“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”” (Revelation 3:7).
Revelation 3:7 marks a transition to the next message in a series of letters that Jesus sent to seven first-century churches in the book of Revelation. Our next letter was delivered to the church that met in the ancient city of Philadelphia.
In contrast to the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, and Thyatira mentioned earlier, the economic landscape in the ancient city of Philadelphia was primarily agricultural. Philadelphia reportedly featured some exceptional vineyards that likely benefited from the fertile soil produced by that region’s volcanic history. While this offered some definite advantages, it also came with a significant drawback: Philadelphia was situated in an area that was susceptible to earthquakes.
Much like the city of Sardis, Philadelphia was also devastated by the earthquake that took place in A.D. 17. Although the city was later rebuilt and repopulated, Philadelphia is said to have suffered from regional aftershocks for several years following that quake. That unfortunate reality may shed light on certain elements of Jesus’ letter to this church.
Yet even in the face of those adversities, the Christian community in Philadelphia remained faithful in their relationship with Christ. Of the seven churches addressed by Jesus in the Book of Revelation, only two received praise from Him without any negative feedback. The first was located in the city of Smyrna and the second was located here in Philadelphia.
There are many positive takeaways from Jesus’ letter to this church, but the first has nothing to do with the church itself. Instead, our first application concerns this letter’s Author. You see, Jesus opened His letter to this church with two important self-designations: holy and true.
The word “holy’ conveys the idea of something that is “set apart.” It also embodies the concept of absolute moral purity. So “holiness” tells us that Jesus is ethically spotless and completely devoid of anything that may be wrong, dirty, or impure. Next comes the word “true.” This word denotes something that is genuine and authentic, in contrast to anything that may be false, hypocritical, or insincere.
While there were many so-called “gods” in first-century era (as there are today), none of those alleged gods could accurately make such claims. So, truth and holiness are not simply attributes of Jesus’ character; they are who He is.
Image Credit: Philadelphia by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free