The Seven Churches of the
21st Century
Philadelphia: Faithful In All Things
Revelation 3:7-13
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 no man shutteth; and shutteth, and
no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for
thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the
synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and 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. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I
also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which
shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,
and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him
the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.
After seeing the
terrible progression of the last three churches, we now
joyfully come to the church in
Philadelphia. This church is
indeed a breath of fresh air. We find in this church a
group of faithful believers who loved the Word of God,
who stood for the truth, and who were witnesses of Jesus
Christ. They truly were “faithful in all things.” This
is the church to which every other church should
aspire.
The Root of the Letter (v.
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 no man shutteth; and shutteth, and
no man openeth;
Concerning
Christ
The picture of Christ here
is the most beautiful of those given to the churches.
The picture is actually threefold.
Holiness
First, our Lord
refers to Himself as he that is holy. How
imperative it is that we grasp the holiness of God (and
the holiness of Christ). As we’ll see later, this has
great bearing on “The “Regard” of the letter.
Holiness is the supreme quality of
God. No one has said it better
than the Puritans. Thomas Watson, for example, declared:
“Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of His crown; it
is the name by which God is known.”[i] Likewise, Stephen
Charnock writes in his classic work, The Existence
and Attributes of God: “This
attribute hath an excellency above His other perfections
. . . None is sounded out so loftily, with such
solemnity, and so frequently by angels that stand before
His throne, as this . . . [and] it is the glory of all
the rest.”[ii] It is around the
attribute of holiness that all of God’s other attributes
revolve. We cannot even begin to get a glimpse of God,
much less understand anything about, until we first
understand his holiness. We can’t even fully understand
our own salvation, in fact, until we understand His
holiness.
We’ll see later that God’s
holiness was one of the great themes of the preaching of
this period of Church History; in fact, some of the
greatest preaching in all Church History took place
during this period. Only when we grasp just how holy God
is will we then be able to be faithful in all things.
Truth
The usual word
translated “truth” in the New Testament is aletheia. As one
Greek authority puts it: “Etymologically aletheia
means “nonconcealment.” It thus denotes what
is seen, indicated, expressed, or disclosed, i.e., a
thing as it really is, not as it is concealed or
falsified. Aletheia
is “the real state of
affairs.”[iii] The
fundamental concept to understand about Truth is that it
is that which is absolute, that which is
incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable,
unarguable, and unchanging. If something is true, it is
always true and can never be untrue, no
matter what the circumstances. Another form is
alethes, which refers to a “true statement.”
Still another form,
however, the one used here for true, is
alethinos, which carries the idea of that which is
“genuine” or “real.” Our Lord is saying of Himself,
then, that He is the Genuine and True One. The Apostle
John writes the same truth in his Gospel, “That was the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world” (Jn. 1:9). In other words, in contrast to
John the Baptist, Jesus was the True Light, the Genuine
Light of the World. What a stark contrast this is to
other claimers of the Truth, such as: Rationalism,
Existentialism, Modernism, Humanism, or any other “ism.”
Only Christ is the Genuine Article.
Authority
Those profound
words, He that hath the key of David, demonstrate
Christ’s authority. Revelation 1:18 is in contrast to
this: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I
am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death.” Not only does Christ have authority over
death and hell, an authority that he took from Satan at
the resurrection, but He also has authority over “the
house of David.” What does this mean? Verse 7 is
actually taken from Isaiah 22:22: “And the key of the
house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall
open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none
shall open.” This verse describes a man named Eliakim to
whom was entrusted the key to king David’s treasury. So,
Eliakim was what was called “a steward,” one who was
entrusted with running a household. The most
important quality of a steward was (and is)
faithfulness. This fact is
clearly stated in I Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover, it is
required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
We’ll come back to this a little
later.
All that we have
seen is a type of Christ in two ways. First, all
this pictures earthly treasures, but in Christ
are all spiritual treasures. Second, the
one who has the key has great
authority because he can “open and close.” Well, our
Savior has the key to all things, including our lives,
and He should, therefore, have all authority over us. It
is up to Him to open and close doors and show us where
He wants us to go and what He wants us to
do.
Let’s go a little
deeper here and examine how our Lord has the
key to five crucial doors,
all of which we find illustrated in our Lord’s parable
of the Good Shepherd in John 10.
