–Revelation 3:11
The above passage is given by Jesus to one of the seven churches in the opening of revelation, namely Philadelphia. This is one of only two churches that Jesus does not rebuke. While this passage contains no rebuke, Revelation 3:11 is a warning passage. I believe that the crown here symbolizes eternal life, it is the same idea as someone who has competed in an Olympic challenge and crowned at the end with victory (also see 1 Corinthians 9:24-25). One thing that is helpful when you read a warning passage is to read them in light of other warning passages, because each helps us understand the other. I would like to point one particular passage out to you that is of great help for understanding Revelation 3:11, namely 1 John 2:19:
“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”
The above passage is given by Jesus to one of the seven churches in the opening of revelation, namely Philadelphia. This is one of only two churches that Jesus does not rebuke. While this passage contains no rebuke, Revelation 3:11 is a warning passage. I believe that the crown here symbolizes eternal life, it is the same idea as someone who has competed in an Olympic challenge and crowned at the end with victory (also see 1 Corinthians 9:24-25). One thing that is helpful when you read a warning passage is to read them in light of other warning passages, because each helps us understand the other. I would like to point one particular passage out to you that is of great help for understanding Revelation 3:11, namely 1 John 2:19:
“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”
In 1 John 2: 19, the warning is that any who depart from us, though a lifestyle of sin, were actually not saved before they left us! And while true Christians may depart for a time, they will eventually come back to the flock. Think of the examples that are contrasted in Peter’s defection vs. Judas’ defection. Both Peter and Judas denied Christ, but only Peter came back to Christ and God’s people, the church! So if that is true, you may be asking yourself the question, “Why is this passage and other warning passages given to believers if we can’t fall truly fall away?” In God’s wisdom, The Lord had placed warning passages as a means to preserve God’s people. When I was a teenager up through the first part of Seminary, I would work for my father on brick and block mason crews. At times we would have to build scaffolding that was three to four stories or more high. We always had to put up safety rails on the completed scaffolding. The newer scaffolding we would crank up and it was much easier, but the older kind had to be changed out by hand! We hand to put on a safety harness, go under the walking boards at these heights and change them out. To be honest, I dreaded this task most of all, because the thought of the fall to the ground terrified me. As I would slowly climb down to assist the other laborer, I moved slow and cautiously to make the change. I would often look down at the ground, which seemed miles away, and imagine my fall and the splat that followed as I hit the ground. Of all the times I built and changed out scaffolding, I never slipped and needed my harness, nor safety rails to preserver me. The safety harness and rails were a means to provide confidence and remind me that I needed to be cautions as I did my job. In a similar manor, warning passages such as Revelation 3:11 lets us see what our fall from grace could be like, reminding us to do our work with care and caution, all while we look from the safety and security of God’s strong hands (John 10:29).
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