The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia: Revelation 3:7-13

Philadelphia, which means “brotherly love” in Koine Greek, was about 38 miles southeast of Sardis and was on a major highway. The Greeks founded the city in the second century B.C. to spread Greek culture into Asia Minor. By the first century A.D. the region was culturally Greek and the language spoken was Greek.

Ruins of the ancient city of Philadelphia,
the site of the Turkish city of Alasehir today.

Philadelphia was known for its temples and the worship of Greek and Roman gods of wine. The hot springs near the city were thought to have medicinal value and attracted a constant flow of visitors.

The region had experienced frequent earthquakes in its history. A large earthquake in 17 A.D. destroyed the city, the same earthquake that destroyed the city of Sardis, and, like Sardis, the Romans rebuilt Philadelphia after it was destroyed, Rome’s benevolence resulted in a strong bond between the population of Philadelphia and the Roman government. Due to the earthquake danger, most Philadelphians lived in huts outside the city in the open country.

Christ’s message to the Philadelphians appears in vv. 7-13:

“⁷ To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Philadelphia was known as the “open door city” in the Roman Empire, intended to propagate of Greek and Roman culture in Asia Minor. Christ alludes to this in v. 8: “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Just as the Romans used the city’s grand temples and worship of Caesar and the god of wine to spread its culture, so Jesus sees the church as the open door for spreading the message of the gospel.

Another allusion in the letter concerns the large temple for emperor worship added in the city by the Romans, who rebuilt Philadelphia after it was destroyed in the earthquake of 17 A.D. On that temple was the inscription referring to the emperor as “the son of the holy one” or “son of the holy.” 

In v. 7, Christ alludes to that inscription as He describes Himself as “…Him who is holy and true…” The word He uses to refer to Himself is  “ἅγιος,” which means “the holy one, separated from all sin.” Jesus’ claim of absolute holiness is true, unlike the claim of the Roman temple inscription to Caesar. Jesus is the true and only God, the One possessing truth and in His very being Truth, and as the One who is true, He is the only path to salvation. (See Jesus’ claim in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”)

His claim in v. 7 as the One “…who holds the key of David…” refers to two prophecies in Isaiah:

Isaiah 9:7: “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 22:22: “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

The key is a symbol of control and authority. V. 7 emphasizes Jesus’ identity and authority, in contrast to the claim of the Caesar, so boldly inscribed on the Roman temple in Philadelphia.

Note that in the letter, Jesus praises the Philadelphia congregation (v. 8), but finds no reason for censure, telling them: “…I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

It is hard for us to appreciate just how difficult daily life was for these Christians. The culture was polytheistic, and Philadelphia was occupied by the Romans, but most inhabitants were not Roman citizens. Those who were not citizens and did not worship Caesar were seen as a lower class of people with few rights & very limited opportunities to make a living.

Jesus promises in vv. 9-10 that “⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ 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.”

Because the Jews had rejected their Messiah, the Jewish authorities were seen as a tool of Satan, and in this era, the Jewish leadership cooperated with the Romans in persecuting and executing Christians in order to rid the world of the Christian faith.

V. 10 recognizes that the Philadelphian Christians had been found faithful despite the trials and persecution they faced and is a prophecy of the future kingdom, when we will reign with Christ and all mankind will know the truth that He is Savior and Lord. This is one of several references in prophesy confirming the removal of the church from the future tribulation before Jesus establishes His kingdom on earth.

A warning and promise appear in vv. 11-12: “¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” In other words, stay faithful just as you have been faithful up to now. As Christians, we must hold fast to our relationship with Christ, hold fast to what is good, to listen to the Spirit…to stay faithful no matter what.

V. 11 has caused friction between Christians who hold that the bond between the Christian and Christ can be broken by sin and those who hold it will not be broken for the person who has truly trusted Christ as Savior and Lord.

In v.12, Christ points out that the Christian who is “…victorious…” (that is, the faithful Christian) He will make “…will make a pillar in the temple of my God.” The term He uses is “Ὁ νικῶν” (“the one overcoming” or “the victorious one”). In the New Testament, the term “overcome” in reference to Christians means one who holds fast his or her faith even unto death against enemies, persecutors, and temptations. In the verse, Jesus makes use of the fact that all the pillars in the magnificent temple to Caesar in Philadelphia had fallen in the earthquake of 17 A.D., but that the figurative “pillar in the temple of my God…” stands strong and immovable. His promise is sure, and God, the only true Holy One, is strong and immovable, dependable, sure, and true, and Christians will be forever in Christ’s presence in His Kingdom.