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Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church 2080 West Grand Boulevard

Detroit, Michigan 48208 Pastor Nathan Johnson, D.D., Senior Pastor

Pastor’s Bible Study A Bible Study Series Based on the book

"Revelation Four Views" by Steve Gregg

Part I

The Seven Letters

Revelation 1–3

Philadelphia: The Faithful Church

The Church at Philadelphia ““Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “The Holy One, the True One,

the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens says: I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown. The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. 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. “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:7–13, HCSB)

The Church at Philadelphia Like all churches, the one in Philadelphia had its imperfections. Yet the Lord

commended its members for their faithfulness and loyalty. They and the congregation at Smyrna were the only two of the seven that received no rebuke from the Lord of the church.

In spite of their fleshly struggles, the Christians at Philadelphia were faithful and obedient, serving and worshiping the Lord. They provide a good model of a loyal church.

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The Church at Philadelphia Philadelphia was situated in a strategic place on the main route of the Imperial

Post from Rome to the East, and thus was called "the gateway to the East." It was also called "little Athens" because of the many temples in the city. The church was certainly located in a place of tremendous opportunity.

The Church at Philadelphia The only major problem with the location was that the area was prone to

earthquakes. Philadelphia sat on a geological fault, and in 17 B.C. it was destroyed by a severe earthquake that also destroyed Sardis and ten other cities. Afterward, some of the citizens refused to move back into the city and remained in the surrounding countryside, which they called "the burnt land." There did not seem to be much security in the city of brotherly love!

The Church at Philadelphia Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities, founded sometime after 189

b.c. either by King Eumenes of Pergamum or his brother, Attalus II, who succeeded him as king. In either case, the city derived its name from Attalus II's nickname Philadelphus ("brother lover"), which his loyalty to his brother Eumenes had earned him.

Though situated on an easily defensible site on an 800-foot-high hill overlooking an important road, Philadelphia was not founded primarily as a military outpost (as Thyatira had been). Its founders intended it to be a center of Greek culture and language, a missionary outpost for spreading Hellenism to the regions of Lydia and Phrygia. Philadelphia succeeded in its mission so well that by a.d. 19 the Lydian language had been completely replaced by Greek.

The Church at Philadelphia The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine author of the seven letters, always introduces

Himself with a description reflecting His character. In the previous five letters, those descriptions had come from the vision recorded in 1:12-17. But this description of Him is unique and not drawn from that earlier vision. It has distinctly Old Testament features.

He who is holy refers to God, who alone possesses absolute holiness. The Old Testament repeatedly describes God as the Holy One (e.g., 2 Kings 19:22; Job 6:10; Pss. 71:22; 78:41; Isa. 43:15; 54:5; Hab. 3:3). Isaiah 6:3 solemnly declares, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory" (cf. Rev. 4:8).

To say that God is holy is to say that He is utterly separate from sin; therefore His character is absolutely unblemished and flawless.

The Church at Philadelphia Not only is Jesus Christ the Holy One; He also describes Himself as He who is

true. Truth is used in combination with holiness to describe God in Revelation 6:10; 15:3; 16:7; 19:2, 11. Alēthinos (true) denotes that which is genuine, authentic, trustworthy, and real. In the midst of the falsehood, perversion, and error that fills the world, the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6).

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He is the original, not a copy; the authentic God and not a manufactured one. There were hundreds of false gods and goddesses in those days (1 Cor. 8:5-6), but only Jesus Christ could rightfully claim to be the true God.

The Church at Philadelphia There is none other. All the other gods worshipped by men are false, counterfeit,

and unreal. This, too, means a wonderful thing. God is not far off in outer space someplace,

too far off to be known or reached. He is not the shadowy figure that most men imagine Him to be. God is not distant from us. He has not left us in the dark to grope and grasp and to stumble about trying to find Him. God does not hate us; He has not left us in the dark about Himself. God loves us. He has revealed Himself to us. He sent the Lord Jesus Christ to bring the truth to us.

