Church Series - Philadelphia

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. 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. 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. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them 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 them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelations 3:7-13)

The church in Ephesus had works, was vibrant in activities but lacked the essence of devotion, love. The church in Smyrna was pounded and oppressed but remained steadfast. In the pounding, God promises relief, restoration and a crown. The church in Pergamum lived right in the midst of evil. Despite trying as much to remain devoted to God, some feel to the lure of food and drink and a different style of worship.

The church in Thyatira, unlike Ephesus, had love, faith, hope and perseverance and more importantly they had the first love. So unlike the Ephesians who went through the motions, the church in Thyatira had fire in their belly like the early church in the book of Acts, an almost perfect state to be emulated. However, like Pergamum, they were compromised. They became permissible to idolaters mixing iron and clay in worship.

In Sardis, unlike the poor and oppressed Smyrna, they appeared to be alive – had “a reputation of being alive” – looked spiritually vibrant on the outside. In terms of endowment, Sardis was the focal point from other churches. They had the masses, the programs, the facility and the resources but were spiritually dead.

The name Philadelphia means “brotherly love”. This was a city in Asia Minor about 25 miles south-east of Sardis. It is recorded that Philadelphia had been pounded to near destruction on several occasions by earthquakes. Due to its vulnerability to constant movement of tectonic plates in the earth’s core, Philadelphia was considered unsafe. The city may have faced neglect from the emperor in terms of protection and provision of resources for evacuation and fortifying it to remain steadfast. It simply was a city on its own.

Despite lack of support and lack of resources, the citizens in this city appear to be steadfast in defending their spiritual foundations. This is underscored by the recognition from the opening verses of this portion of scripture. The city had little strength to withstand the forces of nature but yet they stood firm and kept the word. Perhaps there were temptations to move across to the other cities. May be Sardis had the appeal of stability and government support, but Sardis was dead spiritually. The Philadelphians chose conviction over conformance. They chose eternity over momentary. They chose to build on deep spiritual foundations rather than be lured by worldly foundations.

To compound the problems of this church, falsehoods had been thrown about their identity. Reference is made about those who are from the synagogue of Satan spreading falsehoods true identity of the church in Philadelphia. May be they even compared it to that of Sardis. Perhaps questions like, ‘if God really loves you, why do you suffer so much? How can He bless others 25 miles away and ignore you? You are cursed. You are doomed. The earthquake will annihilate all of you’ were posed to the Philadelphians.  

It must have been reassuring for them to hear from God that these were lies. God went one further by talking about holding the key and opening doors no one can shut. Now most of us use this verse to mean about doors of material prosperity. In this context it affirms identity. In Isaiah 22:22, the prophet talks of Eliakim who was like a gatekeeper with the power to control entry into the royal kingdom. He was the steward who determined who would have access to the king. In this context, Jesus is described as holding the key and opening the door into the presence of God, His eternal kingdom. Not only does He open the door, He is the door (John 10:7). So Jesus endorses the unwavering faith of the Philadelphians and encourages them to remain strong because the pathway to their inheritance is wide open.

A couple of downstream promises follow from this affirmation. One of them is the public acknowledgement by the detractors that Philadelphia indeed belonged to God. In Exodus 12:35-36 when the Israelites were leaving Egypt, we see a symbolic bowing down of the Egyptians at the liberating power of God. The script is the same for Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, Esther and Ahasuerus among others. They all bowed and acknowledged this God that they were trying to fight against by oppressing those He loved.

The other promise is preservation during trial. Much as the public acknowledgement and affirmation was there didn’t mean that trials would stop. It meant that Philadelphians were given renewed strength to remain firm and steadfast in the face of the onslaught of trials.

Then the final and the most important promise, a crown, a pillar, an inscription of honor in God’s very own temple.  This was a contest, there were forces that worked hard to rob the church of the crown. God says, ‘hold on’ don’t let the crown slip from within your grasp at the final leg. Ancient pillars had the names of people they honored inscribed on them. God promised to honor and bless His people. Imagine a pillar specifically designed for your honor and dedicated to you by the Father Himself.

He says He is coming soon. That is a promise. The tectonic plates of nature may have conspired against you in an attempt to rob you off your identity and the downstream promises. God says, ‘hold on’. Don’t give up, let up, slip up, back down, back out, retreat or quit. He has affirmed you as His own. The pathway to His inheritance is wide open. If you miss it, it won’t be His fault but entirely yours. Hold on! The new Jerusalem beckons yonder with your crown, a pillar and names to honor you. That is worth fighting for. That is worth living for. Ooh glory to Lord God Almighty.