Philadelphia #96

Philadelphia was a city in the region of Lydia, in western Asia Minor, in modern Turkey. It is the sixth of the seven churches addressed in Revelation 3:7-13. Like Smyrna, it is one of only two churches of the seven that receive praise and no rebuke.

Biblical Significance

Christ addresses Philadelphia as the one who is holy and true, who has “the key of David,” who opens and no one can shut, who shuts and no one can open (Revelation 3:7). The phrase echoes Isaiah 22:22, where the key of the house of David is placed on the shoulder of Eliakim as steward of the royal household, and in Revelation it presents Christ as the one with sovereign authority over the kingdom. He then says he has set before the church an open door that no one can shut, because, though they have little power, they have kept his word and have not denied his name (Revelation 3:8). The open door has commonly been understood as an opportunity for service or as access to the kingdom, and interpreters have not agreed on which is meant.

As in Smyrna, the church faced opposition from those who claimed to be Jews but were not, and Christ promises that they will one day come and bow down before the church and know that he has loved them (Revelation 3:9). Because the church has kept his command to endure patiently, he promises to keep them from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world (Revelation 3:10). Christians differ over the meaning of this promise, especially over whether it refers to protection through trial or removal from it. He urges them to hold fast so that no one may seize their crown, and promises the victor a place as a pillar in the temple of his God, with the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, and his own new name written upon them (Revelation 3:11-12).

The city’s name means “brotherly love,” and it was given in honor of Attalus II Philadelphus, king of Pergamum, who was known for his loyalty to his brother. Christian writers of the early second century, among them Ignatius of Antioch, later wrote to the church there.

Today

The modern Turkish city of Alasehir occupies the site. Few remains survive, though parts of the old city walls, and the columns of a ruined church often associated with St John, can still be seen. The area was subject to earthquakes, including the great one of AD 17 that damaged many cities in the region, and the city was briefly renamed Neocaesarea in gratitude for imperial help. Later, it became one of the last Christian strongholds in the region before the Turkish conquest.