Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 12

This week, we look at the letter to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13. The letter starts the same way as the others (Revelation 3:7). It is addressed to the “angel,” the pastor and messenger for the church. The letter contains the very words of Jesus Himself, who is “holy” (sinless and set apart to serve His Heavenly Father and His perfect will - see Luke 1:35, for example). Jesus is also “the True One.” (See John 14:6 and 1 John 5:20: “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the True God and eternal life.”

Jesus also has “the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." This is a quotation from Isaiah 22:22, where Eliakim, a representative of King Hezekiah, is addressed. Hezekiah, like David, had authority to open and shut things, and God answered his prayers by shutting down the armies of his enemy, the great King Sennacherib. This power to open and close passed on finally to Jesus, the Son of David, who opened up the Kingdom of heaven to us by all He did and gives some of those powers to the disciples and the church. (See Matthew 16:19, 18:15-21, and John 20:21-23, for example.) This adds to what Jesus said of Himself in Revelation 1:18, too - that He has “the keys of death and Hades.” Later on, He “opens” a scroll and its seven seals that no one else could open (Revelation 5:5). Jesus then speaks with authority to the church at Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was a city founded by King Attalus Philadephus in the 100’s BC, in honor of his brother. Our US city, Philadelphia, is named after this city, as a city of “brotherly love.”  It was southeast of Sardis in a good location and was a rich and commercially important city. As Martin Franzmann notes, the church in Philadelphia “was neither rich nor important” - but it was “faithful” to the Lord. Jesus knew its works. It had “little power” and yet its people “kept the Word of God and did not deny Christ’s Name.” (This is, in fact, the only one of the seven churches that receives no direct criticism from Jesus.) Instead, Jesus promises to this little church “an open door which no one is able to shut” (Revelation 3:8).

This will happen in two ways. In v.9, Jesus says that there was a synagogue in Philadelphia that was rejecting Jesus as the promised Savior, the Messiah. Over time, Jesus promises that at least some of these people would realize that Jesus was the Messiah and that He loved that little church, because they were speaking the truth about Him. Some of these people would then become Messianic Jews, who believed that Jesus was the One who was the Savior and the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. The witness, then, to all of those who do not yet know and trust in Jesus, needs to continue - with genuine love and care for them and their spiritual welfare.

In v.10, also, because the people of this church had kept God’s Word with patient endurance, Jesus promises to help and protect them and “keep” them during a time of trial and testing coming on "the whole world,” including the churches. Some think that this refers to the coming of Trajan as Emperor in Rome in 98 AD, with more intensified persecution of Christians (and Jews and anyone who opposed the Roman gods and Emperors as gods). This greater persecution by the Romans lasted for about 100 years and prefigured other times of persecution throughout the centuries, which Jesus also predicted, in other Scriptures, and warned, speaking of even more trouble coming in the last times. Other parts of Revelation speak of these troubled times, as well, but verses like Revelation 7:1-17, also picture the preservation of God’s faithful people.

In v.11, Jesus also said He was coming again soon. His timetable is different from ours, though, as passages like 2 Peter 3:8-9 indicate. Jesus wants His people, including us, always ready for His return, by trusting Him and trying to be faithful to His Word. He encourages the believers in Philadelphia to “hold fast what they have, so that no one may seize their crown,” the crown of righteousness and everlasting life. (See, for example, 2 Timothy 4:8.)

In v.12, then, Jesus speaks again of those who do “conquer” through Christ, through Christ’s help and strength. They will reach eternal life, the new Jerusalem, as heaven and earth as we know it pass away. They will be like “pillars” in God’s presence, with His names written on them. (Philadelphia was a place where earthquakes sometimes happened and pillars in buildings fell, with great destruction.) Such will not happen in eternal life. We are perfectly safe forever, with our Lord. The new names may be a reflection of God’s promise from heaven in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new,” See the promise also in Revelation 21:4. Heaven will be a perfect place.

Finally, Revelation 3:13 has the phrase written in each of the letter, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The size of our church or our community does not matter. Our trust is in our Lord and His strength and blessings for us, in Christ. We believe that He will help and preserve us, through the Word and Sacraments He gives us, and we, too, can “hold fast what we have in our Savior always, by His grace.