Revelation 3: 7 – 13
How U Do In
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Greetings from the city of ‘Brotherly Love’! Are you kidding me? It should be called rather - the city of ‘Brotherly Hate’ or the city of ‘Brotherly Shove.’ I should know because I am from Philly. We are the ones who greet you by say in, ‘how u do in?’ but we really do not care how you are doing. We are the ones who love cheese steaks wit or wit out cheese wiz.
We like to say in the Philadelphia police department that we have a good night when the murder numbers are in the single digits. Our sports fans are so crazy that the city installed a court room at the various sport facilities. This way the people can be arrested and immediately be thrown in jail. We are the ones known for snowballing Santa at a half time football game. We are the town that is known as ‘The Broad Street Bullies.’ Our motto is ‘If you can’t beat them, then beat them.’
Why do I stay here, you may ask, ‘I love the people.’ Hey, can you say that you live in a city which is in the bible. Well, we are not really in the bible for the Philadelphia that we are going to look at was in present day Turkey. But it’s nice to say that our Precious Holy Spirit is talking about us. So, in a way He Is because this church represents Christians then and now and I hope that we are the ones who our Great and Holy God Is pleased with. So, let’s see what He has to say about us.
The real Philadelphia was started by a king who built the city for his brother. We derive the name from two words Philos which means ‘loving’ and ‘Adelphos’ which means ‘brother’
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and none shall shut, who shuts and none opens.’
Our God is Holy - ‘He Who Is Holy.’ The ‘Holy One’ is a title of God, and He Is regularly called ‘the Holy One of Israel’ like we read in the book of Isaiah chapter 12 verse 6. It refers to His unique distinctiveness, His ‘otherness’, distinctive in essence and in total purity. He dwells in total light in complete holiness and greatness. No one can compare to our God.
And you know what else - ‘He Is true.’ In 1 John 5.20 God is called ‘Him who is true’, and here the description is applied to Christ Jesus, The Messiah. In Revelation 6.10 our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Is called ‘the holy and true’ as here. The sense of ‘true’ is that He is real and reliable and the source of truth. Everything He has said and done is true. You can bet the farm on it.
‘He who has the key of David, he who opens and none shall shut, who shuts and none shall open.’ This picture is taken from Isaiah 22.20-25. There in the days of Hezekiah the key of David is to be given to Eliakim, who will replace the false chief steward of the royal palace, the treasurer over the king’s treasury. ‘And he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah, and the key of the house of David will I lay on his shoulder, and he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open’. Eliakim was a faithful steward who managed His stewardship well and was seen as a father to the people.
The thing to take note in all of this is that this steward was in charge of granting people access to the king.
So our Lord Jesus is a type of Eliakim in that He Is The One Who Grants access to Father God.
It is important at this point to bring up an important issue and that is ‘Apostolic Succession’. We read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, “13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
From these passages it would at first seem like our Lord Jesus handed the leadership of the church to Peter, who before his death would pass to another person.
This cannot be true! I will explain why.
The first church leader was not Peter it was our Lord’s half brother James. In addition, Peter did not hand off the leadership mantle to another. Based on the church traditions, others or as we see are Cardinals vote in the next leader. And the final killer to this false premise is that our Lord Jesus spoke to Peter around 32 AD. As you know the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation around 96 AD. Please note the keys are back in our Lord’s hands, Revelation 3: 7, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David.
What Then Does It Mean regarding our Lord Jesus’ comment to Peter? Peter Called ‘Rock’is ‘Petros’ which is a large piece of rock. Our Holy God Jesus is called Rock [Petra –(upon this Rock)] which is a huge rock like Gibraltar
This whole Scripture is talking about our Lord Jesus Comment to Peter regarding his confession that Jesus Is The Messiah – The Son of God.
Our Lord Jesus Alone has the keys of the after-world and of death. This would stress that He has power over the grave and can release or retain whom He will. If He opens, none can shut. If He shuts none can open.
So the church of Philadelphia are called on to recognize that as the greater David He controls the afterlife and death, releasing whom He will, and that He can provide, or refuse, access to the New Jerusalem.
3‘I know your works - (behold I have set before you an opened door which none can shut) - that you have a little power, and have kept my word, and did not deny my name.’
The reference to the opened door clearly refers back in some way to the previous reference to the key and demonstrates that our Lord Jesus also controls the opportunities of witness and service such as we read in the following scriptures;
1 Corinthians 16.9 ,” For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
2 Corinthians 2.12, “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,”
Colossians 4.3, “meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,”
It is clear that the works of the Philadelphians include faithful witness. They are not a powerful church, but they are faithful. They have held on to and obeyed the teaching of our Master Lord Jesus; they have been true to Him and have not denied His name. Nothing in fact is actually said against them, except perhaps their need to experience more of the power of the Spirit. Isn’t that the truth.
The opened door and the reference to He Who opens and none shuts parallels the time of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29.3, when, as Israel perished, Judah witnessed a revival characterized by the reopening of the doors of the Temple when they had previously been ‘closed’. Hezekiah’s time was the time of the open door. But eventually that door closed through the failure of the people.
