The Church in Philadelphia

7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things: 8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name. 9Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown. 12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. 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 out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

For God’s people the world is a hard place to keep the faith, full of temptation and persecution. Yet for those who long for the Kingdom of God, understand the truth, and keep the faith, it is also an excellent training ground for spiritual growth.

Ease and plenty can shake our faith, but persecution from other people threatens it as well. When a believer resolves to live by the word, Satan learns of that resolve too and goes to work. His aim is for God’s people to leave God and fall into hell. If he uses circumstances and people as his tools to persecute them, so that they cannot go on following the Lord, they may crumble under his many attacks. Satan loves to make us afraid. When we are afraid of losing what we own, afraid that our children will fall behind others, afraid that our troubles will never be resolved, in the end we come to doubt God’s protection.

When Christians do not fully grasp God’s will and fall into chasing blessings, they try to solve the world’s problems by means of God. If they come to think the way idol worshipers do, they will grumble against God for not solving their problems quickly, and go looking for human solutions.

But we must know what Satan is. He is a created being, an evil spirit who coveted the Creator’s place, rebelled against God, and was cast out into darkness. Driven from God’s side, Satan has only one way to take revenge on God: dragging people into darkness. Because he can neither stand against God directly nor defeat him, he corrupts people in order to thwart God’s plan.

Since God knows all of Satan’s plans, if his people simply strive to keep the faith, he will keep Satan from tormenting them. The Jesus Christ you believe in is the Almighty who holds the key of David, whose power is absolute: when he opens, no one can shut, and when he shuts, no one can open. No one at all can stop the work of Jesus Christ. Only when we believe this can we live with greater strength and courage.

Though Satan attacks in many ways, those who believe that God rules over him do not have to take him on themselves. If they simply rely on God in faith, he will act, and he will help them win the victory through the Holy Spirit. Yet if those who live relying on such an almighty one bow to the world and give in to money, they will perish with it when the hour of testing comes on the whole world. To people who love the world, the call to cast the world out of our hearts may sound narrow and selfish.

But the world is like the waves that could not overturn the ark. For that reason, only by boarding the ark of Jesus Christ can anyone be saved.

Matthew 16:18-19

18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

Jesus told Peter that he would build his church on this rock, and that the gates of Hades would not prevail against it. Then, giving Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, he bestowed a great grace: whatever he bound on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever he released on earth would be released in heaven.

If what is decided in faith on earth is bound or released in heaven, then we can see how much our faith matters. We must hold an ever more precious faith, so that God may work to establish our faith still more firmly. For only when we live by faith can God help us so that Satan cannot lay a hand on us. If someone abandons the faith and betrays him, God can do no work on their behalf.

When Jesus said he would build his church on this rock, he did not mean on the man Peter. He meant he would build it on the confession, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Nor did he promise the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter as an individual. He promised them to the church built on the confession that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

To people with no merit whatsoever, he has given this grace: if only they confess their faith, he will give them the keys that open the way into heaven. Here we see what wonderful power a confession of faith holds, and we must not forget that even this faith is God’s gift.

Do you truly believe this word that Jesus promised? Can you really believe his promise that whatever is released and bound on earth, he will release and bind in heaven in the same way? Such a work means that the problems of his people have become God’s problems. In other words, every problem you meet as you live by faith is God’s problem, which means God himself will solve it. It is a word as wondrous as a miracle. It is a promise that if God’s people resist Satan in faith, God will bring Satan to his knees for their sake.

If we believe this promise of Jesus, our faces should be full of assurance, and we should be filled with joy, gratitude, and a sense of calling. If those who hold the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven see so many people heading toward death and cannot say a single word of the gospel, what use is it to hold the key that opens heaven’s gate? If those called to share the gospel cannot entrust the world’s problems to God, and like someone in shackles cannot take a single step, holding the keys of heaven means nothing at all.

Revelation 3:7

7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:

Philadelphia was a city on a high plateau about 40 kilometers southeast of Sardis, famous for its vineyards. Because it was the first city a traveler had to pass through on the way east from Smyrna and the kingdom of Lydia, it was also called the gateway to the East. With thriving farming and trade, it enjoyed considerable wealth, but sadly, frequent earthquakes did it great damage.

With its many temples and religious festivals, Philadelphia was called little Athens in the fifth century AD. The church in Philadelphia was founded in this city, nicknamed for its many idols, but Muslims persecuted the Christians there severely. Yet even in the midst of great trials, the church in Philadelphia kept the faith through the fullness of the word. Though she is little known, a prophetess named Ammia is said to have led the church at that time and brought about a spiritual revival. The fiercer the persecution from the Jews, the more the whole church united and pressed on with one heart toward the will of God, who is holy and true.

Jesus Christ introduced himself to the church in Philadelphia as the one who is holy and true, who has the key of David. By saying this, he was making known that he alone can open the door of the Kingdom of God. His words told them that the persecution they suffered for Jesus Christ was something he commended, and that they would receive eternal life as their reward.