First, Christ
holds the key to the door of salvation. Jesus
declares in John 10:9-10, “I am the door: by me if any
man enter in, he shall be saved . . . . I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.” Not only does our Lord hold the key
to the door of salvation, but He also is
the door! There is no
other way of salvation, no other door into Heaven. We’ve
all heard jokes that begin, “Two guys went to Heaven and
met Saint Peter at the pearly gates . . .” followed by
some inane (if not blasphemous) story that contrasts
which one gets to go in and the other doesn’t. But it’s
Jesus Christ alone Who is the door through which we must
enter. John 14:6 cannot be repeated too often: “Jesus
saith unto [Thomas], I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Second,
Christ holds the key to the door of
security. Our Lord also says
in John 10:27-29:
My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto
them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father,
which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Here is one of the
grandest pictures of the security of the Believer in all
Scripture. Once we are in the fold, nothing can remove
us. Flowing from this security is another
picture.
Third, Christ
holds the key to the door of safety. As we’ll examine later in verse 10, our Lord
will protect true Believers “from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world,” that
is, the Great Tribulation that is to
come.
Our Lord speaks about
another aspect of safety, however, in John 10 parable.
He actually begins in verse 1 with these words: “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the
same is a thief and a robber.” In verses 8 and 10, He
again emphasizes, “All that ever came before me are
thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. .
. . The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy.” There are countless deceivers in the
world who pretend to love the sheep but who simply want
to steal them either to fleece them or even to devour
them. As a safeguard, Jesus says in verse 5, “And a
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him:
for they know not the voice of strangers.”
Now, while this
safeguard works with literal sheep, it tragically does
not with many Christians today because they simply
are not listening to the Shepherd. Where does the shepherd speak? Well, nowadays
it is claimed that he speaks through visions, dreams,
inner urgings, and other such subjective means. Such
sincere folks think they are hearing the Shepherd, but
they most certainly are not. The Shepherd speaks through
Scripture alone, and because such people don’t recognize
that fact, they don’t even know what His voice sounds
like. As a result, they mistake the voice of false
shepherds for the True Shepherd and are lead into error
and even destruction. Flowing from this principle is
another.
Fourth,
Christ holds the key to the door of sustenance.
Verse 9 declares not only that those who enter the door
are saved, but that they also “shall go in and out, and
find pasture.” It is through that door alone, solely
through our Lord, that we find food. Countless
Christians today are feeding on nothing but the junk
foods of emotion, human philosophy, and entertainment.
Yes, such food is filling and “tastes” good, but it has
no nourishment. The result of such malnutrition is
spiritual weakness and a tearing down of the spiritual
immune system. And sadly, most of the blame lies with
shepherds who would rather give the sheep what they
want instead of what they need.
Fifth, Christ
holds the key to the door of service. As we’ll examine in more detail in verse 9, “I
have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut
it.” This pictures our Christian service, as we go out
from the fold and proclaim the message of the True
Shepherd.
Concerning
The Church
Philadelphia
is made up of two Greeks words: philos, which
means “tender affection,” an emotional type of love, and
adelphos, which means
“brother.” So, this word literally means “brotherly
love.” This has great significance, as we’ll see in “The
Regard.”
Prophetic
History
This church pictures
the period of Church History during which the “great
revivals” of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
took place. We’ll return to this in “The
Regard.”
Concerning
The City
Philadelphia was located
about twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis and was
built about 140 B.C. by Philadelphus, king of Pergamum.
The city was noted for its agriculture and was
especially famous for its excellent wine. But
Philadelphia was also afflicted by earthquakes, which
destroyed the city several times. And, like all the
other cities in Asia Minor, pagan worship was present in
this city, mainly the worship of Bacchus, the god of
wine. His image, in fact, was imprinted on coins. In
spite of this, however, there was a faithful Christian
testimony in Philadelphia that continued through the
years, and to this day there remains a city on that
site; that city is called “Ala-sheher” (City of
God).
The Regard of the Letter (v.
8)
I know thy works: behold,
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut
it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my
word, and hast not denied my name.
