance unto salvation. His return will presumably mark the moment in history when His chastening of the wayward Laodiceans will begin.

It is now evident what the seven churches in Asia truly represent. That each stands for something beyond itself is undeniable, for, as we said earlier, all the actual churches in the cities bearing the names given in Revelation 2 and 3 disappeared long ago, yet Christ treats them as though they would endure through the centuries. That the Book of Revelation seeks to give a comprehensive picture of the future is undeniable as well. So, we may suppose that He singles out the seven churches in Asia for special instruction because they represent the entire spectrum of churches that would emerge during the Church Age. What the Lord says to each of the seven churches in Asia applies equally to all similar churches in the future.

The Lord apparently conceives of the whole church as divided sevenfold into distinct branches or streams or types. Perhaps not all seven have always existed. Yet at any given time in church history, every true work of God belongs to one of the seven.

Also, in His letters to these churches, He apparently addresses them in chronological sequence, showing the order of their appearance on the world scene. First to appear would be Ephesus. Next would be Smyrna. Then would come Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and, lastly, Laodicea.

So, the common belief that these churches represent ages of church history has a kernel of truth in it. Yet if they were actually church ages, which of the seven could look forward to the Rapture? Only the last, Laodicea. Yet this is the church that Christ will especially repudiate. As we will see, the clearest promise of the Rapture is given to the preceding church, Philadelphia. The seven churches are in fact seven types of churches that have emerged at different times in history.

Proof that the Promise to Philadelphia Speaks of a Rapture

The Lord's message to Philadelphia is especially enlightening to readers living on the verge of Christ's return (Revelation 3:7-12). In verse 10, we find wording similar to the wording in Luke 21:34-35, describing the Tribulation. The former speaks of "the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." The latter refers to the "that day" which "as a snare shall . . . come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." In the letter to Philadelphia, the Lord seems to be assuring the saints of this church that the Tribulation will not start before they have been caught up to heaven. Proof that Jesus is pointing to the Rapture comes by investigating the door open before Philadelphia. Two arguments establish that it is heaven's door.

1. Jesus says to Philadelphia, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it" (Rev. 3:8). A few verses later we read of another open door. John writes, "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven" (Rev. 4:1). By passing through this door "in heaven"—that is, in the sky—John entered the heaven where God dwells. Thus, the immediate context assures us that the door mentioned in Revelation 3:8 must also be a door to heaven. Lest we shrink from this conclusion, the two references to an open door are prefaced by the same word, "behold." The word signifies that the sight about to be described is extraordinary. If the open door in Revelation 3:8 is merely a figure of speech, introducing this figure with a word suggesting that the door is able to excite wonder is certainly overdramatic.
   
   Biblical prophecy frequently represents the coming of Christ for His saints as the opening of a door or doors. Among the many texts referring to a door or doors through which the saints will enter the heavenly realm is the following: "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matt. 24:33). "It" can be translated "he."¹ The idea is that "all these things" will be signs that Christ is about to open the doors and admit His people into His presence. Passage through a door into heaven also appears in the Parable of the Virgins (Matt. 25:10). The bridegroom represents Christ, and the virgins admitted to the feast represent the Church. The event Jesus is describing is the Rapture, here also associated with the opening of a door. James warns that after the saints pass through a door into heaven, they will come before the Judgment Seat of Christ (James 5:8-9).
   
   
2. In Revelation 3:7, Jesus says that He can open the door because He carries the key of David. It is evident that the Lord is speaking here in riddles. What this key signifies is clarified in the Book of Isaiah (Isa. 22:20-25). The prophecy concerns a transfer of high office from one man to another. Eliakim the son of Hilkiah would be made the king's steward, and in that capacity he would carry the key of the house of David—that is, the key giving him access to the king's treasure house. Jesus' words in Revelation 3:7 deliberately echo verse 22 in Isaiah 22. In claiming possession of the key of David, Jesus means that only He can admit us to the treasure house of the heavenly King. Only He can open to us all the riches of heaven.
   
