An Open Door

““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. “‘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. 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. 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. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

One of the things that I become more and more convinced of is how little I really know and understand about God and His Word. You would think that 45 years of faithful service, daily study and an enduring love for God and His kingdom would result in being more and more certain about these things. The more I learn and the deeper my faith grows the more I realize just how little I truly know and really understand about God. I was much more arrogant, confident and sure of myself when I was younger and dumber. My time in God’s Word constantly erodes that arrogance and is resulting in the humble realization of just how little I really know.

I think the Philadelphian church is the older, wiser, more humble and less certain version of Christ’s church. Last week we had the prideful, certain and seemingly successful Sardis church and this week we have the small, weak but faithful Philadelphia church. While it may seem odd, at first, to hear your pastor admit that he’s unsure, it is that very admission of weakness which God promises to bless with unbelievable power (see 2 Cor. 12:1-10). It is only when we admit our inherent weakness and our deep need for Christ’s power that it can and will be poured out upon us for “power is perfected in weakness.”

Philadephia is a small city situated at the intersection of several important trade routes or roads. It is built on the side of a mountain (Tmolus) and is blessed with rich soil that is perfect for growing grapes. But Philadelphia is also subject to catastrophic earthquake activity and was completely destroyed in 17 AD. It was rebuilt by Roman Emperor Tiberius but the earthquake threat was ongoing and resulted in many residents leaving and others deciding to live only in the rural areas surrounding the city.

Notice the description of Jesus, “the Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one closes, and closes and no one opens.” While these attributes may not initially seem to line up with the physical description we see in Revelation 1, the reference to “the One who has the key of David” does seem to somewhat align with His self-description in Revelation 1:18 of being the One who holds the keys of death and Hades. But first, let’s look at the Holy One and the True One and then we’ll come back to the One who has the key of David. 

Holiness is certainly an attribute that is clearly and consistently attributed to God throughout scripture. While the term does carry a sense of personal and moral purity, the root idea of holiness is one of separation or distinction. God is separate and distinctly different from humanity and His creation. The theological term for this is: transcendence. The non-theological term is: “WOW!” If you still don’t get it, go read the Gospels to see just how different Jesus is from you and me. Stop and ponder a God who doesn’t need you, because He is entirely self-sufficient, but who LOVED you so much that He was willing to take on human flesh and die in order to show you His love and call you to radical faith in Him.

He’s also the True One and this means SO much more than just speaking truth. He speaks only the truth because He IS the True One but He is the True One in stark contrast to the rest of creation. Just as your shadow on a sunny day is only a form of the real you, what we see in this world around us is but a shadow or form of real life in God’s presence and in His kingdom. That’s why we see so many images, forms and analogies in the Revelation – John had no way of being able to relate to us what he “truly” saw except to use the things that we can understand. John saw reality, we only see the shadow of it. Note: watch how many times the word “like” is used as we work our way through Revelation. That’s John using the shadow of things here to help us understand the reality of things in God’s presence. 

Ok, so if Jesus is the True One what does that mean for you, me and the church? It means that if you want to know how things really are then you must look to, listen to, trust and walk with the True One. It means that we see and perceive is not reality. We see success, the True One sees a life out of balance. We see human power and authority, the True One sees only man’s weakness, pride and self-deception. We cling to earthly treasures and He sees us clutching worthless trash. We see the pain of persecution and rejection but He sees the power of a faithful witness. We see the shame of a Roman cross but He sees victory of the Resurrection. We only see the shadows but the True One is leading us into the reality of God’s kingdom.

Oh, there’s one more thing these folks see… they see a small, weak church in a small nowhere town where every door of opportunity and growth is closed to them. But guess who stands in front of them, the Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David and who opens doors that no one can close and closes doors that no one can open. That promise comes from Isaiah 22 where it references a promise the people hoped for but would never be realize. They wanted an earthly king in the lineage of David, Eliakim, to fulfill the hopes and dreams of their deliverance. But Eliakim would never, could never fulfill those hopes and dreams. He was but a shadow of the One who could and who would…

Listen to what Jesus, the One who holds the key of David says to this church in Philadelphia: “I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that NO ONE is able to close!” The biggest problem every church faces is itself. That might feel a bit like a slap in the face to some of you, but it is the truth. We think our problem is just too big for our God to handle. We think we are staring into the face of reality, but it is just a shadow. The Holy One, the True One, the One who holds the key of David says to trust Him and to take that step of obedience in following God’s will. That’s what He said to the church in Philadelphia and that’s what He says to us. Stop looking at your problem as though it is real, it is only a shadow in comparison to the True One. Stop looking at that closed door as though it defines your ministry, the One who holds the key of David opens doors and no one is able to close them. 

Now the True One confronts the lies coming from the “synagogue of Satan.” As you may recall, we’ve encountered these folks before in the letter to Smyrna. Notice, Jesus condemns those who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying. He’s going to make them come and bow down at the Christian’s feet and that will be evidence of God’s love for them. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the taunting cries from the Jews: “Ha! You claim that God loves you and you love Him, but look at the persecution you’re facing. If you’ll just bow down to us we will open our door let you come back to synagogue and you could avoid all this pain and persecution.” But remember, the True One holds reality in His hand and the pain and persecution is nothing but a shadow. Because these Christians have kept His word and have not denied His name, their reality is an open door into the presence of Almighty God.

Finally, we reach the promise the Holy One, the True One, the One who holds the key of David makes to these faithful believers: “I will keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world.” Some scholars see this promise to “keep” the Philadelphia church from the “hour of testing” as proof of what has come to be known as the rapture of the church. Simply put, I disagree because this is not a promise to the church, in general, but to this church, in particular, because of their faithful endurance in the face of these lies and this persecution. If you take the rest of the New Testament teaching regarding trials and testing, Christ’s follower are not “kept” out of it but are placed in the thick of it and they’re cautioned and encouraged to persevere unto death.

Then He promises to all who are victors or overcomers: “I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. 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.” It is possible that the reference to making the victor a pillar in God’s sanctuary is referencing the constant threat that Philadelphia faced with earthquakes. In fact, the city had been destroyed by a major earthquake in 17 AD and had to be completely rebuilt. The only thing left standing were pillars in some of the pagan temples. The shadow is that these pagan temple pillars withstood an earthquake while the people were forced to leave, the reality is that God will make these faithful Christians pillars in His sanctuary and they will never be forced to leave.

But Jesus also promises to write on the victors the name of My God and His city – the New Jerusalem. God will never deny them. Why? Because His name is on them. He will never abandon them. Why? Because the name of His city, the New Jerusalem, is on them. We will be marked by His name and our eternal destiny will written on us – the City of God, the New Jerusalem. Let that sink in, if you’re faithful and endure unto death then He is your identity and your destiny. Why would God do this for those who are weak and sinful? Because we also bear the name of His Son – “I will write on him… My new name.” 

“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”