Once again we see the promise to those who overcome, those who prevail in the face of affliction, torture and even death, for the sake of Christ. 

To the church in Sardis, Jesus promises those who overcome to be dressed in white, the sign that the wearer has the right to be at the table of the Lord's feast.

Matthew 22:12, 13 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. ¹³"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

Mark 16:5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

Acts 1:10  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

Revelation 4:4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

Revelation 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

Being dressed in white is a token of purity and holiness, being in the company of God. For believers, this promise is a sure comfort and a motivation to persevere.

When we consider the book of life, especially as it is used here in this passage, some may argue that it is a changeable document in which God writes and erases peoples' names as they display good or bad behavior.

We need to dwell on the concept of the book of life for a short while to properly understand what the meaning and impact of it is on the life of the believer.

Let's look at those passages that seem to infer that the book of life is a changeable document:

Psalm 69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

And, of course, the passage that is from the letter to the church in Sardis, which we have just read:

Revelation 3:5 … I will never blot out his name from the book of life …

Then, there are passages that are neutral and do not infer that the book of life is changeable:

Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Then, finally, there are passages that proclaim that the book of life has been recorded before creation:

Revelation 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

Revelation 17:8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

[1]The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur, which is considered one of the most important holidays of the Jewish year and all Jews are obliged to refrain from all work, they must fast and attend synagogue services, while there are some minor practical exceptions.  Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The holiday is instituted at

Leviticus 23:26 - 32 The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷"The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. ²⁸Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. ³⁰I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³²It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."

As we have seen, Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. Yamim Noraim are the ten days from the first day of the month of Tishri, when Rosh Hashanah is celebrated, to the tenth day when Yom Kippur is celebrated, and are also referred to as the ten "Days of Awe" or the "Days of Repentance."

One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that God has "books" that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter God's decree. The actions that change the decree are "teshuvah, tefilah and tzedakah," repentance, prayer, and good deeds (usually, charity). These "books" are sealed on Yom Kippur. This concept of writing in books is the source of the common greeting during this time, which is "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

According to Yom Kippur, therefore, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.

From the foregoing, there is an apparent contradiction in the application of the names entered into the books, namely, that in one instance the names are written for a good year, that is, until the next Yom Kippur, and in the other instance, the books are sealed on Yom Kippur, implying that they will remain sealed indefinitely, "writing down who will live and who will die."  I assume here, of course, that their reference to living or dying means eternal life or death.

Since there is no mention in Jewish literature of other books in which God writes names, the books of Yom Kippur seem to relate to that found in Psalm 69:28.

If it were true that God would wait for Yom Kippur to see how his people behave and then write down the names of those who behaved well into the book of life, and obliterate those names of those who behaved badly, then it would imply that God would wait on man to execute his judgment, which is absurd. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the Jewish custom implies that God has no knowledge of who will behave either good or bad, which would further indict their belief if they also believe that God is omniscient.

It could be that the Yom Kippur refers to the book of deeds that we find in Revelation 20:12. In Deuteronomy we read,

Deuteronomy 29:20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

It is interesting to note that the LORD "will blot out his name from under heaven."  There rather here a reference to an obliteration from under heaven, which is a reference to eternal punishment and not a name in the book of life.

Luke 12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

If the Jews meant to imply that Yom Kippur has reference to the book of deeds instead of the book of life, I would not expect references to names being entered or blotted out but rather deeds that would be recorded.

When one further argues along the lines of God's omniscience and whether God actually knew beforehand whether one would behave in a way that would cause his or her name to be written in the book of life, then the argument of the Arminians touches that of the Jewish thought.

The Arminians, and many other so-called charismatic doctrines that do their best to deny the scriptural teaching that God foreordained the elect's salvation and none other, believes that God, before creation, actually peered down the tunnel of time into the future and observed who would accept Christ as their personal savior, and then noted their names in the book of life.

The points of agreement that the Arminians have with Jewish thought lie in their belief that God could not have written the names of those whom He knew beforehand in the book of life, even before creation, and then sent his Son to save them only.  As much as the Jews, partly because of their blind spot on God's omniscience, miss the evidence that the Messiah has already been here, just as much, for the same reason, do the Arminians fail to comprehend that Jesus Christ is God, in spite of their testimony to the contrary.

David's declaration in Psalm 69:28 "May they be blotted out of the book of life…" and Jesus' promise in Revelation 3:5 in no way infers that the book of life is changeable, but rather sets wickedness apart from holiness, setting the impossibility of the one against the sureness of the other.

Let's look at an interesting conversation that Moses had with God in Exodus 32 after Israel made the golden calf:

Exodus 32:31  So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold! ³²But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." ³³The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. ³⁴Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."

Moses was in great emotional pain about the infidelity of Israel, his own brothers, people of his own race, because they had all the promises and blessings from God and yet they acted so foolishly. Moses knew that he could only throw himself upon the mercy of God and proclaim their wickedness.  From this we shouldn't infer things such as first, that God didn't already know about Israel's sin, and second that it was remotely possible that Moses could offer himself as atonement to satisfy this sin. Moses knew that offering God his own place in the book of life for the sake of Israel's sin is impossible, but he rather pitted the severity of the sin against the impossible to thereby emphasize the need for God's mercy.

