Rev 3:7-13, The Church of Philadelphia, Brotherly love and an open door for the gospel

Rev 3:7-13 (ESV) "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.

8 "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  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.  10  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.  11  I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.  12  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.  13  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

DESCRIPTION

• Destination is Philadelphia, which means brotherly love or literally "one who loves his brother"
• Founded by a Pergamenian king, Attalus II who had a special devotion to his brother
• The city was founded with a missionary emphasis, to promote Hellenism in an Oriental land (Tatford)
• Because it experienced earthquakes from time to time, more of the population than normal lived outside the city (Constable)
• The AD 17 earthquake resulted in the emperor Tiberius relieving the city of having to pay taxes
• It was the doorway to three countries in the east
• It housed an imperial cult

LITERAL / UNIVERSAL

• What is the point of the description of Jesus?
• Described as him who is holy and true
• Holy emphasizes his righteousness (which really is a key part of the gospel message)
• True is the genuine-ness of the message
• Described as him who holds the key of David
• It could be a reference to a story in the old testament of Hezekiah's servant, Eliakim, who had authority over all of David's house, including his treasures or resources
• It could also be part of the description of the person who opens and closes doors
• Described as the door opener (and closer)
• We will see in a minute that there has never been a point in history where the gospel had the freedom it did
• What do we learn about the church from the commendations?
• He knows their works (they are active, doing something)
• God has placed an open door and they have been obedient
• They are two promises as a result of the commendation
• One, they will have an impact among these cults (many cults make an argument that they are the true people of God)
• Two, they will not have to go through the tribulation
• This makes much more sense in the UNIVERSAL and PROPHETIC sense
• What is the exhortation and what does it mean?
• Hold on to what you have (you have an earned a crown)
• Or you are doing well, keep it up
• What do we learn from the condemnation?
• One of only two churches that have no condemnation
• The promise is "to be a pillar in the temple of my God," but what does it mean?
• When Solomon built the temple he named two of the pillars, establish and strength
• The idea is of a firm position. Unlike the earthly temple, God's temple will never be shaken
• The permanence of the relationship is emphasized by the writing of the names. The threefold writing of the names is a threefold assurance of his identity with God

PROPHETIC

• For the purpose of the historical-prophetic interpretation,  Philadelphia is the "church of the great missionary movement" and covers the period of AD 1648-1900
• Period of the British Empire
• The sun never sets on the British empire
• Every nation in the world was open to the gospel. These two centuries was a time where the entire world was open to the gospel. To a certain extent, the British empire was the door
• Men like Hudson Taylor, Adoraim Judson, William Carey, and others went all over the world with the gospel (Charles G. Finney, Charles H. Spurgeon, Andrew Murray, D. L. Moody, R. A. Torrey, George Mueller, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, E. M. Bounds' Charles Chiniquy, J. A. Wylie, and A. T. Pierson)
• They had little strength. It was actually a minority of believers who God used during this time. But they were faithful to his calling. Men like George Mueller who did extraordinary things by faith. Revivals would sweep whole countries even though they started out by only a few people praying
• It is not your size that defines your success, it is your obedience
• God's job is the numbers. The lack of numbers is not an indication of failure. Now, they did see some huge numbers, but for many it wasn't until much later
• During this time, ministries to Jews actually took root and by 1900, 250K Jews became believers, starting in Germany, then England, and finally the US
• But the synagogue of Satan (who are not Jews) probably refers to cults, people who see themselves as replacements for God's people: Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Science, and others. Often the cults claim to be the real Jews by declaring themselves to be the 144K Jews or the ten lost tribes of Israel
• APPLICATION: it is not the size and numbers that define success, but obedience to what God has called us to. As evidenced by John's mission late in life, none of us are yet too old for God to use. What is he calling us to do? Stop putting it off and saying no. Be obedient to the call of God