SEVEN ‘FROM The HEART of JESUS’ LOVE-LETTERS to the SEVEN CHURCHES of REVELATION - To The Church of Philadelphia

Church #6 PHILADELPHIA:

REV 3:7-13

⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; ⁸ I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door*, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. ⁹ Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. ¹⁰ Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. ¹¹ Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. ¹² Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. ¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Philadelphia was a city of some importance founded in the second century B.C. by Attalus, king of Pergamum, in honor of his predecessor, Eumenes Philadelphus. The city was strategically situated in a fertile river valley on the main road from Sardis to Laodicea, directly east of Smyrna. 

The message to Philadelphia has captured the minds and hearts of Christians through the centuries because no other message (not even the one to Smyrna) is so rich in promises. The LORD's self-identification (v. 7) sets the stage for the first promise (v. 8), which is given unconditionally to the saints at the Philadelphia congregation.

Historically speaking Philadelphia is placed between the Reformation Period (represented by Sardis) and the time of apostasy that is occurring now and will culminate during the reign of anti-Christ – yet future. Philadelphia then would represent the time period of the mid 1600’s to the early 20^th century – which was the time of Evangelicalism and the Great Missionary Movement.

Here is a chart that chronicles the various churches and their corresponding periods of church history.

Seven Stages of Church History
Church	Church History Typified	Dates	Verses
Ephesus	The Apostolic Church	A.D. 30-100	REV  2:1-7
Smyrna	The Church of the Roman Persecution – the Suffering church	A.D. 100 - 313	REV 2:8-11
Pergamum	The Church of the Age of Constantine – Compromised Church	The Wilderness Period (Numbers)	REV 2:12-17
Thyatira	The Church of the Dark Ages – The Prostituted Church	A.D. 600-15179	REV 2:18-29
Sardis	The Church of the Reformation – The Church of the Gospel Reaffirmed	A.D. 1517-1648	REV 3:1-6
Philadelphia	The Church of the Great Missionary Movement – The Church Taken Out	A.D. 1648-1900	REV 3:7-13
Laodicea	The Church of the Apostasy – the Lukewarm Church	A.D. 1900-present day	REV 3:14-22

Like Eliakim of the Old Testament, gatekeeper of the king's palace in Jerusalem (read ISAIAH 22:20-22; comp w/ ISAIAH 9:6-7), the LORD holds the key of David, so that what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open (v. 7). Consequently, he places before the angel an open door (v. 8).

Preachers who claim this promise for their congregations tend to interpret the open door as a door to mission or evangelism, as in ACTS 14:27. 

W. M. Ramsay (1904:391-400) called Philadelphia a "missionary city" because of its strategic location for the spread of Greek culture eastward into Lydia and Phrygia. Yet the open door in the message to Philadelphia means more than just evangelism; it is also the door into heaven (see REV 4:1) or perhaps into the new Jerusalem (see v. 12) than a door for evangelism.

The open door is a kind of guarantee of salvation or eternal life, like the promises to the "overcomers" in all seven messages. Another way of saying it is that "I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth" (v. 10). Like the "two witnesses" in REV 11:12 or the child born of the woman in REV 12:5, they will be "raptured," or taken up to God in heaven, before the wrath of God is poured out on the earth.

Much like Enoch, whom God translated (raptured in effect) before the Flood judgment
came and thus he is a type of the church that will be raptured out of this world before the 70^th week of Daniel (Tribulation period of 7 yrs); and yet Noah and his sons, including Shem, who is the ancestor of Abraham, thus representing a type of Israel that is kept safe through the Flood and the time of Great Tribulation respectively.

The above commentary was based in part from the following link.

ON DOORS: doors are means of access, like a road or a path.

~ There was only one way that led to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden: GEN 3:22, the LORD placed cherubim at the east side to guard it.

~ One sacrifice (access to God by means of worship) by Abel was accepted, the other by Cain was not: HEB 11:4.

~ There was only one door to the ark: GEN 6:16.

~ There was only one door that led into the tabernacle of Moses (EXOD 29).

~ Jesus is the only way, truth and life and He is the Door (JOHN 10:1-9; 14:6).

Some comparisons between the letter to Philadelphia and JOHN 17 (turn in your Bibles to this chapter) – our LORD’s intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of the church, the true church:

~ REV 3:8b . . . for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word.

Compare with:

JOHN 17:6
⁶ I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

~ REV 3:9
⁹ Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet.

Compare this contrast with:

JOHN 17:15-16
¹⁵ I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

~ REV 3:9b
. . . and to know that I have loved thee.

Compare with:

JOHN 17:23, 26
²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. ²⁶ And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

~ REV 3:12b
. . . and I will write upon him the name of my God.

