[Show video - “Be Like Mike” commercial]
I guess, like many of you, I’m really dating myself when I admit that I actually remember that commercial, which made its debut in 1992. But even today, young aspiring basketball players still want to “be like Mike” because Michael Jordan is the standard against whom all other basketball players are measured.
As we near the end of our journey through the messages to the seven churches in Asia, we come to the church in Philadelphia. And there is little doubt that if I could pick one of the seven churches that I would want our church to emulate, it would be the one at Philadelphia. In a sense, it is the standard against whom all other churches are to be measured. So my challenge to us today is this - “Be like Philadelphia”. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3 and follow along as I read Jesus’ words to the church there and we’ll see why this church is one we can all aspire to.
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
By now, we should all be familiar with the outline that we’ll use to examine the words of Jesus to the church in Philadelphia.
1. Church – Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia was established in 189 BC by King Eumenes II of Pergamum who named the city for the love of his brother, Attalus II. Attalus, who eventually succeeded his brother, earned the nickname “Philadelphos” because of his loyalty to his brother.
Located in a broad volcanic plain about thirty miles southwest of Sardis, it was a city of commercial importance which was known as the “Gateway to the East.” Under the rule of the kings of Pergamum, it was developed as a missionary city for the purpose of expanding Greek culture to the recently captured areas to the east.
Although the volcanic plain provided rich soil for agriculture, it also meant that the city was subject to frequent earthquakes. In fact, the city had been completed destroyed by a major earthquake in AD17 and when it was rebuilt with the help of the Roman government, it took the name Neoceasarea for a period of time in appreciation for that assistance.
Like most of the other churches, we know very little about how the church was established there, but it likely occurred during Paul’s extended stay in Ephesus.
2. Christ
…the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
This is the first description of Christ that doesn’t have a direct tie back to John’s vision of Jesus in chapter 1, although, as we’ll see, there is a connection to that description.
Jesus begins by describing Himself as the holy one and the true one – both titles that are used to describe God the Father in numerous Old Testament passages. So once again, we find a confirmation of the deity of Jesus here. He is completely holy – which means that he is set apart. He is not just a good man, but he is indeed God in the flesh. And as the true one, He not only embodies truth, He is genuine. That is an important distinction to the Jews there in Philadelphia who rejected Him as Messiah. He is countering their claims by proclaiming that He is indeed the genuine Messiah.
The second part of the description is clearly connected with Revelation 1:18 where Jesus declares:
…I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Revelation 1:18 (ESV)
As we saw when we looked at that verse, keys are a picture of authority and control. But here, Jesus has the key of David, rather than the keys to Death and Hades. So what is the connection, if any?
In Isaiah 22, God instructs Isaiah to remove Shebnah as the steward over the palace under King Hezekiah and to replace him with Eliakim. And then God entrusts Eliakim with authority over the king’s affairs with these words:
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Isaiah 22:22 (ESV)
In the Old Testament, the “house of David” is often used as a reference to the kingdom of the Messiah and Jesus, as He refers to this passage in Revelation, is certainly confirming that. The authority that God gave to Eliakim to determine who could have access into the palace was a prophetic picture of the authority that Jesus has to determine who can have access into His kingdom. That is certainly consistent with Jesus having the keys to Death and Hades, which gives Him the authority to control both life here on earth as well as our eternal destiny.
The picture here is unmistakable. Jesus is the one who opens and shuts the gate to His kingdom. And no one can shut what He opens or open what He shuts. He alone determines who enters into His kingdom. We’ll see in a moment, why this was such an encouragement to the church in Philadelphia.
3. Commendation
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
There are two main traits for which Jesus commends this church:
• Dependence on God
This is demonstrated in two ways. First, Jesus claims that He has set before them an open door, which no one is able to shut. Many see this as a picture of evangelistic opportunities for the church. Certainly, Paul frequently used the picture of an open door in that way. And that would certainly be consistent with the city of Philadelphia being an evangelistic outpost for Greek culture. And perhaps Jesus does have that in mind here.
However, given the context, it seems that the more significant idea is that Jesus has opened the door to salvation, one that no one else can shut. Although Jesus knows the works of the church, they are completely dependent upon His works as the source of their salvation. In a city where the Jews had closed the doors to the synagogue in the face of the Christ-followers there, this would have been a great encouragement to the believers.
Jesus also says that the church has “but little power”. It is likely that the church in Philadelphia was rather small, and that they therefore possessed little power, at least from an earthly perspective. But that was actually a good thing. Unlike the church at Sardis, who had abandoned their dependence on God, the church in Philadelphia recognized that they needed to depend on God’s power in order to be effective for Him.
• Faithfulness
In spite of the opposition they faced, the people had remained faithful to Jesus. That faithfulness was demonstrated in two specific ways that we would do well to emulate.
First they kept Jesus’ word. This is the first time in this passage that we find the word “keep” or “kept”. Since the meaning of this word is going to be a key to understanding some of the more difficult parts of this message, let’s pause for a moment to define it.
