To The Church of Philadelphia

Revelation 3:7-13

Immanuel – 1/2/22

Today we return to Jesus’ messages to the seven churches of Asia Minor: churches that the apostle John likely spent time ministering within, perhaps even planting some of them. Today we look at the church of Philadelphia. Like the church in Smyrna, Jesus has nothing negative to say about this church. Philadelphia was a healthy, vibrant, Christ-loving church. But, the appearance of the church is not what you would expect.

Purpose

Jesus’ identity changed human history.

Jesus’ identity recreates humanity.

Read Revelation 3:7-13

As I have said in the past, the most powerful and profound way to interpret Scripture, is to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. The Bible has a way of unlocking its own truths. Therefore, if you do not bring the Old Testament to bear on Revelation, you will be hopelessly lost; and likely, you will misinterpret this book.

Additionally, other New Testament writings bring very important illumination.

And to the pastor of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one…”

How masterfully Jesus engages with the needs of the Philadelphian church! How powerfully does He encourage them! But the power of Jesus’ encouragement may be hard to see at this point. Soon it will become clear.

The Source and Standard

In verse 7 Jesus says of Himself that He is holy and true. He is the source and standard of what is holy and true. All else must be measure against Him in the same way that a yard stick needs to be 36 inches. It might look like a yard stick, but if it is 35.75 inches it is not a yard stick. The measurement needs to reach the standard. Jesus is the standard for holiness and truth. If what is measured is found lacking, in any way, then it is not holy and it is false.

This is why we have such a great need to be clothed in Christ, hidden in His righteousness.

And because Jesus is holy and true, because He is the source and standard, He is the One rightly positioned to be the Just and Righteous Judge of all. If Jesus were not holy, then He would not be righteous; and to have an unrighteous judge is to have an evil judge. If Jesus were not true, then He would not be just; and to have an unjust judge is to have an evil judge. Holy and true: those are the exact qualities you would desire for the ultimate Judge.

Jesus says it is He who is the holy one, the true one. This is a title that is used again in Revelation 6.

[Those martyred] cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? -Revelation 6:10

Jesus is the Holy and True One.

Just a quick note: as I have mentioned in sermons past, the Greek word translated as earth is “ge.” “Ge” is also, and often, translated as land. Always for the Jews, the land played a major part in God’s covenant with Israel. The state of the land was a reflection of the state of Israel’s collective heart. When they were not loving God, God used various means to bring destruction upon the land. When they were loving God, God brought abundance to the land. The land acted as a mirror, reflecting back to Israel the state of their collective heart.

And the whole context of the book of Revelation is that the Jewish people have rejected their Messiah and murdered Him. They have rejected God. They have burnt to ashes their covenant with Yahweh. Therefore, the Messiah, the holy and true King, the righteous and just Judge, brings judgement upon their land through a great and awful Tribulation.

And not only have the Jews rejected and killed Jesus, they have rejected and killed the followers of Jesus. That is what we are seeing in Revelation 6:10 – the passage I read a few moments ago.

[Those martyred] cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? -Revelation 6:10

These Christians are killed for their love of Jesus and their proclamation of His gospel of grace. The first to persecute and martyr Christians are the Jews. It’s recorded all over the New Testament. The Romans (and others) will later follow suit, but the Jews initiate it – they are the first to spill the blood of God’s adopted.

But what is so significant is that, of all the peoples of the earth, the Jews are supposed to be the people of God. Their knowledge of God is unique. They have the Scriptures. They have the prophets. They have the covenant. Yet they are the ones that have rejected all of these, rejected the Messiah, killed His followers.

And so these martyred saints cry out to Him who is holy and true, to bring justice upon the land of the Jews, to bring an end to what is unholy and false, and to avenge their own blood, so unjustly spilt.

And trust me, all of this has profound meaning for Jesus’ message to Philadelphia.

The other half of Jesus’ self-revelation in verse 7 is that He is the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

When Jesus says that He has the key of David, it is virtually the same thing as saying that He sits upon the throne of David. In December 26th’s sermon I showed how Scripture reveals this title to be so much bigger than Israel. It means Jesus is King of the nations – of all people in all time.

