Situated on the edge of a fertile region of the Roman province of Asia, Philadelphia was the outlet for the produce of the region. There is no record of how the church there was established, but it was only small and it suffered much from the persecutions of the Jews (Revelation 3:7-9). God assured the Christians that they, not the persecutors from the synagogue, were his true people. He would protect his church and reward those in it who remained faithful to him (Revelation 3:9-13). (For map see ASIA.)