The Church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)

Philadelphia was the youngest of the cities to which John sent letters. It had been built around 140 BC by a ruler of Pergamos (who had ‘Philadelphia’ has one of his names) as a centre for the dissemination of Greek language and culture. He had been given that name because he had a great love for his brother who had been the previous king, but who had died young. Subsequent attempts to change the name failed. After a great earthquake in AD 17 the city changed its name to Neocaeserea, because of the help given by the Emperor Tiberius in rebuilding it. Later, under the emperor Vespasian, the city’s name was changed to Flavia. Nevertheless the original name persisted. 

The earthquake was followed by several years of recurring tremors which caused the populace not to live in the city but in huts in the surrounding countryside. They felt that the situation was not stable enough for permanent living. This city was a small location, so it is likely that the church was small as well. Perhaps some might have assumed that the church was as fragile as the city, but if they did, they were wrong.

There was a Jewish community in Philadelphia and indeed Ignatius, the church father, near the beginning of the next century warns the church in Philadelphia about Jewish preachers. This Jewish background explains the Old Testament allusions in the letter. That synagogue was very opposed to the church there, and we can see from Jesus’ description of the synagogue that it was following the orders and schemes of the devil.

Philadelphia means ‘the city of brotherly love’. Whether that was true of the city is unlikely. Yet it was true of the church there because Jesus finds no fault within it. It is the second of the seven churches to have this level of commendation, along with the church in Smyrna. This means that the city of brotherly love had a community of brotherly love within it, a model church. 

The description of Jesus 

Jesus refers to himself as both God and man, which is how we should think of him when focusing on what he has done since the incarnation. His deity is seen in his description of himself as the one who is holy and true. Yet they would also be accurate descriptions of his human nature. As the one who is holy and true, he cannot tell a lie, which would be of great comfort to the small church in Philadelphia as he makes promises to them about their future. 

The significance of him having the key of David is connected to what is described in Isaiah 22:20ff where the prophet reveals that the Lord is going to remove Shebna from his place of power because of his unfaithfulness and put in place of him Eliakim. The keys symbolised the power that Eliakim would have. They revealed that the king of Judah had given him authority to act. Jesus means by this description that as the Messiah he has been given full authority to govern by God the Father, and the occasion of him receiving this authority was his ascension.  

The person who had the keys in Jerusalem could go into any room he wished in the palace. He also allowed or prevented other people from having access to those places. In other words, nothing could happen without his decisions. In a far higher sense, nothing happens without the permission of Jesus. He has access to everything in heaven, including the details of God’s eternal plan. He is also in control of everything on earth. Therefore, he can make definite promises to the church in Philadelphia about its future.

What thoughts come to mind when thinking of Jesus as the one who can open doors? Here are a few suggestions. He is the one who opens the door for sinners to come into his kingdom. When they repent of their sins and trust in him, they discover that he gives access to God – he is the door of entry into the kingdom of God. Once in his kingdom, believers discover that Jesus opens other doors: as prophet he opens the door of edification and teaches his disciples; as priest he opens the door of representation in which he intercedes for his people; as king he opens the door of extension of his kingdom, which is the door he mentions in the following verses. The obvious application is for us to consider what doors he has opened for us.

It is obvious that Jesus wanted to communicate this information about his authority to his people. He wants them to get the benefits that come from knowing that this is his role. It would mean that whatever happened to them should be connected by them to the key of power that Jesus possesses as God’s Messiah.  

 

The exhortation by Jesus 

Jesus points out to them that he has given to them a specific open door. What does he mean by that? Does he mean that they have access to heaven or entrance into his kingdom or does he mean that they have access into the community around them? They may have been barred from areas of life in the city. The Jews may have stopped them from attending the synagogue and the city authorities may have prevented them from having opportunities for work. Whatever doors were closed by their human opponents, they could not close the door that Jesus kept open. 

The implication is that they were meant to go through the door and use whatever the access was that was available to them. They could go into the presence of Jesus in prayer, and they could enter the community with the gospel. It is interesting that the church in Philadelphia seems to have had an open door for another 1,200 years before the city was taken over by Moslems. It was also true that a Christian presence in the city lasted until the twentieth century. 

The second detail that Jesus mentions is their insignificance in the eyes of others. They had little power. Nevertheless, they had remained faithful to Jesus. Their faithfulness is stated positively and negatively; positively, they were marked by obedience and, negatively, they had not denied Jesus. Although small, they were marked by dedication and constancy. 

Third, Jesus responds to how the synagogue in Philadelphia had treated his people. At some stage they are going to bow down before the believers they had mistreated through the instigation of Satan. When will that be? Some commentators suggest that here we have a promise that the Jews in Philadelphia will become converts and join the church. Yet it would be strange to have converts after their deliverance bowing down before Christians. So it is more likely that here we have a prediction of what will happen on the Day of Judgement when the authority of Christians, as connected to Jesus the King, will be recognised.

The matter that will be recognised then will be that Jesus has loved them. Why is a past tense used to describe his love? Maybe there is here the same outlook that Paul had when he said that the Son of God loved him and gave himself for him. On that future day, those who despised believers will discover and see the greatness of Christ’s love for his people that was revealed at the cross. 

An intriguing aspect of this prediction about the Jews is the way that Jesus has turned around its original expression. In the Old Testament, there are several predictions that state that Gentiles will come and bow down before Jews. Now Jesus says that some Jews will bow down to his people. This is a reminder that many promises to Israel in the Old Testament now belong to the Israel of God, the church. 