And because Jesus is the High King over all the earth, His authority is absolutely supreme. What He shuts, none can open. What He opens, no one has strength to close. With this phrasing Jesus is drawing upon an ancient prophecy.

In Isaiah 22 God speaks against a false steward of Israel, against a ruler that utterly fails to lead the people to God. God then declares that He Himself will establish a faithful ruler; and this faithful ruler is ultimately pointing to the Messiah that was to come.

“He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 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 I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house.”

-Isaiah 22:21-23

There was a false steward in Israel, and God was going to replace Him with a true one. Just as it was then, so it was in Jesus’ day. There were false stewards in Jerusalem, religious leaders saying they knew the way to God; but really they were bling guides, leading the people to reject God who was in their midst. And so the Father takes their keys of stewardship, leaves their house desolate and their land barren. The key to the house of David is given forever to Jesus: the Holy and True.

The Apostle John uses the exact wording of Isaiah’s prophecy so that every person who knows the Scriptures understands what God is doing. The Son of God is making an announcement; a loud and clear declaration. He is tearing down the old system and its false stewards and replacing it with a new kingdom and a new authority – namely, Himself and His kingdom. He is removing what is false and unholy and forever establishing what is true and holy.

And as we will shortly see, at the pivot point of this final transition there will be a Great Tribulation.

The One who is Holy and True, who has the key of David, continues to speak:

Read vs 8

Closing and Opening

The King of all the earth has set before the Philadelphian Church, an open door. What He has opened, none can shut. Jesus does not come right out and say what this open door is, but we will soon see what stands open before them.

Jesus says this church has little power; meaning they have little influence, little sway, little resources. This would make them the opposite of the church in Sardis. Sardis had a powerful reputation, and presumably many resources to work with, but that church was dead on the inside. If they did not repent, Jesus would snuff out their flickering flame.

Conversely, though the Philadelphian church had little earthly power, they are mighty in faith. Despite all the pressures and tensions, the false teachings and endless accusations – the same being faced by all the other six churches – the little church of Philadelphia has remained steadfast. They have held the Word as precious and it has been a lamp before their feet. And when all the world has called Jesus just another man, the Philadelphian Christians have honored Him as the Son of God and King of kings – their Savior and Lord.

Clearly, it is because of their steadfastness to the Word of God that an open door has been set before them. What is this open door? The next verse reveals it.

Read vs 9

For the second time in Revelation, the synagogue of Satan is named. Remember again that each one of these seven churches are primarily composed of Jewish Christians. And just as we saw in Smyrna, other Jews are making accusations that these Christian Jews are not truly Jews; that their faith in Jesus makes them apostate and false Jews. In every corner of the known world, such Jesus rejecting Jews were persecuting, even killing, Christian Jews. The book of Acts gives a pretty clear picture of this.

But Jesus, God in the flesh, who is the standard, He declares that any Jew who denies Him is not a Jew. They are the false Jews. They are the liars and their accusations are false. The Christians in Philadelphia have held true to the Word of God. They are, therefore, the true Jews.

And in a great shift of history, of the way that God relates to man, true Jews are not born of bloodlines, they are born of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. The door of bloodlines and traditions and law is forever shut. Christ has opened a new door that will forever stand open.

This is one of the main points of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

Let me ask you this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? -Galatians 3:2-3

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. -Galatians 3:7-9

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:28-29

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” -Galatians 4:4-6

Though the Jewish bloodline still exists – and I believe will always exist – Scripture is clearly teaching us that God does not have a special plan related to Jewish blood. His special plan is revealed in the blood of Christ. Any person cleansed by the blood of Him who is holy and true are thus made holy and true. Jesus is the source and standard; not genetics, geography, or tradition.

False Jews, who do not receive Jesus as Messiah, are considered Satan worshipers. They are pagans and they worship a false god. That is exactly what Jesus is saying in Revelation 3:9. In other words, they are counted among the Gentiles. They are like the nations, dwelling beyond the borders of the true city of God.

They are branches that have been pruned from the Vine.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away…If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

-John 15:1-2,6

Jesus is the standard by which all men are measured; be they Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, male or female. To be God’s people is to abide in Jesus through faith. To reject Jesus is to be rejected by the Father.

