Philadelphia

History Built by Attalus II Phiadelphus king of Pergamos (189-138BC) Named in honor of Attalus II’s love for his older brother, King Eumenes II, King of Lydia Also known as Neo-kaisaria in the 1st Century Sometimes called “little Athens” due to its temples and government buildings Now known as Alasehir or Allah Shehr “City of God” It was a Roman town until 1379 AD when it fell to the Turks Destroyed on a couple of occasions by earthquakes

Location Asia Minor On lower slopes of Mt. Tmolus On the Cogamus River 28 Miles SW of Sardis 100 W of Smyrna 952 Ft above Sea level

Facts Ground is mostly disintegrated lava Chief deity was Dionysus Perfect for growing grapes Chief deity was Dionysus God of Wine Roman Bacchus Modern town population is 15,000-20,000 Excavations indicate the ancient town was much larger than that

Remains Ruins of 11th century church (Church of St. John) Ruins of Arch of Hadrian

Remains Philadelphia

Revelation 3:7-13 Jesus’ description He who is Holy Who is True Who has the key of David Opens and no one shuts Shuts and no one opens Job 12:14 “If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.” (speaking of God) Isa 22:22 “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Speaking of God’s servant Eliakim)

Letter to Philadelphia Verse 8 I know your deeds Jesus walks among the lampstands (1:12) Jesus knows exactly who they are Jesus has put before them an open door note: open door Not forcing them through Not making them open it Readily available No one can close this door Why is the door open? They have a little power Possibly referring to size of congregation They have kept His Word Not denied Jesus

Letter to Philadelphia What is the open door? Some believe this is referring to heaven God has put before them the entrance to heaven Some, including myself, believe this refers to evangelistic opportunities Yes they are being persecuted But God encourages them that their efforts will not be in vain This, I believe is very encouraging Heaven, for a Christian, is within our grasp It doesn’t matter the physical toll it takes on the body But to know that our work will also not be in vain gives even more boldness to our work I do not deny the first, but I do not limit it to only one Truly, an evangelistic door, once gone through, will bring us farther down the road towards heaven

Letter to Philadelphia Verse 9 Synagogue of Satan Say they are Jews but are not I believe they physically were Jews Rom 2:28-29 “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” I believe God wanted to encourage Philadelphia What better way than to tell them, subtly, they are the people of God They will come and bow down before the Christians Make them know Jesus loves the Christians Isa 45:14 “Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"

Letter to Philadelphia Isa 49:23 “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame." Isa 60:14 “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.” They are not honoring the Christian They are honoring God

Letter to Philadelphia Verse 10 Because they have kept the Word of Jesus’ perseverance, Jesus will keep them from the hour of testing The hour that is coming upon the whole world What is this hour? Rev 2:10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Rev 16:14 “For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.” I believe this hour will be described throughout the rest of the book of Revelation Rev. 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8,14 Speak of the coming judgment upon the world

Letter to Philadelphia They will be exempt from this punishment Others of the churches will not be exempt

Letter to Philadelphia Verse 11 Jesus is coming quickly Hold fast so no one can take your crown Jesus implores them one last time to not fall The crown spoken of is a victory crown They are being encouraged to win Phil. 2:16 “holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

Letter to Philadelphia Verse 12 To the one who overcomes Pillar in the temple of My God He will not go out anymore Write on him the name of My God Name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem Which comes down out of heaven from My God My new name

Letter to Philadelphia Pillar in the temple of My God and he will go out no more To an earthquake plagued town, an eternal pillar was a dream This is not speaking of “holding up” God’s temple This is instead the thought of dwelling never to leave again in God’s temple

Letter to Philadelphia 3 names Name of God Rev 22:1 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” This is picturing eternal life with God

Letter to Philadelphia 3 names Name of God Name of New Jerusalem Heb 13:14 “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Rev 21:2 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Letter to Philadelphia 3 names Name of God Name of New Jerusalem Jesus’ new name Isa 62:1 “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

Letter to Philadelphia If you have an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches A more poetic way of saying, “everyone listen!”

What can we learn? Notice, this church was not condemned for sin They are a model church for us They had persecution Because they were threatening the Jews’ ways The Jews responded to the activity of the Christians They had an open door Jesus seems confident they will enter through it They were holding fast They had a crown Not will receive Jesus said they were doing what they should be doing to receive a crown They were going home

What do you want? As a church As an individual To be like Philadelphia? To be Jesus’ example of a church? As an individual Do you want God’s name written on you? Do you want to dwell with God? Then you need to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” Do you wish to be saved?