Chapter 9

Burning with a Clear Testimony

Revelation 3:7-13

The United States has been known as the "melting pot" of the world, as different people groups came here and blended together into a peaceful society. Though certainly our nation has had tremendous challenges and problems with maintaining this vision (at one point the pot boiled over into a civil war), generally speaking this land has known peace and prosperity. People from different ethnicities that live in this land celebrated their cultural differences but stood together on common moral values and religious beliefs that were mostly derived from Christianity. The national motto of E Pluribus Unum, “from the many one,” was made possible by the other unofficial motto of our land seen on our coins, “In God We Trust.” The God that held us together was mainly understood to be the Christian God.

Yet in the past generation or two there has been a drastic shift. The increasing secularization of our nation, combined with immigrants streaming in from pagan nations rather than the Christianized ones of previous decades, has created a subtle yet profound understanding of commonly held beliefs. The god of “God Bless America” is now whichever god is good for you, not the Triune God of the Bible. No longer is it enough to respect the cultural differences of people groups (dress, foods, language, etc.), but the religious and moral beliefs of various faiths must be tolerated and accepted as good regardless of how contradictory they might be to truth. Having “moral values” no longer means basing decisions on what would please God and be for the good of others, but having strong opinions about personal preferences.

This shift has begun to place tremendous pressure on the church’s unique mission to uphold the name of Christ as the only means of salvation to the world. Recently the media castigated a major denomination for promoting an evangelism program directed at Jewish people, using words such as “intolerant,” “mean-spirited,” and “divisive” to describe it. Sadly, in less faithful churches, the pressure to be seen as tolerant and multicultural has so infected the church that much that is being done in the name of evangelism and anti-racism is actually a toleration of evil and denial of the gospel. Liberal churches have changed mission emphasis into “interfaith dialogues” so as not to offend people. Evangelical churches have not done much better, as their evangelism has become “glorified capitulation,” a hiding of many gospel truths about Jesus and an embracing of unbiblical methods in order to “reach people for Christ.” The church has lost the sense of being unique, Christ-centered, and holy to God, separate from the world.

In this message to the church of Philadelphia, we see the need for the church to burn with a clear, distinct testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ even in the face of great societal pressures to the contrary. As we again listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches (verse 13), let us be careful to hear our duty as Christ’s representatives to this world.

The church must never deny Jesus as the Christ

The book of Acts does not tell us how the church of Philadelphia was founded, but it is not that difficult to figure out. Philadelphia was located in what was known as Asia Minor, which is now western Turkey. Though we have no record of the apostle Paul visiting this city, he did extensive evangelical work in this region. A church ending up in Philadelphia was no surprise. On the edge of the Roman Empire, Philadelphia lay upon a major trade route into central Asia. Lying in a mountainous region, this city was built into valley that was a door into the Eastern world. For the rulers of that day, controlling Philadelphia meant controlling the door of travel and trade. Most likely it was through Christians doing business and relocating that a church was established in this city. As Christ comes with a message to this church, He intertwines Biblical history with their own to frame His message and speak to the ominous situation facing this congregation.

In verse 7, Jesus explains that He has “the key of David,” a reference to an incident recorded for us in Isaiah 22. The prophet Isaiah tells of a corrupt official named Shebna, who was a secretary to King Hezekiah that had used his position for personal gain. Because of Shebna’s unfaithfulness, God removed him from his office and replaced him with a man named Eliakim. In Isaiah 22:21-22 we read of God speaking about Eliakim to the fallen Shebna, "I will clothe him with your tunic, and tie your sash securely about him, I will entrust him with your authority...I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one will open." Historians tell us that existing in Philadelphia at this time was a powerful and influential community of Jews. They had control over much of the commerce flowing in and out of Asia, and were zealous for the Jewish nation. They opened and closed the doors in the city of Philadelphia. As in the days of Hezekiah an unfaithful steward was replaced with a true one, the Lord Jesus now declares that by virtue of His death, resurrection and ascension, the power to open or close the Davidic kingdom belongs to Him alone (see Revelation 1:18). The unrighteous gatekeepers who claimed to be over the house of Israel, the leaders and priests, have been removed and replaced with the son of the house (Matthew 21:33-46). He sits enthroned as King of God’s kingdom in fulfillment of all God promised to David (II Samuel 7:8-17; Psalm 89:19-29; Acts 2:29-36). He alone holds the power to admit or deny access to His kingdom.

