Christians as Jews

Rev 3:8 I know thy works (the church at Philadelphia): behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9 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. 10 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. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Ironically, Philadelphia - a city in Asia meaning "brotherly love" loved! Their strength was their "works" - obviously loving God and others - the ways to obey.

Even thought their "strength was little" (verse 8), Jesus still praised the Church for not denying his Name. If you're read my commentary on the power of Jesus Name, and the honor of those who do not use it vainly, you understand why Jesus recognized them as his! (See http://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-reverence-of-gods-name.html). Therein, the conclusion made is that using God's Name in vain, is taking Jesus's sacrificial death frivolously.

I believe that the church at Philadelphia held fast to Jesus the Redeemer by "not denying his Name" (verse 8). To be part of the Body of Christ - the Church - the Bride must remain faithful to the Groom. The Bride is the Church and the Groom is Jesus. That "marriage" was consummated with the shedding of blood and the Christian's trust in it. However, rather than the cutting off of one's own genital flesh by circumcision, God cut-off His own flesh - His Body. God died on the cross - God in the flesh. He gave up his flesh for mankind. That must be honored to be a true Christian.

To be a Jew, a man must be circumcised. That is the Abrahamic Covenant. Circumcision was the deal between God and the Hebrew people. They were God's chosen. However, to remain God's people, they had to remain faithful. They had to be good and faithful Jews. By cutting off the flesh of their foreskins, they pledged to remain faithful. We Christians fail to realize it but Jewish circumcision was symbolic of Jesus who cut off His own flesh on our behalf. To seal the deal we are to do the same for him:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

That sacrifice we are to make is cutting off the decay in the spiritual flesh:

Deut 30:6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

"Thine heart" is the Jewish people. "Thy seed" is the seed of Abraham - Jew and Gentile. Not only were the ancient Jewish people to have circumcised hearts, what the foreskin represented, but also those in apostolic and apocalyptic times. Circumcision of the heart is like the Ten Commandments - written by the finger of God!

Those who have circumcised hearts are chosen people just like the Jews:

1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...

The Jews were a "peculiar people" in that they were chosen by God. Christians become peculiar people by showing praises to the one who called them (2 Pet 1:10).  When God calls, people are elected to be His people. As such, Christians are a type of Jew, not in race but in spirit. 

I have written many times before that the "mystery of God" is that salvation was never by works but was always by grace and for everyone (http://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-mystery-of-god-mystery-of-christ.html).  The Jewish patriarchs were saved by the faith in Jesus's blood and death on the cross long before Jesus was ever born. The prophets demonstrated their knowledge of Christ many times!

Thus, those who believe in God - Hebrew and Gentile, are "spiritual Jews". In Philadelphia, "some say they are Jews, and are not". Their Church was "the synagogue of Satan" (verse 9).

Essentially, some of those of the church of Philadelphia hadn't had their hearts circumcised. Not only were they not "royal priests" but were devils in practice. By the grace of Jesus, he said, "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. "  In other words, God will humble them; the outcome of circumcised hearts! 

Pagans were always jealous of God's chosen people and still are! The Jews have always been persecuted because they are God's most favored. As heirs of Judaism, Christians are persecuted as well because we too are a peculiar people. If those in the Church are not peculiar, they are not really the "Church" - those who are born-again and have circumcised hearts. Those "spiritual Jews" claimed to be new persons but were really the old posing as new creatures. They served two masters (Mat 6:24). God will make them serve only one by kneeling to Him (verse 9).

Nothing is new under the sun! Even the evangelical churches in modern times have their posers. They profess circumcision of the heart but fail to get their flesh circumcised at all. They live for the flesh, but profess Christ. They are in violation of the First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other Gods besides me." They are their own gods, and do their own will!

If you studied my commentary on the Third Commandment (link above), it can be seen that they also violated the Third Commandment - taking Jesus's own sacrifice in vain! 

Those who claimed to be "Jews" were the false church. They served another master by the name of Satan. It is Jesus's Name which saves:

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The "spiritual Jews" there were Christians who took God's Name in vain. Their master was really Satan but they posed as Christians. God knows their little secret, and will make them meek. Why? Because he loves them so!

On the other hand, the true "spiritual Jews" were faithful. They had kept the Word (verse 10). To keep them "safe" Jesus says, "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." This is the same spiritual hedge put around faithful Job:

Job 1:10 (Satan speaking): Hast not thou (God) made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

The true Church has a hedge around them for safety until they are in the end saved!  That hedge is God keeping us from temptation. I believe that this applied to both the Roman persecution, and to the tribulation period at the end of time - when 144,000 Jews will be brought inside the safety hedge. The Jews referred to at Philadelphia were not only typical of Philadelphian Christians but the born-again Jews before the tribulation period (Rev 7:4; more on that later.)

Jesus added: "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (verse 11). We are to persevere. God's time is not our time. In order to be saved, there are things a Christian must do. We must hold fast to faith in Christ; not becoming uncircumcised of heart. 

Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time (the day of salvation), that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

The how to do that is explained in the same chapter:

Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

To be a true "spiritual Jew" we must do what the Jews should have done! We are to fulfill the Law by obeying God's Commandments, which are the metrics of love! We demonstrate love by not killing, which scripture says is hatred (1 John 3:15), by not stealing from them, not telling lies about others, and so forth.  Christians must be good Jews but for right reasons. We do those things for our neighbors out of love for God (Commandments 1-4) - representative of the Greatest Commandment. 

I suppose that those at Philadelphia said they were "Jews" by doing good things. However, doing "good" for wrong reasons is as filthy rags to God (Isa 64:6). Right reasons are out of love and devotion to God - because we love His Name, and not take Jesus's death in vain!