The letter to the Church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)
This is the sixth letter to the seven churches in Asia that we find in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3. It is written to the Church at Philadelphia.
It is one of the two Churches (the other being the letter to the Church in Smyrna) for which Jesus has no rebuke. So today I intend to focus on its positive aspects.
1. Introduction.
Let’s recall the short introduction that we had - in the letter to the Church in Ephesus - on the Church of Philadelphia:
It was a weak but loyal church and was commended for its witness and faithfulness to God’s Word. It received no reproof.
Historically it represents the Reformation, the time of Luther and Calvin.
Contemporarily it represents all earnest spiritual churches.
2. Historical background
Philadelphia was a small town in the Roman province of Lydia. Its name meant “brotherly love” and it was grounded in the second century BC. It was named after Attalus II, the brother of Eumenes, King of Pergamum. Attalus was called “Philadelphus” because he showed so much brotherly love to Eumenes.
The town is situated about 100 kms north east of Ephesus and about 30 kms south of Sardis
The town was often rocked by earthquakes and in AD 17 was completely destroyed by such an earthquake. It was rebuilt with the help of the Roman emperor Tiberias and shortly after, as a mark of respect to Tiberias, was renamed Neocaesarea.
The Church there lived up to the name Philadelphia, showing I believe a lot of love for Christ.
But we see a contrast between the town and the Church. While the town was unsafe due to earthquakes, the members of the church were safe by their faithfulness to the Lord.
We read in Rev 3.v.11 & 12
“Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.”
3. The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia
The Lord has a lot of positive things to say about the church
3.1 Their trust in God v.7
3.2 Their witness v.8
3.3 Their love and endurance v.9
I think that we, as a Church, can learn a lot from them. But I also see a lot that we have which is similar to what was happening at this Church.
Your endurance has impressed me a lot. Nowadays we live in an “instant” society. Everything has to be “fast” except perhaps “fasting” itself!
As a society, we don’t feel that we need roots. There is often little depth to our lives. I can understand Paul when he said in Philippians 2:12
“So then my beloved, just as you always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
Working out our salvation with fear and trembling means that we must learn to endure. We can find that in HIS strength alone.
The Church in Philadelphia understood this dependence on their Lord, because of their “little power” (v.8)
Their faithfulness reminds me of the Parable of the Sower in Matt 13 3-9
In that parable, there are four types of earth and although the seed is the same, the results are different.
i. The Pathway.
This ground is hard and the seed has no chance of taking root, because there is no earth in which the seed can grow. The seed is God’s Word and Satan comes and steals it away before it can take root in our hearts. It speaks to me of the man who will not listen to God.
ii. The Rocky Ground
Here there is a bit of earth. The seed begins to grow. But worry and persecution set in and this seed dies. This speaks to me of Christians who are not grounded in Jesus and fall away when the going gets hard.
iii. The Thorn infested Ground.
This speaks to me of the man or woman who hears God’s Word but is not fully committed to God. Jesus is not the No. 1 in his life and so when problems come, he is overwhelmed.
It can be anything that takes the No. 1 position in his life – his job, sport, the Church or even the family. Anything that is more important than God will be a stumbling block.
iv. The Good Ground.
This ground has good rich and fruitful earth and represents a Christian who has heard the Word of God and allowed it to take over his life. He is not of this world but belongs to the Kingdom of God. He is a witness for the Lord and people get saved and built up through his ministry
And I think that the members of the church in Philadelphia fell in this category.
So what can we learn from this?
3.1. Their reliance in God (v.7)
Make no mistake about it - WE HAVE A POWERFUL God, who opens the “ door that no one can shut” (v.8). The members of the Philadelphian Church have orientated their lives around this principle.
Story: In spring of 1867, a young American shoe salesman came to Bristol and one day was invited to a prayer meeting in a private home.
During the meeting, the minister, Henry Varley stood up and spoke. He said one memorable thing in that prayer meeting:
“The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to him.”
