The Letter To The Church Of Philadelphia: An Open Door To A New Jerusalem Series

“He was christened Giovanni, the Italian name for John. His mother named him after John the Baptist in hopes that he would be devoted to Jesus. But Giovanni was hardly devout. As the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, the boy was a spoiled rich kid.

One day a beggar in the marketplace asked Giovanni for a handout. Giovanni remembered a line he heard at Sunday Mass: “When you feed the hungry, you minister to Christ.” He grabbed hold of the beggar, gave him everything in his pockets, and kissed him full on his lips.

That evening he informed his family that he wanted to give everything away to the poor. His enraged father forced Giovanni to enlist in the army, and he was sent off to war. After he was captured, he said that Christ visited him in his prison. When he returned home, he no longer wanted to party with his friends. He moved into a charity hospital where he fed and bathed the sick. On winter nights he climbed into bed with lepers, wrapping them in his arms to keep them warm.

With the pope’s blessing, he gathered disciples who gave away all their possessions to follow Jesus. They crisscrossed Europe, ministering to the poor, comforting the sick, and evangelizing the forgotten.

While still in his early forties, Giovanni caught a fatal disease from a sick wretch that he had held in his arms. In October of 1226 he died, gasped his final words to his brothers: “I have done my part. May Jesus teach you to do yours.” You remember Giovanni by the name Saint Francis of Assisi. His last words challenge each of us. As Saint Francis said: “To give largely, liberally, and cheerfully requires a new heart.” -James Petterson (abridged)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. -Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

Today I think we’ll see that for the church in Philadelphia, they proved they had entirely new hearts. What did Jesus say to them? he said this:

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,

the one who has the key of David.

What he opens, no one can close;

and what he closes, no one can open:

“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

“Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. -Revelation 3:7-13

The city of Philadelphia, in Turkey, gateway to the east, it was the furthest east city of Greek culture and philosophy, and it was considered a gateway, an entry point into the eastern world.

Greek culture had been successfully spread along the coastal regions of Asia minor, but, as they went further and further inland they encountered resistance to these new ways of Greek culture.

The city of Philadelphia was known for it’s production of wine and vineyards. The ground was very fertile, but it was in a region known for earthquakes, so often buildings would topple in these quakes and have to be rebuilt.

So the area became known for very nice architecture, it was even called a “little Athens” because it had such beautiful structures. I suppose you get good at building when you keep having to rebuild.

In any case, in 17 AD the city of Philadelphia was devastated by an earthquake so severe that Rome actually didn’t charge them tribute for five years so they would have time to rebuild.

But later, the roman empire would betray Philadelphia, because of the beautiful vineyards and wine coming from the city, it was beginning to overshadow even the vineyards of Rome, and so an order went out and all the vineyards in Philadelphia were burned.