Greek For The Week: The Seven Churches Of RevelationSampel

 Philadelphia: A Church Needing Peace 

Today, more than ever, society is looking to itself for peace and inner security. We’ve put a man on the moon, flown planes at Mach 6, and grown body parts in petri dishes, but we’ve yet to engineer a way to satisfy the yearning of our hearts for fulfillment and well-being.

Achieving our highest ambitions can never satisfy the deep longings we have inside. Peace and security come only from having a relationship with God and being in His presence. 

Jesus tells this to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:12. Despite their trials and circumstances, God promises them a future of peace and security that would come from continually being in His presence. Jesus illustrates this by comparing them to “a pillar in the temple of my God.” The Greek word for “pillar” (stylos) refers to an extremely strong supporting beam. Because they are so hard to move, columns represented security—in this case, security in the presence of God.

Because their Philadelphian lives lacked security, this illustration would have made a lot of sense. Philadelphia was located in the Lydian valley, where earthquakes were abundant. In 17 A.D., the city was devastated by one of the most powerful earthquakes up to that point in human history. The damage was substantial. Tremors went on for years. These shocks made most of Philadelphia’s citizens paranoid and ruined their sense of peace. They were always on edge, waiting for the next quake to destroy their buildings and homes. It wasn’t unusual for people in Philadelphia to cower in fear and bolt from the city into open spaces when they felt shaking. 

Yet, God was assuring the Philadelphian believers that their peace did not come from this world. True peace comes from having a permanent fixture next to God. The whole city could be crumbling, but as long as the Philadelphians had their position near the throne, nothing could cause their peace to crumble.

It’s important to remember that your peace and security will never be found in this world. Peace is supernatural, and it is found in God. Lay down every relationship that you are looking to for acceptance, put away habits that you are using to provide satisfaction, and get away from vain imaginings that you hope will somehow bring fulfilment. Instead, seek the presence of God. You’ll be at peace standing on that which can’t be demolished.