The Church at Philadelphia Third, Christ describes Himself as the One who has the key of David. As is clear

from Revelation 5:5 and 22:16, David symbolizes the messianic office. A key in Scripture represents authority; whoever holds a key has control (cf. 1:18; 9:1; 20:1; Matt. 16:19).

The term the key of David also appears in Isaiah 22:22, where it refers to Eliakim, the steward or prime minister to Israel's king. Because of his office, he controlled access to the monarch.

As the holder of the key of David, Jesus alone has the sovereign authority to determine who enters His messianic kingdom (cf. John 10:7, 9; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Revelation 1:18 reveals that Jesus has the keys to death and hell; here He is depicted as having the keys to salvation and blessing.

The Church at Philadelphia Finally, Jesus identifies Himself as He who opens and no one will shut, and who

shuts and no one opens. That description stresses Christ's omnipotence; what He does cannot be overturned by someone more powerful. "I act and who can reverse it?" declared the Lord in Isaiah 43:13 (cf. Isa. 46:9-11; Jer. 18:6; Dan. 4:35).

No one can shut the doors to the kingdom or to blessing if He holds them open, and no one can force them open if He holds them shut. In light of the promise in verse 8, Christ could also be referring to opening and shutting doors for service. In either case, the emphasis is on His sovereign control over His church.

The Church at Philadelphia When men by their arrogance and ecclesiastical or political position and actions

would strive to shut out true Bible-believing believers from effective service, we need to remember His power and authority. Men may bind us, as they did John and Paul, but God’s Word is not bound (2 Tim. 2:9).

Further, when we think we must compromise God’s principles of the ministry and resort to human gimmicks, Madison Avenue techniques, or any kind of worldly means to accomplish spiritual objectives or as the keys to open doors, we need to again reflect on the truth of this passage. The Lord holds the key to opening doors to ministry as well as the door to the hearts of men.

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The Church at Philadelphia Jesus Christ alone opens and shuts the door into God's court and presence. He

alone determines who lives in heaven with God the Father. He alone grants entrance into the presence of God. The door into heaven is opened and closed by Him and Him alone. No other person or being has that authority. Jesus Christ alone holds the key to open and shut the door to life eternal.

Therefore, the church that focuses upon Jesus Christ can be assured: it shall live forever. When the time comes, Jesus Christ shall open the door of heaven.

The church that takes all its ministries, activities, and meetings and makes Jesus Christ the center of them all—that church shall live forever.

The Church at Philadelphia First, the Philadelphia church had a little power. That was not a negative

comment on their feebleness, but a commendation of their strength; the Philadelphia church was small in numbers (cf. Luke 12:32), 122but had a powerful impact on its city. Most of its members may have been poor, from the lower classes of society (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26). But with Paul they could say, "I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

Despite its small size, spiritual power flowed in the Philadelphia church. People were being redeemed, lives were being transformed, and the gospel of Jesus Christ was being proclaimed.

The Church at Philadelphia Jesus said, "Thou hast kept my word." They were faithful and true to the Gospel.

They did not yield to those who raised doubts and speculations about His Word. They were committed to Christ’s Word or the Word about the Savior to preserve

it from false ideas and adulterations, but they were also committed to observing its truth in their lives.

Christ was more impressed with their quality than their quantity. The Lord is looking for holiness and faithfulness in His church. This church received the Word, believed the Word, loved the Word, and obeyed the Word of God.

The Church at Philadelphia A farmer's hogs were admired by other farmers for miles around. They were

sleek and roly poly. When it came time to feed the little darlings, the farmer would go to the edge of the pasture and knock on the trough with a stick. The pigs would come running and squealing. All was well until a woodpecker made its home in the dead trees. When he would peck the trees, the pigs mistook the tapping for the farmer. They would run all day from one dead tree to another. They soon became poor and scrawny.

People today are just like these pigs. They run to materialism, money, fame, popularity, worldly entertainment, drugs, sex, and liquor and end up being very weak spiritually if they are Christians. God help us to have a heart that is fixed upon the Lord and faithful to Him.

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Christ further commended the Philadelphia congregation for having not denied His name, despite the pressures they faced to do so. They remained loyal no matter what it cost them. Revelation 14:12 describes the Tribulation saints who refused to take the mark of the beast: "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus."

