The Church in Philadelphia
By Paul Goodrich and Jedediah King
The city of Philadelphia was located in the region of Lydia (see map on page 41), which was incorporated into the province of Asia in 133 BC. It was the last outpost of Roman/Greek culture for eastbound travelers; it was the gateway to Asia. Although it was said of this church that it had only "a little strength", it is one of only two churches out of the seven that Jesus does not rebuke in any way. The commendation is not for what they have done so much as for their character: they're faithful, keeping God's Word
This is a reminder that God consistently seeks out the weak, the powerless, the ones who don't stand out in a crowd to serve Him: His strength is made perfect in weakness
(2 Corinthians 12:9, 1 Corinthians 1:27).
Instead of a rebuke, what they received from Jesus were three things: a commendation (vs. 8 "I know your deeds ... you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name ... you have kept the word of My perseverance"), a promise (vs. 10, "I ... will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.") and an exhortation (vs. 11 "hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown").
Revelation of Jesus
This letter to the church in Philadelphia reveals a few very important things about Jesus. The first one is, "He who is holy". Jesus is holy. Holy means to be set apart. We hear about Jesus being holy all the time in churches, and we read about it in the Bible but even then it is still hard to know exactly what that means. Jesus is so holy that anything that is not holy, perfect, and pure cannot be in His presence. Sin cannot be in His presence. We often trivialize sin into not-that-big-of-a-deal. Do we know in our hearts that the smallest sin anybody can commit was great enough for Jesus to die, hanging on the Cross in our place? This is how holy Jesus is.
The second thing the letter reveals about Jesus is that He is true, "He Who is...true."This reminds us of what Jesus says about Himself in the book of John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!" There is no falsehood, wishy-washiness, darkness or shadows with Jesus. If we want to know what is 100% true, a place where there is no shadow of turning, we will find it in Jesus and only in Jesus.
The third thing this letter reveals about Jesus is that He is in control, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens". The reference to the "key of David" is ironic in the context of local Jewish opposition -- they view the followers of Jesus as schismatic, having departed from the One True Faith, but it is these puny upstarts on whom Jesus will write His Father's name and His own, and -- here's the punch line -- the name of the new Jerusalem. Jesus clearly signals the supremacy of the New Covenant, placing His stamp of approval on the church, not the synagogue.
The play on the verb keep (Greek tereo) in v. 8 and 10 is potent: on the one hand, "you... have kept my word... kept the word of my perseverance"; on the other, "I also will keep you from the hour of testing" He recognizes and honors their faithfulness to Him, then takes it to the next level with His faithfulness to them.
No one can thwart Jesus' plans. What He will do He will do and nobody can change that. Nor should anyone want to. Trying to open a door that has been closed by Jesus is foolish and dangerous.
Understanding the weight of these first three truths about who Jesus is, helps us see the glory and majesty of the culmination of these things in light of the fourth truth: that He loves them, "Indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you."
What an astounding truth!! The perfectly holy, pure, true and sovereign God of the entire universe loves them!! They and us) deserve punishment and death for our sin and transgressions before a holy, true and powerful God, and yet He loved us and sent Jesus to die on the Cross in our place.
May we always know the weight, glory and incredible truth of his love.