Revelation 3:7-13
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.’
Last time we looked at the letter to the church in Sardis which received no commendation from Christ, but only rebuke. This time, the Christians in Philadelphia did not receive any rebuke but only commendation. What is it that they were doing so right? They had (vs. 8) little power and yet had kept Jesus’ word and not denied His name.
As with the other churches, the pressure to compromise and to disobey the commands of Christ and, even, to deny His name, was immense. The church was surrounded by a godless society in which idol worship was not simply a part of their culture but was a part of their politics. To worship the gods of Rome (and, eventually, to treat the Roman Caesar as deity) was a way for a city to communicate their loyalty to Rome. Dissenters were seen as trouble makers who endangered the city’s chances of receiving the blessings of Rome and all that would come with it. This may mean missing out on financial assistance, trade deals, or visits by the emperor himself. Idol worship was also integral to one’s profession. As we discussed when examining the letter to Thyatira, if you were occupied in a trade such as metal work or fabrics, you were expected to be a member of a trade guild and each guild had its own representative god. If you were to be successful in your trade, you were expected to engage in worship activities centered at the temple of that particular god. As a result, Christians were facing social, political and occupational pressures to conform.
And we’ve seen how the Christians in these various cities have handled the pressures differently. In Ephesus they did well standing against the temptation to evil although they had lost the love they had at first. The Christians in Smyrna were, likewise, willing to stand up in the face of slander and were facing persecution – including jail time and death- because of it. The churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, however, had those within their membership who had given in to the pressure. To them Jesus issued stern warnings of impending judgment. In Sardis, we saw that the believers there had gotten to the point that, although they had a reputation for being a church that was “alive” they were, in fact, “dead.”
But here in Philadelphia, like those in Ephesus and Smyrna, they have proven themselves to be faithful both to the truth of who Christ is and faithful to live in accordance with His commands. They were nothing splashy. They were not a church of any reputation such as Sardis (although their reputation was false), but they were a simple church being simply faithful. And what does Jesus promise to a church such as this?
First, He says (vs. 8) that because He knows their works (their faithfulness to keeping His commands in the face of outside pressure), “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. 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.
So, Jesus has put before them an open door which no one is able to shut and He will make the Jews who stand in opposition to the Christians in Philadelphia, to bow down before them. What in the world does that mean? Let’s start with the door. What is this open door? Our clue comes from the way this section to Philadelphia begins. Jesus says in verse 7 that these are 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.” This language comes from Isaiah 22:22. In verses 15-24 of Isaiah 22, the LORD is speaking through Isaiah to someone named Shebna. Shebna had been put in charge of the King of Israel, Hezekiah’s palace. This had gone to Shebna’s head and he became very proud and pompous- to the point that he had carved out a tomb for himself as a permanent memorial of his greatness for all to see. God declares this to be shameful behavior and a disgrace on Hezekiah’s house. So the LORD says He will remove Shebna from his office and replace him with someone named Eliakim. Eliakim will have authority, not only over Hezekiah’s palace, but over the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. He will have authority to make binding decisions, he will hold the keys to let people into the household and the city or, on the other hand, to lock them out. No one will be able to undo what he has decided. Verse 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. And in this way Eliakim will honor, rather than shame, Hezekiah’s name.
Now, Jesus in speaking to the church in Philadelphia says, “I am the Eliakim of the household of God. I am the One with the key of David and what I open no one can shut and what I shut no one can open. And I have determined to open a door in front of you.” He has determined that a door of entrance into the household of God has been opened at the church in Philadelphia. In other words, they will be used by Him to draw people into the kingdom. As people walk into the church in Philadelphia, they will be a part of the household of God. Who will it be opened to? The Jews who have, up to this point, stood in complete opposition to them. Jesus says he will make them (vs. 9) “come and bow down before your feet. And they will learn that I have loved you.” Are they bowing down in defeat and submission to the Christians in Philadelphia? We may think that at first glance but that doesn’t fit the flow of what is being communicated here with the opening of the door. But it does fit what we find in Isaiah 60 and Psalm 86:9 and it presents to them an ironic twist.
In Isaiah 60, God is speaking to Israel and declaring what is to come. Namely that those who had come against and persecuted Israel, will one day bow down before Israel in the realization that they are, in fact, God’s chosen people. But they are not bowing down before Israel to be crushed, but in acknowledgment and in joint worship of God. The gates of the heavenly city are open for them to come and they bring with them their riches and, more importantly, vs. 6, the praises of the LORD. They are where the LORD is now the everlasting light…they’ve joined them in the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21:22 which describes the New Jerusalem saying (vs. 25-26) “its gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.” This is a promise that those who once were persecutors of the people of God will one day be counted among them. Psalm 86:9 declares of this scene: “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.”
What’s the ironic twist? These Jews in Philadelphia thought they were the chosen people of God and the Christians were the enemy of God’s kingdom who would one day bow at their feet. The truth is that they are going to discover that they were actually the ones in the wrong. They, not the Christians, were members of the synagogue of Satan. In other words, the Jews had stood in opposition to the very Savior that had been sent in fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah, and it was the Christians who had received Him. The promise to the church in Philadelphia was that they would be the means by which the Jews would be given, eyes to see and ears to hear the gospel, the church in Philadelphia would prove to be the doorway entrance into the Kingdom of God. This would be the reward to the church in Philadelphia for their simple obedience and faithfulness.
Did He promise it would be easy? No, an hour of trial was coming but the call was: “Keep doing what you are doing- continue to endure with patience. Hold fast to what you have.” In this way they would prove to be pillars in the temple of God. What does it mean to be a “pillar”? Today we might describe someone as the “pillar of society.” What does that mean? Someone who exemplifies the values that supports a society. The image here of the a pillar in the temple of God seems to be saying that the pillars in God’s Temple…those who exemplify the values of God’s Kingdom….are not those who have much power but those who keep God’s Word and do not deny Christ’s name.
