Revelation 3:7-13 (Philadelphia)

Revelation  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 6 views
Notes
Transcript

Introduction

To the Church in Philadelphia

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

8 “ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, 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 from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

We’ve been making our way through the Book of Revelation over the last few months, and in recent weeks we’ve been looking at each of the seven letters to the seven churches in chapters 2-3. We’ve looked at five of them so far, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis. We have only two churches remaining, the letters to Philadelphia and Laodicea, which are probably two of the most well known of the seven churches. These were churches in the first century that were under growing persecution from both Jews and Rome. The Christians (made up of both ethnic Jews and Gentiles) were put out of the Jewish synagogues because most Jews had rejected Jesus as Messiah, in fact, they were downright hostile toward the Christians. The Jews were the primary source of persecution against the early church at first (as it can be seen in the Book of Acts), and it wouldn’t be until the Emperor Nero, that the Roman Empire would turn against the Christians.
Therefore, by the time John had penned his Apocalypse in the mid-late 60’s, the churches in these seven cities of Asia had become increasingly persecuted by both the Jews and the Romans. Unfortunately, this had led to many of the churches compromising in various ways. The church in Sardis appeared alive, but was all but dead. They were no longer preaching the whole Gospel for fear of persecution. The churches in Thyatira and Pergamum had permitted sexual immorality and idolatry in their congregations so that their members could avoid losing their jobs. However, some churches were fairing better than others. The church in Ephesus has stood against the sexual immorality and idolatry, they faithfully preached the whole Gospel, but in the process they had forsaken the love they had at first for one another. Only Smyrna and Philadelphia received letters that didn’t include a rebuke.
John’s Apocalypse was written to these churches, and the church at large, in order to comfort and rebuke them as it was appropriate, with the intention of preserving the churches. John’s Apocalypse was also written to prepare the churches for the unprecedented persecution that was still yet to come, but was soon to take place. This is the hour of trial that Jesus refers to here in his letter to Philadelphia when he tells them in verse 10, “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”
The Book of Revelation is a prophecy of the events that would shortly take place in their day, when God would judge both apostate Israel and Rome, two beasts of the first century, twin persecutors of the early church. The devil had intended to snuff out the church by empowering these two beasts, but Jesus would bring judgement upon them, seize the dragon (the devil), and bind him from deceiving the nations any longer. Therefore, this prophecy was given to bring hope to the church, that despite unprecedented persecution from their vantage point, that Christ and his church would ultimately be victorious. This book is fundamentally about the triumph of Christ and his church, and it’s meant to give the churches of the first century hope.

Philadelphia

That being said, let’s continue today by looking at his letter to the church in Philadelphia.

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

Now, Philadelphia was founded in 189 BC and named after the king of Pergamum, Attalus II, who earned the nickname, “Philadelphos”, literally meaning “one who loves his brother”. It was a relatively small city in the area, likely because of its frequent earthquakes. In fact, we know that the entire city had been destroyed in an earthquake in AD 17. Despite the earthquakes, the city still remains today, no longer as Philadelphia, but as the modern city of Alasehir (Ala-sha-here). Some of the old city walls can still be seen today, and you can visit an open air museum that contains many inscriptions and artifacts from the ancient city.
The city has evidence of pagan worship, especially Imperial Cult worship as early as 26 BC. Later, in AD 214 the city would build its first Imperial Cult Temple, and mint their own coins that bore the phrase “caretaker of the temple”. There is also evidence of a strong Jewish presence in the city, with inscriptions referring to the “Synagogue of the Hebrews”. This coincides with what John writes here in verse 9 when he refers to this synagogue as the “synagogue of Satan” those “who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie”. Apparently, the Jews in Philadelphia had a reputation for persecuting the Christians in this city.

Jewish persecution

Therefore, it’s the Jews that become the focus of this letter. We see this also in the letter to the church in Smyrna where Jesus said,

9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

This emphasizes the point I made earlier, that the twin persecutors of the church in the first century were the Jews and the Romans, these two beasts of Revelation. And in Smyrna and Philadelphia this Jewish persecution was particularly prominent.

