Jesus said to John: Revelation 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: (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. (9) Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie – behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. (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 upon the earth. (11) I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. (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 upon 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. (13) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Remember again that all of these cities had common trade unions, and in order to practice your trade, whether tentmaker, bread maker, cobbler, etc., you had to belong to the union. Why was this a problem for Christians? Because each union had their own god, and membership in the union involved worshiping that god. You had to go to a specific temple and participate in the worship ceremony. If you didn't participate in the worship ceremony, you didn't get or keep your job.

Philadelphia had the same situation as all the other churches. In all of these churches, Jesus especially condemns compromise. In virtually every church, there's a situation where someone, or some faction in the church was promoting compromise. Jezebel in the church at Thyatira was teaching compromise. She was saying "we know that these trade union gods are nothing but worthless idols. Since we worship the one true God, it doesn't really matter if we must participate in some meaningless ceremony to a god who is nothing. It doesn't matter if we partake of the sacrifices, because we know it's not really a sacrifice to the true God." However, it really does matter because our actions are a testimony. If Christianity is just another religion, why not pick Hinduism or Mormonism? Why be a Christian if there is no difference in religions. Very clearly Jesus says there is a difference. The church in Philadelphia is the only church in all of the seven that is really doing what God commands. They are the only church that Jesus unequivocally compliments.

Philadelphia means "brotherly love" in Greek. Its name commemorates the loyalty and devotion of Adolous II to his brother. He loved his brother and demonstrated it in such a way that the city was named for it. The city of Philadelphia was built on a flat plain. Unfortunately, running right through the center of the city was an earthquake fault. The city had actually been leveled on two different occasions. During the great earthquake of AD 17, the city was destroyed and its name was changed to Neocessaria (New Caesar) in appreciation of the imperial help it received in rebuilding. At a later date, under the Emperor Vespation, the name "Flavia" began to appear on their coins. So the city had at least two other names in its history.

Remember, there is something written about each of the seven churches that the people of the time could relate to. (12) and I will write upon 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. Jesus is saying that He was going to give them a permanent name. A statement they could relate to because their history.

The city was located in a vine-growing district. The worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and partying was the chief pagan cult. After Tiberius the emperor gave them aid, they founded the cult of Germanicus, who was the adopted son and heir of the emperor. This meant there was an ongoing struggle between worship of the pagan gods, the Roman emperor, and the true God, Jesus Christ. Again, each of the seven churches had this in common, this constant temptation to compromise between the worship of the true God and all the other "gods"..

One might ask, "Why did God allow this to continue?" God could have spoken from heaven and with the breath of His mouth destroyed all these idolaters. He could speak and instantly turn everyone into a Christian, too, but that's not the way He chooses to work. Instead, as Paul says, God has chosen to use us as "vessels of clay" and he has given us the incredible treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the divine method – God has chosen to work through his people, the Church. He puts us in situations to demonstrate our faithfulness and ultimately transform not only individuals, but also entire cultures and civilizations, but in His timing. That is exactly what is going on in the church in Philadelphia.

3:7 …He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, … says this: (8) I know your deeds. … because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Most of the other churches had denied Christ. They had large factions that were compromising and denying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were saying it was okay to "go along" and act and look like a pagan, but the church at Philadelphia did not. "You have NOT denied My name," Jesus says. He also says of the church at Philadelphia, "You have a little power." In other words, by secular standards, this was probably a small church. Even today, churches that are really sticking with the word of God tend to be really small.

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:

That sounds sort of strange to us – what is this "key of David"? We find the answer by looking in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 22:15: Thus says the Lord God of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, (Shebna was a steward in the house of David. He was the one who controlled a lot of the activity at the Temple.) who is in charge of the royal household, (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? (Shebna was apparently someone who thought highly of himself, so much so that he carved a tomb for himself in a place where the kings were buried. God is accusing him of putting himself on the same level as a king.) (17) Behold the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly, (18) And roll you tightly like a ball, into a vast country; There you will die, and there your splendid chariots will be, you shame of your master's house.’ (19) And I will depose you from your office, and I will pull you down from your station. (20) Then it will come about in that day, that I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah (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) 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.

God is saying that He is going to take this person who thinks of himself very highly, who exalts himself, who elevates himself above his position, and put him where he belongs. As it is written: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5, quoting Proverbs 3:34) Then He is going to replace him with someone else who will have the key of David on his shoulder. The key represented authority. In those days, if you had a key, you carried it on your shoulder. The key was a large piece of wood that was designed to go into a slot in the door in order to lift a bar inside that was holding the door shut. It was necessarily big.

