Revelation 3, Part 2 - Philadelphia

Today we will be looking at the 6th of the 7 churches in the book of Revelation, the church at Philadelphia. I have broken down the churches into individual studies, one church a day. We have already looked at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis. Today we will look at the church at Philadelphia and tomorrow we’ll wrap up the church study with the last of the seven, Laodicea. If you have missed any of these studies, I highly encourage you to back up and catch them. You can easily find them at The5MC.com under the Revelation tab, or on my Facebook page. The churches are very important as they represent not just dusty old churches from years ago, but they resemble current churches all over this planet. And since God’s church is really the people and not the physical structure, these examples represent people. They represent you and me. As you study the churches, make a tough, honest assessment and see which church you are today.

Out of all 7 churches, the name Philadelphia is a name we can easily associate with. It is from the Greek root words, "phileo" meaninig love and "adelphos" meaning brother. It literally translates into "brother love." It is of course where the city in Pennsylvania gets its name and it’s moniker, the city of brotherly love. Attalus II held this nickname because of the love and loyalty he had for his brother, Eumenes, who was the king of Pergamum.

There are only 2 churches of the 7 that receive no condemnation from Jesus, and Philadelphia is one with the other being Smyrna. The church at Phildelphia is nicknamed the Bible church because they were firmly rooted in the Word of God. They studied, lived, preached, and gave out the Word of God. God’s Word is referenced 5 times in their description. Folks, when any church is grounded in the Word of God, God will be pleased and the church will prosper. Period. Sure, there will be problems but the church will prosper. Remember that throughout God’s Word when churches were persecuted from the outside they prospered. But when they were attacked from within, they were greatly harmed or even destroyed. The Word of God protects. When the Word of God is absent, satan has the open door he needs to attack from within.

Let’s look at our passage on the church at Philadelphia and break it down using the 5 study points we have used for each church.

“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.”

Jesus’ Description of Himself. ‘He who is Holy.’ God is Holy, meaning He is separate from sin. His character is perfect and flawless. He was holy at His birth, He was holy at His death and He is holy today as He sits at the right hand of God. ‘Who is true.’ In John 14:6 Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the truth and the life…” To be true is to be genuine, authentic and real. He is the true Son of God, the true redeemer of our souls. In the midst of falsehood and error that fills the world today, Jesus Christ is the one and pure truth. ‘Who has the keys of David.’ A "key" in scripture represents one who has authority, whoever holds a key has control. As the holder of the key of David, Jesus alone has the authority to determine who enters His kingdom. Revelation 1:18 reveals that Jesus has the keys to death and hell and here we see that He also has the keys to salvation. ‘Who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.’ Jesus is saying what I do no one can reverse. No one can shut the doors to His Kingdom and if He has invited you into His kingdom through salvation in Him, no one in existence can reverse that.

Commendation. Jesus has a lot of commendation for the church at Philadelphia. They were faithful to Jesus and they were faithful to His Word. (What a great commendation for a church.) ‘I know thy works.’ Remember that 5 of the 7 churches start out with this intro. Even today, Jesus is walking amongst the lampstands (v 1:13), inspecting them for their works, looking for the fruit they are bearing for Him. Saving faith produces fruit for Jesus, there is no way around it. If you have the love of Jesus burning within your heart, it will move your hands into service to Him. ‘I have set before you an open door that no one can shut.’ This could be a door to the joy of the Lord, or it could be in reference to His Holy Word. I believe that since He refers to His Word so much with Philadelphia, that this means that He has opened the power and knowledge of His Word and He intends for them to walk through the door, thereby witnessing and proclaiming it to the world. This also references His intro, what He opens no one can shut. ‘You have little power.’ This is not meant that they have a little amount of power but that they have great power for their size. They were a little church, but they packed a big punch! ‘You have kept my Word and not denied my name.’ The church here was centered on Jesus and the Word of God. What a simple yet beautiful commendation from Jesus. They kept His Word and would not deny the name of Jesus no matter the cost. They were completely sold out to God. ‘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.’ Jesus is saying that because of their obedience to Him and His Word He will make the enemies of His church bow down to them. Bowing down was an act of military submission when kingdoms were conquered. The defeated army would be made to kneel down to the victors. Jesus is promising to conquer their enemies for them, just as He did numerous times for the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Concern or Condemnation. There is none for the church at Philadelphia. Jesus found no fault in them.