When he said that what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open, he was comforting them: since Jesus rules the whole universe, his people need not fear the wicked or evil spirits. Not even Satan can hinder what Jesus does, and no one on this earth can stop it.

But the Jews, who did not fully understand God’s will, insisted that they alone had inherited the kingdom of David, and they persecuted the believers in Philadelphia. Jesus Christ would have spoken these words of comfort to ease the suffering of those who were being persecuted by such Jews. He was telling them that if the Jews claimed to have inherited David’s kingdom, he was the God who held sovereignty over that kingdom, so they should not be afraid.

Jesus Christ has put all things in subjection under his feet and has become the head of the church. The church in Philadelphia knew the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and held the faith that salvation comes by faith alone. Because the Holy Spirit protected them, they were well able to overcome the persecution of the Jews.

Isaiah 22:15-22

15Thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say, 16‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!” 17Behold, Yahweh will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly. 18He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house. 19I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station. 20It will happen in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21and I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22I will lay the key of David’s house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.

In speaking of the key, Jesus was quoting Isaiah 22. Shebna, the treasurer, was a Gentile who kept the treasury of Hezekiah king of Judah. Though he was a Gentile, Shebna had won Hezekiah’s trust, yet he was not truly grateful, and he tried to use the power he now enjoyed for his own ends. He made a lavish tomb for himself and Isaiah reproved him for it. Driven by empty ambition, Shebna built his splendid tomb in the highest place among the tombs of David’s descendants, and for that he incurred God’s wrath.

We too, though Gentiles, have received God’s grace. If we forget our gratitude for the gospel and live as we please, God will be greatly angered. God rebuked Hezekiah, telling him that the mere fact that he had failed to discern people rightly and had appointed such a Gentile ought to fill him with shame. Shebna, who had pursued his own advancement, met with great disaster in the end. He lost everything he had because he failed to give thanks when he should have.

Shebna’s office passed to Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. That God calls Eliakim his servant tells us how faithful he was. God gave him authority, made him a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah, and entrusted to him the most important thing of all, the key of David’s house. And God said that when Eliakim opens, no one will shut, and when he shuts, no one will open.

Israel knew that Eliakim had held absolute authority from God, which is why Jesus Christ compared himself to him. If Jesus Christ, whose power is absolute, is helping the church in Philadelphia, they need not fear Satan’s attacks or the persecution of the Jews. Thankfully, because the believers in Philadelphia were full of love for Jesus, they never betrayed him, right to the end.

Revelation 3:8

8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name.

When he says that the church in Philadelphia has a little power, he means that they had almost none of the world’s power. Though the region was home to many wealthy people, the members of this church were in hard straits in everything that could be seen from the outside: status, position, and possessions. Christians in the modern church, when they lack money or hold low position or status in the world, resent God and feel ashamed. Believing that their hardships mean God has not blessed them, they fail even to walk with God as they ought.

But if Jesus holds the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, we must live with confidence, believing that the one we will meet at the end is Jesus Christ. If we endure in faith, however much Satan tries to hinder our walk with God, Jesus Christ will protect us and save us.

We must never forget what our faith is for. Of course, life without money is hard and painful. But if the place we are finally going is heaven, we must not make the foolish choice of betraying Jesus Christ for money, position, power, or fame. Even under persecution, the church in Philadelphia kept the faith and lived out the word.

Sadly, the Jews, though chosen by God, misjudged, and kept the law only as a matter of outward deeds. Blind to the fact that the law exposes sin, and that they had to believe in the Messiah who would atone for it, they put Jesus to death. And now they are persecuting those who believe in Christ. In the Jews we see how fearful it is to lack spiritual understanding. Because they denied that Jesus was the Messiah, they worshiped Satan without any sense of guilt, and so they were even rebuked as the synagogue of Satan. Holding much power and wealth, they took it for granted that they could persecute the believers in Philadelphia. It is not hard to imagine how much the church there suffered at the hands of those who held the empty, fleeting strength and authority of this world.

Yet even as they were persecuted, these Christians never let go of the word, and they did not deny the name of Jesus Christ. Theirs was a truly precious faith: with death before their eyes, they never once betrayed Jesus Christ.

The reason God now shows us the church in Philadelphia is that he is asking us to live as this church did. Given the way the world is going, a day may soon come when the church and God’s people face persecution. Some are deceiving people with false doctrines that twist the Bible, and are preparing to use the world’s power against those who live for the truth.

Just as the Holy Spirit guides God’s people, Satan too gives the power of darkness to his followers and helps them hinder God’s work. But God has promised that if we keep the faith through the word of truth, as the church in Philadelphia did, he will give us a way of escape on the last day, when the world is judged. Because of that promise, we must hold a right faith for the day of salvation.

