REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 3.7

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

 

LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES

 

The Letter to the Church at Philadelphia

 

CHAPTER 3

 

 

Outline

1.  The Addressee – To whom the letter is addressed (3:7)

2.  The Address – To where the letter is addressed (3:7)

3.  The Addresser – From whom the letter is addressed (3:7b)

4.  The Approval – The acclamation of good qualities (3:8-10)

5.  The Accusation – The presentation of bad qualities (None)

6.  The Appeal – The application to change (3:11)

7.  The Advice – The recommendation to change (3:12-13)

 

Review

Chapter 1 and verse 19 outline the book of Revelation. In section two, the things which are, Jesus Christ writes letters to the churches existing during the Apostle John’s day. Each church was a literal church, and its nature foreshadowed the historicity and progression of each church age. The seven letters, a composite picture of the total church, are uniquely intended for all readers to the present. 

 

 

1. The Addressee – To whom the letter is addressed

(Verse 7)

 

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

 

Introduction

When our Lord sent seven letters to the seven churches, one arrived in Philadelphia. The letter to the church in Philadelphia is the most popular amongst Christians relative to our age, not only because of its chronology but also for its character. Two branches emerged from Sardis – a dead church – They comprise:

1.  The Church of the Open Door – Philadelphia

a.  Nothing to rebuke

2.  The Church of the Closed Door – Laodicea

a.  Nothing to praise

 

The word Philadelphia is derived from two Greek words:

1.  Philos – [G5384], one dimension of love, i.e., one who loves his brother or brotherly love - a dear fraternal and friendly love.

2.  Adelphos – [G80], literally or figuratively, a brother.

 

THE CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA

 

It's Beginning

No one knows for sure how the church began in Philadelphia. However, because of the Apostle Paul’s ministry at Ephesus, the Word of God rapidly spread throughout the Roman Empire, and most likely the Gospel was taken there by colonists from Pergamum.

Acts 19:10-12 – By the space of two years…all they which dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews, and Greeks. And God [also] wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.

 

 

The Church in Prophetic Perspective

The greatest period in the history of the church came about during the Philadelphia church age, from the eighteenth century to the present.

It represents:

1.  The Age of Revival

2.  The Age of Evangelism

3.  The Age of Spiritual Awakening

4.   The Age of Protestantism

5. The Age of Fundamentalism

6.  The Age of Biblical Exposition

7.  The age of Open-door Ministry

 

Characteristics of the Church

1.  Faithful to the truth and authority of Scripture

2.  Born of God through the Holy Spirit by faith

3.  Enjoying communion with the Lord

4.  Genuine fervent love from the brethren

5.   Promoting and ministering spiritual principles

6. Faithful obedience to worshipping and serving the Lord

7.  Mission-minded with an open-door policy

 

The main reason for the success of this church was it returned to scriptural principles and taught the Word of God, culminating in Bible prophecy.

 

 

2. The Address – To where the letter is addressed

(Verse 7a)

 

The church in Philadelphia.

 

THE CITY

 

Geography

Philadelphia is the sixth city in an oval-shaped pattern from Ephesus. It is approximately twenty-eight miles (forty miles by road) southeast of Sardis (modern-day Sart), approximately 125 to 150 miles from the Aegean coast.

 

Located on an 800-foot hill overlooking the road to Laodicea, it rests on the edge of a volcanic plain (Katakekaumene – the gateway of the central plateau of Central Turkey) along the Cogamis River Valley – a tributary of the Hermus River.

 

It is also situated on part of the Appian Way (the Imperial Highway - A place of passage for merchants moving both east and west) from Troas to Pergamos, Sardis, and Philadelphia bordering three countries: Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia. *

 

*These territories combined represent half of modern-day Turkey.

 

Agriculture

The landscape of the city and its surrounding area consists of beautiful trees and every flower imaginable. Its fertile volcanic soil is conducive to growing grapes, thus making Philadelphia a producer of fine wine.

 

Politics

For centuries, Philadelphia was a free Greek city amidst a multicultural Asiatic and Anatolian atmosphere.

 

History

Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities of Revelation founded after 189 B.C. However, according to tradition, its early origins trace back to the Egyptian monarch Ptolemy Philadelphus, who owned estates in the Asia Minor region.

 

The Encyclopedia Britannica lists its rulers as King Eumenes II (reigned 197-159 B.C.) succeeded by King Attalus II (reigned 159-138 B.C.), then by King Attalus III Philometer Exegetes, son of Eumenes II and Nephew of Attalus II (ruled from 138-133 B.C.) who, by bequeathing his domains to Rome, ended the history of Pergamum as a political entity with the deliberate intention to missionary Greek culture and language to the rest of southeastern Asia Minor.

 

In 129 B.C. Rome organized the kingdom into the providence of Asia. So, Philadelphia became an open door for not only spreading Hellenism but also for the message of Jesus Christ.

 

Philadelphia was known as:

1.  The Gateway to the East

2.  The Gateway to the interior

3.  The Key to Phrygia

4.  The city full of earthquakes

In A.D. 17, along with Sardis, Philadelphia was destroyed by a great earthquake (the same quake that destroyed Thyatira and Sardis). The city was rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius Caesar and given a new name…

 

5.   Neo-Caesarea (the New City)

Due to continuing tremors from the earthquakes, Archaeologist and New Testament scholar, Sir William Ramsey wrote that many of the inhabitants lived in huts or booths outside the city and continuously repaired the cracked walls of their homes inside the city.

