THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PHILADELPHIA
Revelation 3:7-13
Dwight L. Moody once said:
“Show me a church where there is love, and I will show you a church that is a power in the community. In Chicago a few years ago a little boy attended a Sunday school I know of. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow still attended the same Sunday school, although it meant a long, tiresome walk each way. A friend asked him why he went so far, and told him that there were plenty of others just as good nearer his home. ‘They may be as good for others, but not for me,’ was his reply. ‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘Because they love a fellow over there,’ he replied.”
- Moody went on to say:
“If only we could make the world believe that we loved them there would be fewer empty churches, and a smaller proportion of our population who never darken a church door. Let love replace duty in our church relations, and the world will soon be evangelized.” (Moody’s Anecdotes, pp. 71-72)
Many years ago there was one such church located in Asia Minor, its name was “Philadelphia, which means “brotherly love”. That is the church that we will learn about today. As we continue our study of The Letters To The Seven Churches, I would like to examine “The Letter To The Church At Philadelphia.”
- I would like to start by considering:
THE RECIPIENTS OF THIS LETTER
v7a “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
Philadelphia was a city was located on a hillside about 30 miles southeast of Sardis. It was founded by a King of Pergamos named Attalus II. As a result of the king’s devotion to his brother, the city was named “brotherly love”. Philadelphia’s residents kept barbarians out of the region and brought in Greek culture and language. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 17, and the ensuing aftershocks worried the people so much that many of them moved outside of the city limits.
There was a remarkable church that met in Philadelphia, of the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor, only Philadelphia and Smyrna did not receive a rebuke from the Lord. In just a few moments we will see the praise that Jesus had for this devoted assembly of Believers.
- This leads us to:
THE AUTHOR OF THIS LETTER
'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":
Jesus is “holy” and “true”. Christ shares the holy, sinless and righteous nature of His Father. He goes on to say that He is the one “who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens". This speaks to Jesus’ sovereign authority; He is the one who controls entrance into the Kingdom. He has administrative power and uncontestable control. In Chapter 1:18 Jesus is described as the one who holds the “keys of hell and death”; Here He is seen as the one who has the keys to salvation and blessing. Christ’s is the rightful “Son of David”, therefore He is the only one qualified to open and shut the door in the Davidic kingdom. The Jewish enemies of the church and the pagan cults did not have the power to shut the open door that Jesus had opened. This “open door” refers to the opportunity to preach Christ to all who will hear.
It is a comforting thing to know that we belong to the One who is in complete control of the universe! We serve the one who possesses all authority. This was certainly a great comfort to the Christians in Philadelphia, and it should bring us comfort as well.
- Now that Jesus has identified Himself, He begins to praise His faithful followers in Philadelphia. Let’s consider:
THE PRAISE IN THIS LETTER
v8 know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name
As I mentioned earlier, the Church at Philadelphia only received words of praise from the Lord; there is not even a hint of rebuke in this letter. This is because these Christians had been zealous for the Lord; they were faithful and persistent in their trust of Him. In the midst of pagan influence, Jewish opposition and the worship of the Roman Caesar, these Christians refused to deny Christ. They believed God’s word and their faith in Him resulted in good works. Because of their devotion to Him, Jesus said, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it”. This open door likely is a reference to their admission into His Kingdom, or it may refer to the opportunity for them to serve Him.
Regardless of the correct interpretation, Jesus did both for the Christians in Philadelphia. Furthermore, He has done the same for us. We are able to enter His Kingdom because He opened the door; and we are able to serve Him and advance His Kingdom, only because He opened the door.
Jesus goes on to say “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” (v9)
Jesus assures His followers that those Jews who had caused them so much trouble would one day be humbled before them. These Jews claimed to be God’s chosen people, but Jesus says they were actually a synagogue of Satan. One day, they would have to admit that it was those despised and oppressed Christians in Philadelphia who were actually God’s chosen people. Notice also what Jesus said in:
v10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- There are many different interpretations concerning this verse. Here is what the NASB Life Application Study Bible has to say:
Some believe that “I also will keep you from the hour of testing” means there will be a future time of great tribulation from which true believers will be spared. Others interpret this to mean that the church will go through the time of tribulation and that God will keep them strong in the midst of it. Still others believe this refers to times of great distress in general, the church’s suffering through the ages. We cannot interpret from this verse when or for how long Christians will experience “the hour of testing.” Today, millions of Christians are suffering and dying at the hands of godless tyrants throughout the world. To them, the time of testing has already begun. What we can take away from this verse is that whenever Christians suffer, Christ promises protection of their eternal souls. (Inc., Tyndale House Publishers. NASB Life Application Study Bible, Second Edition (p. 9113).
