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Devotionary is a new podcast that is designed to make the Bible accessible and applicable to everyday life. It combines the inspiration of a daily devotional and the insights of a commentary, but in language that is easy-to-understand. We will be working our way through the entire Bible offering a chapter-by-chapter overview of each book. The goal is to give you a solid understanding of the Bible’s overarching and unified message of redemption. We hope you enjoy.

Apr 19, 2018

Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love. But it wasn’t the first city to have that designation. All the way back when John penned the Revelation, he included a section that was addressed to the church of Philadelphia in his day. It was one of the seven churches for which Jesus had a personal message. But the local congregation wasn’t feeling the love in Philadelphia. In fact, the synagogue in Philadelphia was treating the believers like second-class citizens and making their lives miserable. But Jesus encouraged them to keep up their morale and their morality. They weren’t to give in to the pressure or allow themselves to fall short of God’s expectations for them as a fellowship. And in Revelation 3:7-13, Jesus conveys some amazing good news to this struggling church. While they were experiencing their fair share of persecution and difficulty in this life, He assured them that they would be kept from the hour of trial that was coming on the earth. This is a reference to the seven years of tribulation that will come on the planet and all who live on it. But the church, including every single believer who is alive when Jesus comes to take His bride to be with Him, will be spared from having to endure the pain, suffering, persecution and even martyrdom that is going to come in those last days. Jesus was encouraging the Philadelphian believers to keep trusting, keep believing, and keep enduring, because their reward was going to include escape from future tribulation. Jesus holds the key of David and has the authority to open and shut the gate leading into God’s presence and His Kingdom. The enemy can try to keep us out, but he has no power to prevent what God has promised.