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Philadelphia (The church with Opportunity)
After the
harsh words Jesus had for Sardis, it's a relief to
see the contrast between it and Philadelphia. Being
the 6th of the seven churches we have not seen a
single one yet that was doing everything right.
Every single one of them so far were condemned for
at least one transgression and were warned to repent
or suffer the consequences. It is a sobering
thought when one considers the state of the Lord's
church today and compares it with the fact that all
but one of the churches addressed in Revelation had
problems which threatened their standing with Jesus
Christ. This is not enough of a model to build a
worldwide comparison by any means but it is
significant enough to give any Christian sufficient
reason for some serious reflection of their own
standing with God. It is truly an encouragement at
this point to see that it is possible to please
Jesus Christ with faithful and diligent service.
Philadelphia
was the youngest of the seven cities of Revelation.
It was founded by colonists from Pergamos in honor
of, and named after, Attalus II Philadelphos of
Pergamos during the reign of his elder brother,
Eumenes II, king of Lydia. The word "Philadelphos"
literally means "brother lover" so the name
Philadelphia came to mean the city of brotherly
love.
According
to history, Attalus reigned over Philadelphia during
the years of 159 to 138 B.C. Philadelphia was
established for a specific purpose. It was a Lydian
border town built
where Mysia and Phrygia joined with Lydia. It is
located about 105 miles from Smyrna near the Cogamus
River and on one of the main highways which led to
the interior of Asia Minor. The intent was to
encourage the spread of the Greek language and
culture into Lydia and Phrygia and this strategy was
successful so that by A.D. 19 both of them had
abandoned their native languages and spoke primarily
Greek.
Pagan
Worship in Philadelphia:
Philadelphia had a nickname of "Little
Athens" because of its many temples and festivals to
pagan gods. Philadelphia also preached loyalty to
Hellenism. The word, Hellenistic, is derived from
the word, Hellene, which was the Greek word for the
Greeks. The
principal meaning of Hellenism is the propagation of
culture and religion from classical Greece to the
rest of the world, with classical Greek culture and
beliefs either replacing or joining with local
culture and ideas. So Philadelphia was in reality a
missionary city with the intended purpose being to
spread Greek culture to the rest of the region.
The soil of
the plain near Philadelphia was particularly fertile
and was used for vineyards. Wine was the chief
source of revenue for this city. Baachus (the god of
wine) was worshipped in Philadelphia.
Revelation
3:7
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia
write: These things saith he that is holy, he that
is true, he that hath the key of David, he that
openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and
none openeth"
Jesus makes some statements here about Himself to
the Christians in Philadelphia. First, He declares
His holiness. In several New Testament passages
holiness is applied to Christ (Mark 1:24; Acts 3:14;
4:30). Holiness is a characteristic which sets
Jesus apart from mankind. Jesus is without sin,
guile or deception, in every way holy. He is to be
reverenced and obeyed. This characteristic of
Jesus is seen also in God the Father. "Holy holy
holy is the Lord of hosts" was the song of the
seraphs heard and recorded by Isaiah in 6:3. "To
whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal
(to him)? saith the Holy One" (Isaiah 40:25).
Throughout the Bible God is portrayed as the "holy
one". The combination of words "God" and
"Holy" occur 247 times in the King James
translation. Here we see this title claimed by
Jesus Christ which positively identifies Him as
sharing the attributes of God the Father. John
teaches us in chapter 1 of the Gospel account
bearing his name that Jesus Christ was God in the
beginning and took on flesh to live amongst man.
"He that
is true"
This statement refers to the nature of Jesus
Christ. In the Greek the word here for "true"
is "Alethinos" which is similar to the word "Alethes".
The latter carrying the meaning of a statement which
is true, while the former refers more to the
relation of the originator of the statement. In
simple terms "Alethes" is something that can
be believed without question. Jesus Christ who is
here described as "Alethinos" is the originator of
truth and can be believed without question. Jesus
Christ doesn't just make statements that are true.
He is the source from which truth comes. Not only
can we trust and believe what Jesus said and taught
as the truth, we can trust and believe in Him
because of His nature.
"he that
hath the key of David"
A key is a symbol of authority. Keys are used
to open locks and doors which protect things of
value. Those who possess the keys have the
authority and the right to grant access to that
which is protected by locks or doors. Jesus Christ
said He would build His church in Matthew 16:18-19
and to Peter He gave the keys to the kingdom. Peter
and the others were given the authority and the
right to grant access to the kingdom of Heaven.
