Sunday, June 10, 2018 pm
NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
2017-18 (63)
A Study of Churches (10)
The Seven Churches of Asia (7)
Philadelphia – The Church with an Open Door - Revelation 3:7-13
a.
We are
familiar with the name of this city because of our own city in PA.
It is from a Greek word which means, “Love of Brothers”, but its
name was actually coined to mean, “in honor of Philadelphus” whose name
meant “Loyal to his brother” (Attalus whose surname was Philadelphus).
That is why the city in PA is nicknames, The City of Brotherly
Love.
b.
Located 28
miles SE of Sardis. Another
city with a major road. A
border town of 3 countries (Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia).
c.
The
gateway to the East. Founded
around 140 B.C. by Attalus with the purpose of being a missionary city.
It was built to preach the praises of Hellenism to the barbaric
east. Economically important
for this reason.
d.
Located in
a region near a volcano.
Because of this its soil was rich.
The city was known for its vines and its wine.
BUT, it was suscAceptible to earthquakes.
When an earthquake occurred, the people would flee out of the
city and return when matters were safe.
Thus, the people were constantly going in and out of the city.
In the great earthquake of 17 A.D., Philadelphia was destroyed like
Sardis and rebuilt with the help of the Caesar Tiberius.
As a result, the city changed its name to Neocaesarea in honor of
its gratitude toward Rome.
The name only lasted a short while, but it WAS a new name.
e.
The city
also had MANY temples. It
chief deity was Dionysus, the god of wine.
But it was a city with temples to many different gods.
In fact, it eventually was called by some “Little Athens” because
of their abundance. One
observation made was that to honor extraordinary citizens they would
erect a pillar in one of the temples in the name of that person.
The name would be written so that all would know of their
greatness.
f.
We know
nothing of the beginning of the church here.
It is a church of which NOTHING bad is said AND a church with
tremendous opportunity to evangelize that it must have taken advantage
of. The description of the
church involved many of the traits we find in this city.
But the church was not without problems.
Vs. 9 mentions “the synagogue of Satan” which we have seen
before. This probably
indicates that these brethren were troubled by the Jews who were in that
area. While there is no
indication of outward and severe persecutions, this opposition would
have made life more difficult for Christians.
This church is affectionately described as, “The church with an open
door” or the “weak/strong church”.
a.
Christ described – here we have descriptions not found in the vision of Revelation 1, but
they describe our Lord Jesus nonetheless.
i.
He who is holy – Christ is Holy - separate from
that which is common.
Hebrews 7:26 describes Him as our High Priest who is holy.
Acts 3:14 – Peter described Him as the holy one and just whom
they denied
ii.
He who is true
-He is both dependable and genuine.
Jesus is described as true and the giver of truth on many
occasions – John 14:6. Revelation 19:11 – He is called Faithful and
True.
Contrast this with the many FALSE gods of the city and the FALSE Jews
described in our letter.
iii.
He who has the key of David – this is a description of His authority in His kingdom.
Jesus fulfilled the promise of David’s throne and now reigns in
His kingdom. Acts 2:36, 2
Samuel 7:16, etc.
iv.
He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens
– what Jesus declares cannot be stopped.
Whether He permits or forbids, His will shall be accomplished.
Consider this with a city that had “the key to the East” and sought to
“open” relations with Eastern ways and proclaim Hellenism.
b.
Commendations
i.
I know your works –
our Lord knows exactly what we are doing individually and
collectively as His people.
He knows if we’re trying or not.
This becomes the basis of each congregation and our standing
before Him.
ii.
I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it –
When we think an
open door – we see opportunities and NOTHING hindering us from walking
through it. Even Satan is
not able to hinder us from walking through it (though he may try, and
that door MAY close on its own).
Paul spoke of open doors – Acts 14:27 – they reported all that God had
done and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 16:9 - a great and effective open door, but with
adversaries (those who would hinder you from walking through that door);
2 Corinthians 2:12 – in Troas, a door was opened by the Lord; Colossians
4:3 – praying for open doors.
iii.
You have a little strength – an interesting description.
When we think of “little strength”, do not assume it means they
are weak.
Simply stated – they a limited in what they can do – maybe they are
small in number (the weaknesses previously left may have forsaken them),
or impoverished or have some other limited ability.
BUT the point here is
they have NOT let those limitations keep them from doing anything.
They did what they could (think of the “one talent servant” who
actually did what he could instead of hiding his talent (cf. Matthew
25:18, 24-30); or think of the Macedonians who in their deep poverty
wanted to help needy saints – 2 Corinthians 8:1-5; or the widow with 2
mites – Mark 12:42-44).
AND let us not forget, it is not OUR strength that we are depending
on – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Philippians 4:13, Romans 1:16 – the
gospel is the power of God unto salvation, etc.
iv.
Have kept My word – they were faithful to Him.
They did not compromise OR ignore His teachings.
