Chapter 3 – Letter to Philadelphia

Jesus Addresses Philadelphia -3

v.12-13 “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

“I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more.” A pillar serves as an essential and thus permanent part of a structure, yet is above ground and in full view, so artisans can also craft it into a beautiful adornment of the structure (check—I Kings 7:13-22). So the thought here is that we will have a permanent standing in the heavenly city of God not unlike that of a pillar, yet also stand in full view of heaven as the workmanship of Christ whom He made beautiful.

“And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. And I will write on him My new name.” By implication, we know that neither our identity nor place of origin will ever be questioned in heaven. Though we travel into the uttermost parts of God’s creation, we will always be known and recognized by the names we bear: the name of God, the name of New Jerusalem, and the “new name” of Jesus Himself.

Historically: Philadelphia was founded after 189 BC, and therefore is not as ancient as many other cities of Asia Minor. Its name means “brotherly love,” but, having had a number of names prior to that, why and when it was so named is uncertain. It came under the domain of Rome in 133 BC and eventually became an important and wealthy trade center as other coastal cities declined. It remained a Roman town until it fell into the hands of the Turks in AD 1379 (the last of all the cities in Asia Minor to do so). As in most Asia Minor cities, many Jews lived there, and possessed a synagogue. Still a city of considerable size (but of little importance), Philadelphia is known today as Alasehin. Although there are few ruins, what remains are several pillars supposed to have been columns of a church.
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