Introduction

• Philadelphia was founded by Attalus II, king of Pergamon (reign 159-138 BC), who had a brother whom he loved very much, his name was Eumenes. They had such a good relationship and Attalus loved him so much that he gave him the nickname Philadelphus = “friend of the brother.” In return, Eumenes called the city Philadelphia = “brotherly affection.”
• God had placed the Church in Philadelphia, in the middle of a city that was deeply idolatrous, that was lost in wine with its bacchanals.
• There where the need was, God planted this church, not only to be there but He opened the door for the preaching of the gospel.
• The church of Philadelphia is a church that does not receive a reprimand for something negative that the Lord has found, but on the contrary receives words of admiration, blessing and promises.
• Therefore, we must pay attention to what this congregation was like so that we can learn from it, and that we can apply these truths to our lives and to the life of our Sinai church.

The church that listens to its pastor and its pastors (3:7-8) V:7:  

The Lord Jesus describes Himself with His attributes of His character and His authority:

1. His character: The Holy and the Truth (V: 7a)

• The Holy – God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings, what makes Him separate and distinct from everything else.
  
• The Truth – God’s truthfulness refers to His authenticity. What God reveals of Himself is who He really is, His knowledge corresponds to the way things really are, and He always does what He says He will do.

2. His authority: He has the key of David, he who opens and no one closes, and closes and no one opens (V:7b).

• The term David – is a term that has to do with the kingdom and the covenant that God made with David. And this covenant referred to the Messiah and His kingdom.
  
• And Jesus is the one who opens and no one closes, and closes and no one opens, and this speaks of the eternal security of salvation or perdition.
  
• In this covenant of David – here it refers to Jesus the Messiah, the heir to the throne of David, and only Christ Jesus can give men entry to the messianic kingdom who has the key of David (Luke 1:32-33; Isaiah 22:22).

Jesus will deal with the church(3:8) 

Jesus knows our works.

• This speaks of an observation and an evaluation.
  
• Because Jesus knows the work of the church, He says to her, “Behold, I open a door before you that no one can shut.”
  
• Christ is the one who has absolute authority to “open” the door of admission into the kingdom of God through evangelization to the world (Mark 28:15-16).
  
• Jesus has established the mandate of the Great Commission to evangelize the world, and He is committed to making it possible as the symbol of the open door (Acts 14:27; I Corinthians 16:9).
  
• Jesus is the one who gives the promise and sets three conditions for the experience of the victorious life of the church, which makes use of the door that He opens.

The first condition for the promise is that Jesus recognizes that the church has little strength.   

• Now the church must recognize and experience that the power of evangelization is NOT its own, but is from the Lord through His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
  
• Perhaps the Lord was reminding the church in Philadelphia that their little strength had to do with their little influence in an idolatrous city (Philippians 4:13; II Corinthians 12:10).

The second condition for the promise is that Jesus recognizes that the church kept His word..

• The verb to keep – expresses the idea of ​​something, “loved,” “guarded” and is something that is “turned upon Him.”
  
• The believers in Philadelphia had demonstrated loyalty to the word of God, in the midst of the circumstances in which they lived they had not been made to alter the message of the gospel.
  
• Christians today must reaffirm the word of God as the church of Philadelphia did (II Timothy 3:16-17).
  
• Love the word, obey the word, preach the word and honor the word.

The third condition for the promise is that Jesus recognizes that the church has not denied His name..   

• The verb deny – expresses the idea of ​​saying NO / or saying the opposite in the sense of rejecting something {His name}.
  
• The Philadelphia Christians – not only remained steadfast in their faithfulness to His word, even though they suffered persecution by the Jews, but also to His name (Philippians 1:29-30).

Jesus will deal with the enemies of the church(3:9)

• It is as if Jesus were saying: look what I am going to do with them, this action implies an act of surrender to those who persecuted and harassed the church.
  
• Those who are going to receive the action of the Lord are members of the “synagogue of Satan”, in other words, they were children and followers of Satan (2:9).
  
• The reason why I say this is because they were opposed to the Lord and were liars (John 8:44).
  
• So that they recognize that the true church is the people that God has loved persecution perdition.

Jesus gives promise to the church of Philadelphia for their faithfulness (3:10)

1. For having kept the word of my patience (V: 10a).

• The word of His patience refers to maintaining fidelity to the only gospel where the Lord’s patience is shown, enduring everything even to death and death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
  
• And the other is the patience of the church of Philadelphia because of the Lord’s example in enduring persecution and because of the fidelity of keeping His word and His name..

2. And I will also keep you from the hour of trial which is about to come upon the whole world.

• Before this hour of testing, the hour of truth will have arrived for the church (I Peter 4:17).

Conclusion

• I ask, who will be saved in the last days? Those who keep His word and His name, He will keep you from the hour of His wrath.
  
• The judgment of the house of God is not for destruction, but to purify, refine and produce a change in us.
  
• The reason for this is to test the inhabitants of the earth, who are these inhabitants of the earth?