The young American walked out of that prayer meeting an hour later – with these words etched on his mind. They gave him no peace and he resolved to be such a man.
No one remembers Henry Varley – but that young American was D.L.Moody - who went on to become the “Billy Graham” of the 19th Century.
Thousands came to Christ through his ministry his day.
The world has not seen what God can do with a man totally committed to him.
We see a similar commitment in John 6:60-68 Here the apostles stayed with Jesus when other fell away and found his words too hard . And when Jesus said to them: “Don’t you want to leave me as well” Simon Peter answered. “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The Church in Philadelphia knew that it had little power (v.8) but they trusted and loved God. And they loved Jesus. How do I know that? Well Rev. 3:8 tells us that they kept God’s word and we read in John 14:21Jesus saying:
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
They showed they loved Jesus because they did not deny His Name. It wasn’t easy but they remained true.
3.2. Their witness (v.8)
It might seem easy to follow Jesus, but take my word for it – it isn’t easy. The deeper I go into God’s word, the more I realize that it is hard to separate from the world
Jesus praises them for two things:
1. That they have kept his word and
2. That they had not denied Him.
It is very easy to praise God in Church, with other Christians around you.
Note again how Jesus praises the Church in Philadelphia.
I am sure the Church spent a lot of time in prayer, because when you love Jesus you will automatically want to spend time with Him.
Look at the example of Jesus. He loved his Father and we see in Luke 6:12:
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. “
This shows me of the great love of God that Jesus had. If you are in love with someone, you want to spend time around him or her. So if we say, we love God – how come we don’t spend more time in prayer.
Perhaps it is because we haven’t learnt to endure yet. Or is our love for Him not deep enough yet?
Go wants us to spend time with Him. It is when we realize just how little power we do have that we are forced to turn to him
3. 3. Their love and endurance v.9
Abraham Lincoln was probably the greatest US President ever, yet his list of failures is embarrassing:
YEAR FAILURES or SETBACKS
1832 Lost job and was defeated for state legislature
1833 Failed in business
1835 Sweetheart died
1836 Had nervous breakdown
1838 Defeated for Illinois House Speaker
1843 Defeated for nomination for Congress
1846 Elected to Congress but lost renomination in 1848
1849 Rejected for land officer for Illinois
1854 Defeated for U.S. Senate
1856 Defeated for nomination for Vice President
1858 Again defeated for U.S. Senate
But in 1860 Elected President.
I’d have given up long ago but Lincoln persevered. He had a vision of what he wanted to do – and the setbacks that he had did not deflect him from his goal.
Was he a failure – no his success in being elected president overshadowed all his failure! He got there in the end. He persevered.
We need to persevere in our faith, when we feel like giving up. When we reach the final goal all our failures along the way will be forgotten.
There is not a Christian who has not had reverses in his life. Times where things have gone wrong and he or she feels like giving up!
The Church of Philadelphia’s love for Jesus brought that PERSEVERANCE, THAT ENDURANCE. They showed their love by keeping his command to endure patiently (v.10). God needs workers in His kingdom who are prepared to take him at his word.
And he says in verse 12 “To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.”
In other words, God will build his Church on Christians who have perseverance.
We read in James 1: 2-8
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
Here is the key. Jesus said in Luke 16:13
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
It is either God or Satan (in the form of the love of money that we are following) And for me money is anything of this world.
The Church in Philadelphia probably had not done mighty things for God – for example like the Ephesian Church (in Rev.2:1-8) had done. They did not have a lot of power but they had held on to their love for Jesus.
And we see in Rev. 2:4 how seriously God takes the loss of love:
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.”
Hard words, aren’t they to the Church at Ephesus?
God isn’t interested in our works but in our love for Him – and in our obedience – like the love of the Church of Philadelphia
He wants us to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5 22 et seq.)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Perhaps we do well to bear in mind Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 13.1
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
People are going to be saved when they see changed lives.
As the atheistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said words to the effect that “when the redeemed start looking more redeemed, I’ll start believing in their Redeemer.”
Now that’s a challenge isn’t it?
