The Letter To Philadelphia
Sermon
Paradise Restored
Sermons From Revelation For Lent And Easter
Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? Everyone knows this. At the bottom! Of course!
Well, the students of history among us will say it was signed at Philadelphia. It's a great city in Pennsylvania, the fifth largest in the United States, once capital of our country. The Constitution was also written and signed there. It has been called the birthplace of the nation. It's also called "The City of Brotherly Love." That's what the name means in Greek: "Brotherly love."
But there used to be two other Philadelphias. One was in Lydia, now Turkey, in Asia Minor. At the time John writes the book of Revelation, this Philadelphia is only about 200 years old, the youngest city of John's seven churches. It was built by Attalus II, a king of Pergamum. Attalus' love of his brother Eumenes earned him the name "he who loves his brother." And this is the name of the city he founded.
It was part of God's plan that the Lord of love came into the first century, a time not known for its brotherly love.
The Romans have put John on their prison island, Patmos. The Spirit calls John to write to the seven churches in Asia Minor he must have visited as a missionary because he knows them so well. He couches his message in artistic language, cradled in his vision of the risen Lord who transcends anything we know.
He has a vision of a magnificent Jesus in a white robe amidst seven golden lampstands and holding seven stars. Jesus explains that the stars are the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands are the seven churches.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to be the light of the world, a city set on a hill, a lampstand that is not hidden under a bushel. Here in Revelation, the Lord Christ stands among the lampstands and he holds the angels of the churches in his hand.
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Ephesus, the loveless church
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Smyrna, the persecuted church
*
Pergamum, the compromising church
*
Thyatira, the corrupt church
*
Sardis, the dead church
*
Philadelphia, the faithful church
*
Laodicea, the lukewarm church
In the first letter, the Lord calls the church at Ephesus to task for being the fruit of shallow soil; they began with much love and great and good works, but they have lost their zeal. About the only thing in their favor is that they are pure. They test everyone and find out the false apostles and teachers.
The second letter to the Smyrna church is short and glowing in praise for the small church that bravely faces death.
The church at Pergamum he criticizes for accepting the immorality and practices of the culture around them, adultery, and idol worship. He tells them to avoid even the appearance of evil, because others may not be so discerning in their vision. The strong need to set examples for the weak.
The church at Thyatira has grown in their good works. Love and faith and service and endurance have exceeded what they had at first. But they have a Jezebel that corrupts them.
The church at Sardis looks really good. They look alive, but they are dead inside.
There is no word of criticism for the church at Philadelphia. They are the most faithful of the seven. And they did it with no great size and no great power.
The only negative the Lord tells John to write in their letter is that they have among them people of the lie, people of the synagogue of Satan who lie. As in the other letters, there is always the possibility that some in the church are hypocrites. They look and act like believers, but something is wrong inside. They try to lead the church astray, like the false prophets and teachers the church at Ephesus is famous for testing, or the Jezebel at Thyatira. The letter to Smyrna mentions the same problem in the same words.
If even the faithful church at Philadelphia is warned of people who hide their evil, we don't have to be ashamed when we lack brotherly love here. But his point is: Who is the real chosen of God? Those of any stripe or race or color who by their lives show the love of God -- who have God's name written on them -- these are the truly faithful.
There is an incident in the life of Jesus that most Christians tend to ignore or gloss over. Jesus is teaching at Capernaum just after he called the disciples. Controversies arise and some think he has a demon, and some think he comes from the devil. Pretty soon his mother and his brothers and sisters arrive at his home. They think he is "beside himself" or we might say, "Out of this mind." It may just be that they are concerned for his health. At any rate, the crowds are so great the family can't get in, so they send word. When Jesus hears that his mother and brothers and sisters want to talk to him, he points to his disciples and says, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:49; Mark 3:35).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
Words are not enough. What you believe is not as important as the difference it makes in your life that you believe.
A church tends to have a personality. It gets into habits, maybe even ruts. Lyle Schaller, a consultant on church administration, says a church does what it has the most practice doing. Ephesus has endurance. Smyrna has faith and courage in the face of persecution. Pergamum has compromised itself with the society around it. Thyatira follows its Jezebel down the garden path. Sardis has mastered the art of looking alive when really it is dead. Philadelphia is faithful, and makes the most of its size and lack of power.
