“And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”
“Philadelphia,” meaning “brotherly love,” has a door opened before it, which is the kingdom of God, which is itself unlocked with the key of love: “And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ: and love one another, as he hath given commandment unto us” (1 John 3:23). To the church of Philadelphia, the “Holy One” and the “true one” gives encouragement; “Holy One” being a frequent title for God in the Old Testament: “I am God, and not man: the holy one in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city” (Osee 11:9), and the Greek term for “true” meaning “genuine” or “faithful,” showing that the love of Jesus does not deceive, and He is faithful even when His people fail: “If we believe not, he continueth faithful, he can not deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13), steadfast in His merciful love at all times: “O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true” (Exodus 34:6). When He says that He holds the key of David, it means that it is He that opens the way to true love of God: “No man cometh to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), and so while the Christian community was shut out from the synagogue in Philadelphia, Jesus has moved the true knowledge and worship of God to His Church: “And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father” (Isaias 22:22-23), who opens the secrets of the nature of God and His law to those that come to Him, but these mysteries are closed to those who are without. The nature of God and His commandments show forth the true nature of love, as the community of the Trinity is an interpersonal relationship of self-giving love, and in imitating the Trinity by following Christ’s commandments, one brings Trinitarian love into the world: “King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus: the pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he covered with love for the daughters of Jerusalem” (Canticle 3:9-10). This mystery and its depth are open to the one that pursues Christ, but to the one that does not seek Him in His Church, these mysteries cannot be fully explored. The King of Kings then gives a blessing to the people of Philadelphia, knowing their works of love, which are done with limited power, which is indicative of their low social status and abilities in the city, but they trust wonderfully in the grace of God: “For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me” (Psalm 43:7). They have not denied the name of Jesus by word or deed, and have been a faithful, beautiful community wrapped in the bond of love: “Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: bearing with one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14), even through the external pressures they faced. The “synagogue of Satan” refers to the Jewish community that did not walk in love, as was discussed before, and who were not intentionally deceiving others, but falsely claimed to be God’s faithful people while treating His followers with contempt: “Remove from me reproach and contempt: because I have sought after thy testimonies” (Psalm 118:22). By saying that the Jewish community would fall down before the Christians, it could be an indication that the members of the Jewish community would soon turn to Christ, realizing the love that sustained them in Christ and coming to this same love: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee” (Jeremias 31:3). Holding to their faith, Jesus promises to keep their souls safe in the time of grave trial, for suffering and trials fall upon all men, but to keep one’s soul untattered by sin and error even through this is to be kept safe from the hour of temptation: “Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world” (James 1:27). Jesus encourages His people, as a love letter tells the beloved that the lover is soon to come, and exhorts that they hold fast to their kingly dignity as Christians: “[Thou] hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth” (Apocalypse 5:10). While Philadelphia was renowned for its athletic competitions, these are done for a reward that is soon supplanted by a new champion. Therefore, “every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one” (1 Corinthians 9:25). It is a call to walk the narrow road that they may fully embrace the dignity of Christian living, which in turn comes with being crowned with glory, beauty, and love: “O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will” (Psalm 5:13). To be made a pillar in the temple of God is to support it in the manner appropriate to them, while being adorned with the beauty that is imprinted by God: “And thou shalt hang it up before four pillars of setim wood, which themselves also shall be overlaid with gold, and shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver” (Exodus 26:32), not wavering from one’s post or losing the relationship with God by sin, but being held fast in love: “Thy neck,” which is the bond of love between the body and the Head, “is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men” (Canticle 4:4). With this will be an inscription on the people that they are entirely God’s: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies” (Canticle 6:2), and where in ancient Israel the high priest alone bore visibly the name of God: “They made also the plate of sacred veneration of the purest gold, and they wrote on it with the engraving of a lapidary, The Holy of the Lord: and they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet” (Exodus 39:29-30), Christians instead bear this by their love: “By this shall all men know that you are my dsiciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35), with the glory of His divinity unveiled to those who fought the good fight, and this divinity shared with His people, that they may in full embrace their lives as children of God.