Revelation 3:12

12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. 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 out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

Among the blessings he spoke over the church in Philadelphia, he said that those who endure in order to keep his word would not be snatched away by Satan, but would be blessed to become pillars in the temple. Even if the temple falls, a pillar will never be uprooted, so this was a grace that promised to protect them whatever happened. He also comforted them by saying that he would make some of the Jews come and bow down before them. This meant that he would show them a miracle: some of the Jews, moved by the faith of the faithful in Philadelphia who held fast to the end, would accept the gospel and turn back. If the Jews who had persecuted them repented and came back, it would give the church fresh strength.

Take the apostle Paul. Before he received Christ, he persecuted Christians, so the believers were very much afraid of him. Even though Barnabas took him around and told them that Paul had received the Lord, the disciples doubted him and were afraid to meet him. But when they learned that Paul’s conversion was genuine, they rejoiced greatly and were comforted.

In light of this, the day will surely come when some of the Jews who persecuted the church in Philadelphia are converted and turn back. As they watched the believers there, persecuted yet steadfastly hoping in the eternal world, they would have wondered who this Christ was. This is how we must make Christ known: by our lives. It is our duty as Christians to display a holy faith, so that those who persecute us may of their own accord bow to the gospel, as the repentant Jews did. And when such Jews repent, it is a sign that Jesus Christ is at work according to the faith of his people.

For poor people like the church in Philadelphia, sharing the gospel with the rich is very hard. For someone who must work to feed their family, sharing the gospel with their master in that very workplace may be the most dangerous thing they could do. Yet those who longed for the Kingdom of God and believed that Jesus Christ is the Messiah would have shared the gospel, knowing they would suffer for it. They endured, they did not fear death, and they accepted persecution as a matter of course and kept the faith. God promised those who kept the faith this way that he would keep them, and would spare them the hour of testing. It was a promise that if the church in Philadelphia kept the faith with all their lives, he would protect them from the wrath and judgment of God at the Second Coming. Here it becomes clear that faith leads to salvation.

Living in a place full of pagan temples and religious festivals was painful enough; and they had to endure the persecution of Muslims as well. How hard must that have been? But because they were faithful to death in order to live by the word, Jesus commended them, saying that with their little power they had kept his word and had not denied his name. Such faithful people will be clothed with the grace of Christ at the last, and will meet in the air the Lord who calls them by name.

Jesus told them that he was coming quickly, and that they should hold firmly what they had, so that no one would take their crown. Amid the ongoing pain of poverty and persecution for their faith, they were to cling to what they had, that is, faith in Jesus Christ. The faith they hold is the blessing that lets them live on this earth as God’s people, and the channel through which they will one day receive a crown from God.

Suppose a runner has not yet crossed the finish line but has been leading the whole way. The spectators already know that the runner will take the gold medal. In the same way, faith that God approves is as good as having already received the crown of life.

Jesus Christ said that on the one who overcomes he will write the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, and his own name.

If you have endured all your life to keep the faith, and on the last day Jesus Christ gives you his own name, the name of God, and the name of the new Jerusalem, what joy that will be! To receive the name of God means that all suffering is now over. It is a promise that we need no longer be afraid, no longer hurt, and never again come under Satan’s attack. All that remains is to enjoy peace and rest in that eternal place, clothed in the glory of God, where there is no darkness, pain, suffering, poverty, or fear.

And he promised the one who overcomes the highest blessing: to be made a pillar in the temple of God. Philadelphia had frequent earthquakes that left its buildings in ruins, and at such times the only things left standing were the stone pillars of the temples. By promising the people of that church, who had seen this, that he would make them pillars in the temple of God, Jesus made them realize for themselves how great a blessing it is to keep the faith. God loves the faith of his people this much. That is why he gave them names that will never change: the name of saint, and the name of child of God.

Today’s world, no less than Philadelphia, is full of heresies, false pastors, and false Christians. Even so, there are churches and believers who, like the church in Philadelphia, are fighting Satan with all they have in order to live by faith. There are those who persecute Christians who live by the word of truth, and there are heretics who have corrupted the truth. False teachers, who have not grasped God’s will and providence at all, are hindering people’s salvation inside the church and defiling the name of God. So, like the Christians of Philadelphia, we must know the truth rightly and live by the word.

Just as God told Joshua again and again to be strong and courageous, when God’s people are strong and courageous in faith, those who preach a false gospel will not be able to take root in the church. When we guard the church with the word of truth, God will make us pillars and give us his holy name.

We must overcome the power of Satan. We must overcome the persecution of the world’s rulers who stand against the truth. We must boldly share the gospel with those headed for hell, so that they may come back to the bright and shining heaven. This is how we repay the love we are receiving from God now, and how we give thanks for the sacrifice of Jesus.

When we keep the faith God has given, we will receive the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, and the new name of Christ. That only those who receive the name can know it is itself the blessing of salvation, since only the saved can recognize that name. Every church, and every one of us, must follow the faith of the believers in Philadelphia, who received such grace.

Just as the believers of the church in Philadelphia knew how good God’s love and his eternal Kingdom are, may you too, though you have only a little power, love God alone. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.