Philadelphia, which means “brotherly love,” was situated
in Lydia along the Hermus River valley about 38 miles
southeast of Sardis. Though the land was rich and fertile
from the volcanic residue, Philadelphia was a dangerous
place to live due to the many earthquakes experienced in the
region. As a result, many of its inhabitants chose to live
in huts outside the city in the open country.
“He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who
opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens
says this; I know your deeds. Because I have put before you
an open which no one can shut” (Revelation 3:7-8).
“He who is holy” asserts the Savior’s deity, the One totally
set apart from sin. “Who is true,” means “the real, the
ideal,” and stands opposed to what is false and to what is
only a picture or type of the real. “Who has the key of
David.” In Revelation 1:18 the keys speak of Christ’s power
to give salvation and victory over death and the unseen
Satanic world which tries to hold men under the dominion of
sin and death (Hebrews 2:14). Here, however, the key speaks
of (1) His royal claims as Lord and Head of David’s house.
It anticipates and looks to His rule and kingdom on earth.
(2) But it also reminds us of His royal authority or
sovereignty even now over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:19).
When men by their arrogance and ecclesiastical or political
position and actions strive to shut out true Bible believing
believers from effective service, we need to remember the
power and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Men may bind
us, as they did John and Paul, but God’s Word is not bound
(2 Timothy 2:9). When men think they must compromise God’s
principles of the ministry and resort to human gimmicks,
Madison Avenue techniques, or any kind of worldly means to
accomplish spiritual objectives or as the keys to open
doors, we need to reflect on the truth of this passage. The
Lord holds the key to opening doors to ministry as well as
the door to the hearts of men. In the final analysis it is
always our Lord who opens all true doors of ministry to us.
The church in Philadelphia had a little strength, they were
small in numbers by man’s standards as man counts success,
but this must never disturb or discourage us.
“And who shuts and no one opens” There is also an important
lesson here as believers seek God’s guidance for ministry.
Paul and His missionary team had planned to minister first
in Asia, but were forbidden by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6).
Then they wanted to minister in Bithynia, but they were not
permitted to minister there either (Acts 16:7). Instead,
they were called to Macedonia. In other words, at that point
at least, the Lord shut the doors to Asia and Bithynia, but
opened them in other places. Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 16,
Paul expressed his plans to eventually visit Corinth (1
Corinthians16:5-7), but he carefully qualified this with “if
the Lord permits” (v 7). However, for the moment, he was
committed to staying at Ephesus to minister, because “a wide
door for effective service has opened to me, and there are
many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16: 8-9).
The lesson that we must learn is, take advantage of the
opportunities when they come, but not push and get
frustrated when the Lord is not opening the door.
There are two points here; first, open doors of
opportunities, no matter how hard we think we have worked to
open the doors to this ministry or that one, are gifts from
the Savior because without Him, they would not open. Second,
open doors are trusts given to us for faithful stewardship
just as with our spiritual gifts or our finances.
The church in Philadelphia was small in number by comparison
to the religious and idolatrous people of the city. Though
they were small, they did have power, spiritual capacity
because their source of power was the presence of the Holy
Spirit in the church and they were committed to Christ’s
Word or the Word about the Savior to preserve it from false
ideas and adulterations, but they were also committed to
observing its truth in their lives.
Jesus commends the church in Philadelphia because they did
not deny His name. This is evidence of their spiritual
fidelity and separation from the world. Remember, one may
confess the Lord with his mouth and yet, in some way, deny
Him with a life that is inconsistent with the truth of
Scripture or the character of Christ.
Revelation 3:9-11 contains a promise of comfort.
First, comfort concerning their persecutors, “Behold, I will
cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they
Jews and are not, but lie, I will make them come and bow
down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you”
(v 9).
The synagogue refers to the place of Jewish worship and
study. “Of Satan” refers to possession, Satan’s synagogue,
that which belongs to him. Satan was its head and the power
behind the scenes. More crime, evil and persecution have
been perpetrated in the name of religion and by the
religious, self-righteous type than almost any other one
source of evil. Religion is Satan’s trump card, and one of
his primary weapons that he uses to both deceive and hurt
humanity. This is what we have here, religious persecution
by religious Jews operating under Satan’s control whether
they realized it or not.
