To the church in Sardis, our Lord sends a message to wake up because their deeds have not been complete. They had been living on their reputation only. The lesson for us is to look at our own lives. What is God doing right now in your life, in mine? Is He at work, or have we committed the same mistake this church had made? Are we relying more upon the past than trusting Him in the present?
The next church our Lord addresses is the church found in the city of Philadelphia. This city was located about twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis at the base of a plateau. It was an area that was subject to many earthquakes. In A.D. 17, it was destroyed by a major earthquake but rebuilt with the help of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The people of this city lived in fear of these quakes and often left the city to live outside it in tents when these would come.
To this church, our Lord writes,
Revelation 3:7-13
| 3:7 | “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 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: |
| 3:8 | ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. |
| 3:9 | ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are 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. |
| 3:10 | ‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will 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. |
| 3:11 | ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. |
| 3:12 | ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; 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 out of heaven from My God, and My new name. |
| 3:13 | ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ |
The Description
Our Lord is described as He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, who shuts and no one opens. The description of our Lord as the one who is holy and true is a description of the qualifications to be Messiah. The Messiah was the holy one, the true one. There were many in those days who had claimed to be Messiah and had been proven to be false. The one speaking was indeed the holy one, the true one. He was Messiah.
If you were to look up the reference to the key of David, you would find that it is a passage in the book of Isaiah chapter 22. Shebna was a steward to King Hezekiah. In verses 15 through 22, we read this:
| 22:15 | Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, |
| 22:16 | ‘What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? |
| 22:17 | ‘Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly |
| 22:18 | And roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master's house.' |
| 22:19 | “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station. |
| 22:20 | “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, |
| 22:21 | And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. |
| 22:22 | “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open. |
The steward was given charge of the keys of the king. In that day, he was much like an executive secretary of a CEO of a major corporation today. He had the authority to regulate who had access to the king and the disposition of the resources of the kingdom. If you wanted to see the king, you went through the steward. If you needed something done, you did not go to the king; you went to his steward. Shebna had failed in that trust, and God was granting this position and authority to another, to Eliakim. The key of David was the symbol of the authority and power of that office. The key of David represents the right and authority to grant access into and to the kingdom.
There was in John’s day a strong Jewish community in this part of the world. They were recognized by Rome as a legitimate faith, while Christianity was not. The Jewish authorities claimed that Judaism was the only means to gain access to the Kingdom of God and used that as a means to stop people from being persuaded to accept the Christian faith. The threat was, “You will be left out of the kingdom. Salvation is only through Judaism! The Kingdom is for Israel, not the Gentile nations!” This argument certainly would be a powerful one in keeping those in Judaism from coming to faith in Jesus Christ and swaying Jewish believers to drift back into Judaism.
The description of our Lord as having the key of David, who opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens clearly is a reference that access to the kingdom was now given to and controlled by Jesus Christ our Lord. It was not controlled by the Jewish religious authorities in Philadelphia or anywhere else. Believers in Philadelphia had no need to be concerned by the claims or threats of their Jewish opponents. They had full access to the Kingdom of God through our Lord.
The Declaration
In the declaration about this church, our Lord does not bring up any major problem. He states they had a little power, and had kept His word, and had not denied His name and had kept the word of His perseverance. This, in all likelihood, refers to their standing firm under the attack of Jewish authorities. Whether this was just a verbal attack or included a physical dimension, we do not know. These Jewish authorities are described as a synagogue of Satan. They are a synagogue of Satan, not because they practiced satanic rituals, but because they denied the Lord as the Messiah and opposed His work and Kingdom. If you are not for the Lord, you are against Him. If you do not accept Him as the risen Messiah, then you are on the opposing side, Satan’s side. They slandered these believers; therefore, we do know they caused problems for them. Nevertheless, these believers stood firm. They had not denied our Lord; they persevered because they had at least a little spiritual strength. Our Lord does not claim they had great spiritual strength and wisdom, but they had a little.
Our Lord, who has the key of David, who opens and shuts doors, states that He had therefore placed before these believers an open door. Elsewhere in the New Testament, this phrase is used by Paul to indicate opportunities for witness, evangelism and ministry.