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, Who has the key to heaven (the key of David)? Jesus Christ, who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Other religions teach the way of salvation is to earn it, that we must have our own key. Apparently, what was going on in the city of Philadelphia and all the other cities, was that some were saying, "We Jews are God's chosen people. Therefore, you must be a Jew and follow the law in order to be saved." Is it any different today? No, most of the religions today teach a similar "works" salvation. It's the same in virtually every religion – an exclusive claim that you must follow their religion and their rules in order to get into heaven. But Jesus says "No it's not your key, it's MY key, I am the key – I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus is the key. The One who has earned and holds the one and only key to heaven.

That's what Jesus means when He says He has the key of David. He opens and no one will shut. What does that say about salvation? Jesus is the only way. If He opens the door for someone, no one is going to shut it for that person. If Jesus opens the door for your salvation, can anyone, including yourself, take away that salvation? No, absolutely not. That's why Jesus says "Anyone who is saved is in my father's hand, and no one can remove him, not even himself." (John 10) You see it's God's choice, not ours.

Q: Isn't that what some churches call excommunicating? Aren't they basically saying that you're not going to heaven? And they can't do that.

Notice Jesus says (9) Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie – behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. If you were a Christian in those early churches, you were usually from a Jewish background. Yet the Church was being opened to believers from a non-Jewish background. Many non-Christian Jews were teaching that one had to be a Jew to be saved. If a Jew was preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, the Jews would kick them out of the synagogue. They were being excommunicated for believing the truth. Here Jesus is giving words of comfort: "far from you being kicked out of the church, I'm going to bring those who say they are Jews and are not, those who are of the synagogue of Satan, (what an incredible slam!) they will bow down at your feet, and know that I have loved you, despite the fact that they are saying ‘God loves us. We're God's chosen people.’ " The bottom line is we can't just listen to what a church or religion is saying, we have to listen to what God is telling us in His word.

(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 upon the earth. Here Jesus speaks of that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. Is He talking about something far in the distant future? Absolutely, not! The Greek here is very clear – He is speaking of something immediate. We saw it in chapter 1 where John speaks of the things that are shortly to take place and the time is near. Jesus is teaching the church at Philadelphia – and the other churches that they would be tested. We know from history that the Christians were persecuted terribly between AD 64-68. They were burned at the stake. Nero dipped Christians in pitch and tied them to poles to light up his garden parties.

They went through a 3-1/2 year period of incredible testing, which I believe is what Jesus is referring to here. He says that those who are faithful, He will protect from that hour of testing. Does that mean they weren't going to be burned at the stake? If we're faithful to Christ, does that mean we're not going to have any trials and tribulations? No. Jesus is saying that the temptation, the trial, is not going to change your heart. What's important is your salvation. If you belong to Christ, if God has opened the door with the key of David, there is nothing you or anyone else can do, no matter what trial you go through, that is going to change your heart. I've known people who appeared to be staunch Christians, heavily into the church, evangelism, giving, doing all kinds of things and when they went through some sort of trial they thought God hated them and they left the church. So, did those people lose their salvation? No, they never had it. They were wolves in sheep's clothing. That's what we need to understand. Jesus says "It's those who persevere to the end who are saved." That's why it's important for us to understand Jesus’ words to the church in Philadelphia.

(11) I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. If Jesus provides the key that opens the door, why do I have to hold fast so nobody can take my crown? Again it's a question of our responsibility AND God's sovereignty. In other words, do my works get me into heaven? No, absolutely not. It's only the perfect work of Jesus Christ that gets me into heaven. Does that absolve me of any good work? No. Scripture teaches that we must work out (our) own salvation in fear and trembling. You see, if I truly am saved, I am saved unto good works which God prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). If I really am a Christian, I will be doing good works out of faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. And there is nothing that could possibly happen to me which could change my trust in Jesus Christ.

(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; If someone truly is a Christian, he is one who overcomes and he will be made part of the Temple of God. I don't' know about you, but to me it's mind boggling to think I am a living stone in the temple of God!

…and I will write upon 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. What's the name of the city of "My God, the new Jerusalem"? It's the Church. It's the "bride of Christ." If you are truly a member of the Church, then you are a pillar in the Temple of God, which is the Church. We'll get more into that when we reach Revelation, chapter 22.

…the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem (the church), which comes down out of heaven from My God (Jesus began the New Testament Church, He is the foundation, the cornerstone of the Temple), and My new name. (13) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Remember, each of these letters was written to the angel of the church, presumably the Pastor, as the representative of the church. When Jesus says, "I know your deeds," He's talking about a particular person, not the church as a whole, yet that person is accountable for the church as a whole. In all these letters, even though they were written to specific churches for specific contemporary reasons, they were most likely read in all of the churches. They were circulated between each of the seven churches, so each could benefit from the teaching about the others.