Moses acted here as a type of Christ by mediating for his people, by offering himself as a sacrifice for the atonement of their sins. But God denies Moses his request, because the only One who would be able to perfectly satisfy for the sins of his people would be the suffering Christ, who had to endure being forsaken by God so that Moses and all the believers need not be blotted out of the book of life.  If the book of life was a changeable document, then the sacrifice of Christ was contingent on man's fickleness and there would have been no need that his sacrifice be complete, which is absurd.

There is another saint that used the same language for the same reason much later in the history of the church.  Let's read about it in

Romans 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, ³for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race. ⁴The people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Same scenario, same pledge. The apostle Paul pleads on behalf of the Jews, who enjoyed so many blessings from God and yet they deny the Messiah that was promised, and about whom they read from the Prophets and the Psalms every Sabbath, even while he was with them. So, Paul pleads for the impossible to show the intensity of his sorrow and anguish, just as Moses did centuries earlier: for the same reason.

One should resist naming Paul a type of Christ as Moses can legitimately be called a type of Christ, since being a type of Christ is to prefigure the Messiah to come, while Paul was rather showing forth the type of Christians we ought to be by fulfilling our duties as intercessors for our fellow believers; by being priests in addition to our other two offices: that of prophets and kings.

Jeremiah also interceded for Israel as we read in,

Jeremiah 8:19 - 9:2 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols? ²⁰The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." ²¹Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. ²²Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? ^9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people! ²Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.

If we were to conclude that God would at some stage blot peoples' names from the book of life, then we must also conclude that God had mistakenly written their names into the book in the first place and only after God realized what they had done, did He remove their names again. As if God couldn't have known about their hypocrisy, because remember it is not forgivable sins that we talk about here, these sins justify God blotting their names out of the book of life forever condemning them to hell. 

It is tantamount to proclaiming that God couldn't foresee ahead of time that these sinners would actually stoop so low that it would be necessary to condemn them to hell. It is further tantamount to believing that while God wrote their names into the book of life He merrily believed in and worked them towards their salvation.  This is a blasphemous belief putting a blind spot on God's omniscience just where the Jews and the Arminians have it. God does not have an observant foreknowledge, but a creative foreknowledge, meaning that God cannot perceive something in the future without it being created or without it being absolutely sure that it will come to pass.

Some believe that God wrote the names of all people into the book of life with 'wet ink,' so to speak, and as soon as one accepts Jesus as one's personal savior then the ink becomes, magically, indelible.  The other names that remain in wet ink will be blotted out and removed from the book of life. There is no evidence that God works in this way and it is nothing but a figment of someone's imagination meant to maintain the blind spot on God's omniscience and character with no other intention but to mislead and deceive.

We see, then, that Jesus writes to the church in Sardis promising those few who persevere two things, namely, one that the impossible will not happen, and two, that their names are in the book of life and will never be removed.

What we have said here is not mere conjecture, but the passages later in Revelation confirm this. But first let's look at how God applies his foreknowledge to the elect.

Romans 8:29, 30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

So, there is no indication that God had any doubt, even before creation, who those would be that would follow him into eternal glory. He wrote their names, and no other names, into the book of life.  He didn't intend to remove any name or add any name to those that He has recorded.

These passages explain what happens to those whose names are not in the book of life.

Revelation 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

Revelation 17:8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

These passages explain what happens to those whose names are found in the book of life.

Luke 10:20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Daniel 12:1  "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered."

Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 confirm that the book of life was recorded before creation, which is perfectly in accordance with God's character and omniscience.  There is no reason to believe that God had any doubt that the names that he recorded in the book of life were the names of those that will stand before his judgment throne at the end of time and gloriously sing his praises.

When we get to those passages we will delve more deeply into the essence of the moment of separation between the elect and the reprobate.

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

Psalms 49:8, 9 The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-⁹that he should live on forever and not see decay.

When Jesus promises the remnant remaining faithful in the church at Sardis that he will acknowledge their names before the Father and his angels, it is a sweet comfort that

Matthew 10:32, 33  "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Matthew 25:34  "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."

I Samuel 2:30  "Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.'"

Luke 12:8, 9  "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God ⁹but he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God."

Romans 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Here again Jesus charges them to open their ears to the preaching of the gospel and open their hearts to the threats and promises of his word.

The church in Philadelphia is in a small city in Lydia, south east of Sardis, plagued by earthquakes during the reign of emperor Tiberius and although Sardis was closer to the epicenter, Philadelphia experienced the most destruction. The destruction was so severe that the city received relief from their annual tribute and other subsidies payable to Rome. As gratitude for the relief and aid received from Caesar, the leaders of Philadelphia erected a huge monument in honor of Tiberius and renamed the city Neocaesarea, meaning Caesar's new city. 

