Philadelphia

"Philadelphia" – Revelation 3:7-13 The third installment in the series on the seven churches of Revelation. "Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." Philadelphia was small, with few resources and no political influence at all, and it is —together with Smyrna— one of only two churches that receive no rebuke. The study goes back to Isaiah 22:22 to explain the key of David, unpacks the meaning of the city's name (brotherly love), reads the promise of being made a pillar in the temple against the earthquakes that shook that city, and ends with the historical fact: Philadelphia remained Christian until around the year 1390, longer than any of the other six.

I. He that hath an ear, let him hear

A. One can have an ear and not hear. We love hearing what pleases us, and each one records in his brain what he wants to hear.

B. Long years of knowing the Gospel have not lessened the love for the word: it is the greatest thing that can happen on earth.

C. Often a human being has more laws than a lawyer: from the smallest to the greatest, you do not know with what intent they speak to you.

D. Growing older, one learns that some things are not worth it, and keeps the ear for what is.

E. All these churches are recorded in Revelation so we would understand the mind of God. God's mind is high; ours is skin-deep.

F. They all lay around what is now Turkey, and the apostles went there to teach. We read the little that is written and suppose they died soon: they had many years of labour in the work.

II. Seeing reality, and praying for those who govern

A. What she wants to awaken in the church is that we see our reality: leave the fantasies and live as adults.

B. It is said that we must honour those who govern us, because that makes the heart able to pray for those who direct our lives.

C. And she says it without leading the church into politics: "if this were a matter of opinion I would have brought you a ballot; but since I am absolute in what I teach, you will mark no cross."

D. As a church we must respect others and speak disparagingly of no one, whoever it may be: we must be people of stature.

E. What you say with your mouth weighs greatly on the one who lent you his ear.

F. Israel is small, and it is the nation that knows what war is, because it has been at war all its life. But where was Jesus born? That is God's nation.

G. If you and I do not understand that people's history, we are far off and absent. We must stop being children, learn to love one another, and pray for our leaders, whichever way the wind blows.

H. If today we had to write the history of our life as a church, what would we write? That we loved, fought, prayed and learned? Or that we were one more luxury and one more set of faces?

III. The key of David (Isaiah 22:22)

A. The key of David is one of the most profound prophetic phrases in the book. To understand it one must go to the Old Testament.

B. The expression comes from Isaiah 22:22, and in Philadelphia it is mentioned a second time.

C. The key stands for authority. The door stands for access to the kingdom. David stands for the lineage of the Messiah.

D. "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."

E. When Christ uses this expression He is declaring that He is the true king of David's line. David was king, but the true King was the Christ.

F. Jesus has absolute authority over the kingdom of God, over salvation and over access to the kingdom; and He is at the Father's right hand to intercede.

G. That is why every prayer ends to the Father in the name of Jesus: not on your account nor on mine, but in His name.

H. From David comes the Lord's lineage; and in that lineage there is a wholly pagan woman, where they were not to marry outside their own. From that line come the time of the law and the time of grace.

IV. The name and the city

A. "Philadelphia" means brotherly love.

B. And is that seen? You will wash no one's feet; if someone lands in a hospital you stay half a day and are already looking for a replacement.

C. This is not going to someone's house to pry into their life: this is self-giving, this is passion, this is working miracles. God's people must have miracles because they have love.

D. Jesus did not fail to see that the multitude was hungry. He can multiply; but you can take from your own and give to the one who is hungry.

E. Because giving hurts: when you learn to love, it hurts.

F. And the city suffered frequent earthquakes; that detail returns later, in the promise.

V. How Jesus presents Himself

A. "He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David."

B. You serve the Holy One, three times holy. This is not a matter of religion: it is that you serve the One who is holy.

C. And He who holds the key has authority to open and to shut spiritual doors. That is why everything is prayed in the name of Jesus.

VI. The message to Philadelphia

A. "Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."

B. Most likely it was a small church, with few resources and no political influence —which many churches today do have—. But it was very faithful to Christ.

C. The open door: in the New Testament it means opportunity to preach, expansion, carrying the Gospel, loving, and doing missionary work. And no one can shut the door Christ opens.

D. To how many people have you had time to preach? And it is preaching and teaching, not arguing.

E. Why do mothers not preach to their children? What is preaching, if not teaching? One must speak, teach, pray, and know the verses.

F. Because the greatest thing in all of this is that there is an absence of love; and if you do not love, your soul is in danger.

G. The opposition: Jesus mentions groups that persecuted the Christians, and even so the church remained faithful.

H. Today they are not groups: today it is demons that persecute, and they walk about because no one rebukes them in the name of Christ.

I. Dare to speak a truth. Let the universe fall: the God who called you is the God who will back you.

J. For our struggle is not against flesh nor against persons: it is against principalities and powers, and those are beneath our feet.

VII. The four promises

A. Protection: "I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation." For when the Father looks at us, He does not see us: He sees the Son.

B. A crown: "hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." If you do not hold fast what you have, anyone takes it.

C. A pillar in the temple: "him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out."

D. In a city of earthquakes, where buildings fell, that promise was overwhelming: God offers eternal stability and permanent security.

E. A new name: the name of His God, the name of the new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven, and His own new name. It speaks of eternal belonging to God.

F. The temple has its own pillars; but a man and a woman of God are pillars in the temple: they are the ones who hold up on the day of testing and the day of trouble.

VIII. Two churches without rebuke

A. Of the seven, Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only ones that receive no rebuke.

B. This teaches something important: the most faithful churches are often small, humble, with no human power. They are people who love.

C. Today the quickest talker wins the race, and the church becomes the church of whoever pushes and pretends most. But a meek heart is what pleases God.

IX. What happened afterward

A. Christianity vanished from several regions of Turkey. But Philadelphia was different: it remained Christian for centuries.

B. It was one of the last Christian cities of Asia Minor; it withstood invasions and remained a Christian city until near the fourteenth century, longer than the others.

C. While the Byzantine Empire was losing territory, Philadelphia kept holding out. It was conquered around the year 1390, when the Ottoman Empire took the region.

D. Many see a symbol here: the faithful church received a lasting spiritual stability.

E. And that is what we must be: permanent in faith, permanent in love, permanent as warriors. Not yes today and no tomorrow, nor according to circumstances.

F. And what does the world give you? Betrayal, lies, deceit; it deforms the person.

G. One must stand in the gap between God and the judgements He would send on the earth; and there is a shortage of brave people who cry out and speak truth, and of warriors who take up the word of God, the best weapon we have to bring down the devil.

X. Application

A. Faithfulness to Christ does not depend on wealth, size, or power: it depends on obedience and perseverance.

B. May the Lord be able to say the same of us: thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

C. Honour and pray for those who govern, and speak disparagingly of no one.

D. Practise brotherly love in earnest: stay with the sick, take from your own for the hungry, even when it hurts.

E. Use the open door: preach and teach, beginning in your own house, and do not turn it into an argument.

F. God is with the faithful: the bad days must pass over our head, but He wipes the tears, gives light when we do not know what to do, and lifts the load by putting His strength in us.

G. The warrior has wounds, discouragement, anguish and pain; but the warrior is the one who conquers, and in the end he will have the best.