A Commentary in Simple English on Revelation

Chapter 3: 7-13 Philadelphia ' The Gateway to the East'.

The name 'Philadelphia' means 'the love between brothers'. Two Attalid brothers from Pergamum started this Greek city after the year 189BC. It was the newest of the seven cities. It stood between Sardis and Laodicea.

An earthquake had badly damaged Sardis in 17AD. Another earthquake in 60AD.had wrecked Laodicea. Probably both these earthquakes wrecked Philadelphia. Both times, the Emperor gave large amounts of money to help the people build the city again. South of this city was the east end of the long hill Tmolus. To the north, beyond some lower hills, was 'The Burnt Land'. In some parts of the world there are 'volcanoes'. These are usually found in those parts of the world where earthquakes happen often. A volcano is a mountain which at some times throws out gases, rocks, dust and steam high into the air. White-hot rock or lava sometimes flows down the sides of the mountain. (See 8:8; there was probably a volcano in the Aegean Sea, which John could see from Patmos.) The 'Burnt Land' was affected in this way although there was no one large volcano there. Volcanoes are, of course, most violent and a great danger. Yet people often live near them because the land is so good.

The land around Philadelphia was good for growing vines. 'Grapes' grew on vines and the juice from the grapes was made into wine. (See 14: 18-20.) But grain crops did not grow well in the earth there. The Roman Empire had far too much wine and not nearly enough grain In 92 AD, the Emperor made a new law. Half the vines all over the Roman Empire were to be destroyed and no more were to be planted. (See perhaps 6:6.) This made life even more difficult at Philadelphia.

The people there were interested in the Greek games.

We do not know that there were any Jews in Philadelphia. But the city was the sort of place where we would expect the Jews to settle [3.4].

We do not know how the church in Philadelphia began, but there were still churches and many Greek Christians in Philadelphia until 1922, when the Greeks fought a war against the Turks. The Turks drove all the Greeks out of Asia Minor. Today the Turks call Philadelphia 'Alasehir'.

If you stand on a hill on the south side of Alasehir you can look down on the city. You can see that the old walls around the city formed a square. The streets were straight and divided the city up into squares. Many modern cities are built like this, but it was a fairly new idea in those days. I think John had this in mind when he said in 21:16 that the New Jerusalem was laid out like a square. [3.5].

The Message to Philadelphia

a) What Jesus says about Himself (verse 7)

Jesus says that He is all holiness and truth. He is far better than Caesar. Perhaps people in Philadelphia felt that the Caesars, who had helped them with so much money in the past, had failed them now. The law, which said that they were to destroy half their vines, made life more difficult for them. Jesus will never fail us.

Then Jesus has 'the key of David'. This may mean 'the key which opens the door to all the promises which God gave to David'. The whole verse is like Isaiah 22:22. As we read the second half of the verse, we remember that the earthquakes had cracked and damaged the walls round the city. Some of the gates in the wall would be fixed so that no one could open them. Some could no longer be shut or fixed closed. But Jesus has the power to open any gate for us.

b) The good things which Jesus sees in the church (verse 8 - first part)

Jesus says several things that are kind and gentle to this church. Here he says that he knows the works which the Christians have done. Think of all the good that they could do after an earthquake. There would be people whose homes in the city had been destroyed. There would be children whose parents had been killed. Many people would be hurt: some would have burns, because fire is always a great danger when there is an earthquake. The Christians would have their own needs, too: but they would want to help other people.

c) Jesus tells us what is wrong in the church

Jesus did not find fault with the church at Smyrna. He does not find fault with the church at Philadelphia either. Of course, that does not mean that there was nothing at all wrong in these two cities. Nothing serious was wrong. And if anything was wrong, the Lord is sure that they will put it right. Of the seven churches, it was the Greek churches in these two cities that were still there until 1922, long after the churches in the other cities had died out.

d) Jesus tells them what to do (verses 8 and 9)

First Jesus says that He has put an open door in front of them. The door of the Jews' place of worship had been shut so that the Christians could not go in there even if they wanted to. The open door makes us think of the open door into the City of God (21:25 and Isaiah 60:11). But John also sees an open door in 4:1. Jesus says to them: 'Do not try to go through a door that has been shut to keep you out. I have opened a door for you. Go through that one.' We do not know what this meant to the Christians in Philadelphia, but they knew. And we may have worked hard and had no success. Perhaps Jesus says to us: 'Look somewhere else. There is an open door for you to go through'.