“Who say they are Jews and are not.” They were literal Jews,
physical descendants of David and Abraham, but in claiming
to be Jews, they were also claiming to be God’s people,
religious guides to the truth, and the means and access to
God. They were not children of God regardless of their
claims and religiosity. They had rejected God’s Son and
revelation of God; they were of their father the Devil. To
be a true Jew in the biblical sense one had to have the hope
and faith of Abraham. Abraham was the possessor of faith in
the promises of God to him and faith in the coming Messiah.
Since faithful believers will reign with Jesus Christ and
share in His throne, these persecutors will in essence have
to fall down at the believer’s feet.
Second, “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance,
I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour
which is about to come upon the whole world to test those
who dwell on the earth” patience” (Revelation 3:10). “The
word of My perseverance” refers to the testimony of
Scripture regarding the truth of Christ as the suffering,
resurrected, victorious Savior who endured the shame of
rejection and the cross and who endures today as the
resurrected and ascended Lord now sitting at God’s right
hand (Hebrews 1:3).
Because they have trusted in the person and work of Christ
He promises them He would keep them from the hour of testing
that will come upon the world. The hour of testing sometimes
referred to as “the Tribulation,” refers to the time of
wrath or judgment described in chapters 6-19. This is the
same as Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Daniel 9:27) and the time
of Jacob’s trouble described by Jeremiah as unprecedented in
its judgment (Jeremiah 30:7).
This protection from the hour of testing is not a reward;
instead, this is a promise to the church as a whole. All
believers are to listen to these messages and their warning,
exhortations, and promises and act accordingly. As in 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18, this is to bring comfort to the
church. In the recording of the promise to keep believers
from the hour of testing John used the phrase “tereo ek,”
which means, “to keep out.” This is a promise that believers
will never go into the Tribulation.
In John wanted to imply that church age believers would be
in the hour of testing he could have used a term that means,
“to keep in.” This would be a promise of preservation in the
Tribulation. He could have used a term that means, “to keep
through.” This would be a promise to keep us through the
Tribulation. He could have used “airew ek” that means, “to
take out” or “swzw ek” that means, “to save out.” This could
mean that believers would go into the Tribulation and then
taken out of the Tribulation. He could have used “airew apo”
that means, “to take from.” This would mean that believers
would go into the Tribulation and then taken out of the
Tribulation. Instead, John used the term that means, “to
keep out.”
Third, the promise of the imminent return of the Lord, “I am
coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will
take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).
The promise to come quickly means “suddenly, unexpectedly,
without announcement” and not necessarily soon. It implies
immanency and so the charge here is to “hold fast,” a
warning against spiritual carelessness and carnality. The
warning reminds us to live in the light of His coming, to
hold fast to Him in faith and service, when He comes it will
mean examination and rewards. He will not forget our service
on His behalf, but we must hold fast to the hope and
expectation of His coming for us or we will live carelessly,
indifferently to our calling and purpose as believers. When
that happens, we lose our crowns, rewards for faithful
service. So the Spirit quickly adds, “that no one take your
crown.”
“That no one take your crown” refers to be deprived of the
honor or glory potentially available through faithful
living.
There are two possible ideas here:
First, it could refer to rewards that are lost and given to
others because we failed to hold fast. There is a parable in
Luke’s Gospel where the mina is taken away from a servant
and given to the one who has the ten minas (Luke 19:24).
Second, it could refer to rewards lost because of the evil
influences that we might allow to hinder us in the race of
life (Matthew 13:7, 22; Colossians 2:18). Actually, both are
true as the above Scriptures make clear.
In verse 12, the believer who overcomes is promised three
specific things:
First, he will have as a reward a permanent and prominent
ministry in the temple of God. All believers are in the
spiritual building and household of God (Ephesians 2:21-22),
but some will be pillars. To be a pillar is a sign of a
reward with a permanent position of honor and
responsibilities in the millennium and eternal state.
Pillars stood for stability, ornamentation, and service.
Second, he will never be removed from this place of
preeminence in the eternal temple, “He will not go out from
it anymore.”
Third, he will have three special names: he will have
written on him God’s name and the name of the New Jerusalem
along with Christ’s own new name. This would all signify the
priestly dignity and prominence given to the victors.
Finally, the letter is closed with the usual charge to all
the churches wherever they may exist in the world to hear
and take this message to heart.