   Revelation 3:7 does not speak explicitly of a door. It speaks only of a key enabling Christ to open and shut. Yet the next verse, verse 8, speaks of a door standing open before the church of Philadelphia. Twice, first in relation to the key and then in relation to the door, Christ says that no man can shut what He opens. Clearly, then, the key He is talking about is the key that fits the door. Since it is the key to the treasures of heaven, the door that it opens must be the door to heaven.

We are now ready to interpret the riddle. In Revelation 3:10 Jesus warns of the hour of "temptation" (also translatable as "trial" or "testing"²) that will fall on "all the world." He is clearly referring to a time of universal trouble on the earth, yet He promises to keep Philadelphia from it. How else could Jesus keep Philadelphia from universal trouble on the earth except by removing them from the earth? Heaven's door open before them is an obvious reference to their avenue of escape. Presumably, then, He is alerting Philadelphia that He intends to snatch them away into heaven—in other words, to rapture them.

The True Identity of Philadelphia

Yet Philadelphia is not the only church that will exist when Christ returns. We have shown from the letters in Revelation that Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea will exist also. Ephesus will not exist, for it will have receded into the distant past. Whether Smyrna will survive to the end of the age is left uncertain. Although Philadelphia is the only church as a whole that Jesus promises to rescue from the hour of temptation, He reveals that among those taken to heaven will be some from Sardis (Rev. 3:4). We may therefore presume that some from the other remaining churches will be taken as well

So, what is Philadelphia? It is critically important to understand what Philadelphia represents. A convincing answer requires that we identify all seven churches. As we have said, these seven stand for the different streams or branches of Christianity that have developed over the centuries. They are seven types of churches. We will now go further and say that the types are comprehensive. In their portrayal of the churches that have appeared in history, they show the whole spectrum. In other words, there have been seven types of churches, no more and no less. How do we know that seven is the real sum of types? Because seven is the number that represents perfection or completeness. Creation was perfect and complete in seven days.

If the seven churches in Asia symbolize seven branches of Christianity, what specifically are these branches?

Ephesus, first to appear in the Church Age, must be the apostolic church, which no longer exists.

Smyrna represents the kind of church that faces severe persecution. Churches fitting this pattern have existed throughout church history since the first or second century, and they still exist today. Examples in the past include the Waldensians, the Anabaptists, and the Bohemian Brethren (Hussites). In the modern world, the primary examples have been hidden enclaves of fellowshipping believers in Muslim and Communist countries. These enclaves may meet informally without a pastor, and any denominational lines that divided the people previously may become blurred. If Smyrna exists at Christ’s return, we may presume that all of its members with true understanding of the gospel will be raptured, since they have identified with Christ at great personal cost, proving that their hearts truly belong to Him. Christ’s warning that Smyrna would undergo "tribulation" is perhaps a suggestion that during the actual period known as the Tribulation, Smyrna will be the only church still on the earth.

Pergamos represents churches that exalt experience over the written Word. They first emerged in the Montanist movement of the second century and they have reemerged in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements of our day. All are tongues-speaking churches. Notice that the Lord is severely critical of this stream of Christianity.

Thyatira stands for all churches that are ecclesiastical in government, liturgical in worship, and medieval in superstition. These arose in the fourth century after Christianity won the patronage of the Roman emperor. Among them is a certain Jezebel that the Lord hates. The original Jezebel slew the true prophets of God (1 Kings 18:4, 13). In Jesus’ letter, she stands for the papal church, which has a long history of persecuting true believers. The toll martyred by Rome runs into millions. (Please understand that this interpretation does not support hatred of Catholics. We should love Catholics no less than we love others. Christ does not censure the people in Catholic churches, but the religious system that enthralls them and keeps them away from Biblical truth.) The two modern churches that embody Thyatira are the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.

Sardis embraces the churches that came out of the Reformation, including Episcopalian, Lutheran, and all known as Presbyterian or Reformed. Since they have always had an excessive respect for human learning and human tradition, they have found it difficult to resist becoming intellectual, cold, and worldly. Also, most adopted a form of theology which has blinded them to the meaning of prophecy. Therefore, the Lord rebukes them for being ignorant of their place in history and for failing to watch.

