The Apostle John’s letter to the church at Philadelphia may be outlined under six headings: Destination (3:7), The Lord (3:7), Commendation (Revelation 3:8), Condemnation (None), Exhortation (None), Promise (3:9-13).
Destination (Revelation 3:7)
The church of Philadelphia was located about twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis. The meaning of Philadelphia is brotherly love. The church of Philadelphia is brotherly love. The church of Philadelphia represents church history from 1750-1910 A.D.
The Lord (Revelation 3:7)
Christ identified Himself as Holy, true and authoritative (keys). Christ’s being Holy in Himself suggests His absolute Deity (Luke 18:19). He is true or genuine, for He is the Only true God. He has the “key of David,” for as the Seed of David, He has complete access to all the blessings promised in the Davidic Covenant (II Samuel 7:15-16) He has complete power to open and close the doors of blessings that stem from the Davidic Covenant. He is in absolute control.
Commendation (Revelation 3:8)
Being omniscient, Christ was aware of this church’s works. This church was blessed with having an open door of service to God because of their relationship to Christ. Although small (having little power), the believers had remained faithful and had persevered. Christ issued no word of rebuke to this church. They were small in strength, but they persevered and remained faithful to His Word and Name! This church was effective because they were faithful to God’s Word. The effectiveness of any church should be determined by its faithfulness to God’s Word, not the size nor strength of the church. This church had been faithful in the little things; now Christ will grant them greater opportunities for service (Luke 19:17).
Condemnation (None)
There is no initial message of condemnation.
Exhortation (None)
There is no initial message of exhortation.
Promise (Revelation 3:9-13)
Christ gave five promises to this church.
First, He promised that one day all their enemies would bow and worship God at their feet. The day is coming when all opponents of the faith will acknowledge that Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). Because of their formidable faith, the Jewish community had ostracized them from the daily life of worship in the synagogue. This Jewish community had rejected the Messiah, and Christ spoke of them as being of the synagogue of Satan (v. 9).
The second promise of Christ has to do with the believers being exempted from the Tribulation Period. This period of time is mentioned in Revelation chapters 6 through 19. Christ will remove the true church from this “hour of temptation” (Tribulation Period). The Tribulation Period will last for seven years, and afterward, Christ will appear during His Second Coming to earth to rule (I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11).
Christ’s third promise to the church at Philadelphia was that He would return to earth quickly (v. 11). The thought is not simply that of coming soon, but coming suddenly or quickly. They were exhorted in the face of His coming to continue to hold on to what they have.
The fourth promise of Christ will include believers being honored in the temple of God, as Dr. Charles Ryrie explains: “The promise that believers will be pillars may allude to the custom in Philadelphia of honoring a magistrate or philanthropist by placing a great pillar in one of the temples with his name inscribed on it. Believers will be so honored in the temple of God and permanently so (“shall go no more out”).
The fifth promise of Christ will be that Christ will write on each believer His new name. Because believers have identified with Christ by faith, He will identify Himself with them.
May God Bless!
Dr. Johnny Calvin Smith
