How do I know what church I am in? I want to know what I need to repent from.
Your own life, your own circumstances, the body that you generally belong to... these are not hidden from you. Observe and see.
Take the churches and make a list of their traits... then look to see where they are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. The church at Philadelphia has these traits:
God describes Himself to them as:
he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;This key of David is mentioned in Isaiah 22 as a prophecy of Christ, and Christ Himself gives this key to Peter in Matthew 16 and possibly to all the disciples in Matthew 18:15-20. The implication (as I see it) in all the passages is remission of sins and forgiveness. The open door is the way into Christ's kingdom, I believe.
If they hold fast that which they have, this door remains open. No one can shut it.
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: Three more specific traits:
for thou hast a little strength,
and hast kept my word,
and hast not denied my name.His prophecy over their current distress, and His confession of love to them:
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.A second prophecy... that because they were willing to suffer for His name when there was no general or obvious tribulation (just spite and malice from others that hated His word), He will keep them from this pressure.
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.Warning to continue and to overcome, and a final prophecy of reward for accomplishing this task:
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.So.. you can do this for all the churches... and you can identify yourself by matching the traits. Put off the evil traits and put on the righteous ones.
If someone repents from the ways of the church they are in, are they then part of the Philadelphia church?
Not necessarily. I think they can change depending on the timing... but the later it gets, the less chance there is. Nevertheless, repentance is good and rewarded in all cases.
What about Smyrna? Who is that church made up of? Are they righteous people who have not been tried yet?
As far as I can tell they are righteous and simple, they do not have much knowledge or much experience, but regardless of this, they choose right when it is presented to them. The result (according to the text) is mostly terrible: imprisonment, abuse and death... for "ten days"... which is a symbol of "full testing"... like the ten days of not eating the king's food that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah undertook. The best example I can think of is a person in a dream Bek had once... he is, "a young, overweight boy" in
Stars you never heard aboutThanks for responding to all my questions.
God bless you and lead you and teach you His ways.
--gabe