Peter and the rest of the apostles would open the
door of opportunity to all who would believe and
obey. There were no literal keys being exchanged,
neither should we visualize a literal physical key
in the possession of Jesus Christ. These word
pictures are meant to convey an idea to the reader
of someone who has the authority to grant access to
things which are concealed from general view.
"he that
hath the key of David, he that openeth and none
shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth"
This statement of Jesus is a direct reference back
to Eliakim in Isaiah 22:22, "And the key of the
house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he
shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut,
and none shall open" Shebna was an evil officer
of King Hezekiah who was driven from office by God.
Eliakim was entrusted with the power of the key of
David. He was given the power to open doors of
opportunity and duty to which no other could close
and doors he closed remained closed. Jesus claimed
for himself the authority of the key of David.
The key of
the house of David is a reference to the promise God
made to David as recorded in 2 Samuel 7:16, "And
thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee: thy throne shall be established
for ever." Jesus Christ in the flesh was a
direct descendant through the lineage of David. The
house of David here is therefore a reference to the
everlasting kingdom that was to be established in
the future before him. The "new Jerusalem"
mentioned in verse 12 of this same letter is the
spiritual kingdom that Jesus rules from the right
hand side of God the Father in Heaven.
Jesus
likewise opens and shuts doors. Doors represent the
means by which something worthwhile is obtained or
just opportunity in general. When Jesus opens the
doors to anything, no man can shut them. And when
He shuts those doors, no man can open them. The
doors to everlasting life have been opened by Jesus
Christ. And they will remain open until He shuts
them. And when they have been shut, opportunity to
gain access to salvation will forever cease.
Revelation
3:8
"I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee
a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast
a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst
not deny my name."
As we learned earlier, Philadelphia was built for
the purpose of assimilating Greek culture and
language into the heart of Asia Minor. It was built
on a major highway that was used as one of the
postal routes of the Roman Empire. The church at
Philadelphia had the same opportunity to spread the
gospel as the original Philadelphians did to spread
the Greek culture and language eastward into the
interior of Asia Minor. Jesus is telling them that
this door of opportunity is open to them and that He
put it there and it will not be shut by any man.
They were strong, they had been obedient to His will
and they have not denied His name no matter what
persecution they faced. There was no shortage of
Pagan worship in Philadelphia. Christian
persecution naturally arose in the presence of pagan
worship due to the fact that Christians utterly
reject any association whatsoever with pagan gods or
the worship thereof.
Jesus
praised the church at Philadelphia for not denying
His name. This would be a great comfort to them in
light of the fact that Jesus made this promise
earlier in His teachings while still on earth. "And
I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me
before men, him shall the Son of man also confess
before the angels of God: but he that denieth me in
the presence of men shall be denied in the presence
of the angels of God" (Luke 12:8-9). The church
in Philadelphia had not denied His name and were
praised for it.
It is
interesting to note here that the reward for
faithful service to God is more work to do.
Philadelphia had proven to be faithful and her
reward for this was the open door of opportunity for
more work to do. The life of the Christian is never
one to set back and be at ease, rather it is the
life of high endeavor and self sacrifice in service
to God. "...behold, I say unto you, Lift up your
eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white
already to harvest" John 4:35. "I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service" (Romans 12:1).
Revelation 3:9
"Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of
them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but
do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship
before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."
The Jews
who rejected Christ were bitter enemies of the
Christians in the first and second century. There
were a lot of Jews living in Philadelphia They had
a Jewish synagogue there and all Jews
made the claim that God entrusted them with the key
of David. They claimed that as God's children they
were the only rightful recipients of God's heavenly
kingdom and because of this, any member of the
synagogue that dared to confess Christ as Savior or
Lord was cast out (John 9:22; 12:42).
What
happened to Shebna, the servant of king Hezekiah,
also happened to the Jews. The power of the key of
David was stripped from them and given to others.
The power of the key of David entrusted to the
Israelite nation was taken from them and given to
the saints of the church. The Christians in
Philadelphia who were given the open door were able
to take advantage of the opportunities associated
with being the true Jews who were the "the
children of God".
The Jews of
the synagogue claimed to be the children of God but
they were not. Paul taught that those who were
Jews outwardly were not, rather those who were
inwardly spiritual were true Jews (Romans
2:28-29). Paul was drawing a contrast between
those who claimed to be Jews through the flesh from
those who were true Jews of the heart. All who
believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and the Son
of God, and who serve Him obediently, are spiritual
Jews. The Jews in Philadelphia falsely claimed
something they did not have the authority to claim.
