The Philadelphia Syndrome (Part One)

 The Philadelphia Syndrome (Part One) The Worldwide Church of God (WCG) saw itself in Jesus Christ's letter to Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13. It based much of its belief on the mention of an "open door": "Iknow your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it . . ." (Revelation3:8). Neither the verse nor the context tells us what this open door is. However, several New Testament verses refer to an open door to preach the gospel, and since the WCG preached the gospel in a way not done since the first century, this identifier of Philadelphia seemed to fit. While the Bible speaks of open doors in other ways, these essays will not focus on them. Nor will we consider whether the WCG was correct in identifying itself as Philadelphia or even whether God intends us to look at the letters in Revelation 2-3 as eras. Instead, we will consider some of the fruit produced—and is still being produced—due to the belief that Christ's letter to Philadelphia applied to the WCG, that is, that it constituted thechurch's Philadelphia era. This brief exploration will be carried out in the most general of terms. Each person has a unique vantage point, and if this does not match up with one's own, consider it as food for thought. The letter to Philadelphia is one of only two (the other being the letter to Smyrna) in which Jesus says nothing negative. In the other five, He addresses significant shortcomings. This percentage by itself is a good reminder that there is a decent chance that Christ evaluates our spiritual condition differently than wedo. These letters show some serious controversies exist between the Savior and His people. But Christ clearly favors Philadelphia, and it is only natural to desire such a positive report to apply to oneself. A problem develops, though, because people tend to think too highly of themselves after receiving God's favor. For example, God greatly gifted the angel Helel, but because he could not control this propensity toward self-exaltation, he imagined himself better and greater than was true, causing him to rebel. Similarly, God favored Israel unlike any other nation, but due to her carnality, she forsook God.As the blessings increased and the feelings of importance grew, the sense of obligation to the Giver of the blessings decreased. Being favored by God is a privilege, but as we understand, privilege also puts a person under obligation. Jesus teaches, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they willask the more" (Luke12:48). Undoubtedly, God blessed and favored the WCG in numerous ways, not the least of which was the powerful preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. The witness WCG made could only have been done because of God's favor. But if an individual or group receives God's favor but fails to keep its carnality in check, what can develop is a sense of invincibility, infallibility, and somethinglike the misguided Doctrine of Eternal Security. A person can reject the idea of "once saved, always saved" yet still operate as if he already has it made. The practical result is that he feels little or no need to consider his ways regularly to ensure he remains in alignment with God. Hefeels no urgency to discern his spiritual condition because he feels secure in God's favor. Those with experience with the WCG can recall some common sentiments and approaches and conclude that many could have had their roots in identifying with this letter. In Revelation 3:10, Jesus promises to keep Philadelphia from the hour of trial. Self-preservation is an innate response, so identifying with this letter is naturally attractive. We wanted to be part of the organization with an open door, the key identifierof Philadelphia, which the ministry and membership widely interpreted to mean "preaching the gospel." Thus, the organization doing the preaching rose in importance. As commonly interpreted, Jesus would keep the organization with the all-important open door from the Great Tribulation. This conclusion inspired the idea that staying on good terms with the organization must be a top priority. This reaction is not a bad impulse because we should strive to remain on good terms with those we fellowship with. But later, in many—though not everyone—it led to the practice of "playing church" because nobody wanted to jeopardize his position within the organization that had God's favor. Onemight be as carnal as the day is long in one's private life yet expend considerable effort to keep up appearances, especially within sight of those higher up in the organization. The individual may have had no active relationship with God, but he could showup at Sabbath services and say the right things to the right people, and somehow this translated into good standing with God—as though they were fooling Him or that He distributed His grace by proxy. Again, it is right to maintain good relationships with the ministry and other church members. The problem developed when it became common for this impulse to become more important than maintaining and strengthening a relationship with God. Inpractical terms, for many—though certainly not all—the organization became more real than God. What Headquarters thought mattered more than what God thought, and idolatry slipped in. In later years, the influence of Fuller Theological Seminary and Azusa Pacific University crept into the WCG's teachings, forcing the membership to decide whether to continue with the truth of God's Word or remain loyal to the organization.Some, rather than proving which doctrines were correct, convinced themselves that the WCG was the true church and its hierarchy was God's government. After that, they would accept anything the organization taught. After all, the church had God's favor (because it had an open door to preach the gospel) and would thus be protected from the coming Tribulation. We will consider the lingering effects of this questionable conclusion in Part Two. - David C. Grabbe