Revelation – Open Door – 9

Revelation 3:7-13 –  7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia 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. 8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, 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 my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

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Have you ever lost your keys? We lost the keys to our shed and didn’t realize it until Christmas Eve night when I needed to get presents out of it. I had to figure out a way to take the doors off the hinges in the freezing night, while neighbors thought someone was breaking into our shed. What I needed was an open door and a set of keys. In the passage tonight, the letter to the church in Philadelphia, we see that they had an open door and that Jesus has the keys. This church was commended for their faithfulness to Christ, and we don’t see anything negative said about them. We can learn a lot from the church in Philadelphia about how to be a faithful people of God.

Jesus is the holy one, the true one, and the sovereign one. (vs 7)

Jesus is the holy one. To be holy means to be set apart. There is none more set apart than Jesus, who is seated on the throne in heaven, distinct and ruling and reigning over all else. He is the spotless lamb who was slain. The one who never sinned.

Jesus is the true one. Jesus, as scripture represents him, corresponds with reality. It doesn’t matter what we believe or want to believe. What matters is what is true. Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [him]” (Jn 14:6). So many people questioned him, even in Bible times…was he really who he said he was, like John the Baptist in Matthew 11:3, asking “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” And they walked away certain. We can be too. Jesus not only existed, as virtually all scholars believe, but he is, in reality, as he is recorded in the scriptures.

Jesus is the sovereign one. It says he is the one who “has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” This statement is found in Isaiah 22:22, which states, “I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” It also makes us think of the words of Matthew 16:19, which says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

What Jim Hamilton says in his commentary is too good and necessary for me to summarize. Hear what he says about all of this with your head and your heart.

“Revelation 3:7 is heralding the trustworthiness of Jesus for us. Do you trust him? Maybe you have consciously decided not to trust Jesus. Let me ask you: is what you trust holy? Are you sure? Is what you trust true? Are you sure? Will what you trust prevail? Are you sure?

If you don’t trust in Je