The Synagogue of Satan
The Synagogue of Satan
"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." — Revelation 3:9
The words of Revelation 3:9 are among the most serious and striking declarations in all of Scripture. Spoken by Jesus to the church in Philadelphia, this message identifies a profound spiritual conflict. It is a direct statement about the spiritual reality of who truly belongs to God and the consequences of rejecting His Son.
At its heart, this verse addresses a fundamental question: Who are the true people of God? According to the New Testament, being a "true Jew" is not a matter of ancestry or religious rituals. The Apostle Paul taught in Romans 2:28-29 that a person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, but rather one who is a Jew inwardly, with a heart changed by the Spirit.
Because the entire purpose of the Hebrew faith was to lead to the Messiah, the writers of the Bible viewed the rejection of Jesus as a total break from God’s covenant.
When Jesus refers to those who "claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars," He is pointing to a spiritual contradiction. From the perspective of the Gospel, it is impossible to claim the God of the Bible while simultaneously teaching that His Son is not the Messiah. As Jesus told those who opposed Him in John 8:42, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God." To hold onto a religious title while rejecting the very Person that title was meant to honor is seen as a spiritual lie.
The term "Satan" literally means The Adversary. In the eyes of the Gospel, there is no neutral ground. Jesus stated in Matthew 12:30, "Whoever is not with me is against me." If Jesus is the only way to the Father, as He claimed in John 14:6, then any group or religious system that actively teaches against Him is acting as an adversary to the truth.
This opposition remains a reality today in any tradition that maintains a religious form but explicitly denies that Jesus is the Christ.
The Apostle John made this clear in his letters, writing in 1 John 2:22-23 that "whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ... such a person is the antichrist." He adds that "no one who denies the Son has the Father." This creates a clear line: one cannot have a relationship with God while teaching that His Son is not the Savior. This theme is echoed in John 3:36, which warns that "whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."
The message of Revelation 3:9 concludes with a powerful promise of vindication. Jesus tells His faithful followers that those who once looked down on them and opposed them will eventually be forced to recognize the truth. He promises a day when those who rejected the Messiah will have to acknowledge that the followers of Christ were the ones truly loved by God. It is a reminder that the only path that holds the Father’s approval is the one that honors the Son, as stated in Philippians 2:10-11, where every tongue will eventually confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Finally, it is essential to address the common teaching that the modern state of Israel will be given a special "second chance" to accept Jesus in the end days. Biblical evidence suggests this idea is false. That promised opportunity for the nation of Israel to receive their King already occurred during the Lesser Commission. In Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus strictly commanded His disciples, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles... but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This was their specific, allotted time of visitation. Because the nation as a whole rejected that commission and the later testimony of the Apostles, Jesus declared in Matthew 21:43 that "the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." There is no scriptural provision for a future national restoration outside of the individual's choice to come to Christ today.