The Greek word is “tereo” which originally depicted soldiers who were positioned to watch over and protect something important. Its primary meaning is to “keep watch over”, to “guard” or to “preserve” (BAGD). And that is exactly what the church had done with the Word of God. They held it in such high esteem that they did whatever was necessary to guard it and preserve it. Here is one area where I think we can honestly say that TFC measures up very well. I know that Dana and I and the elders absolutely hold that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God and that it is to be the sole basis on which we base our faith and our conduct and I am confident that most of you share that conviction.
There in Philadelphia, that kind of reverence for God’s Word led to the second way that they demonstrated their faithfulness to Jesus – they had not denied His name. As we’ve seen, the name of Jesus is more than just a title, it represents His character. And the church there had not only expressed their allegiance to Jesus, but they had also lived their lives in a way that was consistent with His character.
Jesus adds to the commendation to this church in a way that we don’t find in any of the other messages. Because of their dependence on Him and their faithfulness to Him, Jesus promises a…
Twofold reward for their faithfulness:
9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
o Vindication
Just like we saw in Smyrna, there were a group of Jews who were persecuting the Christ-followers, probably to protect their own political liberties. Although they claimed that they were the real Jews, one day in the future Jesus is going to make it clear that the real children of God are those who have committed their lives to Jesus. So the Christ followers there in Philadelphia were going to be vindicated before those who were currently persecuting them.
o Protection
Before we look at verse 10 in some detail, let me first acknowledge that this verse is subject to a great deal of controversy about exactly what it means and there are a number of well-respected scholars on both sides of the issue who convincingly and articulately support their position. So I’m certainly not arrogant enough to stand up here this morning and tell you that I’m somehow smarter or more gifted than all of these others and that I have it all figured out. But I do have a responsibility before all of you, and more importantly, before God, to explain this verse to best of my ability based on the face value of the text considered in its context here in this message.
So let’s read verse 10 one more time before we proceed. Why don’t you read it out loud with me?
Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
The first thing we note is that the promise Jesus makes to the church is based on the fact that they have kept His word about patient endurance. Remember that the word “kept” means that that they have kept watch over, guarded and preserved that word. Specifically here, Jesus refers to the word about patient endurance. We’ve also seen the idea of patient endurance throughout the messages to the churches and have defined that as “remaining or abiding under pressure.” The idea here is that the church in Philadelphia had focused on remaining faithful in the face of their difficult circumstances rather than directing their efforts toward trying to remove themselves from the pressure. And Jesus promises to reward them for that faithfulness.
And what does Jesus promise these faithful believers? That He will keep them from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole earth. Some have taken this verse and used it to support the idea that Jesus is going to keep these believers from the hour of trial by physically removing them from the earth before that time begins. And certainly the words “I will keep you from…” could be taken that way.
But, as we’ve seen the key word “keep” means to “keep watch over, guard” or to “preserve”. That word is never used in the sense of physically moving or removing someone from a dangerous situation. That is confirmed quite clearly if we look at the only other place in the New Testament that uses the Greek word “tereo” with the preposition “ek”, which means “from”. Interestingly enough, that is also found in the words penned by John – in this case in his gospel:
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
John 17:15 (ESV)
The words “keep them from” although in a different tense and person, are the same exact Greek words used in Revelation 3:10, when Jesus says “I will keep you from.” Jesus is obviously not asking the Father to remove His followers from earth, where they are under the influence of the evil one who is described as the “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1). He specifically says that He is not asking God to physically take them out of the world, but rather to keep them, or guard and protect them, from the influence of the evil one.
The idea of God watching over, guarding and protecting His people in the midst of tribulation, rather than removing them from that pressure is certainly consistent with what we’ve seen in the Old Testament prophets. It’s also consistent with what we saw with the church in Smyrna, where Jesus warned the church that not only was He was not going to remove them from their tribulation, but that it was actually going to get worse. It’s also consistent with what we’ll see throughout the rest of the book of Revelation. In fact, it is consistent with the entire Bible for that matter. Let me share with you just one Old Testament and one New Testament passage that illustrate this idea:
When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
Deuteronomy 4:30, 31 (ESV)
Notice that God begins with the words “When you are in tribulation”. So there’s no doubt whatsoever that His people are going to face tribulation and God even refers to the fact that it will occur “in the latter days”, which, as we’ve seen, is always connected in the Old Testament with the “Day of the Lord”. And what does God promise to do for His people when they are in the midst of tribulation? There is certainly nothing at all mentioned about removing them from that time of tribulation. But He does promise to never leave them, destroy them or forget His covenant with them. In other words, He will watch over them, guard them and preserve and protect them.
if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
2 Peter 2:5-9 (ESV)
Peter cites two Old Testament examples here. First, he writes of Noah. As we’ve discussed before, although Noah was preserved through the flood, he and his family still had to experience the tribulation of the flood and being tossed to and fro in the raging waters. God didn’t remove Noah and his family from the tribulation, but He did watch over, guard and preserve them through that time.