In a display of His tender mercy, Jesus then indicates to the hurting church members in Philadelphia that that He has granted entrance to His presence because of their faithfulness. In verse 8, Jesus says He knows their deeds, and as a result “I have put before you a door which no one can shut.” Jesus wants them to know the door to the kingdom of God is wide open for them. Anything they need shall be granted by Him. For despite the difficult persecutions they were facing from these Jews which will be explained further in a moment, they had kept the Word of Christ. Even though the Philadelphian believers were not influential or rich like the church at Sardis (indeed, verse 8 says they had "little power”), they had not denied the name of Christ.

John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion that the first and foremost mark of the true church is faithfulness to the word of God seen in preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians today would not agree. They insist that the most important mark of the church is tolerance and even acceptance of the beliefs of others. If you insist on the gospel of Christ as the only way to heaven, and refuse to gather with Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, liberal Christians, government leaders and others in interfaith services to demonstrate “peace” and “God’s love for all,” then many in the Christian community will label you as bigoted and separatist. Yet Acts 4:12 says of Christ that "salvation is in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." If you compromise your witness for Him by denying that He alone provides salvation, then you are denying His word and His name. Those that do so will find heaven’s gate shut fast against them. They may impress the world with their religiosity, but the One who is holy, true and holding the key has shut the door and no one can open it. The faithful church must never forget that her singular purpose is to disciple the nations by teaching them what Christ has made known (Matthew 28:19-20).

The church must always endure patiently in Christ

Historians tell us that in Philadelphia a very influential and powerful synagogue of Jews existed. This explains the reference in verse 9 to the synagogue. Members of this synagogue persecuted the Philadelphian church because they saw the Christians, especially Jewish converts, as traitors to their cause. (Read Matthews 10:5-6; Acts 17:1-5; Romans 1:16 and recall that the gospel was often preached to the Jews first. Early Christians were regarded as a “Jewish sect” by the Romans, which the unbelieving Jews despised, as can be seen in the case of Saul who later became the apostle Paul. Also read Acts 9:1-30.) The Jews were devoted to promoting nationalistic Israel and seeking freedom from Roman rule. When the Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah (Messiah is the Hebrew title meaning “Christ” or “Anointed One”), the Jews often went ballistic, for they could not see how a person who had died a criminal death on a despicable Roman cross could be their Savior. They believed the Messiah would deliver them from Rome, so they shut their ears against the gospel and sought to rid the city of the Christians. Any that attempted to enter their synagogues to preach Christ were immediately hurled out the doors.

Yet notice that Jesus calls this Jewish synagogue a “synagogue of Satan” (verse 9). He states that they call themselves Jews, but that they lie. The ironic message of the New Testament, prophesied of in the Old Testament and capped off by the book of Revelation, is that the Jewish nation which was once considered to be the people of God are no longer such, and those who believe in the gospel even from among the Gentiles were now His people. (Please read Hosea 1:8-10; I Peter 2:9-10). “He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is in the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God” (Romans 2:29). As Jesus makes clear in John 8:44-47, by denying Christ the leaders of Israel were showing their father was not truly Abraham, as they claimed, but the devil. Jews who do not believe in Christ, whether they lived in the first century or now in the twenty-first, are not God's chosen people any longer. Instead, they are Satan worshippers. And so are all who do likewise.

So many are fascinated with blatant Satanism they miss the far more common subtle forms. Like an army that begins an all-out frontal assault on an enemy only to sneak troops in from the rear why they are distracted, Satan gets people distracted with the occult then slithers his way into the very center of Christianity by more subtle measures. If you want to see a Satan worshipping church, you do not have to wait until Halloween and sneak out to some hidden ritual in the woods at midnight. Just walk down the street into a fancy church building where friendly people greet you, and yet where the exclusive claims of Christ are being denied even if His name is being used, and you have entered into a Satan worshipping church. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, "the purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error; and some have become so degenerated, as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to His will." Such was the case in Philadelphia. The synagogue claimed to be where the true representatives of God were found; the faithful church there was declared to be such by the Lord Jesus. One day these “false Jews” of the synagogue would be forced to come and bow down before the “true Jews” of the church by acknowledging indeed that Christ loved them. Their domination over them in the city would soon be ending.

What hope there is here! For years and even decades a faithful congregation can struggle along, wondering if they will ever be blessed to have substantial and meaningful ministry in their city that is dominated by unfaithful and apostate churches. Yet those who uphold a faithful witness to Christ will see their enemies overthrown and righteousness exalted. So when we see others deny Christ and feel the pressure to do likewise, may we keep His Word and keep burning with a clear testimony.