The roots of Philadelphia go back to the seventeenth century, when the first Baptist churches appeared. The Moravian movement and the Great Awakening in the eighteenth century, as well as the many revivals in the nineteenth century, made Philadelphia a strong presence in the Christian world. One offshoot of this tradition has been the modern fundamentalist movement in America. The churches embodying Philadelphia have been distinctive in several respects.

1. In government, they have been largely independent of outside control.
2. They have been extremely missionary minded. In fact, the standard view, seeing the churches as representing seven consecutive periods in the Church Age, is that Philadelphia corresponds to the age of great missionary enterprise, from 1800 to 1950 and afterward.
3. They have been very interested in prophecy and generally, from the late 1800s onward, have believed that they existed in the Last Days.
4. They have been marked by a keen interest in Bible study. A wealth of good Christian books has come out of this tradition, more so than from any other tradition except perhaps Sardis.
5. They have been unusual in their commitment to both personal and ecclesiastical separation. The well-known rules against worldly practices belong especially to the Philadelphian churches.
6. The laity have always played an especially prominent role. Among the Moravians, every man was a preacher, and throughout the history of Philadelphia, many of its foremost preachers lacked formal theological training. Many, like D. L. Moody, even lacked ordination.

We are left with Laodicea. We said earlier that many students of prophecy have identified it as the whole church in the Last Days. This is not exactly right, because Jesus suggested that other churches would also exist then. But it is right in some measure, because Laodicea is a church that exists only in the Last Days. It is, to be specific, the modern evangelical church. Although wealthy and outwardly successful, it has abandoned the virtues of its predecessor, Philadelphia. It is lukewarm about missions, about prophecy, about Bible study, about separation, about lay involvement in ministry. Its members prefer to be spectators, and they see no contradiction between their profession of faith and their worldly lifestyle.

How did we arrive at these identifications? Each letter is full of pointers. Here, we will be content to show how we discovered the identity of Thyatira.

In His salutation to each church, Jesus presents Himself in a manner that will correct their view of Him. He shows them how their view is deficient. To Thyatira He says, "And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass" (Rev. 2:18). Why? Because this is the church that has delighted in images of Christ—icons, crucifixes, and other pictorial representations. Jesus wants them to know that all their artwork is unacceptable. Its blindness to His true splendor does not encourage a proper reverence for the Son of God.

Just as the opening words of each letter point to the intended church, so do the closing words, which reveal the rewards awaiting its people if they remain faithful to the Lord. He fashions the promise to suit their special mentality. See what He says to Thyatira (Rev. 2:26-27). He offers them power and splendor. Why? Because a high standing in the world is what Thyatira has always wanted. This church has built the most beautiful houses of worship and composed the most beautiful music. Its leaders have striven for temporal power, and in some countries have succeeded in winning state recognition of their religious body as the official church. Some of its leaders have even used empowerment by the state to suppress and persecute other churches.

Is Your Church Philadelphia?

We have argued that only five of the seven churches will certainly exist at the Rapture. To four of these, Jesus issues a strong warning to repent. To none of these four does He hold out the hope of being raptured, except to tell Sardis that a few will be taken. Yet to the fifth church, Philadelphia, He has nothing critical to say, and assurance of their inclusion in the Rapture is His main message. What must we conclude? The right church to be in when Christ comes is Philadelphia.

To determine whether yours is a church of Philadelphia, you must apply two tests. First, does it fit into the tradition that Philadelphia represents? That is, does it preserve historic fundamentalism? Second, does it possess the virtues that Scripture ascribes to Philadelphia?

Let us start by applying the first test. Does your church truly fit into the fundamentalist tradition?

1. Is it independent?
2. Does it have a zeal for missions?
3. Do your people have a serious interest in prophecy, and have they allowed the Holy Spirit to teach them the great prophetic truths of vital importance today?
4. Do your people diligently study the Bible? Is understanding the Bible so important to them that they view coming to classes and preaching services as a high priority? Do they read Christian books?
5. Are they committed to separated living? Or has worldly lust drawn them into lives under the world's influence?
6. Do they view Christian work as a responsibility of the pastors, or do they view it as a responsibility they all share? Are they Sunday morning Christians, or are they actively involved in the ministries of the church?

