THE PHILADELPHIA CHURCH
Dr. Stephen R. Phinney
PHILADELPHIA
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; 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 out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 3:7-13
The message to the church of Philadelphia is the message to the True Church. The church was about 25 miles south of Sardis. It was named after its founder, Attalus II Philadelphus (the king of Pergamum), because of his loyalty to his elder brother, Eumenes II (king of Lydia).
Philadelphia is a young city compared to the other churches we have discussed. It was established around 189 BC on one of the highways, which led to the interior of Asia Minor. The names given to this city through the centuries were many, but it ended up with the modern name of Ala-sheir, which means the “city of God.”
Philadelphia quickly became a prominent and wealthy trade center. As the coastal cities declined, it grew in power and retained its importance, even until the late Byzantine times. During the reign of Tiberius, the city was destroyed by an earthquake; yet, it was quickly rebuilt. Twice, in 1306 and 1324, it was besieged by the Sunni Muslim Turks. It retained its independence until after 1390 when it was captured by the combined forces of the Turks and the Byzantines. In 1403, Tamerlane (one of the greatest and ruthless military commanders in Turkish history) captured it; it is said, he built about it a wall of the corpses of its Christian victims.
Ala-shehir is a Christian town to this very day—minimally, they tolerate a Christian-type of faith. On the terrace upon where the ancient city stood, the ruins of a castle and the walls may still be seen; among them is the foundation of the early church.
Important Points of Interest
To this day, the Turkish government barely acknowledges the existence of the Philadelphian church and its community. They place no link or ads to this community whatsoever. Despite all their refusal to recognize the only True Christian community of Turkey, the town still prospers in faith. It is considered one of the great wonders of church history.
The church of Philadelphia was the “cream of the crop” regarding the Seven churches. It was one of the only two churches that had no rebukes: Smyrna (the church of poverty and persecution) was the other one. Both churches were accused of being Jewish because they believed in the doctrine of being grafted into the Jewish body—that of Jesus Christ. The word repent is not used by Christ for the church of Philadelphia.
The Philadelphian church heeded the advice given to the previous church of Sardis. They strengthened those things which Sardis would not. As Sardis protested against Thyatira, Philadelphia protested and came out of the dead Protestant and State Church, called Sardis. Here was a church that had returned to sound doctrine. There became a renewed focus on evangelism and a revival of Purity, Holiness, and Truth. It had “little power,” but they kept the Word of the Lord by making use of the power they did have—something churches need to take advantage of today; whatever power Christ has allotted to the faithful churches, they need to stand on and take action. They refused to deny God’s Word or the name of Jesus. It was a persevering church of brotherly love.
The "synagogue of Satan” refers to the Jews who might have been the church of God, but because of opposition, it had become the “synagogue of Satan.” And to Smyrna, the promise is: “the synagogue of Satan” should not prevail against her as the church or the faithful ones. To Philadelphia: she should even win over some of “the synagogue of Satan” (1 Corinthians 14:25).
Many great evangelistic revivals and missionary efforts came forth from this revived church. The city of Philadelphia continued, and by all respects, continues to this very day.
Jesus holds the keys of David, and He decides who will enter the gates of David (Heaven) or if they will go to Hell. Remember when Jesus gave Peter those keys, in Acts chapter 2, to open the Kingdom of Heaven, so the Jews on the Day of Pentecost could enter? In Acts 10, we find those keys used again for the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. Peter left those doors open, and the keys have never been mentioned again in Scripture, until now, which is why it so offensive to Jesus when the Pope, a priest, a bishop, a preacher, or an evangelist thinks he has the prerogative to decide who enters those gates. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It is He, Jesus Christ, who decides who enters, and it is He who will close the door at its chosen time.
The church of Philadelphia was given an open the door to serve. They have shown the faithfulness necessary to serve in the service of Christ. God’s calling on the faithful believer is ordained; he is given a “pulpit” to spread the news, which God gives him to deliver. For each of us to reach the right pulpit for service, we must be willing to do so.
The time-stamp for the church of Philadelphia covers from approximately 1750 AD, through the end of World War II, and up to the time of Israel becoming a nation. It does need to be noted that the church at Philadelphia, and the church of Laodicea, will coexist until the True Church is caught up in the rapture. Keep in mind that coexistence does not mean “partnership.” It merely means that both will remain on the earth until that particular time. True believers will be extracted from both.
The last revival of the church of Philadelphia was led by men like Whitfield, Wesley, Finney, and Moody. What a team! Can you imagine these men on our streets today? They would be shot, imprisoned, or considered radicals, even by their church members. We have not seen a worldwide revival like these men were a part of since.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be one those to whom Jesus sends the members of the synagogue of Satan to come and worship before the Lord’s feet. What a day that would be! Not that we should want people to serve us, but to serve Christ, and to bow at His feet. What a privilege that is given to the church of Philadelphia. Also, keep in mind, the members of the synagogue of Satan are not Satanists in black robes. These are church members who think or pretend to be saved when, in reality, they are promoting the prince of the air—Satan.
