The letter to the church in Philadelphia
Philadelphia: The city with the key of David. What doors does this key open? Evangelism, opportunities, relationships, …? Read on and you will know and understand why this church receives no reproof.
The historical background
Philadelphia is the youngest of the 7 cities and is located 50 km south of Sardis. It was probably built in the second century BC. The name is derived from Attalus the Second (who succeeded his brother on the throne) who was so loyal to his brother that he was called Philadelphus (brother’s lover).
The city was located at the end of a river basin, at the crossroads of several trade routes, and at the foot of a large lava area, which made it ideal for vineyards.
On the other hand, the city was constantly plagued by earthquakes, even to the point that the city was allowed to skip five years of taxes because they were busy rebuilding the city.
In 60 A.D. there was a big earthquake and in 92 A.D. the emperor issued a decree to reduce the cultivation of wine (maybe to promote the cultivation of grain for the army), so the people of the town felt betrayed by the emperor, to whom they had always been loyal.
Jesus’ view
This is the other church that receives no rebuke from Jesus.
He approaches the church as the one who has the key of David to open what no one can close and close what no one can open, which is a reference to Shebna and Eliakim. The key that is spoken of there is the treasury where the key is given to Eliakim, so that he can provide for the needy.
This congregation is probably in financial trouble because they are faithful to God, perhaps to those they support.
The other challenges come from the Jews who oppress the church like in Smyrna. They will be promised that these Jews will fall before their feet, which means that they will probably become part of the church eventually, which will require some reconciliation.
They are truly overcomers. What is their secret? They patiently endure.
The promise
God wants to make them like a pillar in the temple, meaning that they will never have to leave God’s presence again and will dwell in His presence forever. Writing the name of my God and the city of my God is reminiscent of Ezekiel, where the name of the city is called “the LORD is here”.
Their promise is probably also the way they endured for so long: Their greatest desire was to be close to Jesus.
The hour of trial
Here in the letter is an interesting statement: “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
What is the hour of trail that will come upon the whole earth? And how will Jesus keep us from it? The word “keep from” appears otherwise only in the Gospel of John, where Jesus prays for his disciples: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”. Jesus is not talking about taking them out of the world, but protecting them from the world, as in the Proverbs or the Letter of James. So, this statement basically describes the same situation as the Great Tribulation.