THE PHILADELPHIA CHURCH - PERIOD OF EVANGELIZATION

The Philadelphia Church - The Period of Evangelization
1700-1900 A.D.

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;" "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

 

The Destination of the Letter

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia."

The Immediate Destination of the Letter
"Unto the angel."

Out of the Three Possible Explanations:

A supernatural being, namely, an angelic spirit being;
A natural being, namely, a bishop, pastor, or elder in charge of the congregation;
An impersonal reference, namely, the spirit of the church personified;

I select the first as being most in line with the text of the book of Revelation. Such would be in harmony with Rev. 1:1, 20. And such a custodian of the message could be depended upon to get the message to the church for the accomplishing of the purpose intended.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."

The Intermediate Destination of the Letter

"Of the church."

Pastor: Elder specially charged with the oversight of the congregation. Pastors were usually those with more training and ability than others in the congre­gation. They were entrusted with responsibility like this. This is the order set forth in Rev. 1:1.

Officers: Teachers, deacons, and other officers shared in this along with the pastor and helped him carry out the oversight.

People: As a whole the entire congregation finally received the message. Rev. 1:1 indicates that the message of this book was to reach the "servants," but to do so through the angel to John and through John to the servants. The people in turn were to exercise their function of priesthood. They were to be intermediaries between God and the Philadelphia community (cf. Rev. 1:20; Matt. 5:14, 15; Phil. 2:15-16).
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;" "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."

The Ultimate Destination of the Letter
"In Philadelphia."

The city was founded by Attalus II, king of Pergamum, who died in 138 B.C. The city received its name from his cognomen, Philadelphus, which he won by his loyalty to his brother, Eumenes. It was destroyed by earthquake and rebuilt by Tiberius in A.D. 17.

The town was situated at the mouth of a long, narrow pass on the main road from the coast to Phrygia and was the gateway to the high central Plateau of Asia Minor.

The purpose of the founder was to make it a center of Graeco-Asiatic civilization and a means of spreading the Greek language and manners to the eastern parts of Lydia and Phrygia. In this sense it was a missionary city for the purpose of promoting unity of spirit, customs, and loyalty within the realm. It was the apostle of Hellenism in an Oriental land. It was so successful that before 19 A.D. the Lydian tongue had ceased to be spoken and Greek had become the only language.

Philadelphia was the last Christian city to, submit to Turkish rule. Not until 1379-1390 did it succumb to a Turkish army. Of the seven cities named in Rev. 2-3, Philadelphia had the longest duration. The modern city has its resident bishop, five churches, and 1000 Christian inhabitants.

Four things are true about this city:
1. It was a missionary city.

 

2. Its people lived always in dread of a disaster ("the day of trial").

 

3. Many people went outside the city to dwell because of continuing earthquake shocks.

 

4. It took a new name (Neocaesarea) from the imperial god who rebuilt it.