172. "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write." (3:7) This symbolically means, to people and concerning people who are governed by truths springing from goodness derived from the Lord.

That these are meant by the church in Philadelphia is apparent from the particulars written to it, understood in their spiritual sense.

In Deuteronomy 3:11, they signify the church in its externals, or the natural man. (Apocalypse Explained 1638)

In Psalm 68:15, this signifies good willed, as it exists in people in the externals of the church. (Apocalypse Explained 405[13])

(Riferimenti: Apocalypse Explained 730; Isaiah 33:9)