Revelation Chapter 3:7-13

Message To Philadelphia

Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Of the seven churches that received a letter from Jesus, Philadelphia was the youngest. As a missionary outpost, it was founded on Hellenism, the culture of ancient Greece. This key city’s original purpose was to make it a center for spreading the Greek language, culture, and manners throughout the Asian provinces. In its history, Philadelphia had a great “evangelistic” calling.

It was a prosperous city, commanding one of the most significant highways in the world. This highway led from Europe to the East; it was the gateway from one continent to another. Philadelphia was known for beautiful buildings (it was called little Athens) and earthquakes, which required frequent evacuations.

Verse 7:

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.

Jesus needed to remind them that “holy and true” were not just tendencies of His character but who He is. Holy and true are His very being. He was reminding them He is God.

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 22:22: The key of the house of David I will lay on His shoulder; So He shall open, and no one shall shut; He shall shut, and no one open, to drive home that He alone is the keeper of the doors and keys and He alone has power and authority, especially to admit or exclude.

Verse 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, and have kept My word, and not denied My name.

As Jesus said to all the churches, ‘I know your works,’ He said to the church of Philadelphia. They served Him well in difficult circumstances, and He knew it.

I have set before you an open door: An open door speaks of evangelistic opportunity (1 Cor. 16:9, 2 Cor. 2:12 & Col. 4:3). Jesus opened the door for the Christians of Philadelphia to spread His kingdom’s culture through the whole region. He wanted them to see this opened door and go through it in faith.

The fact that Jesus said ‘see’ tells us He was showing them the door because they didn’t see it. Sometimes we don’t see the open door. But once we see it, we must walk through and take advantage of every evangelistic opportunity. Once Jesus opens a door for us, there is nothing that can stop our access.

Do you feel there aren’t any opportunities to share Christ with others in your daily life? Do you know if your co-worker is a Christian? Do you know if your neighbor is a Christian? Your mailman? Your grocer? Your child’s school teacher? Find out and start there.

For you have a little strength: This sounds as if Jesus was saying they were weak. However, this doesn’t imply weakness but real strength. They were weak enough to be strong in Jesus. We can be “too big,” “too strong,” or “too sure of ourselves” for Jesus to really use us. The church at Philadelphia had the poverty of spirit to know they really needed God’s strength.

It is not a matter of great strength, not great ability but great dependability. Samson had great ability but poor dependability. A little strength faithfully used means more than much strength flashily and fitfully used.

Vance Havner

2 Corinthians 12:7-10: And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

You have kept My word and have not denied My name: The church at Philadelphia had the evangelistic opportunity, reliance on God, and was faithful to Jesus. These features should be commonplace among churches. The fact that Jesus praised them for these things tells us they are not prevalent among all churches.

Jesus commended them for keeping the word and not denying His name! How can a church “be a church” and not have these two features? When a church measures its success by standards such as the rise of the clergy, the number or size of their new buildings, or the crowds that flock to listen to any human voice, they can fail to keep His word and deny His name. These things are earthly and not heavenly measures in which to judge success.

Keeping His word and not denying His name seems unspectacular features for a church to have. Yet Jesus was completely pleased with this church and had nothing negative to say to them. So He must have found them to be the exception and not the norm.

Verses 9-10

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. 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.

What Jesus Will Do For The Faithful Christians

The Christians in Philadelphia were persecuted by Jewish people (the synagogue). But these “Jews” were Jews in name only. In fact, they had no spiritual connection to Abraham or the people of faith. Jesus was speaking of this particular group of people, not of Jewish people as a whole.

I will make them come and worship at your feet: Jesus promises that He will come and vindicate His people. Our persecutors will know they were wrong. In Is. 45:14, God promised Israel that Gentiles would honor them and acknowledge their God. Here the tables are turned, and these Jewish people will recognize that the church is the Israel of God. They will worship alongside the Christians and will no longer be enemies. The best way to destroy the enemies of God is to pray that God changes them into friends.

I will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world: This is our promise from Jesus that if we keep His command to endure patiently and not lose faith, we will be spared “the hour of trial” which is coming upon those who do not believe. This is a prophetic reference to the Messianic woes, the Great Tribulation, which precede Jesus’ earthly kingdom. These are Jesus’ own words that tell us we will be spared (raptured) before the Great Tribulation.

To test those who dwell on earth: This phrase is used nine times in the Book of Revelation. It speaks of those who are not saved in Jesus. Rev. 17:8 makes a clear connection with the lost. “The beast which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction: and they that dwell on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.” So this “test” Jesus speaks of here is for the unbelievers.

Christians are different. Though we walk on this earth, our dwelling place is in Heaven. We have been seated in Heavenly places in Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. We do not dwell on the earth; our life is hidden in Jesus. Col 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,…

Verses 11-13

Behold, I come quickly. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The expression ‘quickly’ is to be understood as something which is sudden and unexpected, not necessarily immediate.

John F. Wolvoord

Jesus is coming back. It will be sudden and unexpected. We should remember this. We must hold fast to what we have. We must no depart from our solid foundation. We must take advantage of evangelistic opportunities. We must hold fast to our reliance on and faithfulness in Jesus.

That no one make take your crown: If we fail to ‘hold fast’ our crown might be given to another. The idea is not that it will be stolen, but given. This is not a crown of royalty, given because of royal birth, but a crown of victory.

Never forget that the man most likely to steal your crown is yourself. ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life’ (Pro. 4:23). You are in no greater danger from anyone or anything than from yourself.

Vance Havner

A Promise of Reward

I will make him a pillar: Pillars were pictures of strength, stability, and dignified beauty. In the ancient city of Philadelphia, they suffered from earthquakes. When a building collapsed in an earthquake, often all that remained were the huge pillars. Jesus offers us the same strength, to remain standing in Him when everything around us crumbles. In the church body, we are the pillars, and Jesus is the foundation.

He shall go out no more: As Christians, we have a place of permanence and stability in Jesus. We can never truly know what it feels like to have these two Christian attributes in our earthly lives. Our lives are too limited and unpredictable to fathom the boundlessness and the unmovable stability that awaits us. I can imagine how, for some of us, imagining a life of permanence and stability would come harder. This should give you hope to persevere until He calls you home.

I will write on him…: Overcomers will also receive many new names- the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus. These are marks of identification because they show who we belong to. They are marks of intimacy because they show we are privileged to know Him in ways others are not.

Philadelphia honored its illustrious sons by putting their names on the pillars of its temples so that all who came to worship might see and remember.

William Barclay

Have you noticed that in each letter Jesus addressed these ancient people in a way that would make sense to them? He uses phrases and terms that were familiar to them, things that they could relate to. When I talk with Jesus, He answers in ways that I can understand. This is one of the many reasons Christians need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus outside the walls of a church. An intimate relationship is what Jesus desires from each of us.

He who has an ear…: Jesus only had praise for the church of Philadelphia. This is six out of seven churches, and it is only the second one that Jesus did not have anything against. If we will ‘hear’ His message, we must understand that we need to stand strong on our foundation; Jesus. We must depend upon Him as our source of strength and not rely upon ourselves.