The Seven Churches: The Church in Philadelphia

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  I know your deeds.  See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.  Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.  I am coming soon.  Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.  Never again will he leave it.  I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  -Jesus in Revelation 3:7-13

We have now come to the present day.  We live at a time when the church in Sardis is diminishing (the Protestant churches), the church in Thyatira continues (the RCC), and the church in Philadelphia is emerging.  Don't take that to mean that this is the "emerging" or "emergent" church.  Its hard to define the church in Philadelphia, since it is such an infant.  But you can look for these signs: holds to the Bible and keeps the name of Jesus.  This is churches that go by the name of Christ rather than the name of a denomination.  And this is churches that hold to Scripture and know it well.  You can tell which is the church in Philadelphia, if you see these two signs.

So what is the open door that Jesus speaks of?  Clearly this is figurative, as a literal open door means nothing.  Generally speaking, an open door is an opportunity.  Specifically, I believe this open door is the internet.  The internet is the most beneficial technology the church has ever seen; even better than the printing press.  Our mission as Christians is to communicate a message.  The advantage of the internet is that it gives us the ability to communicate that message near and far and wide, all without leaving the house.  Even just in a believer's spare time, he can post Scripture on his Facebook.  He could make a video defending the Christian faith in just a hour or so.  There is much us Christians can do to make disciples by using the internet.  Its simple and easy; its just a matter of doing it.

So the church in Philadelphia is emerging, Jesus has placed an open door before this church, and this church has kept His word and not denied His name.  Jesus says that He will make those who are the synagogue of Satan acknowledge that He has loved the church in Philadelphia.  So what is the synagogue of Satan?  Again, this is clearly figurative.  Jesus says that they claim to be Jews but are not.  And since its mentioned here, it must be something significant.  I believe the synagogue of Satan is the Islamic world.  Muslims claim to be Jews, or at least to be children of the promise - through Ishmael - but anyone that studies Islam can see clearly that it is wrought with evil.  Calling it the synagogue of Satan is accurate, if you know anything about Islam.  Also, if you know the OT prophecies, you know that God will punish the enemies of Israel.  Muslims in the middle east have made themselves the enemies of Israel.  If you connect the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 to what Jesus says about the synagogue of Satan here, you see a picture in which Muslims will come to acknowledge God after being humiliated in defeat.

Finally, since I write this to many who are in this church whether they realize it yet, I want to emphasize what Jesus says.  Jesus says that the church in Philadelphia has kept His command to endure patiently.  That means we must endure patiently.  And it means there must be a reason, otherwise it wouldn't be written.  There is a great promise in this letter, but evidently we will have to work hard and long before that promise will be realized.  We must persevere.