So the message here is to analyze our habit. Ask ourselves: What is it we do with routine acceptance that may not be in the spirit of brotherly love and the fatherhood of God?
The church at Philadelphia is the church of the open doors. Note verses 7 and 8: "The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one shall open. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut."
An open door is an opportunity, a mission, a chance to serve, a purpose, a goal. I think this is the habit of the church of Philadelphia; they have the knack of finding a vacuum to fill, of seeing the needs of people around them and meeting them, of making their obstacles into opportunities. They don't worry about their weakness because they know the power of God in whom they believe and in whose name and by whose power they act. They live in faith. That's a good habit to have.
For John of Patmos, the victory of the Lord at the end of time is sure and certain, and there is comfort for the believers, and an uncounted multitude will be saved. He warns Ephesus that for some, the lampstand will be removed. They could lose their church. They could lose their salvation. For Smyrna he has the promise of a crown of life for the faithful. For Pergamum he promises the hidden manna and the new name on the white stone. To Thyatira he offers the bright morning star, which is Jesus, the Lamb, whose sacrifice ushers in a new day. To Sardis he promises the white garment of purity, and to confess his name before the Father and before his angels. For the believers at Philadelphia he will write on them three things: the name of God, the name of the city of God, and Jesus' own new name. He will make them pillars of the temple of God, and never shall they go out of it.
We have a vision of the Lord of the Church who knows our suffering because he has given his blood for us, and it is in his name that we have patient endurance, test all who come among us, constantly renew our enthusiasm in faith, certain we are different from the world around us, awake and alive in Christ to the door that is open and that no one can shut.
Now, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They saw a need, a vacuum to fill, and put their lives on the line to meet that need, to fill that vacuum. What open doors are there around us this Lent? The Lord is calling us as pillars of his temple to make a difference in our part of his world.
Lord, open our doors and never let them shut to those who say no to everything that makes it more difficult to say yes to you.
Well, the students of history among us will say it was signed at Philadelphia. It's a great city in Pennsylvania, the fifth largest in the United States, once capital of our country. The Constitution was also written and signed there. It has been called the birthplace of the nation. It's also called "The City of Brotherly Love." That's what the name means in Greek: "Brotherly love."
But there used to be two other Philadelphias. One was in Lydia, now Turkey, in Asia Minor. At the time John writes the book of Revelation, this Philadelphia is only about 200 years old, the youngest city of John's seven churches. It was built by Attalus II, a king of Pergamum. Attalus' love of his brother Eumenes earned him the name "he who loves his brother." And this is the name of the city he founded.
It was part of God's plan that the Lord of love came into the first century, a time not known for its brotherly love.
The Romans have put John on their prison island, Patmos. The Spirit calls John to write to the seven churches in Asia Minor he must have visited as a missionary because he knows them so well. He couches his message in artistic language, cradled in his vision of the risen Lord who transcends anything we know.
He has a vision of a magnificent Jesus in a white robe amidst seven golden lampstands and holding seven stars. Jesus explains that the stars are the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands are the seven churches.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to be the light of the world, a city set on a hill, a lampstand that is not hidden under a bushel. Here in Revelation, the Lord Christ stands among the lampstands and he holds the angels of the churches in his hand.
*
Ephesus, the loveless church
*
Smyrna, the persecuted church
*
Pergamum, the compromising church
*
Thyatira, the corrupt church
*
Sardis, the dead church
*
Philadelphia, the faithful church
*
Laodicea, the lukewarm church
In the first letter, the Lord calls the church at Ephesus to task for being the fruit of shallow soil; they began with much love and great and good works, but they have lost their zeal. About the only thing in their favor is that they are pure. They test everyone and find out the false apostles and teachers.
The second letter to the Smyrna church is short and glowing in praise for the small church that bravely faces death.