Then Jesus says three more kind things about the church: -

a) Jesus knows that they only had a little strength. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9.) God was able to make use of their 'little strength 'to serve Him. It is not just the big strong churches that God loves. See, too, Luke 12:32.

b) Although they were not strong, they had kept Christ's word. They had looked after it to make sure that it was kept pure, free from lies, and to make sure that it was not lost. Both here and in verse 10, Christ's word is the word that tells us how much He suffered for us on the cross. We need to keep that word! It can be lost because many people do not want to hear it. But a real Christian knows that he has life only because Jesus died: and he will love to hear the 'word' of the sufferings of Jesus.

c) Then Jesus says that they 'have not denied' His name. They had not said to other people in the city: - 'We do not know Jesus. We do not believe Him'. Peter had three times said such things (Matthew 26:69-75). They could not go out and preach on the street corners about Jesus and the Good News. That would be to 'confess' Jesus. But Jesus is kind and says: 'Even though you cannot 'confess' my name, you have not 'denied' that you know me'.

In verse 9 Jesus has something else to say to this church which is kind. Jesus has loved them. That was a secret between Him and them. But it would not always be a secret. The time would come when the very people who hated them most would come and say to them: - 'Yes! We know now that God loves you'. The Jews expected that other nations would one day fall down at their feet. (See Isaiah 45:14; 60:14; and 43:4.) But this will be the other way about. The people in the 'synagogue of Satan' were not real Jews at all. They did not belong to the nation of the Jews. Their worship would have some Jewish ideas in it. But they would be mixed up with false religion. They would shut out Christians who wanted to tell them the truth.

e) Jesus gives a warning

Since Jesus finds nothing wrong in this church, there is no warning.

f) Jesus gives a promise (verses 10-13)

In verse 10, Jesus says: - ' The day has not yet come when these people will fall down at your feet. You still have to suffer because of your faith'. Jesus had to suffer, both in His life and in His death. That was what the Christians at Philadelphia had heard about Jesus. It was 'the word of His endurance', the message about what He had suffered to save us. But the message from Jesus also calls on us to suffer as He did. And this message the Christians in Philadelphia had 'kept' safe. They did not forget it. It was not pushed out of their minds by other things, which they would rather talk about.

Jesus gives this church not just one promise, but many, in these verses. The first of them is here in verse 10. Jesus says a very difficult time will come. It will test the whole 'known world'. When John wrote, that meant the Roman Empire. Today, the 'known world' is much larger. Such great times of testing come on the world from time to time. Jesus promises to keep the Philadelphian Christians out of it, or safe in it. [3.6]

'Those who live on the earth' is a way in which John speaks about people who are not Christians. They do not lift up their eyes to God in heaven. They do not want anything except what this world can give them. They do not hope for glory, or to live with God for ever. (See also 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13: 8, 14; 17:8.)

Then in verse 11 we have the second promise: -. 'I am coming soon'. When Jesus said this to some of the other churches, it was a warning (2:5,16,25; 3:3). But the Christians must not let anyone rob them or take away what they already have. 'Let go, lose your crown' (H Bonar) [3.6]. The people at Philadelphia liked the Greek games and sports. Those who won the races and other games would have a 'crown' but it would not be made from gold. The Christian life is like a race. (See 2:10.) Christ will give the' crown of life' to all who finish the race.

In verse 12 we have the next promise. Christ will make the Christian who wins the war against sin a 'pillar' in the temple of His God. 'Pillars' carry the weight of the roof in some large buildings. God's temple is in glory: the faithful Christian will stand firm there. The people in Philadelphia had seen 'pillars' in the temples in their city fall down. The shock of an earthquake, when the whole ground shook, was enough to do that. There will be no shock for the Christian in glory. (See 1 Kings 7:21.)

When an earthquake shakes and damages a city, people find that it is safer to live outside the city in the fields, often in tents. If there has been a big earthquake it is usually followed by many more shocks, which do still more damage. Jesus promises that Christians will never have to go out of the city of God.

In verse 8, Jesus said that these Christians had not 'denied' His name when they were tested. Now he gives His final promise, which speaks three times of the Name. The city of God is not like Philadelphia, which was built upon ground which earthquakes shake. See Exodus 26:38. Aaron was the High Priest in the time of Moses. He was to have 'Holy to the Lord' written on a gold plate. He would wear this on his forehead. John does not say here that these three names which are full of the honour of God are to be on His peoples' foreheads. This does seem likely. Farm animals are still 'branded' today. The owner burns his mark onto them. Slaves in John's time often had their owner's mark branded on them, and this might be on their forehead. This was cruel and caused great pain. There was only shame in that. Jesus promises us a name that will be full of honour.

The words of verse 13 come at the end, or near the end, of each of these messages. We hear the word of God from the Bible. We know very well what it says. But most times we do not listen to it. If we did listen we would do what it says. Jesus often says something like this in the Gospels. We hear the Word of God, and we say to ourselves: - 'That is just what some one else needs to hear'. Or we say: - 'Yes, when I was only a young Christian, that was the word for me'. Or we say: - 'One day, when I have more time, when I am older, that will be for me'. The Word of God comes now, and it speaks to us.