It may interest you to know that the first century city of Philadelphia located in Asia Minor was actually founded by citizens of another city called Pergamum, which we talked about in Revelation 2. It was a city that worshiped the Greek god Zeus. It was a city that suffered greatly from an earthquake, because it was built on a fault line. It was a gateway city to the central region of Asia Minor; and it also may interest you to know that the name “Philadelphia” actually means brotherly love.
As far as the church goes, Jesus never criticizes them, he only commends them, and he commends them because they remained faithful while suffering for the namesake of Jesus Christ. In fact, the church of Philadelphia is otherwise known as The Faithful Church. So, considering all of this, the question I want to answer is this: what does Jesus say to a church who is faithful to endure suffering for his name’s sake?
Jesus begins his letter to the believers in Philadelphia by reminding them that there is no one like Him.
Jesus said, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” That statement “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens” is actually a prophecy from Isaiah 22:22 concerning the Messiah, and that Messiah is Jesus. Jesus was reminding the believers in Philadelphia that he is the “holy one” and “the true one”. This means that Jesus was and is without sin, for he is holy. This means that Jesus is set apart from all human beings. It means there is no one like him, not in the past, present or future. There is only one Messiah, and there will always be one Messiah – Jesus Christ. Jesus is he who was, and who is, and who is to come!
Then, Jesus reminds them that he alone has authority over who enters the kingdom of God.
Again, in verse 1, Jesus said, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” What is “the key of David”? The key of David represents the key that opens the door to enter into the house of God, and Jesus is the key holder. In other words, only Jesus has authority to open and close the door of invitation into his future kingdom. Only Jesus has the authority to admit or exclude people from the kingdom of God. Only Jesus has the authority to give eternal life.
Who gave Jesus that kind of authority? God the Father did. Jesus said in John 5:22-23, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” Jesus also said in John 5:26 & 27, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of God.” Thus, Jesus alone, who is the only true Son of God, who is the only Messiah, has been given authority by the Father to judge who gets to walk through the doors and enter into the kingdom of God, and who does not.
How does Jesus discern who gets to walk in and who doesn’t? According to John 5:22-23, those who honor Jesus as the Son of God, honor God, and shall enter into the kingdom of God. However, those who do not honor Jesus as the Son of God, do not honor God, and shall not enter into the kingdom of God.
This is why Jesus is the only means to be saved. It’s why there is no other way to have a relationship with God except by faith alone in Christ alone. And right now the doors to the kingdom of God are open to anyone who believes and trusts Jesus to save them, and faithfully follows him, and no one can shut them until the due time. But when the due time comes, Jesus will shut those doors and your time for entering into the kingdom of God will pass. So, while you still can, believe and trust in the shedding blood of Jesus to save you; faithfully follow him before the doors are closed, so that you cannot enter into Jesus’ kingdom.
After Jesus exalts and reminds them that only he has authority over eternal life, he commends them for obediently taking opportunities given them to do ministry.
In verse 8, Jesus says to them, “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” The reference to the “works” this church did and the “open door” that Jesus is referring to, is concerning the open door that Jesus gave them to do ministry and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul spoke several times about having a door opened to do ministry. For example, Paul said in 1 Cor. 16:9 states, “a wide door for effective work has opened to me.” Again, in 2 Corinthians 2:12 Paul said this, “a door was opened for me in the Lord.” And Colossians 4:3 Paul is asking for prayer that, “God may open to a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.” So, the believers in Philadelphia were faithful to take every opportunity that presented itself and that God had provided to do ministry and spread the good news of the gospel.
Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us that this is the potential for every local church. He says, “if Christ is present and the church is committed to following him, there will be a door of opportunity for ministry. Every church should pray for those doors to be recognized, opened, and walked through.” In other words, there is no such thing as a church having too few people, not enough money, and not enough opportunity. That the building of the church is up to Jesus, not us, and therefore all we must do as a local church is be committed to following Jesus, who will open doors to do ministry, and be committed to faithfully walking through when those doors are opened. And I agree; that is a good reminder for every church regardless of its size, how many they have in attendance, and what their budget may look like – Jesus is always opening doors to do ministry, we just have to be faithful to walk through.
After Jesus commends them for faithfully taking opportunities he has given them to do ministry, he commends the believers in Philadelphia for obeying his teachings despite facing persecution.