John 14:21-24 – He who keeps His word loves Him; 1 John 2:3 –
this is how we know Him.
v.
Have not denied My name – Matthew 10:32-33. In these letters, we have seen what this
could mean – martyrdom or prison or severe poverty.
They were TOTALLY faithful to Him.
c.
Judgment on the wicked –
I will make those of the synagogue of Satan –in
this verse, as in Smyrna, we find it is likely the Jews who were doing
the persecuting. This letter
mentions nothing about outside opposition from the Gentile world (though
it could certainly have happened).
Who is the TRUE Jew in God’s eyes?
He who inwardly is God’s people – Romans 2:28-29.
They will
come and worship before your feet – they will answer for their
sins and the mistreatment of the godly – cf. Philippians 2:9-11 – every
knee will bow and every tongue confess (see also 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10
– those who trouble you will be repaid).
OR, this could mean that some would obey the gospel by their good
example, including perseverance (cf. Matthew 5:16, Roman s12:19-21,
etc.). HOWEVER, the general
wording of the statement implies this is probably not what is meant.
d.
Encouragement to the brethren –
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will keep you
from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth – whatever
judgment the world might face, God would look out for the faithful
brethren.
NOTE: This is NOT a promise that they will not face any persecutions
whatsoever – 2 Timothy 3:12. But He knows how to deliver you – 2 Peter
2:9, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Corinthians 10:13 – he can make the way of escape.
e.
Call to action
i.
Behold I am coming quickly – a reminder to us that a day of judgment IS coming.
In context, this is likely not a reference to the final judgment,
but His judgment against their enemies whomever they might be.
We do not know exactly how or when God rendered this judgment,
but we know He can and that is why one must ALWAYS be prepared.
ii.
Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown – we have
addressed our need to “hold fast” – don’t let go of what is right.
The victor’s crown – again, CAN one’s crown be taken away? (cf. 2
Timothy 4:7-8)
iii.
He who overcomes – we need to address our struggles and NOT let them defeat us.
iv.
NOTICE that their
admonitions are little and general.
That’s because they are doing what is right!
f.
The promise
i.
BUT, those suffering and
enduring troubles for doing what is right NEED encouragement.
Here it is offered in multiple ways.
ii.
I will make him a pillar in the house of God – a pillar
being a support. We want our
pillar “in the house of God” meaning we are in His presence – numbered
among the saved.
Sources say, in Philadelphia noted citizens would be honored with a
pillar in a pagan temple named for them.
iii.
He shall go out no more
– it will be our eternal and settled reward.
Again, in Philadelphia, so prone to earthquakes, many of its
citizens would frequently leave the city in fear after tremors for
safety in the open fields.
NOT needed in heaven!
iv.
I will write on him the name of My God
– see above as it relates to being in His presence.
We will be there because we
belong to Him.
v.
And the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem
– He has prepared a city for those who belong to Him – cf. Hebrews
11:10, 16. Revelation
21:9-22:5 describes this city – a place belonging to God.
It is clearly related to His kingdom.
vi.
And I will write on him My new name – again, we addressed this earlier – the saved belong
to Him and will wear His name. A name describing faithfulness and
worthy.
vii.
NOTE: “Name
is mentioned 3 times – not 3 separate names, but a name with all these
characteristics.
g.
He who has ears, let him
hear… a
call to read and respond to this message.
Listen!
a.
A faithful church. – It
is possible for a congregation to be doing everything right and be
completely faithful. We need
to be working toward that end.
It requires faithful adherence to truth, a membership in which
ALL have a genuine heart that is open and obedient to Him.
A heart filled with love for God, one another and truth.
b.
This is a church that
with love genuinely is reaching out to bring in lost souls, AND to keep
them. They proudly wear the
name of the Lord.
c.
They have an open door –
meaning they openly welcome ANYONE, even the “poor man in filthy
clothes” (James 2:2). They
want this and they are ALERT as they look for opportunities (going out
into the highways and hedges to bring them in – Luke 14:23, John 4:35).
And they are not making excuses
to neglect their responsibilities.
d.
Their OPEN door also
applies to their minds, reception of God’s word, and one another.
They are OPEN to examination because they KNOW they are striving
to do right and be right.
e.
Yet, in this they will
NOT compromise the truth, even if it means rejection by the ungodly of
society and being small in number and resources. They persevere even in
the face of countless rejections to come to Him.
They work with what they have and do the best they can with it.
f.
This is a church filled
with the saved and they are helping each other to stay saved.
As the bride of Christ in their
community, they seek to keep her pure and united.
g.
This is a GROWING
church. The numbers may not
reflect it (though often lack of increase IS due to lack of effort), but
they are growing in every way that counts.
Philadelphia is described as the church with an open door.
Let us not forget that Jesus IS the door (John 10:9).
Ephesians 2:18 – through Him we have access to the Father.
Are we like the church at Philadelphia?