SOUTH of the Cogamis River sat the Lydian city of Philadelphia. Perched on a hilly plateau in the region’s fertile heartland, it presided over a broad valley leading west through Sardis to Smyrna on the coast of the Mediterranean. Philadelphia, now named Alasehir, in western Turkey, was once a prosperous center for wine production. Little wonder that its chief deity was Dionysus, the god of wine! But in stark contrast to the mirth that stems from wine sipping, the city was also the location of what Jesus called “the synagogue of Satan.” (Rev. 3:9) It was in this unseemly environment, where holy acts of conduct would seem out of place, that a congregation of true Christian workers flourished. It was one of the seven that Jesus Christ personally addressed in the book of Revelation. A door to theocratic activity had swung open before those loyal worshipers of Jehovah.

“I know your deeds​—look!” stated Jesus, the holder of the key of David and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. “I have set before you an opened door, which no one can shut​—that you have a little power, and you kept my word and did not prove false to my name.”​—Rev. 1:5; 3:7, 8.

Imagine, Christ’s fearless followers, a small, close-knit band who struggled against persecutors, were the ones blessed with a widely opened door of sacred service! No such privilege went to the religious leaders or the rulers of the city. They had earned no favor with Jesus as they wielded their power in Philadelphia​—a choice spot because it lay on the frontier of culture and acted as the gateway to central Asia Minor. On the other hand, Jesus encouraged the Philadelphia congregation to take full advantage of their opportunity to preach the Kingdom of God. They had endured and shown that they had enough power, with help from God’s spirit, to continue with further deeds in Jehovah’s service. Neither Gentile nor Jewish opposition had stopped, nor will it ever stop, the Kingdom proclamation work.

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