Compare with:

JOHN 17:26

²⁶ And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

VERSE BY VERSE EXPOSITION:

REV 3:7
⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The LORD is holy and true – absolute purity in goodness, righteousness, justice, grace and mercy; the LORD is also true – there is no darkness or deceit, but truthfulness in all things. This is someone entirely trustworthy and the only one worthy of our absolute and unwavering faith and worship.

It is a comfort and reassurance that brings peace, to understand that the LORD holds the keys, He has the access to open doors for us to allow entrance into the presence of our Abba Father; no one can come to the Father except through Him! He gives us access to enter into His plan while living in this world, and He also closes doors that would lead us into unnecessary dangers and hardships.

How often I have prayed for the LORD to show me the way to go, and asked Him that if such a course was not in accordance with His will, that He would close the door! And lock it! And barricade it!! And when such doors are closed, I thank Him for His wisdom and protection!

Realize that what the LORD decides to open in your life, or to close, is in His power alone; and that no one can open or shut what God has determined for us (See 1 COR 16:9). You are, where you are in life, by no accident. The LORD has opened a door, you have gone through it, and find yourself in situations and circumstances orchestrated by the living God since before the creation of the world!

It is my personal belief that the key of David, while it opens the door in heaven to allow us access to be with our LORD when He takes us, His church, out of this world, it is that same key that He will use to recommence His dealings with the people of Israel, based on:

ACTS 15:14-16
¹⁴ Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, ¹⁶ After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

Consider the following, and note that word "until" in verse 25!

ROM 11:25-29
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

The blindness of Israel will be lifted once "the fullness of the Gentiles [is completed]" - and what is the fullness of the Gentiles? It is when the LORD will take out from among the Gentiles a people for His Name - that will complete the church, the body of Christ, and raptures out of this fallen world!

REV 3:8
⁸ I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

We thank God for our “little strength” that is SO little, that the LORD must open doors for us! If we had great strength, it could mean trouble for us as we could go around opening all kinds of doors, behind which, there could be much danger! 

It is in our weakness, when we must depend on the LORD for help, that we are well able to accomplish much, simply because we aren’t doing it in our own strength, but the LORD’s! Just as the apostle Paul declared in 2 COR 12:7-10.

When we get in to drive a car, we are steering a vehicle that weighs a few thousands of pounds, going at 50, 60 miles per hour! It’s a good thing that there is automatic steering! The power is not in the driver to turn that massive machine, but in the vehicle itself. You can turn it by using a single finger on the steering wheel.

It’s the same with the LORD – the power to live godly is not in ourselves where we must strain and struggle and muster up our own strength, but with a simple touch of His Almighty finger, enables us to live godly! By the Spirit of God He automatically steers us – as we yield.

Keeping the Word of God is key to operating in the strength of God. The word for “kept” and “keep” (used here in vs. 8 and vs. 10) in Greek is tereo – it means to watch over with special care, preserve; to guard under custody against attacks from outside; it is the same Greek word used in JOHN 17:10 regarding abiding in the love of God by keeping His Word.

The Word of the LORD, says the Psalmist has he kept, that he would not sin against the LORD (PSALM 119:11).

God is glorified in the little things, the simple things (even what the world would consider the foolish and weak things: 1 COR 1:25-27): a ‘little strength’ or great weakness on our part means that He can display His Almighty power and receive the glory for it. A little faith, like a grain of mustard seed, in the Almighty God is able to ‘move mountains’ (MATT 17:20). 

The simple staff of Moses God used to work great signs; the simple jawbone of a donkey in the hands of Samson, God used to defeat the Philistines. The little, few meager loaves of bread and fish, the LORD fed approximately 5,000 hungry men (not counting the women and children!). No matter how small, simple or insignificant the world thinks you are, or even how you may think of yourself, God can and will do mighty things through your life, if you trust Him!

The saints at Philadelphia did not “deny [His] Name” . . . The Name of the LORD is Jesus: Y’shua a contraction of YHWH Shua, or “Our God is salvation” – and we do not deny our salvation or the Gospel that gives us salvation and the LORD Who provides both. We hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, rejecting all false ways that lead to death (PSALM 119:104)!

ROMANS 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Not denying His Name also means not denying the nature and character of Christ, for Who He is, and how He is manifested in our lives before the world. It means dying to the old self so that the nature of Jesus may be seen in our lives!

REV 3:9
⁹ Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

We saw the synagogue of Satan before in REV 2:9, the paramount persecutors of the saints at Smyrna. These people of Satan, working in accord with the devil’s intention to attack the saints there, are now seen here; but in this case, they are seen in defeat, no longer oppressing God’s people, but being compelled to worship God’s people, what is known as “obeisance” or an expression of submission.

We know that the spiritual authority of the church is granted by the LORD, and it is the authority of the LORD Himself that we possess, as we pray and seek God in accordance to His Holy will, according to His character, praying in Jesus “name”. Because of this, we understand that our victory over the enemy as an absolute certainty!