The church at Pergamum he criticizes for accepting the immorality and practices of the culture around them, adultery, and idol worship. He tells them to avoid even the appearance of evil, because others may not be so discerning in their vision. The strong need to set examples for the weak.
The church at Thyatira has grown in their good works. Love and faith and service and endurance have exceeded what they had at first. But they have a Jezebel that corrupts them.
The church at Sardis looks really good. They look alive, but they are dead inside.
There is no word of criticism for the church at Philadelphia. They are the most faithful of the seven. And they did it with no great size and no great power.
The only negative the Lord tells John to write in their letter is that they have among them people of the lie, people of the synagogue of Satan who lie. As in the other letters, there is always the possibility that some in the church are hypocrites. They look and act like believers, but something is wrong inside. They try to lead the church astray, like the false prophets and teachers the church at Ephesus is famous for testing, or the Jezebel at Thyatira. The letter to Smyrna mentions the same problem in the same words.
If even the faithful church at Philadelphia is warned of people who hide their evil, we don't have to be ashamed when we lack brotherly love here. But his point is: Who is the real chosen of God? Those of any stripe or race or color who by their lives show the love of God -- who have God's name written on them -- these are the truly faithful.
There is an incident in the life of Jesus that most Christians tend to ignore or gloss over. Jesus is teaching at Capernaum just after he called the disciples. Controversies arise and some think he has a demon, and some think he comes from the devil. Pretty soon his mother and his brothers and sisters arrive at his home. They think he is "beside himself" or we might say, "Out of this mind." It may just be that they are concerned for his health. At any rate, the crowds are so great the family can't get in, so they send word. When Jesus hears that his mother and brothers and sisters want to talk to him, he points to his disciples and says, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:49; Mark 3:35).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
Words are not enough. What you believe is not as important as the difference it makes in your life that you believe.
A church tends to have a personality. It gets into habits, maybe even ruts. Lyle Schaller, a consultant on church administration, says a church does what it has the most practice doing. Ephesus has endurance. Smyrna has faith and courage in the face of persecution. Pergamum has compromised itself with the society around it. Thyatira follows its Jezebel down the garden path. Sardis has mastered the art of looking alive when really it is dead. Philadelphia is faithful, and makes the most of its size and lack of power.
So the message here is to analyze our habit. Ask ourselves: What is it we do with routine acceptance that may not be in the spirit of brotherly love and the fatherhood of God?
The church at Philadelphia is the church of the open doors. Note verses 7 and 8: "The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one shall open. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut."
An open door is an opportunity, a mission, a chance to serve, a purpose, a goal. I think this is the habit of the church of Philadelphia; they have the knack of finding a vacuum to fill, of seeing the needs of people around them and meeting them, of making their obstacles into opportunities. They don't worry about their weakness because they know the power of God in whom they believe and in whose name and by whose power they act. They live in faith. That's a good habit to have.
For John of Patmos, the victory of the Lord at the end of time is sure and certain, and there is comfort for the believers, and an uncounted multitude will be saved. He warns Ephesus that for some, the lampstand will be removed. They could lose their church. They could lose their salvation. For Smyrna he has the promise of a crown of life for the faithful. For Pergamum he promises the hidden manna and the new name on the white stone. To Thyatira he offers the bright morning star, which is Jesus, the Lamb, whose sacrifice ushers in a new day. To Sardis he promises the white garment of purity, and to confess his name before the Father and before his angels. For the believers at Philadelphia he will write on them three things: the name of God, the name of the city of God, and Jesus' own new name. He will make them pillars of the temple of God, and never shall they go out of it.
We have a vision of the Lord of the Church who knows our suffering because he has given his blood for us, and it is in his name that we have patient endurance, test all who come among us, constantly renew our enthusiasm in faith, certain we are different from the world around us, awake and alive in Christ to the door that is open and that no one can shut.
Now, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They saw a need, a vacuum to fill, and put their lives on the line to meet that need, to fill that vacuum. What open doors are there around us this Lent? The Lord is calling us as pillars of his temple to make a difference in our part of his world.
Lord, open our doors and never let them shut to those who say no to everything that makes it more difficult to say yes to you.