Acts 14:27:
| When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. |
1 Corinthians 16:8-9
| But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. |
2 Corinthians 2:12
| Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, |
Colossians 4:3
| praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; |
We do not know the specifics of what was taking place in the church on that day or what kind or manner of door the Lord had opened. Perhaps that is intentional on our Lord’s part so that today when we read the exhortation, it applies to us in many different areas. But they had an opportunity for ministry specifically given to them by our Lord.
Are you being faithful to the word of our Lord? Are you sincerely living, striving not to deny His name? If there is a little strength, He might well open a door for you to minister. Remember this: He is the Enabler. If He has opened a door for you, it indeed is an open door until He Himself shuts it.
To this church, our Lord also says, because they had kept the word of His perseverance, that is, they had persevered under pressure and had been obedient to Him, He would keep them from the hour of testing which was about to come upon the whole world. This hour of testing is the Tribulation period. This church would not have to go through it. Does this then indicate that there are churches that will go through this time of testing? Does this mean believers today might have to endure this time?
Yes, there will be churches that go through the Tribulation! Yes, there will be believers in this period. But, no, true believers of this age will not have to go through this period! In these letters, those who are faithful and those who overcome are promised many things. Among the things promised are: they will be granted to eat the tree of life, given the crown of life, not be hurt by the second death, not have one’s name erased from the book of life, and other things. These are all things that all those who believe will share. Those who genuinely believe will overcome by their faith. Therefore when our Lord promises them they will not go through, it is a promise that likewise applies to all who truly believe.
There will be churches filled with people who have not accepted the truth of God’s Word and who have not placed their faith solely in the Son, but who have trusted their own righteousness who will indeed face this terrible time. There will indeed be many believers during this time, but they will have come to faith after the true church, the Bride of Christ, is taken by the groom.
The Encouragement
The exhortation made to this church is to hold fast to what they had so no one would take their crown. That is an exhortation that all of us need to heed. We must hold on to the strength and faith that we have. It is all too easy to slip backward. If we do not struggle to move ahead, if we do not hold on to a secure handhold, the current against which we swim will surely carry us back downstream.
The Promise
To those that overcame, that is to the one who has indeed placed his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, He promises that He would make him a pillar in the temple of God, and he would not go out from it anymore. There would be safety and security. Remember where they lived, in a city prone to earthquakes. No more leaving and living in tents while the danger of tremors lingered! This promise is, of course, not for the present but for the age to come. There is no guarantee of safety or security in this life, only in that which is to come.
He also promises to those that overcome a new name to be written on them, that is, to be given to them, namely, the name of God, of the City of God and our Lord’s new name. Philadelphia had had many names in its history. The people, as a city, had been given many names to honor various people. A new Roman emperor would come along, and in honor of him, the city would be renamed. God would honor these believers with the ultimate in names, His names. These people, those that overcame, would be His.
This church seems clearly to represent the church of the great awakenings and the revival of missionary outreach from about the time of the French Revolution, A.D. 1790, to the beginning of the modern church around A.D. 1914. It was a church age of a bit of strength and a time of an open door of missionary outreach.
To the church located in Philadelphia, our Lord describes Himself as the one who was holy and true, that is, the Messiah. He had the keys of David, that is, the authority to grant access into the Kingdom. This church did not seem to be a large church; it was a church that had a little power and had kept His word and had not denied His name even under duress. Our Lord does not deal with any particular problem but simply tells them He has given them an open door for ministry and service. They would see their enemies bow at their feet and would be kept from the great time of testing, the Tribulation period. They were exhorted to hold fast to what they had, what the Lord had given them. To those that overcame, our Lord would grant to be a pillar in the new temple of God, safe and secure from all danger. They would be given a new name to honor the Lord God himself rather than any earthly authority.
The lessons for us here are many. You do not have to be a super saint with vast spiritual strength to be given an open door for ministry. Look at Sardis. Doors are not opened by our wisdom and strength, by our authority, no matter how great it might be in this earthly realm; doors are opened and shut by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the authority; if He opens, no one is going to shut the door; if He closes a door, it stays closed! The key is holding fast to what we have and being faithful wherever we are.