Command. ‘Hold fast what you have so that no one may seize your crown.’ Since there is no condemnation or concern here, Jesus simply tells them to keep on doing what they’re doing. Keep studying, preaching, and giving out teh Word of God. Keep Jesus and His Words constantly at the center of your life and my friends, He promises you prosperity and good success as we read in Joshua 1:8. The crown is ‘the crown of life’ mentioned back in Rev 2:10. The crown is for those that faithfully endure to the end. The crown is eternal life with all of its rewards.

Promise. Jesus has several promises for Philadelphia. Have you notice that for the churches that are loyal servants to Him, that He has great rewards for them? Obedience has that result. "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." We mentioned in an earlier study about the several schools of thought on the timing of the rapture of the church concerning the great tribulation. You’ve got pre-tribulation that says God will take the church out of the world before the great tribulation starts. Then there’s the post-tribulation thought that says God will leave the church to live through the great tribulation and take them out after. I personally think God’s Word is very clear on the pre-tribulation stance, especially in this verse. The "hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world" is the great tribulation which we will study at length later in Revelation. This is the period where God will judge the world for their rejection of Jesus. His Word is very clear here to the church at Philadelphia, "I will keep you from this trial." God’s church will not be on this Earth during the great tribulation. He will spare His church from this by snatching them up to Heaven before it begins. "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." ‘I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, never shall He go out of it.’ What a beautiful promise. What do pillars do? They support, they hold up, they stand strong, they are permanent, they are an integral part of the structure. God will give us a permanent place in Heaven. ‘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.’ His writing the name of God on us, depicts ownership. That you belong to God in a close intimate personal relationship. The name of the city of God, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of Heaven, represents where we will be with God. We will get a very specific look at this city coming down out of heaven in chapter 21. (and what a chapter it is!) Lastly we see that He will also write ‘my own new name’ on us. This is to exemplify that when we are in His presence in Heaven, we will have a different view of Him. We will be able to gaze upon His true glory. This will be new to us, He will be new and have a new name.

What a great look at the church of Philadelphia. I hope you learned many new things and that God revealed something to you that challenges you. Whatever it may be, embrace this challenge. Think about it, pray about it, mediate upon it day and night. This is God’s plan and purpose for how we interact with His Holy Word. We will not understand it fully, we are not meant to. To interpret God’s Word we need God. We must call upon God’s Holy Spirit to meet us in His Word and guide us through. As this process happens, we draw closer to God.

It’s like a father reading a story to his 5 year old son. The father climbs into a comfy chair and the son excitedly hops up into his lap. The dad opens the book and begins to read. The dad might have read the book a million times but the young son is enthralled, he sees something or hears something new everytime his dad reads it. But think about this. There’s something else going on here besides just a book being read. There is a connection. A close, personal connection between the father and his child. The warmth of two hearts connecting, being close. My friends this is the picture of what time in God’s Word looks like in our lives. We climb up into our heavenly Father’s lap and He opens His Book. He has read it a million times, in fact He’s the one that wrote it. He knows that these Words will change our life with it’s wisdom and truth, but there’s also something more going on here. A connection. A closeness. A bonding. As we spend time in God’s Word we are spending time with God himself. What a precious image as I picture a God that is available to be close with me anytime that I am willing to draw close to Him. All we need to do is make the time, crawl up into His lap, and enjoy His Book.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8

photo - "look before you leap" Botanical Gardens, Fort Worth, Texas, USA