The Church At Philadelphia: Faithful Against All Odds
The Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 25 viewsJesus sends a word of encouragement to the faithful church at Philadelphia.
Notes
Transcript
Revelation 3:7–13 (NLT)
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
9 Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
INTRODUCTION:
A- The Destination of the Letter.
1- The city
The name Φιλαδέλφεια means “brotherly love.”
(The city’s name comes from a curious incident regarding Rome’s dealings with the Attalids. When Attalus II traveled to Rome in 167 bc, the Roman Senate attempted to turn him against his older brother Eumenes II (reigned 197–159 bc). Livy describes the outcome: “after disappointing the hopes of those who had supposed that he [Attalus II] would accuse his brother and seek a division of the kingdom, he left the senate-house” (45.20.3 LCL; see also Polybius 30:1–3). For remaining loyal, he earned the nickname “Philadelphus,” so Philadelphia reflects the love between the two brothers.)
A city in the Rom. province of Asia, in the W of what is now Asiatic Turkey.
It was perhaps founded by Eumenes, king of Pergamum, in the 2nd century bc, and certainly named after his brother Attalus, whose loyalty had earned him the name Philadelphus.
It was situated near the upper end of a broad valley leading down through Sardis to the sea near Smyrna; and it lay at the threshold of a very fertile tract of plateau country, from which much of its commercial prosperity derived.
The area was subject to frequent earthquakes.
A severe one in ad 17 destroyed the city; and as the shocks continued intermittently the people took to living outside the city (Strabo, Geography 12.8.18 [579]; 13.4.10 [628]).
After an imperial bounty had helped it to recover, the city voluntarily assumed the new name of Neocaesarea.
Later, under Vespasian, it took another imperial name, Flavia. The city was remarkable for the number of its temples and religious festivals.
The site is now occupied by the town of Alaṣehir.
2- The church in the city
A small church
Faithful to Jesus and the gospel
Persecuted mainly by Jewish people
A church existed in Philadelphia until the city was overrun in the 12th century by the Ottoman Empire.
The travel network among churches established by Paul and the other apostles is shown to continue in the postapostolic period.
Ammia and Quadratus were Christian prophets who ministered in Philadelphia during the reign of Hadrian (Eusebius, Church History 5.17).
In 1390 Philadelphia was the last Byzantine outpost in Anatolia to fall by surrendering to Bayezid I.
3- The Historical time of Kingdom advance in church history
I- THE PRAISE GIVEN FOR THE FAITHFUL (Revelation 3:7- 8)
I- THE PRAISE GIVEN FOR THE FAITHFUL (Revelation 3:7- 8)
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
A- The source of the praise: (Revelation 3:7)
A- The source of the praise: (Revelation 3:7)
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
1- Holy
-ὁ ἅγιος = the holy (one)
(Isaiah 40:25)
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
(Psalm 71:22)
22 Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
(Mark 1:24)
24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
(1 John 2:20)
20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.
2- True
- ὁ ἀληθινός= the true (one)
(John 14:6)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
3- The one who hold the keys to the Kingdom
-ὁ ἔχων τὴν κλεῖν Δαυίδ= the one who has the key of David
(Isaiah 22:22)
22 I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.
4- The one who has ultimate authority
-ὁ ἀνοίγων καὶ οὐδεὶς κλείσει, καὶ κλείων καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀνοίγει·= What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open.
B- The Substance of the praise: (Revelation 3:8)
B- The Substance of the praise: (Revelation 3:8)
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
8 Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα—ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ἐνώπιόν σου θύραν ἠνεῳγμένην, ἣν οὐδεὶς δύναται κλεῖσαι αὐτήν—ὅτι μικρὰν ἔχεις δύναμιν, καὶ ἐτήρησάς μου τὸν λόγον, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὸ ὄνομά μου.
1- Christ is familiar with all of their deeds.
(Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα= I know all the things you do,)
2- Christ has given them an open door that no-one can close.
(ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ἐνώπιόν σου θύραν ἠνεῳγμένην ἣν οὐδεὶς δύναται κλεῖσαι αὐτήν= I have opened a door for you that no one can close.)
3- They are small, but strong.
(ὅτι μικρὰν ἔχεις δύναμιν,= You have little strength)
4- They have been faithful - have not denied Jesus, even in persecution.
(καὶ ἐτήρησάς μου τὸν λόγον, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὸ ὄνομά μου.= yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.)
Eleven Christians from Philadelphia were martyred with Polycarp in Smyrna around AD 156 (Martyrdom of Polycarp 19.1)
II- THE PROMISES GIVEN TO THE FAITHFUL (Revelation 3:9-12)
II- THE PROMISES GIVEN TO THE FAITHFUL (Revelation 3:9-12)
9 Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
A- Vindication before their enemies. (Revelation 3:9)
A- Vindication before their enemies. (Revelation 3:9)
9 Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
B- Protection from the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 3:10)
B- Protection from the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 3:10)
10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
1- Note: the church is never mentioned after Revelation 4. The Great tribulation mentioned by Jesus is to judge the world and to deal with Israel to bring her to Christ.
(Matthew 24:21)
21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.
C- Eminent return (Revelation 3:11)
C- Eminent return (Revelation 3:11)
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
(1 Thess. 4:13-17)
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
(1 Cor. 15:50-54)
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
D- Eternal Security (Revelation 3:12)
D- Eternal Security (Revelation 3:12)
12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
E- Encouragement to Continue to be faithful (Revelation 3:11, 13)
E- Encouragement to Continue to be faithful (Revelation 3:11, 13)
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
(1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.
15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
(2 Tim. 4:8)
8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