The key to
understanding the church at Philadelphia is the word
faithfulness. We recall the faithfulness of the
believers in Smyrna (see 2:10), and both there and here
in Philadelphia there was no complaint; in both churches
the believers were truly faithful to the things of the
Lord. May we again consider I Corinthians 4:2:
“Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be
found faithful.” The word “faithful” is the Greek
pistos, and how important
this word is! It means “reliable, trusted, consistent,
certainty.” But the word goes even further to show that
if a person is truly faithful, there is not the
slightest doubt of his reliability. In other words, the
master can assume, without doubt, that the steward will
do what is required. God wants faithful servants. He
does not want “up and down” or “hit and miss” servants.
He can only use those who are faithful. We see here in
verse 8 five areas of faithfulness that were true of the
believers in Philadelphia and should challenge our
faithfulness.
They
Manifested Works
Works is once
again the Greek ergon, which we’ve seen in every
letter (2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1) and again speaks of
systematic labor. Here, then, it refers to deeds that
were done for others out of concern and compassion,
which coincides with the name “Philadelphia.” These were
works done by faithful Believers
for faithful Believers.
Christian love is not
coming to church and shaking hands with other Christians
and asking, “How are you doing?” Among Christians today
there’s often a serious lack of concern for the needs of
one another. The attitudes of the world, which have
overflowed into the Church, are, “Let the state take
care of it,” or, “Let the insurance company handle it,”
or, “I have my own problems to take care of; let others
take care of theirs.” It’s a blessed thing indeed to see
a church where Christians see a need in the life of a
fellow believer and meet it.
They Had A
Consistent Witness
The term open
door is a beautiful reference to opportunities to
witness and proclaim the Word of God. The door was
indeed wide open! Paul spoke of this over and
over again. When he and his co-laborers returned to
Antioch (his home church, which sent him out as a
church-planter), we are told that “when they were come,
and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all
that God had done with them, and how he had opened the
door of faith unto the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). Paul
wrote to the Corinthian believers, “For a great door and
effectual is opened unto me, and there are many
adversaries” (I Cor. 16:9). He also wrote to the
Corinthians, “when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s
gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had
no rest in my spirit . . . I went from thence into
Macedonia” (II Cor. 2:12-13). Paul encouraged the
believers at Colosse to pray “that God would open unto
us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ:”
(Col. 4:3). This challenges us to each day look for
open door[s] for witness and
testimony.
It is that very
thought that makes us realize that the true essence of
Christian service is being a witness for Christ. We hear
much about Christian service these days, that it is
doing any number of certain tasks for God. While all
those are wonderful, the real heart of service is
witnessing. Acts 1:8 records
the commission which has been given to every believer:
“But ye shall receive power, [when] the Holy Spirit is
come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth.”
Sadly, among many
Christians and Christian leaders, that emphasis has been
turned around; many think that it is the pastor’s job to
go out and “knock on doors,” win people to Christ, and
build the church. But not one verse of Scripture
supports that approach. On the contrary, Ephesians
4:11-12 teaches that the pastor spends the majority of
his time in the Word of God so that he can teach and
equip the sheep to go out and “do the work of the
ministry.” The shepherd does not reproduce sheep; rather
sheep reproduce sheep. Every Christian, therefore, must
be sensitive to opportunities for witness and alert to
the doors that God opens. May we add, “witnessing”
(Greek martus, “give evidence, testify”) is done
not only with the lips but, more importantly,
with the life.
How tragic it is
when we fail to see any open door of opportunity. Commentator Lehman Strauss
observes that after World War II Japan was a wide open
door to Christian work. General Douglas MacArthur, in
fact, called upon Christians in America to send 5,000
missionaries through that open door. But we failed to
answer that call.
They
Realized Their Own Weakness
Here is a wonderful
encouragement. The words have a little strength
do not refer to spiritual weakness but rather
numerical weakness. This
church was a small one, and the Christians there, like
many in small churches today, were concerned whether
their small number was pleasing to the Lord. It needs to
be said in no uncertain terms that today’s “numbers
craze” is an abomination to the Lord; it is prideful and
humanistic. I have actually heard Christian leaders say,
“If it’s not big, it’s not of God.” Frankly, I have
heard few things more disgusting than that! There is not
one place in Scripture that teaches such a humanistic
idea. The body of believers in Philadelphia was a small
one, but it was powerful! The Christians there didn’t
use the gimmicks, gadgets, promotions, and programs that
we are told today are “absolutely essential.” They just
used the Word of God. This leads to the next area of
faithfulness.