The second example is Lot. Our first impulse in thinking about the account of Lot being rescued from Sodom is to think that God did in fact deliver him out of tribulation. But Peter makes it clear here that Lot did actually suffer through a period of tribulation in which he lived among the wicked day after day, where his righteous soul was tormented by the evil he observed around him. It was not until God was ready to pour out His final wrath on Sodom and Gomorrah that He finally removed Lot. Like Noah, he was spared from God’s final wrath, but he still had to endure a period of tribulation prior to that.
Before we leave this verse, let me briefly mention a couple more significant issues.
First, just as we saw with the church in Smyrna, this period of tribulation is going to be limited. Jesus describes it here as the “hour of trial”. Obviously, hour is used symbolically here. It doesn’t mean a sixty minute period. But what it does is indicate that this time of tribulation does have a beginning and end, as determined by God. It won’t last forever.
Secondly, we see that this is going to be a universal tribulation – not just the kind of local persecution that the church was going through right now. Jesus describes this hour of trial as “coming on the whole world.”
Finally, this hour of trial is directed toward unbelievers. The phrase “those who dwell on the earth” is used eight more times in Revelation and in every case it refers to those who have failed to commit their lives to Jesus. But as we saw frequently in the Old Testament prophets, God often uses the very same events to punish the ungodly and at the same time to purify the godly.
Robert Mounce appropriately summarizes this verse with these words:
The hour of trial is directed toward the entire non-Christian world, but the believer will be kept from it, not by some previous appearance of Christ to remove the church bodily from the world, but by the spiritual protection he provides against the forces of evil.
4. Condemnation – NONE!
Just like we saw with the church in Smyrna, Jesus has not one word of condemnation for this church.
5. Counsel
11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
Jesus promises that He is coming soon. Reading these words over 1,900 years later we may be tempted to ask, “How can that be?” As we saw when we looked some similar wording in the first chapter of Revelation, the idea here is that the process that will culminate in the return of Jesus began at His first coming and that therefore it is assured. It also indicates that when Jesus does return, it will be sudden and quick. And because of the encouragement that comes from the certainty of the return of Jesus, these Christ followers can follow the one command that Jesus gives them.
• Keep your eyes on Jesus
That’s the essence of what Jesus is saying when He commands them to hold fast to what they have. They have Him, and in the face of the trials that they are experiencing what they need to do is to just hold on firmly to Him. And if they do that, Jesus promises that no one will be able to seize their crown.
The crown that Jesus speaks of is the stephanos, which is the laurel wreath that was given to the winner of an athletic contest. This is a picture of the rewards that will be given to the faithful followers of Jesus who complete the race by holding fast to Him. The writer of Hebrews conveys this same idea:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1, 12 (ESV)
The way that we endure to the end and win the race is by keeping our eyes on Jesus and not getting distracted by the circumstances around us, no matter how difficult they may be.
6. Challenge
12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
Two promises to those who overcome:
• Permanence and stability
When Jesus promises to make those who overcome pillars in the temple of God, He is obviously using symbolic language. He isn’t physically going to turn them into pillars. The idea here is certainly that of permanence and stability. This would have been of great encouragement to the people of Philadelphia who were constantly having to leave the city during the frequent earthquakes that shook the city. Jesus promised the overcomers that they would never have to leave the presence of God like that.
• Three names:
We’ve seen the importance of names already in this message and Jesus describes three names that will be written on those who overcome. Each of the names reveals something significant about the future relationship with God.
1) Name of my God – ownership
We will see this picture of having the name of God written on the believers in some way again several times later in the book of Revelation. In each case, the purpose is to identify those who belong to God, in much the same way that the slaves of that time were branded with the name of their owner to show who owned them. God would permanently identify these faithful followers as belonging to Him.
2) Name of the city of my God – citizenship
Those who overcame would also have the name of the city of God – the New Jerusalem - written on them. This would signify that their permanent citizenship was to be in the presence of God in the place that Jesus had prepared for them. They would one day experience that to which Abraham looked forward to:
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:10 (ESV)
3) Jesus’ new name – fullness of Jesus
The idea of Jesus having a new name is an indication that those who overcome and experience the physical presence of Jesus will know Him even more fully than is possible here on earth. Paul expresses this truth in his letter to the church in Corinth:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)
Michael Jordan was certainly a gifted with great physical abilities. But like every truly great athlete, what separated him from his competitors was his unwavering focus on the goal before him. He never took his eye off the finish line. The same is true when it comes to being a great church. Those churches who are truly great in God’s eyes are those who have an unwavering focus on Jesus and who follow in His footsteps by keeping their eyes fixed on the joy that is set before them. If we can do that, then, like the church at Philadelphia we can remain faithful to Jesus regardless of our circumstances. Let’s be like the church at Philadelphia!