And when you begin to understand that, you can understand the promise that Jesus gives to the church in Philadelphia. See it there in verse 9, “Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”

This was a promise first given to Israel. But like 1 Corinthians 1:20 says, All the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]. The promises are not given to bloodlines. They are given to those who have entrusted their lives to Christ.

Here, in Revelation 3:9, Jesus is referencing a prophetic promise that pops up many times. This is one of them:

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” -Isaiah 49:22-23

That was a promise given to Israel – to the Jews. But right here in Christ’s message to Philadelphia, He takes that promise and gives it to the church – the church made up of Jesus-loving Jews and Gentiles.

Though Isaiah’s prophecy has not reached its final fulfillment, have the last 2000 years not shown us that this prophecy has already begun unfurling? People from every nation and tongue have come to the church. Metaphorically speaking – as prophetic language often does – the nations are bringing the children of God into the church.

To say they bow down before the church is to say they bow down before the church’s King. Some of the mightiest and wisest, according to the world’s standards, have been humbled by the truths the church carries. The church that Paul veraciously persecuted, He eventually entered utterly humbled. Those that have been made holy and true by Him who is Holy and True are honored when the rebel becomes the humble: not because we Christians are superior, but our King is. And don’t we all know what it is to be a rebel humbled by the King.

There is a great vindication for the people of God. Those that proclaimed themselves true, Jesus reveals as false. Those that the world proclaimed to be false, Jesus reveals to be true. What a promise for a powerless and persecuted church! How glorious that these promises are alive and in our midst!

Notice the last part of verse 9: they will learn that I have loved you.

At some point apostate Jews – as well as all people – will realize whom God truly loves; either through humility in this life or when they bend their knee on the final day. One day they will realize that God’s promises are only for those who love Jesus and are loved by Jesus.

Again, this is what the prophets were foretelling.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rives, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.” -Isaiah 43:1-4

Do you know how to tell if this prophetic promise is talking about you? It is not by abiding by laws. It is not by a privileged lineage. It is not by holding to certain traditions. This promise is yours if you look to Jesus and see in Him your glorious Savior, holy and true; and trust that through Him you have been redeemed. In Christ this promise is yours, wholly yours. You are precious in God’s eyes, honored, and He loves you. This is a promise for the church!

This is the open door that Jesus had opened. There is a way to God that Jesus has opened, and no one can shut it!

Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and come out and find pasture.” -John 10:7-9

The way is open, Jesus made sure of it. No one can shut it. Anyone – Jew or Gentile – may enter through Him and be saved. Enter through Him to find the true promised land. Enter through Him, into the deep and satisfying love of the Father.

These words of promise, that Jesus graciously gives to the church, are words that are meant to carry the Philadelphians through a terrible tribulation.

Read vs 10-11

Hour of Trial

And because this church has been faithful in their hour of trial, Jesus will keep them in trial that is soon coming. I want to be clear, this does not mean that Jesus will protect the Philadelphian church from the trial that is coming, keeping the trial away from them, or rapturing them away from the trial.

Jesus means that He will guide the Philadelphian Christians, guard them, watch over them; as they pass through the impending flames.

Look at what verses 10 and 11 say. A trial is coming upon the whole world, it will test those in the land, and Jesus bringing this judgement soon. The whole world is a reference to the known world, the Roman Empire. It will test those on the earth. Again, that is the Greek word “ge.” This trial will be a test for the Jews, wherever they dwell, because the Old Covenant has become obsolete and the Promised Land will soon reflect it.

In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. -Hebrews 8:13

Jesus was coming, not bodily, not to end history, but to bring judgement upon the people that forsook the promises, that beheld the Living Word and crucified Him. The One who is Holy and True was coming to destroy apostate Israel and their unholy and false religion. Jesus was going to bring judgement upon the synagogue of Satan.

For those today who say they take a literal interpretation of the Bible, you must see that Jesus is talking about something soon. That’s what He explicitly says in verse 11. And it is soon, not for some future generation, but for those dwelling in Philadelphia. If Jesus is talking about a tribulation and a people more than 2000 years in the future, then what in the world is Jesus keeping the Philadelphians from – the same Philadelphians that He is commending because of what they have already endured.