A high price was paid for you and me. To be Bridal Members of Christ, we have to go through a genuine, authentic, born-again salvation. He is not about to have an enemy steal His Bride before the Wedding Feast. It is not going to happen. He purchased us with His blood, according to Acts 20:28. Those who counterfeit the True Church (Bridal Members) will pay dearly for their evil deception. There are many fake churches today that are not preaching the true, authentic gospel.
Verse 10: Two great things are being revealed to us here. First, “Because you have kept the Word of My perseverance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing.” We must keep God’s Word holy and intact. If one word failed His word, all Christianity would crumble under our feet. Satan knows this, and he pushes to test all Christians to deny God’s holy Word. Since that will never happen to the authentic believers, every Word will be fulfilled by the hand of Christ Himself. God is the Word, and He (Jesus Christ) is not up for a rewrite, and that completely torches the enemy. Praise God!
Secondly, this church not only kept His Word, but they kept His name. They did not deny the name of the Lord, but kept it and lifted it high above all other things. They were not “pushed” to their knees; they chose to stay on their knees for Christ’s sake.
Precisely what does Christ mean by saying, “I will also keep you from the hour of testing?” Here’s where the theologians like to “play.” Some leaders preach ideas, doctrines, and dogmas regarding the church having to go through the full Tribulation. Some preach that the Church will only have to go through the first 3-1/2 years of The Great Tribulation, and then some preach the Truth. According to this verse, the promise comes to the church of Philadelphia to keep them from the hour of Tribulation. That is why I believe it is essential to understand the rapture most likely will happen before the Tribulation is ignited. For many years I preached “mid-trib” theology, and that was before I realized the Truth. Arrogance is an action that takes liberties to make proclamations that do not align itself with what Jesus said to the Church of Philadelphia.
You can join me in the assurance that all True born-again believers will not enter or go through any, and I mean any, part of the Tribulation. Not one piece of evidence matches the Truth for those “mid-tribbers” or “post-toasties” types. I am embarrassed to say, I was one of them at one time, but I probably could claim that ignorance was truly bliss.
Verse 11: “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” When Christ says He is coming quickly, He means quickly. Our time on earth seems so long and so difficult, but in the timeline of God, it happens rather quickly. In God’s view, it is like a “twinkling of an eye,” according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. Our crown is our Salvation. In this verse, it states crown (singular), not crowns. Crowns (plural) are rewards, but crown (singular) is Salvation. He instructs us not to allow anyone, spirit or human, to steal the joy of our Salvation. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and when our joy is taken from us, so is our strength.
Verse 12 and 13: These verses reveal to us some profound, yet simple, Truths. Those of us who overcome will be made pillars in His temple. He will also write His name on that pillar and the name of the holy city of New Jerusalem. The great exchange will occur at about the same time, probably the same second. When the True Church is raptured from this dark world, the Lord will be spitting the church of Laodicea out of His mouth. We are living in the very hour of the coming of our Groom for the True Church. Just about every detail of prophecy has already been fulfilled. A few details are remaining for the Lord to accomplish, but most of the prophecies have been fulfilled, just in the past couple of generations. When He says if you have an ear to listen, we probably should listen. Our reward is right around the corner, without question.
I hate to say it, but yes, a believer can lose part of his reward. I get asked if Christians can lose their Salvation. Well, Scripture does say that once we receive Jesus Christ into our lives, we are placed in the Book of Life, but it also means that those who do not endure to the end, their name will be taken out, so I’m going to leave that business to God’s sovereign position.
There are five crowns talked about in the New Testament that can be earned, yes, I said earned by a believer through faithfulness and stewardship. Many will enter into the Kingdom of God, but it does not necessarily mean they will have multiple crowns.
Some believers will receive a full reward, and others will lose part or all of their reward because their works were no done by releasing Christ to do the work through them; most of their works were self-life works. Don’t despair over this. For you to lose your reward would mean you are committing acts of not living and practicing the True Gospel of Jesus. These rewards are not based upon a life of sinless perfection; they are acts of functioning in support of the synagogue of Satan. Jesus did not put this in place to have His Bridal Members perform, but instead, it is more of a warning of participating in acts, deeds, and doctrines of the Antichrist. All works that are done by Christ being release through the believer to do the works are going to receive these rewards.
As I teach this lesson, I am under conviction to challenge a few readers who may not be saved and who may be motivated by the Holy Spirit to pray the salvation prayer.