Now we come to the second test. Scripture has much to say about the qualities that will distinguish the saints taken at the Rapture. Let us see whether your church measures up. Two highly relevant passages are Luke 18:7-8 and Luke 21:36. From these passages read in conjunction, we surmise that the chief evidence of worthiness will be perseverance in prayer and in personal communion with God despite ever-mounting distractions. We find also that the saints prepared for Christ's coming will be characterized by watchfulness (Matt. 24:42, 44; Mark 13:35-37). Another trait will be purity (1 John 3:2-3). Yet another will be holiness (Heb. 12:14). Yet another will be sobriety (1 Thess. 5:5-6; Titus 2:12-13; 1 Pet. 4:7). Sobriety is a serious outlook on life, an outlook refusing to see life as the pursuit of fun and games.

Christ's commendation of Philadelphia further broadens the concept of worthiness (Rev. 3:8). The worthy in this church will be notable for three virtues.

1. They will have "a little strength ['dunamis,' ordinarily translated 'power'³]." Since these words are meant as a tribute, we infer that He is talking about the power of godliness. The Philadelphians’ possession of this power will set them apart from others in the Last Days who will have only the form of godliness (2 Tim. 3:1–2, 5). Through the Holy Spirit, who is the source of this power, Philadelphia 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.
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. They will uphold His name in two ways. (1) Under persecution, they will not shrink from identifying themselves as Jesus’ disciples. (2) They will renounce a perverted form of the gospel that will be popular in the Last Days, when many will use Christianity as a cloak for worldly and corrupt lifestyles. The true requirement for salvation is belief in Jesus’ name, and His name is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; 3:18; Acts 2:21; 4:12; Rom. 10:13; 1 John 5:13). Philadelphia will not demean His name by allowing the unruly to imagine that they can claim Him as Savior without treating Him as Lord.

Brotherly Love within the Church

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."⁴ Now the warning in James takes on added significance (James 5:8-9). "Grudge"—which refers to voicing groans or complaints against another person⁵—surely signifies an absence of godly love. With the prospect of soon meeting our Judge, let us therefore be diligent to make real and maintain our love for each other.

How can we do that? True brotherly love is distinguished by the following three characteristics, although these are hardly a full description.

1. It refrains from exercising any personal right that may weaken or do harm to a brother (1 Cor. 8:13). A junior or senior in high school may be mature enough to begin serious dating, but his or her church may strongly encourage postponement of dating until a few years later. Why would any church set such a standard? To protect its young people from all the damage often done in today’s world by pairing off too soon. Even a member of the youth group who thinks he is ready to date will be glad to comply if he is spiritually minded. He will uphold the standard for the sake of friends who otherwise might go to ruin.
2. It gives sacrificially of time and resources to meet a brother’s need (1 John 3:17). A church should have a deacon board keeping close tabs on every member who is elderly, disabled, unemployed, or disadvantaged. Then whenever a need is detected, they should step in with appropriate help.
3. It refrains from all speech that will defile, discourage, or defame a brother (Eph. 4:29). Everywhere in society today, speech is becoming more crude and unkind. The media are full of people sniping at each other while puffing up their own egos, and the world on the screen is not only reflecting, but also shaping daily life. Nasty words are becoming a cultural norm. But whenever someone steps inside the door of a church, he should find a different world—a world where people actually use words that are gracious, encouraging, and, above all, loving.

Brotherly Love Reaching Outward

Any true believer does not find it difficult to comprehend and accept his duty to love other believers. But brotherly love of the kind suggested by the name Philadelphia has yet another dimension. We should love not only our actual brothers in Christ; we should also love our potential brothers in Christ. In other words, we should love all our brothers in the family of mankind. How else could we provide any witness effective in leading some to salvation? Jesus said that our love for fellowmen should extend even to our worst enemies (Matt. 5:43–44).

When setting the standard for neighborly love, He could not have raised it any higher (Matt. 22:39). It should be obvious, therefore, that a church of Philadelphia will be as outstanding for love reaching outward as for love kept within. What should be the proof of our love for people unconnected to our church and like churches? The Biblical answer is that we should make our love visible through good works (Matt. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:12,15). Indeed, down through history Christians have been outstanding for bringing assistance to people with every kind of need.