GEN 3:15 tells us the prophecy regarding the seed of the woman – that seed being Christ Who will “bruise” or literally “break” the head of the serpent. The apostle Paul states that the GOD of Peace will bruise Satan under the feet of the saints of Rome “shortly” (ROM 16:20).

Whom the LORD knows, He loves, and He is not ashamed to call us His own (JOHN 17:25-26; HEB 2:11-12).

REV 3:10
¹⁰ Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Keeping the Word of God will bring forth fruit if we will patiently wait for it (GAL 6:8-9), we will see this happen in our lives:

LUKE 8:15
¹⁵ But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

And those who bear fruit prove themselves to be children of God, not children of this world (MATT 13:24-30) and these are those who have kept His Word and will themselves patiently wait for His return, according to His Word, and be kept from “the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world – to test those who dwell on the Earth” – this can be nothing other than that time of trial, which the LORD said:

MATT 24:21-22
²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be*. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. * - even the Holocaust??

The test will be: Who will people pledge their allegiance to? 1) The Beast, the son of perdition and accept his mark of 666 and as a result be eternally condemned without remedy; or (2) to the LORD Jesus Christ and face martyrdom (beheaded) and depart this wicked world for the glory of heaven?

This time of temptation will cover the entire globe, and test everyone who “dwells on the Earth”. If we are kept from that time, then we will not be dwelling on the Earth – but will exit this fallen world (like Enoch after God took him) and go through the open door that the LORD has opened for us and straight into His Almighty arms of love!

REV 3:11
¹¹ Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Skeptics have referred to this verse and ridiculed Christians, because, they say, “QUICKLY?! It’s been two thousand years since this was written, and He says – quickly?? Silliness!”

The Greek word used here for quickly is tachu – and it can mean “swiftly, suddenly, to catch by surprise”. It isn’t referring to a short length of time, but the manner of one’s approach – which in this case is as fast and as sudden as a bolt of lightning!

MATT 24:27
For [just] as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Holding fast is to say, remain faithful and I believe it is in the nature of every born again believer, who has the Spirit of God indwelling them, that they will ultimately remain faithful in their keeping of the Gospel of salvation, and the gift of grace granted to them, being eternal life – there may be some fumbling and stumbling along the way, some pit falls and set-backs – but I believe that the LORD will complete (when we see Him face to Face; 1 JOHN 3:2), that which He begins in each and everyone of our lives (PHIL 1:6).

Now faithfulness regarding rewards – and a crown is a symbol for reward – there are those who will lack or lose reward, but still be saved (1 COR 3:13,15).

2 PETER 1:3-8
³ According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; ⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; ⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. ⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The ones at risk of having their crowns ‘stolen’ would be those who are not yielding to the sanctifying of the LORD and growing in holiness and good works/fruit that He alone can produce in us.

REV 3:12a
¹² Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:

Pillars are established on a foundation, and hold up the roof of a structure; they are symbolic of testimony, of upright conduct and a witness whose foundation is upon the truth and hold above the Name of the LORD and His glory, which is a spiritual shelter for us to find refuge in!

And those who are overcomers will stand fast on the truth, no matter how much pressure is applied by the world to cave in and submit to ungodliness and falsehoods; the saints will uphold the Name of the LORD Jesus and not deny His Name! These are not pillars in some common building, but in the very temple of God. Any temple – pagan or not – is a place of worship, but we are placed in the temple of the true and living God, where we will worship Him in Spirit and Truth – what a joyous honor and holy privilege that we should even be invited, let alone remain there in the presence of the LORD – “and . . . go no more out” from that place of worship! "So shall we ever be with the LORD" (1 THESS 4:17)!!

REV 3:12b-13
. . . and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. ¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Here again, we see “name” mentioned – and when we read that the LORD will write upon the overcomer the “name of My God” I see that as the LORD completing what He started in us, fulfilling all the new nature we have in Christ.
In addition to the name of God, there is the name of the city of God – which denotes citizenship: that we belong to a Kingdom that cannot be moved:

HEBREWS 12:28
²⁸ Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

In the certain hope and expectation that we will indeed inherit all things, with our LORD Jesus Christ (ROM 8:17), and that as pilgrims traveling through this world of sin, we are looking for a better country and the holy city that the LORD has prepared for us:

HEBREWS 11:13-16
¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. ¹⁵ And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Let us conduct ourselves accordingly – as proper citizens of the Kingdom of God and the Holy City

1 PETER 2:10-12
¹⁰ Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. ¹¹ Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; ¹² Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

For more on this, see this video by Prophecy Update!

Next time, we will look at the last of these seven churches, Laodicea – the lukewarm church. And then a final study to summarize and a brief overview of the rapture of the church.