To the Church of Philadelphia
In this series on the Seven Churches of Revelation, we have examined the Churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis. Today we will examine the Church of Philadelphia and not only how our church compares to it, but also how we as individual Christians compare to the Christians in Philadelphia.
Let’s stand as we read God’s Holy Word:
Rev 3:7-13
7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars-- I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(NIV)
(Prayer)
The City:
Philadelphia was founded by the citizens of Pergamum to create a gateway to the central plateau of Asia Minor. This city was often damaged by earthquakes, which resulted in a fear that kept a large part of the population from living within the city walls. Today there still exist a town on the ancient site of Philadelphia called Alasehir in Turkey, having a population of around 15,000. The word Philadelphia comes from two Greek words: PHILEO, which means, "love" and the word ADELPHOS, which means "brother." Thus the name Philadelphia means "brotherly love."
The Condemnation:
Christ had no condemnation for this church. This church appears to be a small church, but one that is obeying the teachings of Christ. The church of Philadelphia, as the name implies, must have loved one and another, even their enemies. There must have been a continuous revival going on. Do you think Christ would have any condemnations for our church? If so what would they be?
The Introduction:
Rev 3:7
7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
(NIV)
Christ addresses himself as holy and true. Being holy means that Jesus has the character of God and that He has no sin in His life. Jesus is perfect and righteous. Being true means that every word that He speaks is the true word of God and that every promise He made will be kept. We can put all of our trust in Jesus Christ for He is perfect and trustworthy. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will always be with us through whatever trail we may go through. Christ is holy and true.
Christ holds the key of David. The only other place where the key of David is referred to is in the book of Isaiah.
Let’s read:
Isa 22:20-22
20 "In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
(NIV)
Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was given the key to the house of David during the reign of King Hexekiah. The key was carried on a cord hung over the shoulder and the key unlocked the house of David which contained all the treasures of the kings of Judah and also housed the government. So Eliakim controlled who could come into the house of David and also who could not. He had the authority to do so. Jesus in the same sense holds the key to the New Jerusalem that is coming when he returns. Christ holds the key; thus He controls who gets in and who does not. There is no one else who can open or close this door. Christ has the authority to say who will enter the kingdom of God. No one comes unto the Father except through Christ.
The Commendation:
Rev 3:8-10
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Christ knew their deeds, just as He knows our deeds. There isn’t anything that we do, or anything that we say, or anything that we think, that Jesus doesn’t know. Christ knew their hearts and He knew that they had truly accepted Him as their Savior and Lord. Thus Jesus had opened the door to eternal life in heaven for them and no one could take that away from them. Also no one whom has not accepted Christ has his or her Savior could open that door. Is there anything in your thoughts or your life that you are ashamed of? Is there a sin in your life that you don’t want anyone to know about? Well, there are no secrets that Jesus doesn’t know. It is impossible to hide anything from Him. You cannot hide from His sight. So the next time that you do something that you wouldn’t want anyone to see, remember that Jesus sees it.
The Christians at Philadelphia had kept the word and teaching of Christ and had done their best in spreading the word of Christ, even though they had little strength. They were probably few in numbers and not wealthy, but they were rich in the blessings of Christ and they always put Him first in their lives. They were probably witnessing everyday and those whom accepted the Word, Christ open the door for them, those who did not, Christ shut the door to them.
Rev3:
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars-- I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
I am going out on a limb on my commentary of this verse. I have not read anyone else that gives a commentary like the one I am about to give. We have many false religions and cults today that claim that they are Christians. I believe that Christ is referring to these people in the above verse. There are even people sitting in our churches today that claim to be Christians, but have not really accepted Christ as their Savior. The time will come when the truth will be known. The day will come when these so called Christians, but really members of the synagogue of Satan, will fall down at our feet and acknowledge that we are the true children of God. What a day that will be! If you have been attending church for years and everyone thinks that you are a Christian, but you know that you haven’t really accepted Christ as your Savior and confessed it with your mouth, then read the above verse again. Sitting in church 3 or 4 times a week doesn’t get you into heaven. You may feel embarrass to walk the aisle after all these years of pretending to be a Christian, but what is the consequence if you don’t. What do you prefer; a little embarrassment or spending eternity in hell?
Rev 3:
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
The Christians of Philadelphia kept the commands of Christ and they endure trials patiently (without complaining to God or blaming God). They will be spared from the great trail. I believe that all believers in Christ will be spared from the great tribulation that is to come. We will be raptured, but those that are left will go through many wraths from both the antichrist and God. During the great tribulation, only those who find Christ and refuses to get the mark of the beast will be saved, though they will still suffer much.
It will be extremely hard for a person to accept Christ while living through the tribulation. To do so would mean probable dead or intense suffering for you and your family. By accepting Christ during the tribulation, you would have to refuse the mark of the Beast and then would not be able to work or even buy food. If you are here today and don’t know Jesus has your Savior, what are you waiting for. Even if you think all of this isn’t true, are you that positive that you will risk eternity on it?
Rev 3:11-12
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
(NIV)
If we overcome, as did the church of Philadelphia, we will be honored in God’s temple and always be with Him and we will always belong to Him. When we accept Christ as our Savior our names are written in the Book of Life. We belong to God and nothing can take that away from us. When I married my wife, she took on my last name and that meant that she belonged to me and not to some other man. It is the same with God. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are wed into the kingdom of God and we take on God’s name and we belong to Him forever. We will live with Christ forever in the New Jerusalem to come. I can’t wait! What about you?
The Warning:
Rev 3:13
13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(NIV)
Again Jesus warns us that we need to listen to what He is saying to the seven churches for it applies to us today just as much as it applied to the seven churches of Asia.
Today we have looked at a church that Jesus was well pleased with. He was pleased with works of the church and the people. I can’t wait to meet the congregation of the church of Philadelphia. They must be a wonderful group. Think about it. They didn’t criticize the pastor’s sermons, or the music minister’s choice of music. There wasn’t a power struggle on who would make the decisions on how the church was to be run. Everyone got along. They loved everyone. They didn’t complain or get angry. They loved Christ so much that all they wanted to do was to please Him and obey all of His teachings. Wouldn’t it be great if our church was like that? If it were we would have to build a gigantic building because everyone in town would want to be a member and we would have to buy several more vans so we could pick up all of the youth that would want to attend. (But who would drive the vans?)
Today we have learned the Jesus holds the key to heaven and hell. He is the one who knows if you have accepted Him as your Savior and Lord. If you haven’t, do it now. You may not have another chance. Don’t worry about what others or your friends may think. They can’t save you and they may even need Christ. Worry about where you will spend eternity if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as you Savior. You have heard the message, now it is time to make a decision. The Holy Spirit is calling you, are you ready to make that commitment? I pray that you will come now and accept Jesus as your Savior. You may say that you don’t know how or that you life is too messed up for Jesus to love and accept you. All of that doesn’t matter. Jesus loves you more than you can realize. Walk the aisle now and we will help you with what you need to say to accept Christ.
Come now.