In the early centuries of the church, Christians started the first real hospitals.⁶ Even today, in most communities with a historic Christian presence, many hospitals bear the name of a Christian denomination. During the Middle Ages, Christians founded the first universities.⁷ In America, they began the first schools and colleges.⁸ Other kinds of charitable institutions, such as orphanages and asylums for the mentally disturbed, originated in the efforts of Christians.⁹ Democratic forms of government, protecting the common man from the outrages of tyranny, first appeared in nations where the gospel was deeply rooted. All the worthwhile movements for social justice that have emerged in the last three centuries—the crusades to abolish slavery and child labor, for example—have been spearheaded by Christians.¹⁰ As they have always been, so Christians are prominent today in every effort to fight hunger, famine, and disease and to alleviate the effects of war and natural disaster.

Yet the need to show love has two sides. On one side, we should be busy in helping others. On the other side, we must be careful to avoid projecting a negative image to a watching world. In our political affiliations and endeavors, we must never give the world reason to label us as white supremacists, racists, right-wing bigots, or anything else that suggests hatred rather than love. We must be careful in all political judgments to show the heart of Christ.

Persecution

Despite the godly character of the Philadelphians, they will not be well-liked in the world. In Jesus’ letter to them, He said that one source of persecution will be a "synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 3:9). This alarming description may have more than one reference. The first must be to an actual synagogue of Jews that persecuted the original church of Philadelphia. They were Jews by birth, but since they lacked a right relationship with God, they were not Jews in God’s estimation (Rom. 2:28–29). Rather, since they did the will of their father, the devil (John 8:44), they were a synagogue of Satan.

What is the synagogue of Satan that will trouble Philadelphia on the eve of Christ’s return? The word "synagogue" can be used for any group of people.¹¹ Perhaps the group or assembly of Satan will be a church whose members consider themselves the people of God, but are self-deceived. In reality, they do Satan's bidding. If this interpretation is correct, Jesus is predicting that a significant body of false Christians will cast reproach on Philadelphia and hinder its work in every way possible, probably calling it a deviant or cultic form of religion.

However, another possible interpretation is that Jesus is speaking of figures in secular society who are pawns of Satan—figures like influential people in politics, the media, and the world of scholarship. Their false claim to be Jews must then be understood figuratively—as a pretense to be the truly righteous. With Satan’s backing, they will employ innuendo, ridicule, false accusation, fake expertise, legal maneuvering, incessant drumbeating of propaganda, and every other available weapon to oppose Philadelphia as it seeks to advance the cause of true Christianity.

But whoever stands against Philadelphia, the outcome is certain. The Lord declares that when the time of judgment arrives, He will show His approval of this church by requiring all its detractors to bow down and kiss the feet of the saints they so viciously maligned (Rev. 3:9).

Elsewhere in the letter to Philadelphia we learn more about the circumstances that will especially trigger persecution by the synagogue of Satan. The door (Rev. 3:8) may have double meaning. Besides being the door to heaven, perhaps also it bears a more familiar sense. A figure we often use in our thinking about spiritual decisions is the door of opportunity. Thus, the door that Christ can open and no one can shut may refer to a special opportunity that Christ will provide for Philadelphia to prosper in a difficult period of history. The synagogue of Satan will oppose it vigorously. But despite all the obstacles that Satan and his human instruments will throw in the path of Philadelphia, it will go forward to success, as measured by eternal results. No one will be able to stop it.

A muted but instructive picture of the people who will belong to Philadelphia appears in the closing promise. Jesus says that when the people of this church are raptured into His presence, they "shall go no more out" (Rev. 3:12). He apparently means that to maintain their purity and integrity, they will never again have to separate themselves from corrupt religion. All the churches within the historical stream of Philadelphia originated by separating themselves from churches on a downward slide: the Moravians from the Lutherans, the Wesleyans from the Anglicans, the fundamentalists from the liberals. The letter to Philadelphia suggests that this church will retain its separatist leanings even throughout the Last Days. It will be a haven for people who, in obedience to the command we find in 2 Timothy 3:5, have moved from church to church in an effort to find a true work of God. Before finding Philadelphia, however, they may repeatedly go through the bitter experience of false Christians labeling them as fanatics or Pharisees.