Again, Jesus is not talking about a coming in person. Jesus is coming in judgement. Jesus is using prophetic language which was used in 1:7. It is the same language used when God comes upon Egypt in judgement (Isaiah 19:1), against Assyria in judgement (Nahum 1:3), even against Judah in judgement (Jeremiah 4:12-13). It is language that is reflected all over the Old and New Testaments. Jesus was declaring a coming in judgement.

Just as Jesus said, within a few years of this Revelation, Israel’s promised land would be made into a smoldering ruin. Hundreds of thousands of Jews would die. More would be sold into slavery. A famine gripped Jerusalem so severe that reports of cannibalism were recorded. Eventually, the Roman Army would utterly destroy Jerusalem, and they would tear down the Temple stone by stone.

After walking through the temple with the disciples, Jesus said this would happen.

“You see all these [temple buildings], do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” -Matthew 24:2

These prophetic words from Matthew and Revelation found their horrible fulfillment in 70 AD. For every Jew that did not know Jesus, it was like the end of the world. Everything they thought, all that they believed in, was literally burned to the ground. It was a tribulation so great that Jews mourn it to this day.

And it is this tribulation that Jesus will personally guide the Philadelphian Church through. They will hold fast because He will give them the strength to do so. He will be their Rock and Refuge. The door He has opened for them, no one will close! Indeed, He will keep them!

This is the very sort of encouragement that will carry the Philadelphians through the coming darkness. The words of Christ are their shield and the sword. Indeed, these shall overcome; just as all will who take to heart the words of Christ.

Not only will Jesus keep them, He will build out of them something glorious, something eternal, something heavenly.

Read vs 12

New Creations

Notice, the temple of the Living God is not made of gold and marble, but of faithful conquerors – the sort that are found in Philadelphia. Jesus was soon bringing Jerusalem’s temple to ruin, and in its place He is building a living temple.

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

-1 Peter 2:5

For all of human history before Jesus, God’s presence was most concentrated in the temple, veiled and hidden from all. Once a year, one man was permitted to enter under strict conditions. But when the nails tore Christ’s flesh, the holiness hidden for millennia came streaming out of the temple. That old house is now barren and desolate. The holiness of God forever dwells in the hearts of men and women.

And look how Revelation 3:12 says that the faithful within the church will never go out of the temple of God. Everywhere these living stones go, so goes the temple of the Living God. It will not be confined to a hill in the Middle East, but will move throughout the earth; a new and holy priesthood, filling all places with the fullness of God, carriers of the most powerful recreative force on earth.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself. -2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Look again at verse 12. God writes three names upon the faithful: the name of God, the name of the city of God, and Jesus’ own name. We will see this reflected a number of times throughout the book of Revelation.

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

-Revelation 14:1

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in [the New Jerusalem], and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. -Revelation 22:3-4

There is a link between the Christians in Philadelphia, the 144,000, and those that dwell within the New Jerusalem. The link: they are the elect. They are those called by the Father, rescued by the Son, bound together by the Spirit. All of us together have written upon our foreheads the name of the Father, the name of Jesus, and the name of the city of God.

What is the New Jerusalem? Just as the temple in Israel has been replaced by living stones, so also has Jerusalem been replaced by…

…a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” -Revelation 7:9-10

The city of God that comes down out of heaven, the New Jerusalem, that is not a city built with stones and walls and structures. It is made of lovers of God, of Spirit filled conquerors, of worshippers of the Lamb!

All those buildings in Jerusalem, that temple on Mount Zion, that land of promise, it always pointed to this coming reality: a reality that was opened to the world through Jesus Christ; a reality that changed human history.

The old covenant of law was pointing towards a greater covenant of grace and love. The law brought guilt and death. Grace brings promise and life. No longer are the Jews the people of God. The church has become the chosen race and the holy nation (1 Peter 2:9-10).

What a great promise Jesus gave to that small, yet faithful church in Philadelphia. This is the kind of hope that would carry them through any tribulation. This is the kind of assurance that will keep them fast in the faith. This is the kind of Savior that recreates humanity.

This will be the heritage of all who conquer:

The sons of those who afflict you shall come bending low to you, and all who despise you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. -Isaiah 60:14

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.