‘Behold I give to you those of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews but are not and do lie, behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.’
Once again we have reference to those Jews who deliberately sought to cause trouble with the authorities for the Christian church. Isn’t it amazing that the ones who truly love the same God, Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High - gets the most resistance from. Though they claim to be Jews, says our Lord Jesus, they are not really true Jews, for they do not obey the Law or show mercy. I have seen this first hand. There is this guy who works at the church who says he is a Messianic Jew. He has used the church to enrich his own life. He makes deals with contractors relative to church business. In return for the church contract the bidder does freebie work for him or discounts work that they will do for his private business. He thinks this is separate from his employment at the church. I do not think that is proper or love for Adoni Yahweh as He requires. They are simply liars like their father Satan, who is the chief adversary. They demonstrate that really they belong to his synagogue, and not God’s.
But one day they will be made to acknowledge their error. In the words of Isaiah 60.14, ‘the sons of those who afflicted you will come bending to you, and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the souls of your feet, and they will call you the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel’, and they will enter ‘the gates which are open continually’. So these false Jews will have to admit that these Christians whom they hate and despise are the true children of ‘the One Who Is Holy’.
‘Because you kept my word of patient endurance I also will keep you from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole world, to try those who dwell on earth. I come quickly. Hold fast what you have that no man take your crown.’
Please take notice of the statement - For His ‘word of patient endurance’. All who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution which the apostle Paul remains us in his letter of 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12. Clearly the Philadelphian church has also faced persecution instigated by false Jews, and has come through unscathed, patiently enduring.
Now for some good words - ‘I also will keep you from the hour of trial’. There is a play on the word ‘keep’. ‘You have kept my word of patient endurance’ - ‘I will keep you from the hour of trial’. Our Holy God responds to the faithfulness of His people. They have already suffered enough. He will not ask them to suffer more.
‘Those who dwell on earth’ are mentioned regularly in Revelation, referring specifically to non-Christians, and the various trials that they have to go through are vividly described. They represent humanity outside the church.
So the Philadelphians are promised that in some way not described they will escape, not all the trials, but the worst of the trials to come, the ‘hour of trial’. This may have in mind that, as always in such times there will be places where the worst effects are not felt, possibly because of the presence of a humane governor. It is a reminder that God can keep His people either from or through, depending on His will, any hour of trial they have to face. But more probably it has in mind the particularly awful attacks of spiritual forces which are limited in time but which those sealed by God will not experience.
They will not be kept from everything that the world must face. Right now in Philadelphia we have experienced the worst winter I can ever remember. The average temperature should be around 50 degrees and we are having a hard time see temps above freezing. We usually get about 10 inches of snow each winter. So, far the total is over 5 feet. Come on now!
What is pointed out here is that their preservation is limited to a particularly severe ‘hour of trial’ which God has in mind. This ‘hour’ cannot be seen as describing the whole process of tribulation described in the following chapters, which will be prolonged, but must have reference to a particularly severe part of the trials which are coming, which they will escape.
Many teachers have taught that there is going to be a ‘Great Tribulation’. What was our Lord Jesus’ prayer to our Heavenly Father for us? We read in the Gospel of John chapter 17 this, “6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”
A good way to analyze how our God will take care of us if we are around during the terrible time of Satan’s wrath as Daniel chapter 12 points out is learned from how our Great and Wonderful Lord protected the Israelites who were in Egypt. Take a look at this situation as described in the book of Exodus chapter 11. “21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
Do see how our Majestic Creator controls all things!
Notice what our Lord said for us to remember - ‘I come quickly. Hold fast what you have that no man may take your crown.’
Our Holy Ruler Lord Jesus intends that His people live in expectancy of His imminent return, for He knows it will be an encouragement in whatever they have to face. Someone once said that we should live in expectancy that He might come back today, and plan as thought He Is not coming back for some time.
Now, today, Christians are still looking for His imminent return, as have Christians in every age. To every generation He is ‘coming soon’. The two thousand years that have passed may seem long to us, but in God’s terminology they are two days that we are taught in the book of 2 Peter 3.8.
It says that for those who have been faithful a crown awaits. There are a couple of crowns promised to believers. Check these out;
.1 Corinthians 9.25 - incorruptible crown “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown a crown won by striving in accordance with the rules.”
2 Timothy 4.8 - crown of righteousness “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
James 1.12 - a crown of life – “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
1 Peter 5.4 - an unfading crown of glory, “and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
You might be thinking if you dress up which crown will you wind up wearing. They will all be put together, one crown on top of the other. If you look up the crowns which the Pope’s wear you will see an example of this type of crown
‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will leave it no more, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven from my God, and my own new name.’
Where you work do you have any ID tags? Look here You want to pass the entry police angels then you better have on the proper ID. We will be clearly identified as His. He will write on us all the name of God, to show that we are His, and the name of the new Jerusalem which descends from Heaven to show that we belong there,
‘He who has an ear let him hear, what the Spirit is saying or the churches.’
And once again Jesus tells us, ‘he who has an ear to hear, let him hear’. The constant repetition demonstrates how important and urgent it is. By the way, how’s your hearing? How U do in?
