The biblical Philadelphia was located about 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It was the youngest of the seven cities of Revelation, having been founded about 150 B.C. by King Attallus Philadelphus of Pergamum. The name Philadelphus, meaning “lover of a brother,” was actually a kind of nickname. King Attallus was noted for the great affection and admiration he had for his brother Eumenes and the city of Philadelphia was named in his honor.

The church in Philadelphia is unique among the seven churches in that it is the only church against which the Lord registers no complaint – not one. Here is a church that delights the Lord! As we take a close look at the Lord’s message to the believers in Philadelphia, notice the unusual way He addresses this church, as compared with the other six churches of Revelation.

Each of the seven messages to the churches in Revelation had the purpose of focusing the believers on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ Himself was to be the great reality that shaped their thinking, whether they were anticipating persecution or standing up for false teaching and temptation into sin. In the sixth message, to the church in Philadelphia, Christ presents Himself to a congregation that is reminded of their calling to spread the gospel. To “the angel of the church in Philadelphia,” John was to write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens” (v. 7).

Jesus is presented as holy and true. As “holy,” Jesus is set apart above all others, pure and spotless in righteousness. As the Holy One of God, He commands the reverent attention of His people. He is also “true.” This can be taken to mean that Jesus is the genuine Lord and Savior of His people. Jesus is the holy and faithful Sovereign as He stands before His church in Philadelphia.

The most significant feature is that Christ “has the key of David.” To possess a key is to control access and entry. In 1:18, Jesus said that He has “the keys to Death and Hades,” referring to His conquest of death and His control over eternal life. Here, Jesus refers to the salvation kingdom over which He reigns as the heir of David. Jesus has the key to the household of God and the ancient covenant blessings promised to Israel.

This description makes two essential statements. The first is that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” He insisted. “No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6). We can therefore enter into God’s kingdom of salvation only through faith in Jesus, God’s Son, the Holy and True One. This teaching was especially significant in Philadelphia, where the Christians were opposed by Jews who denied Jesus Christ. Yet Jesus, as David’s royal heir, possessed the only key, and He alone could open the way into the kingdom of God.

Second, since Jesus holds the key to salvation, opening and shutting the door to God’s kingdom, the church relies on Christ to grant success to its ministry. Realizing this, the church must faithfully preach the gospel. We must pray to God in Christ’s name for saving power. And what exciting news it is that Jesus holds the key to God’s kingdom of salvation, since He is the Savior who has proved His love for sinners by His atoning death on the cross. Christ the heir of David, who holds the keys, calls us to minister His gospel. He grants us the great privilege of knowing that as we tell others about His saving love, we are being used by Him to grant eternal life to those who believe.

If we understand what it means for Jesus to hold the keys to God’s kingdom and grant success to the gospel, the message that He gave the Philadelphians is thrilling. Given opposition from the Jews, many of them would likely have been cast out of the synagogue for their faith in Christ. But though the synagogue door was closed, Christ opened to them the door to heaven, which none can shut (v. 8). Not only would the weakness of the church not hinder Christ’s open door for the gospel, but neither would the opposition that the believers faced (v. 9).

When Jesus refers to “the synagogue of Satan,” He means that the Jewish community was mocking the faith of Christians just as the Pharisees and scribes had denied the claims of Jesus. Moreover, as the Jewish leaders had delivered Christ to the cross, the synagogue rulers sought for the Romans to persecute the church in Philadelphia. Not only does Jesus reject the false faith of unbelieving Jews, but He promises that their opposition will not hinder the gospel’s witness to them.

Christ’s open door ministry would not be hindered by the weakness of the church, by opposition against the church, or by God’s judgment at work in the world in which the Philadelphians lived (v. 10). The hour of trial to which Jesus refers does not seem to be a local tribulation, as Jesus had foretold for Smyrna (2:10). Jesus uses a word for world that means its “inhabitants,” and says that it will be “the whole world” that is tried. For this reason, most scholars believe that Jesus is referring to the worldwide tribulation foretold before the coming of Christ at the end (see 2 Thess. 2:3-12).

If Christ’s message of an open door was thrilling to the believers, their blessing was compounded when He concluded with promises for those who endure victoriously in faith (vv. 12-13). Jesus promises that His faithful followers will never lack spiritual stability. Jesus promises to make every conquering Christian “a pillar in the temple of my God” (v. 12). The idea is that Christians who endure will be permanent fixtures and beautiful ornaments in the eternal temple, the church of Christ, in which God will dwell forever. Jesus further gave a threefold promise involving a new name for the faithful believers (v. 12). Finally, Jesus promises that the faithful believer will be marked with “my own new name” (v. 12). This new name is not unknown to believers, since Revelation 19:16 points this out. By saying that believers will receive His new name, Jesus means that through faith they are made certain of His ownership and protection, and are thus assured of the blessings of eternal life in glory.

The same Jesus who spoke to the church in Philadelphia, saying, “Behold, I have set before you an open door,” speaks now to us through the book of Revelation. We should observe that Christ said this in the perfect tense, meaning that a past completed act has created an enduring present situation. The past act was Christ’s death on the cross for the atonement of sin. The present reality is the open door for salvation to all who will confess their sin, believe the gospel, and come to Jesus in a true and living faith.

But a warning goes with the opportunity of Christ and His gospel. Jesus said that no one can shut the door that He has opened. Yet Christ Himself will one day shut the door, after which no one will ever come in. Finally, Jesus gives an instruction to the believers in Philadelphia and to us today: “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown” (v. 11). It is clear that Christians do not conquer in our own strength, since Jesus knows that we have “little power.” Christians do not cast down opposition but need to be kept by Christ in the tribulation of this world. Yet there is something we must do. We must “hold on”. We must never give up. Jesus declares, “I am coming soon.” We say in answer, “Jesus, with your strength, I will go the distance.” As we trust in Him, no one will seize our crown of eternal life.

Revelation 3:7-13 Study Questions:

Why does Jesus praise the Philadelphian church (vv. 8, 10)?

As in the letter to Smyrna we have an indication that the synagogue community was using its civic status to block the advance of the message about Israel’s Messiah, Jesus. Why did some Jews find the message of Jesus to be very Jewish and others find it to be challenging to the Jewish faith?

The first Christians, partly because of Jesus and partly because of the gift of the Spirit, regarded themselves as the true temple, the place where the living God made His home. Sometimes the Jerusalem leaders had themselves been called pillars. But it is the ordinary Christians in Philadelphia who are to be pillars (v. 12) – in the city notorious for danger from earthquakes! Why might this have been a promise the Philadelphians would cherish?

Equipped with regal power, Jesus has opened a door right in front of the Philadelphia Christians (v. 8) and He is urging them to go through it. The meaning is almost certainly that they have an opportunity not just to stand firm but to make advances, to take the good news of Jesus into places and hearts where it has not yet reached. What open doors is Jesus setting before us today?