“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
Revelation 3:7-13
Philadelphia was located on a low but defensible hill on the southern side of the fertile Hermus River valley at the foot of Mt Tmolus. Philadelphia lay 145 kms from Smyrna, 45 kms to the south east from Sardis and 80 kms northwest of Laodicea. Philadelphia was a relatively young city founded at the beginning of the Second Century BC, but there is doubt. Gordon Fee says it was most likely founded under Attalid control of the Anatolia area. Attalus II Philadelphus is reported to have named the city in honour of his brother, Emenes II, who had been king before him. Philadelphia in Greek means ‘Brotherly Love’. William Penn copied the idea when he named the American city, Philadelphia, in the state named after him, Pennsylvania. Attalus wanted the religions of Greece to influence Asia Minor and promoted the Greek language and culture beyond Philadelphia, which was the gateway to the high plateau and all points east. By 19 AD the people of the region of Lydia all spoke Greek.
Philadelphia was an ideal city to act as the catalyst in spreading Greek culture and language or Christianity as it was the hub for five separate roads from the West. From Philadelphia onward the road led via the Great King’s highway to the Cradle of Civilisation and on to the Far East, India and China. Philadelphia was also called Little Athens as a result of the process of Hellenisation described above. But there was another feature of the city which I need to make clear. The city was ideally suited to growing grapes and was quickly established as a centre for viticulture. The volcanic soils were perfect for grapes and enhanced the success of the city. However the downside was Philadelphia was built directly over the fault line which was responsible for the huge earthquake in 17 AD which levelled 12 cities in the region. Yet volcanism also proved to be of benefit for the town through the soil and also the fact that it provided hot springs through which the houses could be heated by the thermal activity. The city developed as a centre for travellers on the way east.
Strabo, the Greek philosopher, historian and geographer wrote after the earthquake in 17 AD:-
Not even its walls are secure, they are daily shaken and split in some degree. The people pay attention to earth tremors. The town has few inhabitants, the majority live in the countryside and plan their buildings with the earthquakes in mind. It’s surprising that they are so fond of the place when they live in such insecure buildings. This land is a burnt land, it is a place with earthquakes all around.
Strabo
Following the disaster of the earthquake, Emperor Tiberius gave the citizens of Philadelphia a tax break for a five year period to help them get re-established. However Laodicea was hit by an earthquake in AD 60, following which Emperor Domitian imposed an economic disaster on grape growing in Philadelphia in 92 AD, just a few years before they would have received John’s letter. The emperor decreed the grape growing areas to be reduced by half. Most pundits feel it was a measure to ensure growers planted more corn because Domitian wanted corn to feed his troops. This brought economic disaster to the area of the Hermus Valley. The people of Philadelphia felt a sense of betrayal as a result.
This is a shot of the ruins of the main street of Philadelphia. It was indicative of the wealth of a Roman city of the time but there is something else about this scene you need to be aware of, which is relevant to what is recorded in John’s introduction to this church. Along this main street were a series of pillars with the names of citizens who had been honoured by the emperors over the years. The name of the person who was honoured for something they had done as a public service or a deed which had been significant enough to come to the attention of the emperor was recorded on the pillar along with the name of the emperor who had bestowed the honour. This was somewhat akin to the New Year Honours list posted by royalty as members of the British Commonwealth these days. Now isn’t that curious when considered in the light of Revelation 3:12. Is that just a coincidence? I don’t think so.
The introduction to the letter to the church in Philadelphia contains hints to the trials they were to go through. Clearly they would face difficulties. Either they were specifically related to those who opposed them from the Synagogue of Satan, that is Jews, who claimed to be Jewish but were not. Or did the opposition come from another source? I will discuss this more in the next Gem, but will include at this point some interesting information related to an Ignatius of Antioch who was under arrest and being escorted to Rome. He was a Jew and wrote a letter back to Philadelphia discussing the organisation of the church as well as the Judaising influence on the church. But perhaps more relevant is the fact that there were eleven Philadelphian Christians who were martyred with Polycarp from Smyrna. This may well have been the trial that was to come upon the church in Philadelphia to which Christ referred.
What is most notable in this letter to the Church in Philadelphia is the fact that Christ made no condemnation against this church. There were only two in that category: Smyrna and Philadelphia. Jesus had no bad word to say about these churches. Many wonder whether the lack of rebuke to these two churches had to do with the fact that they both suffered trials and apparently didn’t waiver. Now that has interesting implications for all seven churches as well as all churches across the centuries until now.
The fact that Philadelphia was the only church to stand firm for Christ over the period of the Roman Empire. When Islam swept out of Arabia and came down into North Africa, Christian churches were destroyed as well as churches in the Roman Province of Asia (Asia Minor). The Muslims swept through Europe up to the gates of Vienna. It is recorded that one church among the churches in Asia Minor (the seven churches we have been considering as examples) stood firm and didn’t yield. You guessed it; the Church of Philadelphia. There is still a strong church there in Muslim Turkey today in the modern day city of Alasehir (the equivalent of First Century Philadelphia). Interestingly we have to add to Philadelphia the church in Smyrna (Izmir) – see Gem 2198.
In the next Gem I will switch to the elements in the text of the letter to the Church of Philadelphia to make the connections between the background and what is included in the letter of the statements from Jesus. It may take me a couple of Gems to cover all the points needing explanation or I may be able to concentrate them into one Gem. I will do my best; pray for me to be given the wisdom to give you what you need to know to fully understand this letter to the sixth church. After that we have the letter to the last church of seven to deal with before I look back at all seven as a collection.
I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Jesus
Revelation 3:8
Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. Jesus
Revelation 3:10
All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God . . . and I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God and I will also write on them My new name. Jesus
Revelation 3:12
In the next Gem we will explore how poignant and to the point those three quotes were for the Christians of Philadelphia, the believers in the ‘Church of Brotherly Love’.
Ian
Now you are in the position of being able to unravel the depth of those comments for yourself. I will unpacked them more next Gem.
Ian