They will have a permanent inheritance in God’s Temple. They are a pillar, they will not be moved. They will have the name of God, the name of the city of God and the name of Jesus written upon them. Ways of saying to whom they belong and to where they belong.
What is the message for us? For you?
1) How amazing is the promise that heaven would be full of people from every nation including those who now are persecuting believers? Certainly, rather than giving up because the pressure is too strong, realize those applying the pressure will be humbled one day. They will be the ones who have fallen to their knees. It may be as they await their judgment, or it may be as they are by our side in worship. So rather than praying that God would judge our oppressors, we ought to have the attitude of Paul. In Colossians 4, Paul is in prison for his faith. What is his prayer? That God would crush those who have imprisoned him? No. He writes in verses 2-4: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray also 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.” Paul’s delight would be for those who are persecuting him for his faith would come to saving faith themselves. So should it be for us and, if we are faithful, the LORD may grant this to us for their salvation and our joy.
2) Recognize that your perseverance and the salvation of those who now stand against you does not depend upon your strength. Philadelphia had “but little power.” Do you have “but little power” and have despaired of being used by God? Have you thought to yourself that the salvation of your family members who now stand opposed to you may never come given the fact that you are not someone who speaks with power but rather stumbles through your words when you can come up with any in the first place? Philadelphia had “but little power” but what they DID have a faithfulness and the tenacity to refuse to deny the name of Christ. So with you, don’t think you have to the greatest evangelist to be used by God- you simply need to be faithful to the One Who Saved You and, then trust that He will do the work of the opening the way.
3) There will be a day in which it will be revealed to whose household you belong. Jesus holds the key in His hand. To some He will open the door, for others, the door will be shut and no one will be able to open it. What is the difference between the two – the one to whom the door has been opened and the one to whom the door has been shut? The apostle Peter was asked that question by a crowd gathered around him in Jerusalem and he replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39).
I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name…you have kept my word about patient endurance…hold fast what you have.
These are the commendations and the charge given to the believers in Philadelphia.
It seems that the temptation they faced to abandon Jesus’ commands and to deny His name was overcome by patient endurance which required a conscientious effort of “holding fast” on their part.
The implication is that we are prone to losing patience over time with the potential result being our abandonment of our Christian practices and witness.
1) Have there been times in your life when you have been tempted to stop “holding fast”? Have you known someone else who has? What were the things that wore you (or them) down to the point that patience had run out and it felt easier just to stop living in accordance with God’s Word?
2) As we read through the Psalms, we find David crying out to the LORD because of those who afflicted him. For example, he writes in Psalm 22: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast” (vs. 14) Why? Because he was, “Scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads…” (vss. 6-7). When the afflictions of others are a source of discouragement, in what ways should we seek to find the endurance to hold fast? Some passages to consider would include Philippians 2:5-8 and 1 Peter 4:12-14.
3) Afflictions don’t always come from the persecution of others but there are seasons of life when we become weary because we are “grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). Paul said that he and his companions were afflicted “in every way” (2 Corinthians 4:8). Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. What are some of the ways that Paul thought through his experience that led him to “not lose heart”? (There are at least four declarations that Paul makes in this short passage about who he is, what God is doing, and the hope that he has which helped him to endure).
4) In 2 Corinthians 7:4 Paul says that, despite the afflictions he faced, he was “overflowing with joy.” He explains where some of that joy came from in verses 6-7. What does this say about the importance of regular and frequent fellowship among brothers and sisters in Christ? What does verse 6 tell us about how God works among these friendships we have with one another?
5) Paul writes in Galatians 6:9-10 that we should “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” The implication here is that even simply doing good can become wearisome when we don’t seem to reap any immediate benefits from it. Hebrews 11 and 12 provide a “cloud of witnesses” of whom “the world was not worthy” and what we can learn from them. Read 11:23-26 and 11:39-40. What kept them faithfully following the LORD? 11:13-16 is helpful as is 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
6) In his reflections on Galatians 6:9, Thomas Watson (1620–1686) wrote the following. Reflect on these and find encouragement:
QUESTION. What means shall we use that we may not wax weary in a Christian course?
ANSWER 1. Let us shake off spiritual sloth. Sloth says, "There is a lion in the way." He who is slothful will soon grow weary; he is more fit to lie on his couch—than to run a race! It is a strange sight to see a busy devil—and an idle Christian!
ANSWER 2. If we would not grow weary, let us pray for persevering grace. It was David's prayer, Psalm 119:117, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe." It was Beza's prayer, "Lord, perfect what You have begun in me." That we may hold on a Christian course, let us labor for three persevering graces: faith, hope, and love.
Faith keeps from fainting. Faith gives a substance to things not seen, and makes them to be as it were present, Hebrews 11. As a telescope makes those things which are at a distance near to the eye, so does faith. Heaven and glory seem near. A Christian will not be weary of service—who has the crown in his eye.
The second persevering grace is hope. Hope animates the spirits; it is to the soul as cork to the net—which keeps it from sinking. Hope breeds patience and patience breeds perseverance. Hope is compared to an anchor, Hebrew 6:19. The Christian never sins, but when he casts away his anchor of hope!
The third persevering grace is love. Love makes a man so that he is never weary. Love may be compared to the rod of myrtle in the traveler's hand, which refreshes him and keeps him from being weary in his journey. He who loves the world is never weary of following the world; he who loves God will never be weary of serving Him. The reason why saints and angels in heaven are never weary of praising and worshiping God, is because their love to God is perfect, and love turns service into delight. Get the love of God in your hearts—and you will run in His ways and not be weary!