   

6.  Little Athens (6^th century A.D.), was noted due to many Greek buildings, pagan temples, and festivities. By A.D. 19, the Lydian language had been replaced by Greek.

 

7. Flavia – Renamed after Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus’ family name.

 

Later, Philadelphia was a place where Christians and Saracen fought during the Crusades. In 1922, at the end of WWI, when the Greco-Turkish War was fought, the city and nearby towns were burned by fire.

 

Today, the area continues to be excavated. Remains of an amphitheater and a 6^th-century Byzantine church are on the northern edge of modern-day Philadelphia – Alasehir (the city of god) – a prosperous typical Turkish town.

 

 

3. The Addresser – From whom the letter is addressed

 

(Verse 7b)

 

These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

 

The addresser is none other than Jesus Christ. Unlike the other letters, His name is not taken from the verses in Chapter 1, but from the God of Scripture. He is distinguished in five ways:

1.  He who is holy

2.  He who is true

3.  He who has the key of David

4.  He who opens (and no man can shut)

5.  He who shuts (and no man opens)

 

1. He who is holy 

Holy – Hebrew, קדשׁ קדושׁ qâdôsh qâdôsh [Strong’s H6918]: Greek, ἅγιος hagios [Strong’s G40]: Someone who is sacred, chaste, morally pure, blameless, ceremonially consecrated, chaste, clean, flawless, unblemished, separated from (sin). In the context it belongs to the sinless nature of God, sharing the being of God and belonging to Christ – He is the Holy One.

1. At His birth (cf. Luke 1:35b) - That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

 

2. At His death (cf. Acts 2:27) - Neither wilt thou suffer (permit) thine Holy One to see corruption (decay as in decomposition or death).

 

3. In His present priestly office (cf. Hebrews 7:26) - For such an High Priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

 

2. He who is true

True – Hebrew, אמת, 'emeth [Strong’s H571]: Greek; ἀληθινός, alēthinos [Strong’s G228]: Someone who is truthful with absoluteness and certainty, not concealing, real, genuine and authentic, the opposite of anything or anyone false or deceitful. In the context of this passage, and found frequently in John’s writings, Jesus Christ is seen in His completeness and perfection – He is the one true God.   

 

Question:

Why does Jesus Christ designate Himself in this fashion to Philadelphia?

Answer:

Each attribute of the living God is descriptive of a different condition within the church to which Jesus beseeches.

For example:

1.  Philadelphia is a holy church

a.  Jesus says, “I Am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy…you must be holy because I am holy.” (cf. Leviticus 11:44-45)

 

b.  Peter writes, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct).” (cf. 1 Peter 1:15)

 

c.  The four living creatures in Heaven worship Him day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (cf. Revelation 4:8)

 

2.  Philadelphia is a true church

a.  When teaching in the Temple Jesus said, “You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me is true.” (John 7:28)

 

b.  In praying to the Father, Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

 

c.  John writes in his epistle, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)

 

3.  Philadelphia is a church with an open door

a.  Jesus says, “I Am the Door.” (cf. John 10:9)

 

b.  Jesus as the open door says, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (cf. John 14:6)

 

 

c.  Paul exampled this open door. He writes from Ephesus, “For a great door and effectual (for effective service) is opened unto Me.” (cf. 1 Corinthians 18:9)

Unlike the church of Sardis, Jesus is in this church. He is a revolving door – Everything revolves around Him as such:

1.   The door to the Gospel

2.   The door to one’s heart

3.   The door of opportunity

4.   The door to the church

5.   The door to missions

6.   The door to the Kingdom

7.   The door to eternal life

 

3. He who has the key of David

The word Key is  symbolic of authority, i.e., Christ in His omnipotence and sovereignty.

Jesus holds:

1.  The key to knowledge (cf. Luke 11:52)

2.  The key to opportunity (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:12)

3.  The key to the house of David (cf. Isaiah 22:21)

4.  The key to Hades or Hell (cf. Revelation 1:18)

5.  The key to Death and Bottomless Pit (cf. Revelation 20:1)

6.  The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 16:19)

7.  The key to everlasting life (cf. Proverbs 4:13)

 

The Key of David

The birth of Jesus is foretold by an angel in this manner,

Luke 1:32-33 - He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.

 

Therefore, the authority over David’s domain is for the promised Messiah.

Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

Luke 1:32 - He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.

 

 

(Verse 7c)

 

He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

 

4. He who opens (and no man can shut)

5. He who shuts (and no man opens)

 

It is through Jesus Christ, the Door, we gain entrance to the heavenly Kingdom. When He opens the door no one can shut and when He closes the door, no one can open it. Examples:

1. In the Old Testament, when the ark’s door was closed:

Genesis 7:16 - And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him (Noah) in.

 

2. In the New Testament, when Heaven’s door is closed.

Revelation 16:17 - And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the Temple of Heaven, from the Throne, saying, It is done.

Regarding the Church, Jesus told Peter,

Matthew 16:18 – “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

 

In summary, to the church of Philadelphia, preceding and succeeding churches, and all believers, there is only one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - The Son of God, the one true God who became flesh so that we may be cleansed and washed by His blood by His death of the Cross, that whosoever believeth in Him and through Him - the True Messiah – they shall not perish but have everlasting life.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.  What is the significance of Philadelphia’s name?

2.  Name some characteristics of this church.

3.  Why is ‘Open Door’ ascribed to this church?

4.  What was the main commodity of Philadelphia?

5.  Name some titles for the addresser Jesus?

6.  What does ‘key’ represent?

7.  Why is this church age unique?

 

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