Dr Paul Allen

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus ." ( Revelation 22:20 )   This is the next-to-the-last verse in the Bible , and it contains the last promise in the Bible.  The final promise of the Lord is that He would come back to earth again "quickly," but it has been almost 2,000 years since He made the promise, and He hasn't come yet. Evidently, the word "quickly." as He used it, did  not  mean "immediately."   As a matter-of-fact, this promise appears no less than six times here in Revelation ( Revelation 2:5 ,  16 ;  3:11 ;  22:7 ,  12 ,  20 ).  The first three are in Christ 's messages to the churches at Ephesus, Pergamos , and Philadelphia , respectively. The last three are in His final message to all churches ( Revelation 22:16 ).   The Lord Jesus has not forgotten His promise for "all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of ...

Ed Welch is a  biblical counselor  and the author of several books including  Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest . He serves on the faculty of the  Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation  (CCEF) in Philadelphia

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; . . . I know thy works: 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." ( Revelation 3:7-8 ) Philadelphia and Smryna are the only churches that did not receive warnings from the Lord in the seven letters recorded in Revelation. Philadelphia had "a little strength" because they had built their church on the two foundations of the Word of God and the name of the Lord Jesus . The foundation of Jesus Christ Himself ( 1 Corinthians 3:11 ) and the foundation of the writings of the "apostles and prophets" ( Ephesians 2:20 ) which are inspired by God ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ) make the church "the pillar and ground of the truth" ( 1 Timothy 3:15 ). Philadelphia had faithfully held these eternal principles and were therefore given an "ope...

Image via Wikipedia "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ( Luke 12:32 )   The world tends to measure success by size, and this seems generally true in the Christian world as well.  The most "successful" churches are considered to be those with the largest congregations, or the largest budgets, or the greatest number of converts baptized each year, or some other quantitative index.  But this is not God 's criterion. At the judgment seat of Christ , "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" ( 1 Corinthians 3:13 ). Not how big it is, but of what sort it is! Quality, not quantity, is the criterion.   Christ's encouraging words to the "little flock" were given towards the end of an extended warning against the desire to accumulate wealth. "Take heed, and beware of covetousness ," He had said ( Luke 12:15 ), speaking to His small group of followers. He was...