The Seven Churches: Philadelphia (Faithful), Revelation 3:7-13

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Seven Angels of the Church

What the Spirit says to the Churches

The Lord's Revelation

"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).

• Acts 3:14: "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you."

• Psalm 16:10: "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."

• Mark 1:24: "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

• Luke 1:35: "And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

• John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

• 1 John 5:20: "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."

• Revelation 3:14: "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God"

• Revelation 19:11: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war."

• Isaiah 9:7: "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

• Isaiah 22:22: "The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open."

• Jeremiah 23:5: "Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth."

• Matthew 16:19: "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

• Revelation 1:18: "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

• Job 12:14: "If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release."

Strengths of the Church

"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name" (Revelation 3:8) .

• Revelation 3:1: "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead."

Faults of the Church

None.

Instructions to the Church

"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown" (Revelation 3:11).

• Philippians 4:5: "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."

• 1 Corinthians 16:22: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

• Hebrews 10:24-25: "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

• Hebrews 10:37: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry."

• James 5:7-9: "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

• Revelation 22:7: "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

• Revelation 22:20: "He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

• Revelation 2:24-25: "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come."

• Revelation 2:10: "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

• James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

• 1 Corinthians 9:25: "And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown."

• 2 Timothy 4:8: "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

• 1 Peter 5:2-4: "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

Warning to the Church

None.

Challenge of the Church

“Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 3:9-10).

• Revelation 2:9: "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

• Isaiah 45:14: "Thus says the Lord: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you, they shall come over in chains; and they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other; there is no other God.

• Isaiah 49:23: "Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

• Isaiah 60:14: "Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you, and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

• 2 Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us."

• 2 Peter 2:9: "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment."

• Matthew 19:28: "So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

• Luke 22:29: "And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me."

• Romans 5:17, "For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."

• Romans 8:16-17: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

• Luke 2:1: "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered."

• Daniel 9:25: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times."

• Acts 5:37: "After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed."

• Isaiah 24:17: "Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth."

Promise to the Church

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name" (Revelation 3:12).

• 1 Kings 7:21: "Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name Boaz."

• 2 Chronicles 3:17: "Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz."

• Jeremiah 1:18: "For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—Against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land."

• Galatians 2:9: "When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised."

• Matthew 16:18: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

• Psalm 23:6: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

• Revelation 14:1: "Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads."

• Ezekiel 9:4: "The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it."

• Revelation 7:3: "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."

• Revelation 22:4: "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads."

• Hebrews 12:22-24: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

• Luke 10:19-20: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

• Revelation 21:2: "Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

• Isaiah 52:1: "Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you."

• Galatians 4:26: "The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all."

• Isaiah 2:2: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it."

• Hebrews 11:8-10: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, (L)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

• Revelation 2:17: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."

• Isaiah 56:5: "Even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off."

• Isaiah 62:2: "The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name."

• Isaiah 62:4: "You shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married."

• Isaiah 62:12: "And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

• Isaiah 65:15: "You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; for the Lord God will slay you, and call His servants by another name."

Background Information about Philadelphia: The Missionary City

The city of Philadelphia was founded by King Attalus of Pergamum (140 (BC), and was finally captured by the Turks in 1390. Christians lived there until the early 1900s. .

• Location: Hermus River valley about 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Sardis.

• Boasts:

• Last of the byzantine cities.

• An earthquake destroyed the city in AD 17

• Rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius.

• Famous for its grape industry.

• Noted for textiles and leather goods.

• Became a strong fortress city called the "Gateway to the East."

• Worship Idols:

• Dionysis (the major pagan god).

• The sun and serpent gods.

• Founding of the Church:

• When and how the church was established there is not known, but it prospered for many centuries

Bible Verse Cross Reference Lists