In verse 8 Jesus says to them, “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word…” The believers in Philadelphia suffered much at the hands of persecutors, namely at the hands of Jews (verse 9). We know during this time there was a man by the name of Polycarp. He was a bishop in the nearby city of Smyrna, a church we discussed in Revelation 2, where there was great martyrdom. Polycarp was bound to a stake and burned alive for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, except the fire did not consume him; and when the fire did not consume him, his persecutors took his burnt body off the stake and stabbed him to death.
This kind of persecution is the same persecution the believers in Philadelphia were facing. They were being slandered, mistreated, afflicted, abused, and even put to death, because of their faith in Jesus. They had suffered so greatly they were weak and tired; Jesus said they had “little power”, meaning their strength was small. But Jesus commended them because despite being made weak they stayed faithful to the Word of God. And that is what we must do too – we must stay faithful to the Word of God in a world that is hostile to God.
The same persecution that Polycarp faced and the believers in Philadelphia faced, is the same potential for persecution every believer faces.
Jesus said in Matt. 10:22, “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” When a person decides to trust Jesus for their salvation and follows him, they are agreeing to suffer for the namesake of Jesus. They are making a commitment to take up their cross and follow Christ (Matt. 16:24). You see, the cross is not just an instrument of death that our Lord was sacrificed on, it is also a symbol of the shame, persecution, humiliation, slander, mistreatment, affliction, hatred, abuse and maybe even the loss of life a believer will face in this life for following Christ.
You may wonder why a believer or believers, like those in Philadelphia, were hated for following Jesus? Why did following Jesus cost Polycarp his life? The reason a person is hated for following Jesus is because the world hated and persecuted Jesus, and therefore will hate and persecute those who follow him. Jesus said in John 15:20, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Therefore, what happened to Polycarp and the believers in Philadelphia is what can happen to any person who faithfully believes and follows Jesus, especially as they are faithful to walk through the doors Jesus opens to do ministry – suffering may follow.
But despite the believers in Philadelphia being weak and tired from the persecution they were enduring as they did ministry, they never denied Jesus as Lord.
Jesus said, “you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Even though the believers in Philadelphia were being persecuted, humiliated, shamed, slandered, mistreated, afflicted, abused, and maybe some of them were losing their life, they continued to obey the teachings of Jesus and they did not deny him. Think about that. They were being tortured because of their faith in Jesus, even to the point of losing their life, and yet they remained faithful to Jesus! They did not turn their back to him. They were willing to follow Jesus and the doors he opened for them to spread the gospel, even if doing so cost them their life!
You have to wonder, why did these believers remain so faithful despite the suffering they endured? I personally believe the only answer to that question is this, and I believe that answer is found in Hebrews 11:24-25 which states, “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God that to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” The believers in Philadelphia, like Moses, saw that Jesus was so glorious, so majestic, so delightful, and so wonderful they would rather be mistreated than deny him. To the believers in Philadelphia, Jesus was so splendorous and so magnificent, they would rather be slandered, reviled, abused, afflicted, and hated to the point they were absolutely powerless, rather than deny Christ! They and Polycarp saw that Jesus was so great a treasure and so valuable that he was worth dying for.
That’s how every believer should be. As Dr. David Jeremiah says, “Because the church belongs to Christ, we are to identify boldly with Him regardless of the cost.” Is Jesus so valuable to you, that you would rather be hated by all, including your own family, than deny him? Is Christ so glorious and so wonderful to you that you would rather be slandered and mistreated than turn your back on him? Is Jesus so splendorous and majestic to you that you would rather give up everything you worked so hard for (house, car, land, money, retirement), than deny Jesus? Is Jesus so delightful and magnificent to you, that you would rather lose your life, like Polycarp, than deny him?
My hope is that you answer yes to those questions, because Jesus said in Matt. 10:38, “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” If a person is unwilling to suffer for the namesake of Jesus, if that should be God’s will, he or she is not worthy of Christ. If a person renounces the name of Jesus the moment they are called to suffer for his namesake, they are not worthy to be his disciple. So, is Jesus so valuable to you that you, like the believers in Philadelphia and like Moses, would rather be mistreated as the people of God than deny him?
Jesus promises that their persecutors will one day be humbled and humiliated.