Key of David

In fact, this is why Jesus refers to himself there in verse 7 as “the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” Now, you might ask, What is Jesus talking about when he says that he has the key of David? And how does it relate to the Jewish persecution in Philadelphia? Well, to answer that question we have to begin in Isaiah 22 where we find this OT reference to “the key of David”, so turn with me to Isaiah 22:15.
Now, let me setup this story for you. The prophet Isaiah here is condemning Israel for it’s pride, it’s sin of self-reliance. They thought they could take on the Assyrian army all on their own, without calling upon God. And in chapter 22, beginning in verse 15, Isaiah delivers a personal judgment against a man named Shebna, who is the official royal steward of the king’s house, his authority is second only to the king himself.
Shebna probably had keys to the king’s treasury, control of his royal estate, and even the king’s military assets. (The Lexham Bible Dictionary, Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016) However, Shebna’s authority had apparently resulted in his arrogance and pride. That he thought more highly of himself than he should have. Therefore, when Isaiah rebukes him, we find out that Shebna had commissioned for himself a tomb overlooking the city of Jerusalem, apparently with the intent to honor himself. And so God intends to remove him from office, and replace him with a man named Eliakim.
Now, with that, let’s read there beginning in verse 15,

15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

Notice that last verse, it’s almost verbatim of Jesus’ personal description in his letter to the church in Philadelphia. Therefore, we’re meant to see that Eliakim is a type of Christ, that his authority over the house of David is meant to be a picture of Jesus’ own authority over the house of David, or as the Gospel of Luke puts it, “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Lk 1:32–33) Like Eliakim Jesus has been given the key of David, and all authority has been committed into his hands. The key of David is a symbol of power and authority over the house of David, of which Jesus now possesses.

Shebna and false Jews

Likewise Shebna has become descriptive of those who call themselves Jews and who are not, those who have become a synagogue of Satan. The Jews had become unfaithful stewards of God’s house, they had become apostates, therefore the overarching picture in the Book of Revelation is that God is going to depose them, he’s going to thrust them from their office, and pull them down from their station, just as he did Shebna. This is why Jesus had told his disciples in the Gospels that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
You may recall Jesus’ Parable of the Tenants back in Matthew 21 when he described a master of a house who planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants. I want you to listen to it in light of our context,

The Parable of the Tenants

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

The Jews had been stewards of the kingdom of God, but due to their unfaithfulness, Jesus told them that the kingdom would be taken away from them and given to a people producing its fruits. Therefore, the Jews would no longer hold the key of David, Jesus would. Therefore, the church in Philadelphia had nothing to fear! The Christians had been put out of the Jewish synagogues, even persecuted by those who called themselves Jews, but Jesus reminded them that it was not the Jewish religious leaders that possessed the key of David, but the one who is holy and true, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. In other words, do not fear those who call themselves Jews, because they do not have the power to open and shut the doors to the kingdom.
Listen to how Jesus described the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:13-14,

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

The religious leaders were wicked men who, like Shebna, honored and enriched only themselves at the expense of the people.

Set before you an open door

Then look with me at verse 8,

8 “ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

This reference to opening and closing doors is a reference to salvation, and we see it all over the NT. When the Apostles described the advancement of the Gospel they described it as a door being opened. In Acts 14:27 when Luke is chronicling Paul and Barnabas’ journey, he writes, “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 4:3-4, “pray ... for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison — that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."
So, while, on one hand, Philadelphia should not fear the Jews as though they held the keys to the kingdom, on the other hand Jesus also tells them that he has “set before them a door, which no one is able to shut.” In other words, just as the Apostle Paul described his opportunity to proclaim the Gospel at various times and in various places, Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia that he has set before them an open door to proclaim the Gospel, which no one is able to shut. In other words, done shrink back, I know your works, don’t let up, for I have set before you an open door.
And this ought to be a lesson for us today. We live in a nation that, while it is increasingly hostile toward Christianity, still permits the proclamation of the Gospel. You can freely proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in most places, often at work, at the grocery store, on the streets and in one another’s homes. Jesus has set before us an open door! Unfortunately, though, what often restrains us is our fear of man.
Yet, this wasn’t the case at Philadelphia. Jesus told them, “I know your works. .... I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” We must be very careful not to let our fear of men stop our mouths, for in doing so we quietly risk denying our Lord, for to be a Christian is to be a faithful witness. This is the chief work and business of the church and it’s members, to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You have but little power

Also notice what else Jesus says there in verse 8, “I know you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” It’s not meant to be a criticism to say that the church in Philadelphia is not powerful. Rather, they are commended for having kept his word and having not denied his name, despite not being powerful. In other words, the church is not a strong and influential church by worldly standards. It’s a faithful church. The way the world measures success is not how God measures it. Therefore, we must not judge a church’s success by worldly standards, but by biblical standards, by its faithfulness to God’s word. The progress of the church is “not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.” (Zech. 4:6) The Apostle Paul famous wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31,

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

I can’t stress this enough, faithfulness is the hallmark of a true church, not whether it has great power, not whether it has great influence, not whether it has great wealth, or abilities. We’re not called to be powerful, we’re called to be faithful.