Jesus called them liars and identified their
synagogue as being of Satan. Certainly this bodes
ill for them and in all their haughtiness and self
important pride Jesus said they were ultimately
going to be the ones who would come and worship
before the feet of the spiritual Jews and know for a
certainty that it was true children of God that He
loves and not them. The application for us today is
that all who serve Christ are of the spiritual "Israel
of God", and who are the true "children of
God" and these are the ones who God truly
loves.
Revelation
3:10
"Because thou didst keep the word of my patience,
I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that
(hour) which is to come upon the whole world, to try
them that dwell upon the earth."
They had kept the word. This means they had been
obedient to the words and will of Jesus Christ
through hard times. Harder times were on the
horizon for them. The first sentence of Revelation
indicates that the hardships described in the letter
are in the not too distant future. God promised the
Christians at Philadelphia that because of their
faith and obedience thus far, they would receive
help from God in the trials yet to come upon them.
This is a promise made to all faithful Christians
who keep the words of Christ and remain faithful
during times of difficulty:
1
Corinthians 10:13
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as
man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation make also the way of
escape, that ye may be able to endure it."
All
Christians are tried by the things that happen in
the world. The door of opportunity is ever open to
all mankind to repent and to come to God and find
salvation. Unfortunately, it is the cross which
Christians must bear to live with the consequences
of sin in the world and with the consequences of the
activities of the sinful. Throughout history, the
children of God have suffered because of the sinful
activities of the Godless. Our God is truly just
and fair and every accountable living person on
earth has the same opportunity that followers of
Christ took advantage of. God desires all to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,
therefore the Godless are allowed to wreak
persecution on the God fearing and it is the duty of
the saved to shine the way to the door of
opportunity in the face of it all, even unto
death.
Revelation
3:11
"I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast,
that no one take thy crown."
Jesus says He is coming quickly. The Greek word for
quickly also means suddenly and abruptly. Scripture
teaches that His coming will be like "a thief in
the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10),
suddenly and swiftly.
Jesus
admonished them to hold on to what they had. Jesus
had only praise for the works of the Christians at
Philadelphia but they were warned here that they
could lose it if they failed to remain faithful and
persevere. All of the churches of Asia started out
on the right path and none of the other six were
told they had a crown. This crown could either be
the crown of life or a crown of glory, either of
which, if removed, put them into the same category
as the others. In danger of judgment and eternal
loss.
The entire
core theme of Revelation is for the Christians to
persevere, to remain faithful and never give in to
the world around them, to overcome it, even to the
point of death. And this warning was given even to
the one group that was doing everything right. The
importance of this cannot be overstated. If the
Christians living under the horrific persecution of
the first century had to remain faithful unto death
in order to receive eternal life, we can be assured
today that it is no different. Let us learn from
the examples of the faithful Christians who went
before us to glory and likewise strive to remain
ever "faithful unto death".
Revelation
3:12
"He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no
more: and I will write upon him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, the new
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my
God, and mine own new name."
Here again
we see Jesus use the words "He that overcometh"
All of the churches of Asia were exhorted to
overcome. All of the churches of Asia in Revelation
had to remain faithful. God was working against the
Roman Empire from Heaven, but the Christians on
earth had their part to play in it as well. It was
their responsibility to stay faithful and overcome
all opposition against them while God worked His
will on their oppressors. The application for us
today is no different. Nothing about God's will as
expressed in the New Covenant under which we live
has changed in the last 2000 years. The principle
of obedience and perseverance that applied to the
first century Christians is likewise applicable to
us today. If they had to remain faithful and
overcome, then so do we.
"I will
make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go out thence no more"
Philadelphia was built on the edge of plain
called the Katakekaumenē, which means The Burned
Land. There was a volcano nearby and the ash
deposits from it made the ground in that area
particularly fertile for agriculture. While
Philadelphia enjoyed a thriving agricultural benefit
from this, there were also perils associated with
living this close to a volcano. The same earthquake
that destroyed Sardis in 17 A.D. also destroyed
Philadelphia along with ten other cities in the
region. In the other cities, the earthquake was
over and done with, but in Philadelphia the
aftershocks and tremors continued for years
afterward. The citizens of Philadelphia would leave
the city and go out into the plains and live in huts
during these prolonged events when they would become
severe enough to threaten their lives. Some of the
citizens lived in the city during this, but were
sometimes driven out to safety during the worst of
these earthquakes. Eventually the earthquakes
subsided but the memory of this lived on in the
minds of the citizens of Philadelphia. People in
Philadelphia were well aware of what Jesus was
referring to when He told them they "shall go out
thence no more". This promise of Jesus assured
them of the ultimate peace and security that awaited
those who "overcome".