Like them, the Philadelphia church would not recant its faith. Finally, Christ commended the Philadelphia church because its members had

kept the word of His perseverance. The New International Version's translation clarifies Christ's meaning: "You have kept my command to endure patiently." The Christians at Philadelphia persevered faithfully through all of their trials and difficulties.

The Church at Philadelphia Because of its faithfulness, the Lord Jesus Christ made the Philadelphia church

some astounding promises. First, He put before them an open door which no one can shut.

Their salvation was secure; their entrance both into the blessings of salvation by grace and into Christ's future messianic kingdom was guaranteed.

The picture of Christ's opening the door also symbolizes His giving the faithful Philadelphia church opportunities for service. Elsewhere in Scripture an open door depicts freedom to proclaim the gospel.

The Church at Philadelphia Verse 9 records a second promise made by Jesus Christ to the Philadelphia

church: 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. As was the case in Smyrna (cf. 2:9), Christians in Philadelphia faced hostility from unbelieving Jews.

Because of their rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, they were not at all a synagogue of God, but a synagogue of Satan. Though they claimed that they were Jews, that claim was a lie. Racially, culturally, and ceremonially they were Jews, but spiritually they were not.

The Church at Philadelphia “Of Satan” is a genitive of possession, Satan’s synagogue, that which belongs to

him. Satan was its head and the power behind the scenes. More crime, evil and persecution have been perpetrated in the name of religion

and by the religious, self-righteous type than almost any other one source of evil. Religion is Satan’s trump card, and one of his primary weapons that he uses to

both deceive and hurt mankind. This is what we have here. Religious persecution by religious Jews operating under Satan’s control whether they realized it or not.

The Church at Philadelphia Paul defines a true Jew in Romans 2:28-29: "For he is not a Jew who is one

outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God" (cf. Rom. 9:6-7).

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Amazingly, Christ promised that some of the very Jews who were persecuting the Christians at Philadelphia would come and bow down at their feet, and know that God had loved them. Bowing at someone's feet depicts abject, total defeat and submission. The Philadelphia church's enemies would be utterly vanquished, humbled, and defeated.

The Church at Philadelphia Verse 10 contains a final promise to the faithful Philadelphia 124church: 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. Because the believers in Philadelphia had successfully passed so many tests, Jesus promised to spare them from the ultimate test.

The sweeping nature of that promise extends far beyond the Philadelphia congregation to encompass all faithful churches throughout history. This verse promises that the church will be delivered from the Tribulation, thus supporting a pretribulation Rapture.

The Church at Philadelphia The Rapture is the subject of three passages in the New Testament (John 14:1-4;

1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17), none of which speak of judgment, but rather of the church being taken up to heaven.

There are three views of the timing of the Rapture in relation to the Tribulation: that it comes at the end of the Tribulation (posttribulationism), in the middle of the Tribulation (midtribulationism), and the view that seems to be supported by this text, that the Rapture takes place before the Tribulation (pretribulationism).

The Church at Philadelphia This is very specific and carefully described in the Greek to emphasize and clearly

teach the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. The Greek words for “keep out” are tēreō ek meaning “out of.”

There are four other ways this could have been stated if John wanted to imply that church age believers would be in the Tribulation, but none of them were used.

The Church at Philadelphia tēreō en = To keep in. This would be a promise of preservation in the

Tribulation. tēreō dia = to keep through. This would be a promise to keep us through the

Tribulation. aireō ek = to take out, or sōzō ek = to save out. This could mean that believers

would go into the Tribulation and then be taken out of the Tribulation. aireō apo = to take from. This would mean that believers would go into the

Tribulation and then be taken out of the Tribulation. Rather than any of the above, John chose to use tēreō ek, which means “to keep

out.” This is a promise that believers will never get into the Tribulation. But how? Paul describes this for us 1 Thessalonians 4:13f. We can chart it like this:

The Church at Philadelphia

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The Church at Philadelphia

Several aspects of this wonderful promise may be noted. First, the test is yet future.

Second, the test is for a definite, limited time; Jesus described it as the hour of testing.