Another application
of this, however, is something that the majority of
Christians today do not recognize, namely, that True
Christianity will always be the minority.
Christianity today has been so diluted to embrace
anyone, regardless of how nebulous their view of
salvation is, that it’s popular to be “a Christian.”
Church leaders today go out of their way to satisfy
“felt-needs” and to appeal to whatever so-called
“seekers” want. Nothing is sacred anymore, nothing is
off limits. Whatever people want, we are ready and
willing to provide it. Why? Because the opinion is
that we should appeal to the majority of people. But
nothing could be further from the Scripture precedent.
Abraham could muster only 318 men to go up against four
kings and their armies (Gen. 14:14-16). Gideon had only
300 when he went up against the Midianites who number is
likened to a plague of grasshoppers (Judges 7:12-23).
Elijah alone faced 400 prophets of Baal (I Kings
18:21-40). Most significant of all, how many followers
did Jesus have after some three years of ministry? Only
120. Our Lord, in fact, referred to those who follow Him
as the “little flock” (Lk. 12:32). In each case,
however, God gave the minority victory over the
majority. A Christian, therefore, better stop and think
if he ever finds himself in the majority, because God
has never used the
majority.
They Kept
God’s Word
The Greek word for
kept is the same one used in the Sardis letter
for the words “hold fast.” To repeat, the Greek is
tereo, “to keep watch, guard as with a fortress.”
In the Sardis letter, is in “The Requirement” section.
That church, and the Reformers of Church History to a
certain extent, did not really guard the Word of God.
But the believers in Philadelphia did guard the Word, as
tereo is “The Regard” section. The remnant in Sardis (and in the Reformation)
returned to the Scriptures to some extent, but those in
Philadelphia were fervently clinging to and guarding the
Scriptures, emphasizing Its authority
alone.
Prophetic
History
As stated earlier,
the church at Philadelphia pictures the time of great
revival and great preaching that took place in the
eighteenth, nineteenth, and may we add, the VERY early
twentieth century. Think of some of the great preachers
and theologians of those days: Charles Haddon
Spurgeon, Robert Murray McCheyne, Matthew Henry, Andrew
Bonar, Thomas Chalmers, Charles Hodge, Robert Haldane,
Richard Fuller, John Henry Jowett, Andrew Murray, C. H.
Mackintosh, Alexander Maclaren, and others. Though there
were still a few problems that remained from Reformation
thought, men like this nonetheless stood on the Word of
God more firmly than anyone had in some 1800 years of
Church History. Some folks would ask at this point, “But
isn’t this true today?” To this we must answer,
absolutely not! Sad to say,
the Word of God and the strong preaching of doctrine and
practice are not the emphasis today. How churches today
need the depth of the Word and strong doctrinal
preaching!
We will examine this
subject in more depth when we study the church at
Laodicea.
They Never
Wavered
This fact is shown
in the words did not deny my name. Even with the paganism that raged around them,
they never wavered from “The Truth,” that is, Jesus
Christ. As Paul commands, “Be steadfast, unmovable” (I
Cor. 15:58), and don’t be “tossed to and fro with every
wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). As we saw earlier in
Ephesians 4:12, it is the pastor’s responsibility to
equip the saints; indeed, he does this so that God’s
people will not be “tossed to and
fro.”
The Rebuke of the
Letter
As already mentioned, like
the letter to the church at Smyrna, there is no rebuke
to be found in this letter to the Philadelphians. Here
was a group of faithful believers to whom no rebuke was
given. Oh, that we would be as faithful!
The Requirement of the Letter
(v. 11)
Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man
take thy crown.
As we also noted in
the Smyrnan letter, there is still a requirement given
even though there is no rebuke. May we reemphasize that
every believer needs constant challenge
regardless of how mature he or she might be or what
level of spirituality has been attained. Therefore,
Christ’s challenge was, hold that fast which thou
hast.
There is a
fascinating contrast between how that phrase is used
here and how it is used in the Thyatira letter (2:25).
