Revelation 3:7-13 | The Church With An Open Door – Part 1

Revelation 3:7-13 (Part 1)
The Church with an Open Door

I. Introduction

1. This church represents those churches that are found faithful at the return of Jesus Christ.
2. This church, known as the faithful church, can find its place all the way up to the return of Jesus to judge the world.
3. The city was approximately 30 miles to the south of Sardis and 50 miles to the north of Laodicea.
   1. The city got its name from Attalus II’s nickname Philadelphus (“brother lover”), which was given to him because of his loyalty and love for his brother Eumenes.
4. Geographically, Philadelphia is an important trade and communications gateway.
   
   
   
   1. “Rome’s imperial postal route also went through Philadelphia, earning the city the name Gateway to the East.”^[1]
      
      
   2. “It was strategically located along a well-traveled highway that linked the east (Asia) with the west (Europe). It was a city with an open door through which trade, commerce, Greek language, and Greek culture spread from Greece and Macedonia to Asia Minor and Syria. Jesus’ word ‘I have set before you an open door’ (v. 8) was well received by the resident Christians who actively spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.”^[2]
5. This city, as did many throughout the Roman Empire, housed temples of Artemis, Zeus, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and others.
6. The city of Philadelphia sat on a geological fault and experienced devastating earthquakes.
   1. This was so severe that many chose to live outside the city to avoid falling debris.
   2. This was a town that knew what it meant to be shaken.

II. v. 7 Jesus reveals Himself.

⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens:”^[3]

1. The Holy One.
   1. To claim to be holy in this manner is to claim to be God.
   2. There are many references in the Old Testament that refer to God as the HOLY ONE, and so Jesus is also.
      
      Psalm 71:22 Also with the lute I will praise you–And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
      
      Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and shout, “O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
      
      
   3. This is a clear statement of His deity.
2. The True One.
   1. Many false gods, but Jesus is the true God.
   2. Again, this title is another claim to deity.
      
      1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
      
      
   3. It is worth noting that when the martyrs in heaven addressed the Lord, they called Him “holy and true.”
      
      Revelation 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
      
      1. Their cry for judgment was because He was holy; He had to judge sin, and because He was true, He had to vindicate His people who had been wickedly slain.
      2. It may be that these two attributes of Jesus Christ are also revealing that this church was experiencing persecution.
3. He has the key of David (sovereign).
   1. This is a reference from Isaiah 22:22.
      
      Isaiah 22:22-25 ²² The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open. ²³ I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. ²⁴ “They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. ²⁵ ‘In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’”
      
      1. In Isaiah 22:15-21, power was transferred from the ungodly leader Shebna (meaning vigor) and transferred to a godly man named Eliakim (meaning whom God raises up).
      2. The nation now begins to hang all their hopes on Eliakim, but he suddenly is removed like a peg from the wall.
      3. Isaiah 22 holds the idea that men, even good men, will let you down. They are only human, and life will pull them away from you.
      4. The good news is that Jesus, our Eliakim, will never let you down.
4. The one who opens and shuts doors (omnipotent).
   1. This allusion to Isaiah 22:22, which speaks of one who had David’s key to open and shut, indicates authority to rule the house.
   2. He is one who can draw upon the resources of the Kingdom and distribute them as needed.
5. Jesus reveals Himself as the holy, true, sovereign, omnipotent Lord of the Church.

III. v. 8 The Lord commends them.

⁸ I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

1. He knew their works.
   1. Jesus is very aware of the works of His servants.
2. The Lord grants open doors.
   1. There are two main reasonable interpretations of which door has been opened.
      1. First, it refers to the closed door they faced at the local synagogue. The local Jewish believers were telling the Christian believers that the door to the coming Kingdom has been shut for them.
         1. This is a widely accepted view, and there is no doctrinal conflict with this idea.
         2. “Overwhelming evidence points to a third explanation of the ‘opened door’ as the correct one. It speaks of a sure entrance into the messianic kingdom, promised to this church as a reward for their faithfulness. No one, not even those of ‘the synagogue of Satan,’ can shut them out.”^[4]
         3. There is much that is commendable in this view, but the text does not provide enough information to conclude that believers were told the Kingdom door is shut to them.
      2. The second idea is that this is a reference to the open doors of missionary work. This is the preferred interpretation in my estimation.
         1. This view fits the language of the New Testament (Acts 14:27, 1 Cor 6:9, 2 Cor 2:12, Col 4:3).
         2. Paul asked the Colossians to pray for open doors.
            
            Colossians 4:3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains
            
            
         3. In v. 2, Jesus says He knows their works, and one of those works was their obedience to the preaching of the gospel.
   2. Using the imagery of open doors as a reference to sharing the gospel, let’s consider the words of our Lord.   
   3. What a blessing that the Lord opens doors before us.
      1. Knowing that it is the Lord who opens doors should take the pressure off us.
      2. Let the Lord lead you.
      3. The Lord has given us an open door, too.
         1. Work, school, etc.
      4. Mission work.
   4. We should pray for open doors.
   5. Knowing that Jesus is holy and unlike any other, and that the only truth given to man, whereby they might be saved, ought to motivate us into missions. We ought to have a passion for missions to walk through open doors.
      1. All of us, I believe, have been called to have a passion for missions.
      2. To have a passion for missions is to have a passion for lost souls.
      3. Having a passion for missions is synonymous with having a deep concern for the lost.
3. The open doors were for those with little strength.
   1. This is often one of our excuses for not sharing.
   2. No excuse, for we have been given the Holy Spirit to make us bold witnesses.
   3. Remember, Jesus is your reliable Eliakim.
      1. Shebna means “vigor.” Human effort is vain.
      2. Eliakim means “God raises up.”
   4. Why don’t we see the power of the Holy Spirit in the churches today as we did in the early church?
      1. Maybe because we are so cautious that we don’t venture into works that we have no natural strength for.
4. They kept His Word.
   1. They didn’t pick and choose what part of the Bible they would obey and what part they would reject.
   2. They walked uprightly.
5. They did not deny His name.
   1. This indicates to us that, like the church at Smyrna, they were facing persecution that sought to get them to deny the Lord.
   2. They didn’t cower at the face of opposition or ridicule.
   3. How will we respond if the doors in our own countries ever close?
6. What keeps us from walking through open doors?
   1. Fear.
   2. Counting our lives as valuable.
      1. Paul said he did not count his life dear and was ready to die.
      2. Jesus said you will lose it if you try to hold onto it.
   3. Lack of faith for God to supply the needed strength.
   4. Failure to understand our call, purpose, or mission as a new creation.

IV. Conclusion

1. Go and walk through the doors the Lord will open for you.
2. Remember, He (Jesus) has all authority, so having only a little strength is no problem for our Eliakim.
3. Determine that you will obey the Lord and not deny Him, even if persecution were ever to come into your life.

---

^[1] Bruce Barton, Revelation, ed. Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2000), 42.

^[2] Simon Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Book of Revelation, vol. 20, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 156.

^[3] All Scripture quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

^[4] Robert Thomas, Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1992), 277–278.