The Perfect Church?
Jesus's Oracle to the Church at Philadelphia
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: Thus says the holy one, the true one, the one holding the key of David, the one who opens and no one will shut and shuts and no one opens. I know your works! Look, I have granted an open door before you, which no one is able to shut it, because you have little power and you have kept my word and did not deny my name. Look! I am causing some from the synagogue of Satan (who say they are Jews and are not but are lying)—look! I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will know that I loved you. Because you kept the word of my endurance, I will keep you out of the hour of testing about to come upon the whole inhabited world to test the inhabitants upon the earth. I am coming quickly! Hold on to what you have so no one can take your victory garland. The one who conquers—I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of my God and he will never ever go outside and I will inscribe upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, and my new name. The one having an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:7–13
Of the seven churches Jesus addressed in Revelation, two received almost no praise (Sardis and Laodicea), three had a combination of praise and critique (Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyateira) and two came in for almost total praise (Smyrna and Philadelphia).
I expect this range of churches has been the norm for the entire history of the church up to now, certainly of the churches here in America, but perhaps churches around the world.
The seven churches of Revelation cover the gamut of the worldwide Church.
And though Jesus only addressed seven of scores of churches scattered around the Roman Empire in the last decades of the first century AD, these seven were singled out because together they were representative of the character of the whole church at the time.
We tend to idolize the first century church—to focus on the positive characterization of Luke in the book of Acts (especially 2:42-47).
But a reading of the entire New Testament shows that the early church, while full of evangelistic zeal and often a counter-cultural practice in line with the teachings of Jesus, had its share of division (see 1 Corinthians), misunderstandings (again 1 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians), theological disputes (Galatians, Colossians, Acts 15), out and out immorality or worldly behavior (Acts 5, 1 Corinthians 5, James), outside pressure (Acts, Colossians), and internal heresy (Revelation, 1 John).
The word of Jesus to these churches in Revelation spoke to the issues of all the churches.
Nonetheless, the ideal of Acts 2 was not entirely absent!
The church of Philadelphia, like Smyrna, was closest to the “ideal.”
As such, this church is worth careful study and emulation, both personally and as we seek to live out the way of Jesus in our congregational communities.
(continued)
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Opening: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: Thus says the holy one, the true one, the one holding the key of David, the one who opens and no one will shut and shuts and no one opens. Revelation 3:7
Philadelphia in the US is known as “the city of brotherly love”—philos=love and adelphos=brother.
However, the Philadelphia of Revelation was founded and named by a king of Pergamum, Eumenes II, for the affection he had for his brother, Attalus II.
The city was straight east of Smyrna and south of Sardis and the youngest of the seven cities in Revelation, only founded (scholars think) around 189 BC, and rebuilt after the AD 17 earthquake that affected all the cities nearby.
As most of the other churches of Revelation, Paul or one of his associates probably first brought the gospel message there.
Jesus’s first words in this oracle look similar to what he has already said (“I have the keys of death and Hades”) but are mostly new: Holy, true, the key of David, shutting and opening.
True to what we have already seen, Jesus drew on the Old Testament for words to describe his divine nature and function—and words that are familiar from the Gospel and Letters of John.
“Holy” and “true” are attributes of God both in the Psalms and the Prophets.
But more specifically, “the one holding the key of David, the one who opens and no one will shut and shuts and no one opens” is verbally almost identical to Isaiah 22:22, a prophecy of Isaiah about an official of King Hezekiah: “And I will put the key of the house of David upon his shoulder and he will open and no one will shut and he will shut and no one will open.”
Jesus took up a prophecy of Isaiah and announced here that the words actually applied to him as Messiah.
At some point I will write a post on prophetic fulfillment.
The key of David is Jesus’s messianic authority over all creation (in Isaiah, it was the authority of the king’s deputy to make decisions for Judah). Jesus as Messiah and Son of God has all the authority of God the Father.
Because Jesus is holy and true and has authority, those trusting in him have nothing to worry about (in this case persecution).
Praise: I know your works! Look, I have granted an open door before you, which no one is able to shut it, because you have little power and you have kept my word and did not deny my name. Revelation 3:8
In previous oracles, when Jesus began with “I know your works” some sort of critique followed for their actions and faith.
Not here.
In this instance, Jesus followed with a promise because their works were pleasing: an open door that no one can shut.
This open door tracked with what Jesus had already said about having the Key of David.
What that door was is open to debate! Some see it as a door to spread the gospel. Others a door of access to God. Given the door of opportunity for the Laodiceans in the final oracle, the door of access seems more likely. Paul’s statement that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus seems similar.
The reason for the promise is most interesting for me: “because you have little power, yet you have kept my word and did not deny my name.”
The pagan environment and the pressure from the Jews was immense and the small group of Christians in Philadelphia had no political or social or religious standing, only Jesus.
Yet despite their weakness and lack of power they took to heart Jesus’s beatitude: Blessed are those who are persecuted for my name’s sake.
Notice there is a positive statement—“you have kept my word”—and the converse, “you have not denied my name.” Both say the same thing in different ways.