In that letter the Greek word
(kratesate, “lay hold of,
seize, adhere to”) appeared in the Aorist Tense showing
that those believers had “let go” of certain truths and
needed to grab hold again. But here the word is in the
Present Tense (continuous action in the present). These
dear ones already had a firm grasp of the truth, so the
Savior is saying, “Just keep holding on to that which
you are already holding!” Oh, may we do the same so that
we do not loss our rewards!
The Reassurance of the Letter
(vs. 9, 10, 12)
Behold, I will make them
of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and
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. Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try
them that dwell upon the earth. . . . Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,
and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him
the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon him my new
name.
The Lord gives three
reassuring promises to the Philadelphian
believers.
He Promised
He Would Handle Their Enemies (v. 9)
Behold, I will make them
of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and
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.
Like the Smyrnan
believers, the believers in Philadelphia were bothered
with those of the synagogue of Satan, that is,
the “false religion crowd.” Jesus promised that the day
would come when these apostates would have to
acknowledge that Christians were right. You see, sooner
or later, either in salvation or in judgment,
every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil.
2:10-11).
He Promised
He Would Keep Them From Tribulation (v. 10)
Because thou hast kept the
word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour
of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to
try them that dwell upon the earth.
It is a puzzling,
indeed, how anyone can hold any view other than a
Pretribulation Rapture in view of verse 10. Here is a
direct affirmation that believers will
not go through any of the
Tribulation Period. If Scripture is viewed with a
consistent literal and plain approach, one will not only
be Premillennial, but will also believe in the Rapture
and that is it a Pretribulation Rapture. It is
inescapable. The Church has been the focus throughout
two whole chapters, but beginning in chapter 4, the
Church literally disappears from view and is not seen
again until chapter 19. The same thing is declared in I
Thessalonians:
And the key of
the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he
shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and
none shall open. (1:10).
For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. (4:16-17).
For some
inexplicable reason, some teachers want to spiritualize
that idea away, but they have neither the right nor the
justification to do so. God has always taken His
true people out of the way before He pours out His
wrath. The Tribulation Period is the judgment of the
“nations,” Israel and the Gentiles. The Church is no
longer here because she is not a
nation; God will no longer be
dealing with the Church and will take her home before
pouring out His wrath on the nations. So, to the
believers in Philadelphia, and to believers today, our
Lord says, “Just hold on; I’m coming to get
you.”
He Promised
He Would Honor Them (vs. 12-13)
Him that overcometh will I
make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go
no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my
God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God:
and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
There is a special kind of
honor pictured here. A common practice in John’s day was
to honor a great man by erecting a pillar with his name
written upon it. The parallel is that God’s “pillars”
are faithful believers.
Most of us have at one
time heard a smug, carnal member of a church say, “I’m a
pillar of this church!” Is this person really a pillar?
What it means to be a pillar is to be a faithful
Christian in every area of life. A faithful Christian is
one who is faithful in his attendance to the local
church. Oh, the necessity of this! After all, isn’t a
pillar of a building “always there”? God’s people need
to be in God’s house to hear God’s Word. The failure to
do this is one of the most serious problems in
Christianity today. A faithful Christian is also
faithful to the Word of God; he loves to hear It and
obey It. A faithful Christian gives sacrificially to the
financial needs of the local church. A faithful
Christian is a consistent witness for Christ in his
daily living; people can see Christ in him.
Then notice that, as God’s
pillars, He will write three things upon us. First, He
will write His name upon us, as masters often branded
their slaves, to show that we are His. Second, He will
write the name of His city upon us to show that we are
legal citizens of His heavenly city. Third, He will
write the new name of Christ upon us to show that we are
in Him. We know not what this new name will be, but
whatever it is, we know that “we shall be like Him, for
we shall see Him as He is” (I Jn. 3:2).
Dear Christian, what
a blessing it is to see this faithful church in the
midst of so many unfaithful ones. It shines as a gem
among so many that are dull and lifeless. What a
challenge it is to each of us! Are we really faithful,
consistent, and reliable in the things of God? As with
all these churches, will we listen to the challenges our
Savior gives in verse 13? He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
[i] Thomas Watson, A
Body Of Divinity. London: The
Banner of Truth Trust, 1965, p.
82.
[ii] Stephen Charnock,
The Existence And Attributes Of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979 (from the
1853 edition), Vol. II, pp.
112-113.
[iii] Kittel, Vol. I, p.
238.
