Church of Philadelphia

Established around 190 B.C. by King of Pergamos - Attalus II.

30 mi SE of Sardis

King had an unusual relationship with his brother, naming it Philadelphia - “city of brotherly love”.

Stop on a major trade route - Imperial Post Road.

Not mentioned anywhere else in scripture by name.

Bordertown - mission was to spread Greek culture to surrounding areas. Church knew what it meant to be mission minded.

Since it was the city of brotherly love, believers had a constant reminder to love one another so they could fulfill their calling on the mission field.

Knew about turmoil - the city sat on an earthquake fault line. In A.D. 17, a large quake leveled Sardis and 10 other cities. Philadelphia was spared total destruction, but for years afterward felt aftershock - adding fear, panic, and constant damage to their lives.

After the quake, King Tiberius aided in the rebuilding of Philadelphia and it was renamed “Neocaesarea” - the New City of Caesar.

No Criticism

Notice Philadelphia received no criticism. Unlike Sardis where they were referred to as a “Dead church”. Johns words to the Philippians were to keep the faith, and they would receive a new name and the new Jerusalem.

Revelation 3:7 ESV

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.

The letter is addressed to the minister of the church, but the Lord expects the minister to share it with the church.

What Jesus Christ says about Himself speaks to the heart of the church that is alive and faithful.

The word holy is a description of God Himself.

The word true (alethinos) means the true as opposed to the false, the genuine as opposed to the counterfeit, the real as opposed to the unreal.

What is the key of David? There is an event in the Old Testament that tells us. King Hezekiah had a faithful servant who was named Eliakim. This servant was the personal secretary to king Hezekiah; he was put in complete charge of the king’s affairs. No one could gain entrance into the king’s presence without coming through Eliakim. This servant alone determined who entered the king’s court. We can no more get to God other than through Jesus than someone could get to the King without coming through the servant Eliakim.