The church of Philadelphia was not an ideal church because they looked good or said the right things.
They were ideal because they were faithful no matter what: good times—faithful; bad times—faithful; persecution—faithful.
And that is all Jesus asks from us.
Promises: Look! I am causing some from the synagogue of Satan (who say they are Jews and are not but are lying)—look! I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will know that I loved you. Because you kept the word of my endurance, I will keep you out of the hour of testing about to come upon the whole inhabited world to test the inhabitants upon the earth. Revelation 3:9-10
First promise. Just like those of the church in Smyrna just to the west, Jews of the synagogue in Philadelphia were persecuting the believers there.
We don’t know what that looked like, but perusing the book of Acts with Jews constantly hounding Paul from place to place, even taking him to court, is likely a good analogy.
Once again, Jesus called them a “synagogue of the Accuser” and that they were not true Jews.
True Jews would at the least not have persecuted the Christians and may have even joined the church made up of those that recognized Jesus as God’s Messiah and spurned their prideful adherence to Judaism as their identity.
Paul would have agreed with Jesus that in his old life he was not a true Jew. It was the very thing he recounted in Philippians 3:1-11 and in Romans 7, Paul reflected on the conflicted slavery of his old life: Sin (virtually the same as Satan) coopted God’s good law for its own ends and Paul, like Adam and Israel, was caught up in sin leading to death in spite of his conscious desire to follow God.
In this one phrase, “some from the synagogue of Satan—who say they are Jews and are not but are lying,” Jesus spoke the truth about the Jews there.
He also spoke words of hope to the persecuted believers.
Whatever their situation of powerlessness and oppression, their future would be one of victory—these Jews would be bowing before them!
This promised future was not one of gloating but of recognition in line with Jesus’s words in the gospels: “the last shall be first and the first will be last.”
Second promise. Jesus also promised to keep them out of the severe testing or temptation of the rest of the world. Many commentators see this testing as “the Great Tribulation”—they de-historicize this oracle from the first century and re-historicize it to “the end times.” No doubt what was coming was a tribulation for the inhabited world of the time, but we have to once again be aware that this oracle was to a particular church in a particular time.
We can derive a message of what Jesus said though.
In short (and I will post more on this later), Jesus promised to give the believers who “kept the word of my endurance” the capacity to not get caught up in the trials. When testing comes to most humans, those affected get caught up in the response—often blame or violence or joining one side or another (see Matthew 24:10).
To those faithful to Jesus, no matter the turmoil around us, Jesus gives the patient endurance and wisdom to not get involved.
This does not mean that we are immune from the damage of such trials (see Matthew 24:9). Indeed, not taking sides is often a recipe for persecution from both sides. But the only side we are called to is Jesus’s side and out of the fray.
Exhortation: I am coming quickly! Hold on to what you have so no one can take your victory garland. Revelation 3:11
The exhortation begins with the statement “I am coming quickly (Greek: erchomai tachē).”
What does Jesus intend by “quickly”?
It possibly means “soon,” though “soon” would certainly have to be from the heavenly point of view, since from a human vantage point, most would consider the timing of Jesus’s return to be beyond “soon.” Already in the letter of 2 Peter, this issue was addressed to critics (2 Peter 3:1-13).
Quickly can also refer to the suddenness of Jesus’s return. “Like a thief,” (Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 16:15) and “lightning,” (Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24) are words of Jesus, Paul and Peter to describe the sudden appearance of Jesus when no one suspects.
In the context of this oracle, Jesus wants the Philadelphian Christians to be ready for his sudden return (whenever it happens), hence the statement that follows.
Despite their perseverance and faithfulness (the victory garland is already theirs), Jesus encouraged them “to keep on keeping on.” As he told his disciples, “he who endures to the end will be saved.” The crown or victory garland is the image Jesus used for their ultimate reward of salvation.
Once again, the theological question of eternal security arises with statements like this. I will take up this thorny issue soon along with some other topics in these oracles.
(cont.)
Reward and call to listen: The one who conquers—I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of my God and he will never ever go outside and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, and my new name. The one having an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:12-13
Not only will the one who perseveres/conquers receive a victory garland, but much more. That person will become a (spiritual) pillar in the sanctuary of the new Jerusalem “and will never go outside”—he will be in the continual presence of God.
Unlike so many ancient temples whose pillars now lie on the ground as ruins, the pillars in God’s temple will last for eternity (the word used all through Revelation is Greek naos or “sanctuary,” the enclosed portion of the tabernacle/temple that included the “holy of holies”).
Of course we are speaking of a spiritual reality, but reality nonetheless, even more real that our own reality.
It might not be evident, but the names are inscriptions chiseled into the pillar like so many monuments or statues—God’s name, and the name of Jerusalem and the name of Jesus are permanently and indelibly part of the believer!
My prayer is that Jesus would come quickly and that I would be ready and my church and all those who have put their trust in him. I am personally ready to be that pillar in the presence of God inscribed with his name. O Lord, keep me faithful, Amen.
Thanks for reading. See you later.
Audio Version!