The church must continually hold on to Christ

In verse 10, Jesus now indicates that an “hour of testing” is soon approaching. Notice that He says that because of the Philadelphian church’s obedience to Him, He will “keep” them from this testing. This testing is not for them – they have taken their test and passed it. This testing is for the “whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” To understand this testing, we need to understand this phrase.

The expression “those who dwell (or live) on the earth” is used twelve times in Revelation (Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10 (two times); 13:8,12,14 (two times); 14:6; 17:2,8). The word in the Greek translated ”earth” (“ge” from which we get the word geography) can also be translated as “land.” As David Chilton points out in his commentary Days of Vengeance, it would seem that John is wanting us to read and think of this as the land of Israel, as those “dwelling in the land” was a common expression in the Old Testament for the pagan nations who were about to be removed from the Promised Land. (Note Revelation 14:6 says, “I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” Those living on the earth, or rather land, are placed in contrast to every nation, tribe, etc. This only makes sense if we consider that the gospel was first preached to the land of Israel and then spread to the Gentile nations, as the Gospel accounts and Acts indicate.) As we learn in the New Testament, during the first century the Jews increased in their fervor to throw off the Roman government and distance themselves from the growing Christian church. Often they would blame Christians for the troubles they were causing and try to keep the attention of the Roman authorities on the church. Christ is going to come in judgment on the Jews (verse 11) by causing the very ones they roused to punish Christ and His followers to destroy them (Matthew 27:24-25; Luke 21:10-24). Times of terrible upheaval in the kingdom were coming, to the point that the Israel itself would be treated like the Canaanites of old and removed from the land. Often the Christians would be caught in the midst of all of this, but they were to “hold fast to what they had” (verse 11) to retain the crown Jesus had granted them as His kingdom of priests (Revelation 1:6). To understand how He is now going to emphasize this, we need to hear a story from the history of Philadelphia.

Many years before Jesus spoke to this church, a terrible earthquake had struck Philadelphia, destroying it and ten other cities. At first, the people of this city had met this adversity with great courage and begun to rebuild. Yet soon afterwards violent aftershocks rocked Philadelphia almost every day, causing most of the population to have to live in huts outside the city. Those who chose to remain in the city were constantly repairing the damage caused by the quake and these shocks, and each time another one hit the inhabitants would go running out of the city in fear of the falling debris. Much of the city was leveled by this, and when the shocks finally ceased the city had to be rebuilt. Tiberius, who led the Roman senate at that time, allocated much money to rebuilding the city, much like when Washington declares a hard hit area a federal disaster. When he became emperor of Rome, out of gratefulness for this the leaders of the city wanted to rename it Neocaserea after him: "The New City of Caesar." However, the name did not stick, as there were other cities in the empire with similar names and the inhabitants did not adapt. The new name just resulted in confusion as to who they were.

So Jesus promises His church that if she would overcome by maintaining her loyalty to Christ despite the tumultuous times coming in the empire, they will be as pillars in the temple (verse 12). In the temple of Solomon, two bronze pillars were set at the entrance, and the one on the right was named Jachin ("God shall establish you") and the left one was called Boaz ("In Him is strength" – see I Kings 7:21). Like these pillars, if we endure through struggle by holding fast to our love and testimony for Christ, we will be firmly established and strengthened despite the earth shaking events around us. We will not be like the fleeing citizens of Philadelphia, running hysterically every time the earth rumbles a bit, for we “will not go out from it anymore” (verse 12). We will demonstrate that the church upholding a testimony to Christ is the true temple of God (I Corinthians 3:16). Jesus continues by saying that “I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem.” Unlike the confused citizens of Philadelphia, who had rulers trying to give them a new name, Jesus will inscribe His name upon His church. He will show that they are the new Jerusalem of God (Hebrews 12:22). As God said of the temple of old, Christ now says of the church, "I have consecrated this house by putting My name there forever."

Conclusion

The common message to all the churches of Asia was that they must overcome in the name and power of Christ. They are to stand established and strong as the temple of God. Nothing less can be considered Biblical Christianity, and no one less can be considered a Biblical Christian. Thirteen hundred years after this letter was sent to this church, Muslims invaded this region and all the cities and the churches found there fell before the Islamic onslaught, with one exception. The church at Philadelphia withstood and maintained a faithful witness. Even today a church is present there. They have stood as Jachin and Boaz. So must you.