Philadelphia-The Church Of Brotherly Love
Now here in the message to the sixth of seven churches we find no condemnation but only commendation. It's the church of brotherly love; Philadelphia. Here's the text surrounding it.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9“Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The City of Philadelphia in Asia Minor was founded in 180 BC by two brothers who had great love for each other. This city was one of many earthquakes, tremors and rumblings. Many lived outside the city in huts in fear. Along with the earthquakes a fine silt was produced that covered the valley making it fertile for the grapes and wine production was premium.
This city was set on a series of roads to connect east with west. The Greeks did this intentionally as to spread the Greek language far and wide. Philadelphia was called a gateway to the East. It was situated where the borders of Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia met. It was founded with the deliberate intention that it might be a missionary of Greeek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia. It did so well that by 19 AD the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks.
So we see at the start of the letter Jesus is called Holy (absolute perfection). In the OT only God was called Holy. In the gospels even the demons would cry out "Holy One of God" to Jesus in recognition of his holiness. He's also called True. He is the genuine one in a culture which worshipped many gods. This is a reminder that he is the authentic one. We still worship many gods today without realizing it. Some worship the god of pleasure, some wealth and some the god of work to just name a few. We still live in a multigod society. There is nothing new under the sun.
Jesus is seen here holding the key of David. Christ, of course, came thru the Kingly line of David thru Mary and Joseph. Both came directly from the line of David. Joseph thru Solomon, David's son and successor to the throne and Mary thru Nathan, Solomon's brother.
Key to what? He's claiming absolute control and authority to the kingdom. He alone opens and shuts. Only he has the power to open the door to heaven. Look at Rev 4:1. It says:
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.
He is the door. He alone has absolute divinity, power and authority. Has the door shut yet? We see he's holding the door open for them in v8. What door is this? The door that leads to Missionary work. Philadelphia had three centuries before been given an open door to spread Greek ideas in the lands beyond and now there has come to it another great missionary opportunity, to carry to men who never knew it the message of Christ. This door is the door of oportunity to tell them who is the Holy One, who is the True One and who alone holds the key to eternity.
I believe the door here in New England is almost shut. I also believe the door is fast closing in alot of places. It certainly looks that way as we get closer and closer to the end times. Here locally we had a graduation and a local Pastor didn't even mention God in his prayer. Paul said this in 1 Cor 16:8-9
8But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries
Monday night we met with a good friend visiting us from the Ukraine. He's living in Kiev. Before he went there he pastored here for over 25 years in the same church. He's 67 years old and is now a missionary to Kiev. The door is wide open there he told us. The people are coming to Christ in droves. It's not like here. Many come weeping on their knees. The very next day we got a letter from John McArthur. He wrote about Kiev having gone there years ago. He spoke of the opportunities there and how awesome it was to see people come to Christ on their knees in sorrow over their sin. He said the same thing as our missionary friend and much more. More than a coincidence? We don't think so.
Here we see a reference to the synagogue of Satan. It doesn't necessarily mean those involved are outright worshipping Satan but only doing the work of Satan so they might as well have been. At this time, the Jews were severely persecuting the new Christians. And this claim of Jesus that the Jews would be bowing at the feet of the Christian would be a complete reversal of all the Jews had expected. They were promised and had expected that all nations would bow before them in humble submission. But Jesus is saying these that are opposing the Christians are not the true Jews. Paul mentioned many tiimes that the mystery had been revealed in Christ that both Jew and Gentile would be joint heirs in Christ when he came back. It was there in the OT after all but had been hidden and now revealed in Christ. The Gentiles were now included in the redemptive plan of God.
As a church we need to look for opportunities because the days are growing shorter and the door may be shutting anyday now. We don't know how much longer the door will stay open. There are qualities of the Faithful Church spelled out here.
1. Little Strength-small in numbers so they were not a powerful force in Philadelphia. It doesn't depend on how big we are. We can be powerful with only one or two with God. God plus only one is a majority. God does the most with the least. They are not dependent on their strength but on his. This church unlike the others can track their roots to the late 1900's I was told.
2. Kept My Word-They obeyed it. They read it. They knew it. They applied it. Jesus said if you love me you'll obey me.
3. Not Denied My Name-There are various ways to deny him. It doesn't have to be just verbally. Our actions can show we don't really believe. We may say we believe in God but our actions don't match up. They are only fooling themselves. God knows. Everything we do should be in the name of Jesus. This church was all about this.
4. Kept My Name-Perseverence is a characteristic of every Christian. Christ said, And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22
5. Hold Fast-A Christian will stand firm and will not give in to what the world is telling them to do. As the world moves further away from God, the gap between Christian and non Christian should grow greater as well.
Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit. Faithfulness cannot be quickly proved but it can be proved. Many come to the faith or so it seems but then fall away never to return. Some come with a vengeance and quickly die out. Paul pointed out a few that had walked away from the ministry. It dosn't matter how one starts a race, it matters if they finish or not.
The dictionary describes faithfulness as "adhering firmly to, a loyalty or a devotion to a person, cause or idea." Marriage is an example of what what faithfulness is all about. How many times can you be unfaithful to your spouse to be considered unfaithful? How much unfaithfulness will you allow in your life? How faithful is faithful? How many Christians are dating the world? How much unfaithfulness do you have to have to be unfaithful?
37% of a local congregation go to church faithfully. What about the other 63%? Is going to church on Christmas and Easter showing faithfulness? A recent survey was done and it showed only 9% had a biblical world view. That means 91% do not live lives according to the bible. Yet 54% say they are committed to the Christian faith and 44% admit they are uncommitted Christians. What is God going to do with our lack of faithfulness to him and his word? What would we do personally if our husbands and wives had this same lack of faithfulness to the marriage bed? Can we pick and choose what he says and still be considered faithful?
His command was to follow him. His command was to deny ourselves and live for others. Can you imagine what a different place we'd be living in if we we were obedient to this command? The world tells us otherwise. It's all about ME. We push and shove and do whatever it takes to put ME at the top. This isn't from God. This is not what he wants for us. We have become unfaithful as a society. We need to examine ourselves. We are fast becoming a totally unfaithful generation. The children always pay the price for unfaithfulness. How can we encourage our kids to be faithful when we are not? It's going to get worse.
In v10 he says he will keep us from the test that will come over the whole world. The word "dwell" means all those that abide or call earth their home. They are called earth dwellers. For Christians our home is not earth but heaven. We are strangers here or are supposed to be. If we are too comfortable here, we may be in for a problem later.
There are some that think we are going thru the world wide tribulation and somehow God will protect us thru it. Then there are others like me who believe that God will take us out of it. Enoch in the OT is a picture of the rapture. We need to look at the wording here. The word "Keep" is "Tereo ek" and means "to keep from or keep away from."
We see that our faithfulness will be rewarded. As overcomers we are victors. We see at least six rewards here.
1. Bow down before you-The enemies of Christ will recognize us with Christ and they that once persecuted us will be made to bow down before us...this comes from Isaiah 45:14
2. A crown of faithfulness will be given to you
3. Pillar-you will be strong, secure unlike the city they lived in at this time that was so shaky and unreliable
4. Name of God-you will have the name of God on you as you will be claimed by him
5. Name of God's City-this denotes citizenship
6. Name of Jesus-his character will be our character as well
Consider Your Faithfulness
1. Your heart, your mind and your soul
2. Examine Yourself
3. Encourage others
4. Look for open doors
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, Col 4:2-3