January 13 - Revelation. Philadelphia (pt. 1)

January 13 – Revelation. Philadelphia (pt. 1)
Revelation 3:7-13

Philadelphia located 28 miles southeast of Sardis and is the youngest of the seven cities. It was established in 150 bc for a specific purpose – a missionary city. It was created to bring the Greek culture into Asia Minor and was quite successful. From this point, Greek culture and language dispersed throughout the region.

The city was named by its founder, Attalus II, who loved his brother (the name means ‘brotherly love’). In 17 AD, the city was destroyed by the earthquake that destroyed twelve cities in the region. However, the epicenter must have been near Philadelphia because over the next few years, aftershocks continued to shake the area, causing people to flee the destroyed city and live in huts and tents outside the city.

Tiberius rebuilt the city and out of gratefulness, they renamed the city “Neocaesarea,” then during the reign of Vespasian, the renamed themselves “Flavia” for that family’s name.

Volcanoes were also prevalent in the history of that area and the ash had created beautiful fertile ground. It was the center of a great grape-growing area and a famous producer of wines. This meant that it was the center of worship of Dionysus, the god of wine.

Christ introduces himself to the Philadelphians as the one who is holy and ture, who holds the key of David – what he opens, no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open. (Revelation 3:7)

For the first time, Christ doesn’t use an identification from the first chapter, but instead takes us into the Old Testament.

In Isaiah 22:20-24, Eliakim is given the key to the house of David – what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. In earlier verses, Shebna had been dismissed as King Hezekiah’s chief of staff because he was using the power of position to make himself richer. The Lord pronounced judgment and then gave the position to Eliakim.

Jesus is of the lineage of David. Here in Revelation, he reminds us that He has possession of the key of David. He controls the entrance to David’s house – which ultimately refers to God’s kingdom. When Jesus opens the doors to heaven, no one can shut them. When He shuts the doors, no one can open them. This is the treasure.

He also identifies Himself as holy and true. In Mark 1:23-24, an evil spirit possessing a man identified Jesus as the Holy One of God. In John 6:68-69, Peter believes and knows that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

The Greek word for holy is ‘hagios.’ This means that Jesus is set apart as belonging to God – not just that He is sinless. The Greek word for true is ‘alethinos’ which tells us that Christ is genuine.

These descriptions of Jesus would have been extremely important to the church in Philadelphia. Their persecution by the local Jews had been intense. Their only hope was in the promises that would be fulfilled by a real Messiah.

The word alethinos used in this context carries thes meaning that God keeps faith forever – that He is one who can be trusted to keep His promises.