Behold, I make them of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie; behold, I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that *I* have loved thee.
The Lord's message to the assembly in Philadelphia turns to a group of opponents. They claimed to be God's earthly people, and He promises to expose the claim and to make them bow one day before the very believers they despised.
The claim that was a lie
Commentators identify these opponents by their principle, not their race. They stand for a religious system that drags Christians back onto ground God had set aside.
The synagogue of Satan, as already said, is the return to Jewish principles. It puts people under law. It restores the priestly ranks and ceremonies that suited an earthly religion like Judaism, but are out of place in a heavenly religion like Christianity. Paul condemns this pouring of new wine into old wineskins as destructive to the truth entrusted to him.
The claim is a "lie" because they take a title that is no longer theirs, and the promises that go with it.
In their ignorance, these teachers give up the true Christian position. They claim to be the spiritual Israel. They take Jewish promises and Jewish hopes for themselves, and they would put the consciences of Christians under the bondage of Jewish law-keeping. So they are really doing Satan's work.
The same enemy Smyrna met
The same phrase appeared once before, in the message to Smyrna.
We noted before that Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only two of the seven churches the Lord does not rebuke. Now we notice that both had to face the same religious opposition. Those who are the synagogue of Satan, falsely claiming to be Jews, reappear. In Paul's day Satan was already dressing up as an angel of light. It is nothing new for him to wear religious clothes.
The next writer traces where this counterfeit leads.
Judaism, set aside by God, is now one of Satan's best weapons and most subtle snares. Great Babylon has built her whole structure on this foundation. With the rituals, the priestly caste and the law-keeping of an earlier time, she has pushed out what belongs to Christianity: its simplicity and open speech, its equal priesthood and completed sacrifice, its free grace and full salvation.
"I will make them"
Twice over, the Lord makes Himself the one who acts. Both the exposing and the bowing are His work.
The Lord can subdue such as far as He sees fit. He can expose their true character, for He says, "I will make them of the synagogue of Satan." Despite their religious display, He will show them up as nothing but a Satanic imitation of the Jewish system. On the other hand, the Lord will make them acknowledge what is according to Himself.
What the bowing at their feet means
The Greek word behind "bow down" covers a wide range, and the reader is meant to weigh who is bowing and to whom.
We have translated the Greek word proskuneo as "do homage." In Greek it covers every act of reverence, from a simple bow to someone higher up to the worship of God Himself. The reader can decide what kind of homage is meant by asking who receives it and who gives it.
Commentators differ on the object of that homage. Some read it as respect paid to the despised believers themselves. One writer holds that the Lord will make them worship Him, not Philadelphia, at Philadelphia's feet (L. M. Grant). Both agree on the reversal itself:
In their religious pride and pretensions, they scorned and despised the Lord's devoted Assembly, but Christ here promises that He would display to their adversaries how much He loved them.
"I have loved you"
The verse ends with the sentence that gives the whole promise its weight.
We see how readily He speaks as the One who loves when He finds devotion to Himself in the Philadelphian church (Rev. 3:9). The one sentence that stands out in His words to them is "I have loved you." Others are to know that soon. Philadelphia knew it when He spoke, and it was their choicest treasure.
Certain, but the timing is His
Writers are careful here. The Lord guarantees the vindication, but does not say when or how it comes.
But the Lord will compel the recognition of His own testimony. I do not say when, where, or how; but as surely as He lives, will the Lord vindicate the truth He has given, and the testimony He has raised up for His name.
Summary
- Counterfeit. The opponents claim a place God has set aside. Their religion is law, ritual and rank pressed onto Christians.
- Exposed. The first "I will make them" strips the disguise: the Lord shows their claim to be an imitation, not the real thing.
- Subdued. The second "I will make them" bends the proud to the ground before the weak — the Lord's work, not Philadelphia's.
- Loved. In the end the enemy learns not that Philadelphia was right, but that Christ loved her.
- Certain. The vindication is sure because He lives. He keeps the when and how to Himself, so faith holds on meanwhile.