The newly rebuilt city took a new name merely to honor its imperial patron and rescuer, but Philadelphia's economic weakness slowed its recovery from the earthquake's devastation and prolonged its dependence on Rome.

Just as Jesus did to Smyrna, He speaks commendation without rebuke.  The challenge confronting the Philadelphian church was external opposition from those in the Jewish community who, instead of embracing Jesus the Messiah, who was perfectly recognizable from the Scriptures they read each Sabbath, they rejected him, proving to be not true Jews but a synagogue of Satan.  Both the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia needed resources: the church in Smyrna was poor and the Philadelphian church had only little power as we shall see when we deal with the next verse.  Yet each held fast in its confession despite adversity, despite pressure to renounce their allegiance.  But they held fast and did not deny Jesus' name.

Once again Jesus identifies himself in a different manner than he did to the other churches. Here he proclaims his deity by the words that could only describe God, "These are the words of him who is holy and true…" Or we may also say "the true holy One." Let's look at some of the other passages that identify Jesus and the Father as the Holy One.

Job 6:10 Then I would still have this consolation--my joy in unrelenting pain--that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

Psalm 22:3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.

Psalm 71:22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Isaiah 40:25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

Isaiah 60:9 Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.

Hosea 11:9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man--the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.

Mark 1:24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"

John 6:68, 69  Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Acts 2:27 Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

I John 2:20  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

Keys are the symbols of power and authority, the bearer decides who opens and shuts.  Jesus declares that he holds the key of David. The one who has the key of David has the power to fulfill the promises made to David, which can be none other than the Messiah.

In the opening vision the Son of Man held the keys of death and Hades, signifying his right to unlock the grave and release its captives.  Here we see his authority over entrance to the messianic kingdom as the royal heir of David. 

Isaiah prophesied about Jesus in,

Isaiah 22:22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Fulfilling this prophesy about him, Jesus identifies himself here as the One who holds that key.

Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah 22:22 that we quoted here, and for good reason: so that they may recognize him as the One about whom the Scriptures speak, that He is the One who is God and Messiah. Speaking about opening and shutting doors indicates supreme power and that that power is totally irresistible; nobody can change what Jesus has ordained.

He has opened the door to proclaiming the gospel with the keys of David.

Jesus acknowledges that he knows their plight and that they have little strength.  He follows through in this verse stating that he will open a door for them that will remain open, which means the door to profess the gospel has been opened for them.  Since God prepared their work for them, the fruit is sure: "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."

I Corinthians 16:7 - 9 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost ⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

II Corinthians 2:12, 13 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me. ¹³I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Some commentators interpret that the open door means rather an open door directly to the kingdom of God, which cannot be shut against them even when the synagogue of Satan repudiates them.  They claim that the victor in Philadelphia will enjoy permanent access to God's presence as a pillar built into the structure of God's sanctuary, never to leave his holy presence, as seen in Revelation 3:12.

There is hardly any conflict between the two positions.  One cannot assume that the faithful in Philadelphia would instantly ascend into heaven upon reading this letter, relieving them of the chores of this world, so they have no choice but to live out their lives as members of Christ's body within the constraints of the church as a struggling entity until the Savior comes again. 

In that role, the church, not only in Philadelphia but everywhere, has to proclaim the gospel to the world and to the faithful the promises of permanent access to the kingdom of God is applicable.  Therefore, interpreting the opening of this door by Jesus, as a door to an opportunity to spread the gospel as well as a door opening into the kingdom of God is the same thing, the former necessarily going before the latter.

Jesus promises an open door into heaven to those who have kept his word and he promises that their word of witness will bear fruit even if their enemies, those who are of the synagogue of Satan would resist them.

Those who are here described as the from the synagogue of Satan shouldn't be seen as those who will at the end of time acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, because then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess his lordship.  Here, however, we see that it is only some who will "fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you." Jesus describes a foretaste of this final day which is closer and more immediate, in which the humiliation of his enemies becomes their salvation.

In Isaiah's prophetic imagery the Gentiles were to be saved as they came to bow at Israel's feet and to confess, "Surely, God is with you, and there is non else."

Isaiah 45:14 - 16 This is what the LORD says: "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans--they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.' ¹⁵Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. ¹⁶All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together.'

I Corinthians 14:24, 25 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all ²⁵and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

Job 42:8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.

Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Zechariah 8:20 - 23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come ²¹and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' ²²And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him. ²³This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'"

Acts 16:37 - 39 But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out." ³⁸The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.  ³⁹They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

The fire and light radiating from the Son of Man in the opening vision symbolized divine holiness. Jesus alludes to the Old Testament title of Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.  In Isaiah 60:14 God promises that his people's oppressors will bow at their feet and acknowledge that they are "the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel." Likewise, Jesus the true holy One will bring opponents to bow at the church's feet and confess that she is the Lord's beloved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revelation 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth

 

Revelation 3:11  I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown

 

Revelation 3:12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name

 

Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches