YOU’VE GOT MAIL: PHILADELPHIA
Scott Bayles, preacher
First Christian Church, Rosiclare, IL
About twenty-five miles southeast of Sardis on a high plateau, some 800 feet above the surrounding countryside sat a small but important city known as Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities to which Jesus sent letters—only about two hundred years old at the time. Located at the intersection of several trade routes as well as the Imperial Post Road, Philadelphia quickly became known as “the gateway to the East.” It was originally built as a missionary outpost intended to spread Hellenistic culture to the regions of Lydia and Phrygia. They did such a good job that by A.D. 19 the Lydian language was totally usurped by Greek.
Although the city benefited greatly from its prime location, it also sat right onto of a geological fault, suffering frequent earthquakes and aftershocks. The tremors were so devastating that folks often had to abandon their homes and businesses to live in tents on the plains outside the city. Despite the constant dread of yet another underground eruption, Philadelphia was a bustling little town, full of life and energy. When a letter carrier following the Imperial Post Road arrived in town, there were probably plenty of friendly folks willing to point him toward the small group of Christ-follower that gathered together every Sunday morning. This band of believers was small but exceptionally significant. Let’s see what Jesus had to say to them:
“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 NLT)
As you may have already noticed, Jesus has nothing negative to say to the church in Philadelphia; rather his letter is flowing with positivity and praise. Before complimenting the church, however, Jesus begins, as always, with his own credentials.
• CREDENTIALS
Jesus identifies himself with three key terms in this letter. First, Jesus identifies himself as “the one who is holy” (vs. 7 NLT).The Old Testament is replete with references to the holiness of God. In fact, Isaiah 6:3 declares: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (NIV). This very verse is repeated over and over in heaven by the four living being in Revelation. Jesus identifying himself as “the one who is holy” is a clear and direct claim to deity. Peter affirmed, “We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:69 NLT). To be holy means to be completely flawless and faultless. To say that Jesus is holy is to say that he is utterly sinless; his character is absolutely untarnished, unblemished and free from any moral defects. Jesus is the essence of purity.
What a joy to know that our God isn’t like us. We are a fallen people—full of flaws, faults and failings. We’re selfish, conceited, lustful, gluttonous, careless, and cruel. But not God. Not Jesus. We have a Holy God. Jonathan Edwards, famous for his sermons on hell, once said, “A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.”
The fact that such a holy being would have nothing critical to say about the church in Philadelphia speaks volumes about this humble congregation.
Secondly, Jesus describes himself as “the one who is… true” (vs. 7). The word true means “the original as opposed to a copy” and “the authentic as opposed to an imitation.” (Wiersbe, 531). Jesus is the true light, and true Bread, and true Vine, and Truth itself. He is the original; everything else is a copy. He is authentic; everything else is only an imitation. There are plenty of cheap imitations out there—lesser gods that promise pleasure, prosperity, or position—but these are just dime store knock-offs of the real thing. The Bible says, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the real God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20 GWT). Jesus was assuring the believers in Philadelphia, and us by extension, that he is the real deal.
Finally, Jesus credits himself as “the one who has the key of David” (vs. 7). This verse is taken directly out of the Torah—Isaiah 22:22 to be precise. A long time ago, Israel was invaded by their enemies, the Assyrians. While the invasion was bad enough, they were also experiencing corruption from within. Shebna, who was essentially the prime minister of Israel at the time, was using his office for his own gain and making side deals with the enemy. God saw to it that Shebna was removed from office and a faithful, just man, Eliakim, was put in his place and given authority over the nation. God said of Eliakim, “I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them” (Isaiah 22:22 NLT). The key of David represented Eliakim’s position of honor and authority over the nation or Israel.
By quoting this verse in description of himself, Jesus is indicating that he is truly the highest authority. What he says goes. What he does, no one can undo. Jesus is the supreme authority. Nothing happens in this world without his permission. Nothing happens that isn’t a part of his plan. And he was about to open a door for the church in Philadelphia that no one could shut. Let’s take a look at the compliment Jesus gives this small band of saints.
• COMPLIMENT
Jesus follows his credentials by telling the church, “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” (vs. 2 NLT).
All throughout the New Testament, whenever anyone speaks of an open door, it’s always a metaphor for an opportunity to serve or minister—specifically, a chance to share the gospel. Paul told the Corinthians, “I will be staying here at Ephesus until the holiday of Pentecost, for there is a wide open door for me to preach and teach here” (1 Corinthians 16:8-9 TLB). He reminded the Colossian church, “Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail” (Colossians 4:2-3 MSG).
Even though their numbers were few, Jesus was going to open a door for them to have a powerful and effective ministry, to share the message of Jesus and to see lives being changed for time and for eternity. You see, this wasn’t a big church. They had very little strength of their own. It was a small church in a small town. But it was faithful church, an obedient church. They may not have had a large attendance, but they had a large heart for Jesus and a desire to do his work. Their task might have seemed impossible, but as Jesus said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27 NIV).
