[There is not much left of the ancient city of Philadelphia in present day Turkey because the area is prone to earthquakes]
The Church at Philadelphia
Read Revelation 3 : 7-13
The Christians in Philadelphia were having a tough time. They were enduring persecution particularly from the Jewish community who were probably in league with the Roman authorities. According to the late William Barclay, many of the believers were Jews who, because of their faith in Jesus, had the door of the synagogue shut in their faces. This was hard for them to bear. And yet the risen Lord tells them, "Look, I have set before you an open door" and this door into heaven was the door which really matters. The whole idea of door is so important and has more than one meaning. The next blog will focus on another meaning of the term 'open door' but today I want to focus on a suffering church where many of their members have lost all contact with their family members who are still part of the Jewish community. They have experienced hatred and bitterness from their former friends and they have found this an extremely bitter pill to swallow. There would be financial and social consequences linked to being excommunicated from the synagogue. It is described as 'the synagogue of Satan' because of its opposition to the church in the city of Philadelphia. But, in a sense, the Christians should not have been surprised because Jesus experienced the same degree of hostility from the Jewish religious hierarchy which led to his crucifixion.
There is not a hint of condemnation from Jesus for this church in its suffering. They were being faithful to him - "you have kept my word," Jesus tells them. Life was going to get harder - they are warned about the hour of trial which was going to affect the whole world. Their suffering would be shared by other Christians throughout the whole of the Roman empire. Notice that they have only 'little power.' This may seem like a criticism but it does not read like that. It is only when we stop depending on our own power and rest on God that we discover that His power is unlimited and keeps strengthening us. I see the church at Philadelphia in their weakness holding out their hands in their weakness and trusting in the power that comes from the all powerful one, the one who conquered death. Notice how Jesus is described in this letter - "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." [Revelation 3:7 ESV] So he is the one with the real authority. It is interesting that he has the key of David in the context of the Jewish persecution. They were proud of their ancestor but Jesus is great David's greater Son. He has the authority which really matters - he has the key to heaven - not Peter incidentally. Faith in him is the guarantee to our entrance to heaven. He is the one who decides our eternal destiny.
I love the promises which Jesus makes to this suffering church and we can rely on these promises today. His promises to the persecuted believers relate to their treatment by the Jews who are not really Jews in the sense that they have turned from worshipping God to following a barren religion which is full of ritual and tradition but lacks the reality of the promises made to Abraham and Moses. They have become separatist and exclusive which was never in God's plan. They have failed to appreciate that the long-promised Messiah has come and was crucified by them on a cross outside Jerusalem. Jesus promises that these Jews will "come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you" [Revelation 3: 9 ESV] The Jews thought that God was only interested in them and they could not begin to grasp the concept of a church which was founded on Jesus Christ and His death and included Jews and Gentiles equally. How could God love these non Jews who were not descended from Abraham and Isaac? How could God love those who seemed to have abandoned the Jewish religion and were following a new cult which they saw as anti-Jewish and anti-God. There is a day of reckoning coming for these persecutors and there is a day of vindication for the persecuted Christians. They will 'bow down before their feet.' This seems strange but it reminds me of what happened to the patriarch Joseph when his brothers were brought to realise the mistake they had made in selling him as a slave. They bowed the knee before Joseph.
"They will learn that I have loved you." These Jews were displaying hatred towards the Christians in Philadelphia but they were assured that they were loved by Jesus. There would be a great reversal. These believers were currently shunned and ostracised and they were despised by Jews in alliance with Gentiles. They mocked this struggling group of Christians but there will come a day when the situation will be reversed. Jesus will cause them to see things differently. This passage is similar to some verses from the prophet Isaiah.
[4] Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life. [Isaiah 43:4 ESV]
[14] The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. [Isaiah 60:14 ESV] (See also Isaiah 45:14 and 49:23).
The irony is that these passages in Isaiah are referring to the nation of Israel and their mistreatment by the Gentiles. God assures them that they are loved by him and they are precious to him. In the message to Philadelphia it is those who are claiming to be Jews who are going to find that God's love extends to those who are not Jews and that the church of Christ is composed of Jews and Gentiles who are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
I think we need another blog to complete our look at the message to this suffering church.
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