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Holy Philadelphia Day 25
"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." (Revelation 3.7-8)
Philadelphia
"Philadelphia" was the youngest of all the seven cities. It was founded by colonists from Pergamum under the reign of Attalus the Second, who ruled in Pergamum from 159 to 138 B.C. "Philadelphos" is the Greek for "one who loves his brother." Such was the love of Attalus for his brother Eumenes that he was called Philadelphos, and it was after him that Philadelphia was named. "Philadelphia" means "brotherly love."
"Philadelphia" was founded as an "open door" for Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia; and so well did it do its work that by A.D. 19 the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks. Philadelphia became "the centre for the diffusion of Greek language and Greek letters in a peaceful land and by peaceful means." 1
That is what the Risen Christ means when he speaks of the open door that is set before Philadelphia. Three centuries before, Philadelphia had been given an open door to spread Greek ideas in the lands beyond; and now there has come to it another great missionary opportunity, to carry to people, who never knew it, the message of the love of Jesus Christ.
Titles of Christ
In the introduction to this letter, Christ is called by three great titles, each of which implies a tremendous claim.
He is "he who is holy." Holy is the description of God himself. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts," 2 was the song of the seraphs which Isaiah heard. "To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One." 3 "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King." 4
All through the Old Testament, God is the Holy One and now that title is given to the Risen Christ. We must remember that "holy" (hagios) means "different, or separate from." God is holy because he is different from humans. He has that quality of being which belongs to him alone. To say that Jesus Christ is holy is to say that he shares the being of God.
Christ is also "he who is true." In Greek the word for "true" means "real" as opposed to that which is unreal. In Jesus, there is reality. When we are confronted with him, we are confronted with no shadowy outline of the truth but with the truth itself.
Meditation
Do you feel inadequate as in a sudden earthquake tremor? Lean on the one who is True.
Prayer
"When we trust in the Lord, in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way,
When we do his good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey."
Notes
1Ramsay (1851 - 1939) 2Isaiah 6:3 3Isaiah 40:25 4Isaiah 43:15
Philadelphia is holy and open to Greeks
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