Revelation-Part 11

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PHILADELPHIA: THE CHURCH OF PROMISED DELIVERANCE

About twenty-five miles southeast of Sardis lay the city of Philadelphia, the next stop on the itinerary of the messengers who were delivering Christ’s messages to the seven churches in the first-century Roman province of Asia (Revelation 2-3). Philadelphia’s location was ideal for the city to serve as a communications hub for the whole region, with travel routes linking it to both the east and the west. It functioned specifically in its influ­ence on the east in spreading the Greek language, which ultimately replaced the Lydian language by the year A.D. 19.

The Philadelphian message has the same seven parts as the other messages. (1) The address (Rev. 3:7a) begins the letter and is followed by (2) the attributes of the speaker (3:7b). Jesus, the speaker, characterizes Himself as “the holy one” and “the true one,” the former denoting His being set apart to God and the latter His reliability as the genuine Messiah promised in the Old Testament. His attributes also include His posses­sion of the key of David, referring to a prerogative to admit or refuse admittance to the future messianic kingdom. The fourth and last attribute, “who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens,” refers explicitly to that authority to admit or exclude from His kingdom.

(3) The Lord’s knowledge about the people (3:8) includes a word of encouragement as well as a statement of His awareness of their situation. The “open door” He promises them assures them of access into the messianic kingdom, an incentive for them to persevere in spite of serious hardships they were facing. Though the church had “little power”-i.e., limited influence in the community-they had resisted pressure by persecutors to disregard Christ’s teachings and deny Him.

(4)Jesus next details the state of the church (3:9-10). He couches His estimate of the church in a promise to the faithful, a promise that Jewish population of the city who were appar­ently creating such havoc for believers in the city would eventually see that these Christians were the beloved of God. His further promise to them is to protect the faithful in a location away from the dreaded time of trouble that will overtake the rest of the world just before Christ’s personal reappearance. (5) The promise of the Lord’s coming (3:11) follows His assessment of the church’s condition. By appending that promise with “soon,” He reasserts the imminence of that coming that is so commonly stated in the rest of Revelation.

(6) The promise to the overcomer (3:12) draws heavily on the picture of the eternal state of the blessed ones in Revelation 21-22, the new Jerusalem in which redeemed humanity of all ages will dwell. Jesus closes His message to Philadelphia with the usual (7) command to hear that addresses all the churches.

JESUS’ FIVE SPECIAL PROMISES TO PHILADELPHIA

In addition to the promise to the overcomer in 3:12, five promises to the church in Philadelphia distinguish this message from the other six. (1) The first comes in verse 8 and consists of an assurance of access to the messianic kingdom through the open door. (2) The second consists of the Lord’s promise in verse 9a to work in the lives of the church’s enemies. It implies the future conversion of such opponents. (3) The third promise follows in verse 9b and specifies that the physical descendants of Abraham will eventually do homage before the feet of the Philadelphian Christians. In agreement with other prophe­cies (e.g., Rom. 11:26-27), that guarantees the salvation of the faithful Jewish remnant in conjunction with the second coming of Christ. (4) Jesus next promises the church deliver­ance from the predicted period of suffering on earth, the period just prior to His own per­sonal return (3:10). He gives the church’s endurance in the face of strong persecution as the ground for such deliverance. (5) The fifth promise Jesus makes to Philadelphia is that of His personal coming (3:11). It gives His imminent coming as the means He will use to deliver them from their present pressure.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROMISES FOR ALL THE CHURCHES

The fourth and fifth promises made to Philadelphia carry special interest not only for the other six churches contemporary with John’s writing of the book, but also for all churches everywhere throughout the Christian era. The conditions of the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 represent conditions that prevail in churches of all time in all places. That plus the command for all the churches to hear what the Spirit says to each of the seven means that the promises to Philadelphia are directly applicable to churches even in the present.

What did the Lord promise Philadelphia? Here was a church commended for its en­durance under the stress of persecution by Jewish elements in the city (3:8-9). They had experienced the fiery trial of Jewish malice and Jesus was encouraging them to persevere a little longer. His fourth promise was that if they would do so, He would “keep them from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole earth to test those who dwell on the earth” (3:10). The “hour” about which Jesus spoke is the period just before His personal return to earth when the world will pass through its worst period of all time. It coincides with the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27) and includes what Jesus called “the great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21; cf. Rev. 7:14). That part of world history will be unparalleled in its degree of human suffering because God’s wrath will punish rebellious mankind for its refusal to submit to Him. That is the period described in so much detail in Revelation 6-19.

Some have advanced a theory that God’s promise to Philadelphia consists of a pledge to protect the faithful from the effects of God’s wrath while they remain on earth during the time others around them are suffering such severe consequences. That proposal does not correspond with the facts, however, because faithful followers of Christ on earth during that period, though delivered from God’s wrath, will suffer the worst persecution that the forces of Satan can muster against them. In fact, many believers will become martyrs for their faith during the “hour” (see, for example, Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-14). What incentive to remain faithful a little longer is a promise to a persecuted people that if they remain faithful a little longer, they can expect to be ushered into a time in history when their persecution will become even worse than they are presently experiencing? This idea that the promise of Jesus entails their remaining on earth during the future tribulation is a complete misfit in the context of the Philadelphian letter.

The promise to Philadelphia is rather one of being protected at a place away from the period of trouble on earth, where they will not only be free from the effects of God’s wrath but will also be delivered from persecution of all types. That is where the fifth promise enters the picture. He promises His imminent return to take them away from the awful period on earth: “I will come soon” (3:11a). He will reward their endurance of present trials by coming and taking them back to heaven, to the Father’s house as He promised earlier (John 14:2-3). Knowing about that destination provides the most powerful incentive for remaining faithful in difficult circumstances. That’s why Jesus added, “Hold tightly to what you have that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:11b). He may come at any moment, so hold on.

Of course, Jesus did not return during the generation that first received the book of Revelation. Nevertheless, from a human perspective, He could have. That possibility was what kept the faithful in Philadelphia from surrendering to their opponents by denying their faith in Christ. If someone has strong enough motivation, what he can endure has no limit. The New Testament teaching of the imminent return of Christ is the strongest possible motive. I don’t want to be ashamed before Him when He returns (1 John 2:28). The only way I can avoid the risk of being ashamed is to discharge my Christian responsibilities faithfully day by day, just as the Philadelphian Christians were doing. I can remain faithful with the anticipation of being transported to the Father’s house at any moment. My prayer is that every reader of this message about “Philadelphia: The Church of Promised Deliver­ance” may have the assured anticipation of that deliverance.

Note: If you want more details about what Jesus said to the church in Philadelphia, see my discussion in Revelation 1-7 (Moody Press, 1992), pages 269-294. To order this volume, you may call Grace Books International at (800) GRACE15.

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