Sermon Tone Analysis
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Today, we come to the 6th church of the 7 churches of Asia Minor.
We are in the 3 beginning chapters of Revelation.
Revelation starts with a description of Christ, and then 7 letters to 7 churches.
These letters were written to real churches.
They were in real locations.
They had real people.
They had real problems.
It’s so interesting that these letters are not random.
The contents of each letter have unique language that is fitting to each city and the Christians within them.
This week we find ourselves in , and we look at the church of Philadelphia.
Let’s read this now.
Read :7-13.
In order to understand Christ’s unique words to this church we need to understand a little about Philadelphia.
The churches are Asia Minor are in a postal route.
John, begins on Patmos, and records Christ’s words.
It is sent from Patmos to Ephesus, on to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira.
This postal route is shaped in a semi-circular shape.
From Thyatira, it moved down south to Sardis, and then to where we arrive today, Philadelphia.
This was a city that was built sometime between 197 and 160bc.
It was built during the reign of Eumenes, a king in Pergamum.
He loved his brother, and it was named to reflect that love, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.
The region near Philadelphia was known for its wine.
They had very fertile soil.
They were on the edge of what has been nicknamed “The burned land”.
It was land that had volcanic rock mixed in with the soil that made it very fertile.
The problem with having volcanic rock is that the region was and has been prone to earthquakes.
And it still is today, for example in 1999, there was an earthquake that decimated the region.
It was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 17,000 people and left bout 45,000 people injured.
That was in 1999.
In 17ad, there was a major earth that wiped out the area.
To the north it destroyed Sardis.
It was just as destructive in Philadelphia.
The region had so many earthquakes and aftershocks that people were afraid to enter the town.
Their buildings were falling apart.
They were afraid that their shaky buildings were going to fall on them.
So many people lived outside the town in huts.
At the slightest tremor, they were leaving their buildings and running for the fields.
When the earthquake of 17ad hit Philadelphia, the Roman Emperor at the time, gave them 5 years of no taxes.
This 5 year period of time allowed for them to rebuild and reestablish themselves.
The people of Philadelphia were so thankful that they changed the name of the town from Philadelphia to Neocaesarea, which means the New City of Caesar.
Years later they changed their name again to Flavia, the name of the Emperor’s family who succeeded Nero.
Each of these details, the earthquakes, the shaky ground, the names will come in handy later.
That’s what I mean when I say these letters were personal and unique.
Within this town was a small church.
This little church was persecuted.
Just as in other towns, there was a strong Jewish population, and these Jews brought pressure upon the Christians in the town.
Despite the size of the church and the pressure upon the church, Jesus commends them.
He has nothing bad to say about them.
No rebuke.
No warning.
We’ve seen in the other churches that Jesus is willing to reveal sin and error.
But that doesn’t happen with Philadelphia.
Instead, He gives them compliments and plenty of promises.
I think this is appropriate for us.
We are a small church.
And being a church, we should be students of the church.
This morning we will look at , and see the 4 qualities of a small but mighty church, so that we would be a church that is commended by Christ.
As we work through our text, we will ask ourselves 4 questions.
These are 4 questions about what a little church believes, how a little church ministers, what a little church hopes in, and is promised.
And hopefully, we line up to what Christ commends them for.
And where we differ, may He correct us.
First, What does a little church believe about Christ?
Like the other letters, Jesus begins His letter to Philadelphia by identifying Himself.
He says that He is the Holy one, the true one, and that He has the key of David.
Being Holy and True is something that is unique to God.
You and I are not naturally holy.
In Christ, we are called holy, and we are called saints.
But this isn’t something that comes naturally to us.
describes our natural condition, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We aren’t naturally in that position of holiness.
Being holy is something that is given to us.
We are made holy.
We are adopted.
But not so with Jesus.
He was born without sin.
He was born without the inclination or desire to sin.
He was born without inherited sin.
He is holy because of His nature, because of who He is.
He is holy in a way that only God can be holy.
says, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”
That’s the kind of holiness that Jesus has.
He is holy in a way that deserves our attention, our worship and our trust.
He is the true one.
This is about His quality.
Never does He lie.
One of the attributes of God is that His will is perfect, and so perfect, that He doesn’t change His mind.
says, “And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
This applies to God the Father, and it applies to God the Son.
He can be trusted.
This is also why we believe every word of Scripture.
Because it is His word.
If Jesus cannot be trusted, than neither can His Word.
And if His Word cannot be trusted, then neither can Jesus.
So He introduces Himself as Holy and True.
He is not shying away from His title.
He wants you to know that He is divine, the second member of the Trinity.
Worthy of all worship.
This is a title of divinity, of deity.
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