Jesus was about to opened a door for them, giving them an opportunity to reach the community around them with the message of his saving grace, and no one could take that from them. No one could shut that door. Not for lack of trying though. Apparently there was a significant Jewish population in Philadelphia and they had missed the memo about brotherly love. They probably shut the Christians out of the synagogue (Christians often met in synagogues before erecting church buildings), making it tough for them to meet together. But where one door shuts, another door opens.
Because of there strategic location as “the gateway to the East,” the church in Philadelphia may not have had a lot of local members, but they meet a whole lot of travelers. They could share Jesus, just as they had spread the Greek language throughout the region decades earlier. Although they may not even see the effects of their ministry during their lifetime, their influence would be far-reaching and long-lasting. The church in Philadelphia remained strong and effective even after the region had been occupied by the Muslim and didn’t surrender until the fourteenth century. Although they were the smallest, they outlasted the rest of the seven churches by centuries.
What a sense of hope this should give us!
Folks, we are not a large church. We may only have a little strength, but we have a God who opens doors! And when he opens a door, you can rest assured that he will give us the strength to walk through it. The economy may fail, nations may rise and fall, this building may crumble to dust, but the church that meets here will continue strong and powerful for another thousand years if we are faithful to walk through the doors he opens before us. And nothing, nothing can ever force shut the doors that he opens because nothing is impossible for the one who is Holy and True!
Finally, with no complaints about these faithful followers, Jesus goes on to make a wonderful commitment to the church in Philadelphia.
• COMMITMENT
Following his compliment, Jesus makes three commitments or promises to this congregation. First, he promises to prove his love. He said, “Note this: I will force those supporting the causes of Satan while claiming to be mine (but they aren’t—they are lying) to fall at your feet and acknowledge that you are the ones I love” (vs. 9 TLB). Once again, Jesus pictures the local Jews as a “synagogue of Satan” because of their violent opposition to Christianity. He promised to utterly conquer the enemies of his church. But remember, we serve a God who defeats his enemies by making them his children. The imagery of these Jews falling at the feet of Christians conveys the idea of total surrender. Christians didn’t carry swords or wage war with neighboring Jews; rather, they loved their enemies and prayed for those who persecuted them. I believe the surrender Jesus describes here is the surrounding of their hearts and lives to Christ. I believe Jesus gave them victory by allowing them to win over their friends and neighbors in the Jewish community. Remember, Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV). The love of Jesus in the lives of his followers forced their enemies to finally surrender and acknowledge God’s love for his true children.
Secondly, Jesus promises to protect this band of believers in times of trial. He says, “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” (vs. 10 NLT). Many are quick to cite this verse as evidence of a Pre-Tribulational Rapture. But not only is that jumping the gun a little bit, it rips this verse from its context. This was a promise to the church in Philadelphia in the late 60s not to Christians world-wide two millennia later. Jesus promised to protect these believers during a period of wide-spread persecution in their day and age. However, we can take comfort in the fact that he has made a similar promise to us. Today, millions of Christians are suffering and dying at the hands of godless tyrants throughout the world, just as they were back then. For them, their “great time of testing” is now. But whenever Christians suffer, Christ promises protection of their eternal souls. Jesus said, “Everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But not a hair of your head will perish! By standing firm, you will win your souls” (Luke 21:17-19 NLT). In other words, Jesus doesn’t protect us from tribulation; rather, he protects us in tribulation. He will always see us through to the other side, even if that means the other side of death, which leads us to his last promise.
Finally, Jesus promised to make them permanent fixtures in heaven. He said, “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” (vs.12 NLT). For as small a town as Philadelphia was it boasted quite a few temples. Because of the violent earthquakes that plagued the area, the citizens would often flee the city during the tremors and return to find their temples in ruins. Often the only things left standing would be the pillars. Those pillars were a symbol of stability and permanence. Jesus promised those believers, and us as well, that he would make them into living pillars in the Temple of God, a temple that can never be destroyed and that they would never have to leave. One of the customs at the time was to inscribe the names of great leaders into the pillars of important buildings, so that these leaders would be remembered for generations to come. Jesus promises to inscribe the name of God, not just on stone or marble which crumbles and defaces over time, but on the hearts of his redeemed who will live with him in the New Heaven and Earth forever and ever. What a wonderful promise!
We’re not all together different from the church in Philadelphia, are we? Folks, don’t think for a moment that just because we’re small, we’re insignificant. The church in Philly may have had little power, but they had a powerful God! So do we. If we trust him and obey him, he’ll open doors of opportunity for us right here. You’ve got one of those opportunities before you right now.
INVITATION:
This is an invitation to surrender your heart and life to Jesus. Whether you’ve been a believer for decades or you’re just testing the water, there are always parts of our lives that we haven’t yet surrendered. Jesus beckons us to fall at his feet and acknowledge that he is the one who is holy and true, who has supreme authority and never-ending love. It doesn’t require a lot of strength, just enough faith to walk through the door.