"and I
will write upon him the name of my God"
Those who overcome and keep the faith will have the
name of God written on them as opposed to those who
succumb to emperor worship and receive the mark of
the god they serve. This was not a literal name
written on their physical bodies, but a means of
identification of ownership. Those who bear the
mark of the beast belong to Satan, while those who
bear the name of God belong to Him. What a
tremendous blessing it is to belong to God. This is
most certainly a blessing well worth the trials of
life of the first century and any thereafter.
"and the
name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem"
As with the earthquakes we see the history of
Philadelphia reflected in the words of Jesus. After
the earthquake in 17 A.D. destroyed the city,
Tiberius gave them the necessary backing to rebuild
the city. Philadelphia was grateful to Tiberius for
this so in his honor they renamed the city to
Neocaesarea meaning The New City of Caesar. During
the reign of Vespasian, the citizens decided to
change the name of the city yet again to Flavia, for
Flavius was the family name of the Emperor Vespasian
and of his two sons Titus and Domitian. Neither one
of these names lasted, and the name of the city was
restored to Philadelphia. Philadelphia was also
nicknamed Little Athens because of all the pagan
worship that went on there. The readers of this
letter who were citizens of Philadelphia knew what
it was to receive "a new name" And the name
of the city promised to them was better than any
that man could devise and would last forever.
The "new
Jerusalem" is the name given to this eternal
city with the eternal name. Old Jerusalem was where
the Jewish Temple had been and from there worship to
God was offered by the Israelite nation. The city
had been destroyed by Titus, son of Vespasian and
the temple was torn down stone by stone and burned
so that the soldiers could get to the gold used in
the stonework. Jerusalem represented the city of
God in the minds of the first readers of the
Revelation. The "new Jerusalem" would
therefore represent to the citizens of Philadelphia
a city after which they could be named, a holy city,
an eternal home with an everlasting name. The
application here for us today is that all who
believe and obey Jesus Christ have their citizenship
in this "New Jerusalem" The new city of God,
that will never be destroyed, with a name that will
endure long after the Caesars and the rest of the
evil rulers of the earth have passed, and on into
eternity. What a comfort this must have been for
them and likewise what a comfort it should be for us
today.
"which
cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own
new name."
The name of the eternal city being given to the
overcomers is not coming from the earth, or from man
in any fashion. This name is coming from God, on
His throne, in Heaven.
Some in the
religious world today who hold to millennial
doctrine teach that this passage indicates that God
will establish an earthly "New Jerusalem"
here on earth some day. The primary subject of this
narrative is the "name", not the "city".
Jesus rules his kingdom from heaven (Ephesians
1:19-22). His authority comes down to us from
heaven where He is pictured as being seated on the
right hand side of God the Father. Christians on
earth are members of His body, the church
(Colossians 1:18), which he rules from Heaven; His
spiritual kingdom. A literal new city, named
Jerusalem, is never going to descend from Heaven and
be established upon earth. The city mentioned here
is a figurative term describing the church which is
the body of Christ, the spiritual kingdom of God,
ruled from Heaven, by Christ and already present in
the first century and until this day and beyond. "For
our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait
for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ"
(Philippians 3:20).
The new
name of Christ which will be written on them can be
non other than the term "Christian". As
previously stated, the term "written" is not
to be taken literally, but is a means by which we
are identified. We are identified with and belong
to God, as His children, when we live obediently and
serve Jesus Christ before the world. The faithful
were called Christians by inspiration in the first
century, they are likewise identified as Christians
today. This name given to us by God is the only
name we wear. Coming from God, this name is holy
and revered by faithful and true followers of Christ
who will utterly reject being associated with any
other name. This is the God breathed name given us
by inspiration, it is therefore this name and no
other that we should wear before the world.
Revelation 3:13
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith to the churches."
Every letter to the seven churches closes with this
admonition. It is similar to the one Jesus closed
the sermon on the mount with:
Matthew
7:24-27
"Every one therefore that heareth these words of
mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise
man, who built his house upon the rock: and the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for
it was founded upon the rock. And every one that
heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his
house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon
that house; and it fell: and great was the fall
thereof."
Those who
overcome and persevere to the end have listened,
heard and obeyed what the Spirit said and therefore
have their houses built on the rock. |