They say they are Jews, but are not

Then Jesus goes on there in verse 9,

9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

In our modern context, particularly within popular eschatology, the ethnic nation-state of modern day Israel is seen as playing a role in the second coming of Christ, therefore, we tend to look favorably upon them, we get excited when we read news articles indicating someone’s intent to rebuild the Temple and reinstitute animal sacrifices, as if Jesus, the once for all sacrifice, intended for us to bring back the sacrificial system.
And because we elevate the nation of Israel to eschatological significance, we tend to downplay, or even overlook altogether, ethnic Israel’s ongoing rejection of Jesus as Messiah. Ethnic Israel needs the Gospel as much as any other unbelieving person.
And when you survey the NT, Jesus didn’t take kindly to those Jews who rejected him. In fact, he said their condemnation would be greater because of the mighty works done in them. Jesus had come to Israel, not the Gentile nations, and yet they rejected him still. And so it is here in Jesus’ letter to the church in Philadelphia, that he doesn’t take kindly to those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie. Not that they pretended to be ethnic Jews and weren’t, but that they were ethnically Jewish, but had rejected their own Messiah, and had gone so far as to persecute his church.
In John chapter 8 when Jesus was speaking to the Jews, he told them that they were not offspring of Abraham, because they were seeking to kill him. They answered him, and said, but “Abraham is our father.” And so Jesus said to them,

“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

So, when Jesus describes the synagogue in Philadelphia as a synagogue of Satan, it’s because they are not who they claim to be, but have become children of the devil. As the Apostle Paul would later write in Romans 2:27-29, "For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter."

Vindication

Therefore, Jesus assures the church in Philadelphia that they will be vindicated, for “I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.” How would this happen? Well, the Jews believed the Temple in Jerusalem was indestructible, but in just a few years after the writing of this letter Jerusalem and her Temple would be destroyed, and not one stone would be left on another, just as Jesus had predicted in Matthew 24. Jesus and his church would be vindicated.

Application

And we too must take these words to heart. Many people give lip-service to Jesus, they call themselves Christians, yet they do not live as though they are. They may profess with their lips, but they do not believe with their hearts. And how do we know whether someone believes with the heart? We know by the fruit borne in their lives. Is there evidence that Jesus is their Lord, is there evidence that Jesus is your Lord. Do you do what he says? Jesus said if you love me you will obey me.
Time and again I talk to Christians who assume the salvation of anyone who names the name of Jesus, never considering whether their lives are in accord with their profession, or whether the Jesus they name is the Jesus of the Scriptures. We call these uncritical assumptions loving, giving others the benefit of the doubt. But it is not loving to uncritically assume that everyone who confesses the name of Jesus is a Christian, we must care enough about our children, our neighbors, our fellow church members, and friends to see fruit borne out in their lives. To spur one another on to love and good deeds, to inquire of our friends and children who not living in accord with the scriptures. Not to wag our fingers at them, but that they might be saved, and that they might persevere. Love your children enough to not assume they understand and believe the Gospel just because you’re a Christian, and because they’ve grown up in church.

Kept from the hour of trail

Then in verse 10 we read,

10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Again, John’s Apocalypse is about events that are soon to take place in their day, a trial that is coming upon the whole world, the entire Roman Empire, to try those who dwell on the earth, but Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia that they will be kept from this hour of testing, for they have already passed their test. Not that they would be raptured or unaffected by the physical dangers, but that they would be kept from spiritual harm, and that the church would be preserved, despite the attempts of the devil to wipe Christianity from the face of the earth. They will be named among those in Revelation 7:14, the great multitude, the ones who come out of the great tribulation, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

New Jerusalem

Then in verse 12 we read,

12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, 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 from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

This is my favorite part of the letter to the church in Philadelphia. Jesus gives them several promises that are all connected to chapter 21, when John sees the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. One of the overarching motifs of John’s Apocalypse is that while the old Jerusalem, the harlot, is put away, the new Jerusalem, the bride, is coming down out of heaven. As the old covenant passes away a better covenant takes its place. The types and shadows give way to Christ and the church. The old city built with human hands gives way to a city whose builder and maker is God. The saints are like living stones being built up as a spiritual, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5), built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple (Eph. 2:19-22). And so Jesus tells the one who overcomes, that he will make him a pillar in the temple of God. That he will be a permanent fixture of this spiritual house, that they would never be removed.
Then he says that he will write on him the name of his God, which is meant to portray ownership. Like those numbered among the 144,000 of Revelation 14 who have the Lamb’s name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Indicating that they are God’s possession. And more than that, the name of the city, the new Jerusalem, is written on them, indicating that they are citizen of this heavenly city. And finally, like the church in Pergamum, they are promised a new name, signifying their new identity in Christ, that they are a new creation, that their name is unique, known only by the one who receives it.

Conclusion

And we have to understand that this imagery of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven is descriptive of both the church militant and the church triumphant, of both the church here on earth now, and how she will be at Christ’s return. Putting on display both what the church is becoming and will become.

Prayer

​
​
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more
Copyright 2024 Logos Bible SoftwareFeatures|Pricing|Privacy|Terms of Use|Support