Jesus said in verse 9, “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie – behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.” This has to be encouraging to the believers in Philadelphia. Who are “those of the synagogue of Satan”? They are Jews in Philadelphia who claim they belong to God’s chosen people. While they are Jews, and while Jews are God’s chosen people, these Jews do not belong to God. Why don’t they belong to God? They do not belong to God because they are persecuting Jesus, the Son of God, by persecuting those who follow him; and anyone who persecutes Jesus hates Jesus; and those who hate Jesus hate God.
The Bible tells us in John 15 that any person, Jew or non-Jew, who hates Jesus does not know Jesus, and if they do not know Jesus, they do not know God. Therefore, these Jews are liars when they say they belong to God. Instead of belonging to God’s chosen people, they belong to the synagogue of Satan, because they hate those who belong to God by faith in Jesus Christ, and therefore hate Jesus, and therefore hate God.
Now one doctrinal truth I believe this points to is the day that the enemies of the church, which are the enemies of Jesus, will bow on their knees and confess with their tongue’s that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10,11). On that day every enemy of Jesus, and every person who persecuted believers for the namesake of Jesus, will be humbled and know the truth of Jesus Christ.
This is why, brothers and sisters, we do not have to seek revenge against those who persecute us. Jesus will not allow those who believe in him to be put to shame. A day comes, according to 1 Thess. 1:5-10, where Jesus will repay those who have afflicted you, mistreated you, slandered you, reviled you, persecuted you, abused you and hates you because of your faith. While those who believe in Christ will be granted relief on the Day of Judgment, those who persecuted followers of Jesus and refuse to obey the gospel of Jesus will be given over to the suffering of eternal destruction. Therefore, though the believers in Philadelphia have suffered greatly, because they have remained faithful to Jesus and refused to deny him, a day is coming where Jesus will repay their persecutors – affliction for affliction. And the same is true for every believer.
Jesus promises the believers in Philadelphia he will keep them from the hour of trial that is coming on the world.
In verse 9 Jesus said, “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” I think it is important to note that the “hour of trial” Jesus speaks of is not simply a regional trial. It is not isolated to one particular geographic region like Asia Minor where the city of Philadelphia was located, which is modern day Turkey. Jesus said “the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world”, thus this “hour of trial” is global.
Therefore, I believe “the hour of trial” Jesus is referring to is the tribulation period. What is the tribulation period? We’ll talk more in detail about this later, but according to Jesus, it is a time that God will “try those who dwell on the earth”, which means it will be a period of seven years when God will judge the world by the outpouring of His wrath for those who belong to the world and do not belong to God by faith in Christ.
So, I believe Jesus is telling those believers in Philadelphia that because of their steadfastness to obey the Word of God and their refusal to deny Him, even in the midst of persecution, they would not have to endure those seven years of God’s wrath on the world. We call this the pre-tribulation theory, which believes that Jesus will rapture his church before the tribulation period. And what Jesus is saying to those believers in Philadelphia is true for every believer that remains faithful to the Word of God and committed to Jesus – they will not have to endure “the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world.”
Lastly, Jesus encourages them to stay faithful until the day he returns.
In verses 11-13 Jesus said, “I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Now, when Jesus says, “I am coming soon” we are not to take that as if he were telling them he were coming in the next couple weeks; rather, we should take it as if Jesus were simply saying that He will return. Obviously, his “soon” and our “soon” are two very different things. We don’t know the day or the hour that Jesus is coming, but we do know he is coming, and we must be ready.
Until then, like Jesus said to the believers in Philadelphia, we must hold on to what we have. Meaning, that we must hold onto our faith in Jesus Christ, we must remain committed to following Him, and we must continue to steadfastly obey the Word of God. By doing so, we conquer the world, receive the crown of eternal life, and become citizens of the new Jerusalem; which simply means we will be able to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven.
Remember what Jesus said in Matt. 10:22, “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” In this world you will have troubles as you follow Jesus. You will be mistreated and reviled and slandered and hated because of your faith in Christ. You will even suffer from sickness and disease. But if you stay faithful to believe and follow Christ, you will enter into the kingdom of God. You will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love him. This is why whatever suffering you endure in this world is worth it, because in the words of Paul in Romans 8:18, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Therefore, in the words of Jesus, “hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”