Jesus was well pleased with the church in Philadelphia and He praised them for their works, then He went on to instruct them to remain faithful to Him. This leads us to:
THE COMMAND IN THIS LETTER
v11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Jesus uses His imminent return as motivation for the saints at Philadelphia to remain steadfast and endure whatever troubles may come their way. The victors crown was near; they were not to let anyone take that away from them. In this passage, Jesus encourages His followers to persevere in their faith and in their service to Him. He would have us to do the same today. Just as He praised the Philadelphian Christians for their obedience and devotion, He see, knows and will reward your faithfulness as well.
- This leads us to:
THE PROMISE IN THIS LETTER
v12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more.
Jesus declares that those who “overcome” will be made “pillars in the Temple of God”. This is promise of strength, honor, and permanent security. This is also seen in the phrase “he shall go out no more”. The true Christian can rest in the fact that he will never leave this place of safety and joy. The overcomer will have three names written on him; Jesus said “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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” This means that we belong to God, we will enjoy eternal citizenship in Heaven and we are and forever will be in Jesus Christ. We are His Bride and He will give us His name!
- The final exhortation to this faithful church is found in verse 13.
v13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
For us to understand the special destiny for the overcomer, we must have openness to the truth of God’s Word. Jesus had an important message for the church at Philadelphia and He has an important message for us as well.
As I survey The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor if I had to pick one that describes Stockdale better than the rest it would be The Church At Philadelphia. However, my assessment is not what matters, what matters is what Jesus sees when He looks into our assembly. I certainly hope that He sees a church that brings Him glory like Philadelphia did. I hope that if He were to write a letter to us, it would contain much praise and little correction. I hope that when He sees our works, He is pleased. I hope that He sees a group of people who keep His Word and refuse to deny His name. I hope that He sees a church that has kept His command to endure. And I pray that He will continue to open door for us to minister for Him and to advance His Kingdom.
If He does see these things then that is wonderful, but it is not enough. You see, we cannot stay where we are. We will either move forward for Jesus, or we will begin to drift away from Him. Therefore it is imperative that we hold on to what we have and press on for His glory. We have love, but our love should continuously increase. We have compassion for others, but our compassion must increase. We have unity, but that unity must continue to grow stronger. We have a commitment to sound doctrine, but we must continue to grow in God’s Word. We have many servants involved in good works, but there is a need for many more.
This is a church that has endured much throughout its history; and there is no way to know what the future holds, so we must resolve to remain faithful in spite of the difficulties that may be on the horizon. We have been blessed beyond measure; therefore we must hold on to what we have. We must continue to press forward in our work for the Lord and His Kingdom. He promised in His letter to Philadelphia that “He is coming quickly”; this speaks to the fact that His return is imminent. We don’t know when Jesus will return but we do know that we are 2,000 years closer to His return than the Christians in Philadelphia were. His imminent return should motivate us to “work while it is day”; we should do all that we can while we can.
Our time on earth is short; our opportunity to have an impact on the Kingdom is limited. We must be faithful, remain faithful and become even more faithful as time passes by. There is an enemy who would love nothing more than to “take away our crown”. He would love to attack us as individuals and destroy our assembly. For this reason we must be sober, vigilant and committed to the cause of Christ. Like Philadelphia, we must be a church that is focused on Christ and Christ alone.
We are living in a secular society where false religion and wickedness abounds. We should be a light in a dark world; we should be a people who shine bright for Jesus. If we will be faithful to Him, the rewards are immeasurable. Just look to the promises that He gave His people in Philadelphia for an example of this fact. He told them that if they would overcome the struggles, temptations and persecutions that came their way, then He would “open doors that no one could close and close doors that no one can open.” He promised that their enemies would one day “bow at their feet and know that He has loved them”. He declared that He would “protect them from the hour of testing that will come on the whole world”. He stated that He would make them “a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again”. He promised to write on them “the name of my God and the name of the city of my God the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God — and my new name.” Philadelphia had ample reason to remain faithful to the Savior, and so do we! We would do well to read, listen and heed the message that Jesus shared in “The Letter to the Church at Philadelphia”.
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