The fourth detail of his sovereign dealings with the church in Philadelphia is connected with the Saviour’s providential arrangements. He refers to an hour of trial that is going to be worldwide in extent. Obviously, this refers to something that happened soon after the letter arrived, so it cannot refer to the second coming of Jesus. Maybe there would be turmoil in the political leadership of the empire. The ones who are going to be tried are unbelievers rather than believers, but that does not mean the unbelievers would not oppose believers during the period covered by the trial. God tests all his creatures as to their actions, and all would be responsible for their involvement in an empire-wide programme of opposition. Perhaps it is a reference to a period of persecution that would not affect Philadelphia. In that case, Jesus connects the protection from this trial to the perseverance they showed daily. It is his response of love to his faithful people in Philadelphia. 

Fifth, Jesus encourages the believers in Philadelphia to remember the second coming. What is the proper response to the fact that Jesus is coming again? It is not to speculate about it. Instead it is to serve him faithfully. Who is the one trying to seize their crown? It cannot be Jesus because he wants to give it to them. It is not likely to be another believer. Instead, it is the enemy, those encouraged by the devil. The point is that a good church can become a useless one if it loses hold of its priorities. 

 

The reward for the overcomer  

Several times in his promise to the overcomer, Jesus refers to ‘my God’. He is speaking of the Father, but he is describing the relationship he has with his Father – Jesus is the mediator, the Father’s servant. We can see his activities in this connection described in Isaiah 53, where the prophet mentions both the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. As the servant of the Father, he has the role of outworking the divine plan and some of its details are mentioned in the promises here.

Jesus says that he will do two things for those who overcome. One is that he will make them pillars in God’s temple and the other is that he will write three names on such a believer. Probably, the idea behind a pillar is stability and the idea behind the writing of names is security. In both cases, the outcome is eternal. 

Every temple had pillars or columns within it on which were written various details connected to people or to the place. This illustration would be meaningful to people in a city prone to earthquakes and tremors, without stability. Perhaps they had seen buildings shake and collapse due to the earthquake. But the building that Jesus is building cannot be shaken. All the pillars within it are set on an immoveable foundation.  What Jesus is promising here to his people is permanent stability and security. They would not need to leave it in the way the inhabitants of Philadelphia had to leave the city for fear of earthquakes.

The temple of God is another way of describing the new heavens and new earth. Calling it a temple reminds us that one of the main activities of the eternal state is worship, with the leader of the endless praise being Jesus himself. His people will continue as devout and enthusiastic worshippers for ever. They will never leave the eternal temple and never cease to have lives of devotion throughout the endless ages to come.

It is possible that there is a connection between the pillar and the writing, with the names being written on the pillar so that others can read them. This was a common use of pillars in ancient times. Writing a name on something indicated ownership and here the three names are Father, new Jerusalem and Lord (Jesus was given this title in a new way at his ascension, as Paul says in Philippians 2:6-11). So they say that each true believer will be a son of the Father, a reminder of the wonderful privilege of adoption into God’s family; each will a permanent resident of the eternal city; and each will be a glad servant of the sovereign Saviour for ever.  

 

Applications

First, it is good for churches to focus on the power of Christ. He is enthroned as the King of Kings with supreme power, but he is also the King who is enthroned to dispense mercy. When he ascended on high, he was given the name above every name and endowed with universal authority. He alone has that key which can open and close every door.

Second, we should observe the control that Jesus has in the outworking of divine providence. Something was going to happen that would affect the entire world apart from Philadelphia. Earlier we suggested that this was a reference to persecution, and such did happen. But it is also possible that the reference is to famine, which would be of significance to Philadelphia because it was surrounded by farmers. Whatever the issue was, the point is that Jesus is in charge. When he wishes, he can make one church have a totally unique experience unknown anywhere else in the world at that time.

Third, as with the promises to the other six churches, we can see that great rewards can be received by churches if they remain faithful to Jesus. And is that not what we are called to be? Yet we should notice that Jesus did not suggest to Philadelphia that it should copy anything from the other churches. If they did that, they would only focus on some good features whereas Jesus wants them to hold on to everything that he has stated in his Word. This is very important because, after all, the possession of a crown depends on it.

Fourth, these rewards can be ours. The promises are not only for the faithful in Philadelphia. So we can anticipate them, think about them. Whatever is meant by Jesus writing those blessings on his people, it does point to a very personal action by him. It also suggests that he will do so with great joy as he takes time to go round each of them and make each of them a pillar containing wonderful information about who they are for eternity, that they belong to his Father’s family, that they are residents of the eternal city, and that they will have the privilege of serving him forever. Another possibility is that the writing would be artistic. Often pillars were beautiful to look at because of various ways in which their attractiveness had been enhanced. What beauty can compare with the beauty that Jesus will give!

Fifth, Jesus commends a small church. The church in Philadelphia may have been the smallest of the seven, but it shares with Smyrna the position of being commended entirely by the Saviour. We know that the church in Philadelphia was not perfect, because such a group does not exist on earth. Perhaps its smallness worked in its favour. Maybe their numbers compelled them to depend on Jesus rather than on their gifts. Who can say? Did the possibility of having few members mean that it was easier for them to have meaningful fellowship together, to encourage one another when the going became tough, to pray regularly for the whole group, to observe when one or two were absent from a meeting? Small churches can be tenacious as well as tender, loyal as well as loving.

Sixth, how would we describe Jesus? When we think about him, do we consider his holiness and truthfulness? In Isaiah 6, the prophet had a vision of God in his holiness, surrounded by angels overwhelmed, yet drawn to focus on this divine attribute. Perhaps we think it was a vision of God the Father that Isaiah saw. Yet John tells us in his Gospel that the divine person in the vision was Jesus. That vision also highlights his truthfulness because he informed Isaiah that he would not have any success in his ministry. Instead of an open door of influence on others for good he was given an open door into a situation in which faithfulness would be required for many decades. How would Isaiah have described Jesus? He would say that Jesus is holy and true and in total control.