Third, it is a test or trial that will expose people for what they really are. Fourth, the test is worldwide in scope, since it will come upon the whole world. Finally, and most significantly, its purpose is to test those who dwell on the

earth—a phrase used as a technical term in the book of Revelation for unbelievers (cf. 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6; 17:2, 8). The hour of testing is Daniel's Seventieth Week (Dan. 9:25-27), the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7), the seven-year tribulation period.

The Lord promises to keep His church out of the future time of testing that will come on unbelievers.

The Church at Philadelphia The coming that Christ refers to differs from those promised to others of the

seven churches (e.g., 2:5, 16; 3:3). Those earlier promises were warnings of impending temporal judgment on sinning congregations (cf. Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 11:28-30).

The coming spoken of here, however, is to bring the hour of testing that culminates in our Lord's second coming. It is Christ's coming to deliver the church (cf. 2 Thess. 2:1), not to bring judgment to it.

Quickly depicts the imminency of Christ's coming for His church; it could happen at any time. Every believer's response should be, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (22:20).

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Because of the Lord's imminent return for His church, believers must hold fast what they have. The members of the Philadelphia church had been faithful and loyal to Christ; He commanded them to remain so. Those who persevere to the end thereby prove the genuineness of their salvation (Matt. 10:22; 24:13).

Christ's promise to the one who faithfully perseveres is no one will take your crown (cf. James 1:12). Revelation 2:10 defines this crown as the "crown of life," or as the Greek text literally reads, "the crown which is life." The crown, or reward, for those who faithfully endure to the end is eternal life with all its attendant rewards (2 John 8). Second Timothy 4:8 describes it as a crown of righteousness, and 1 Peter 5:4 as one of glory.

In our glorified state, we will be perfectly righteous, and thus perfectly able to reflect God's glory. Those whose faithful perseverance marks them as true children of God need never fear losing their salvation.

The Church at Philadelphia For overcomers, Jesus offers several promises.

1. He will make them a pillar in the temple of God. He will make those who follow Him strong, stable, immovable, permanent, durable, and standing in God's house. Pillars also represented honor. In pagan temples they were often carved in such a way to honor a particular deity.

Philadelphia could relate to the honor of a pillar. It was their custom to honor a man who served the city well as a magistrate, benefactor, or priest by erecting a pillar in a temple with his name on it. His name would be remembered by the worshipers in the temple.

Jesus said, "I will make a pillar for you in my temple. I will honor you." The Church at Philadelphia

2. Never again will they leave it... "They would go no more out." The Lord communicates truth to these folks that they can relate to. Because of the frequent earthquakes and tremors, the people were constantly having to go in and out of the city to escape the falling debris of the buildings. The threat of earthquakes left them in a constant state of stress, insecurity, and fear of death.

Jesus was promising safety and security in Him. In Christ we are secure. The Church at Philadelphia

3. He will write on the overcomers. On the foreheads of believers there will be written three things:

The Name of God to show they are one of God's children and belonging to Him.

The Name of the New Jerusalem. This name may be needed in order to have access to it.

The New Name of Jesus Christ. This will show the personal relationship and intimacy of the believer with the Lord. Believers will belong to Christ, have a special relationship with Him, and will be citizens of the New Jerusalem. The Philadelphians understood the specialness of a new name. They had changed the name of the city to Neocaesarea (The Town

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of Caesar) after Caesar Tiberius rebuilt the city when it was devastated by an earthquake. Years later, the name was changed back to Philadelphia.

The Church at Philadelphia The exhortation He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the

churches closes all seven letters. Believers must heed the truths found in each letter, since the seven churches represent the types of churches that have existed throughout history.

The letter to the faithful Philadelphia church reveals that the holy, true, sovereign, omnipotent God pours out His blessings on churches that remain loyal to Him.

He will bless them with open doors for evangelism, eternal salvation, kingdom blessings, and deliverance from the great time of testing that will come on the earth.

He will ultimately bring all those who persevere in their faith to the eternal bliss of heaven, where He will reveal Himself fully to them.

The promise of those rich blessings should motivate every church and every Christian to follow the Philadelphia church's example of faithfulness.