Hold Fast To Jesus | Revelation 3:7-13

INTRODUCTION

The next church that we encounter in Revelation is the church of Philadelphia in chapter 3:7–13. Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love.’

Revelation 3:7-13

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹²The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The next church that we encounter in Revelation is the church of Philadelphia in chapter 3:7–13. Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love.’

BACKGROUND

The city of Philadelphia was an ancient city. This city was devastated by an earthquake in AD 17. It was also important because of the influence of the emperor cult in the city, and also other pagan gods and religions.

This is the only other church along with Smyrna that receives a positive evaluation and does not include any condemnation. Smyrna & Philadelphia are churches that is suffering because it has maintained its faithful witness. The evaluation is positive.

THE SITUATION: A Church with Little Strength; v8

The Church has Little Power

Probably that means that they are of little influence socially and economically in the city of Philadelphia. They are a church of little significance. Perhaps they are unable to protect themselves from the persecution. But they have remained faithful in their lives and in their witness.

CHRIST REVEALED; V7A

Titles of Christ: Holy, True, & Sovereign

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David; 3:7a.

The Holy One – Jesus is divine. Jesus shares the identity of the YAHWEH God;

Is. 40:25; Habakkuk 3:3; now attributed to Jesus in Mark 1:24 by the demon possessed man in the Synagogue and addressed by Peter for Jesus in Acts 3:14.

The True One – God is true. John 14:6

In Rev. 6:10, both titles come together. Jesus is described as the one who is Holy and True.

Holds the Key of David – He is the sovereign one. He has the Keys to the Messianic Kingdom; Rev. 1:18.

This is an allusion back to the Old Testament from Isaiah 22. We read these words addressed to Eliakim, the king of Israel, in the line of David.

Isaiah 22:20-24

²⁰“In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him (Interestingly, a parallel to the way Jesus is described in Rev. 1). and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. ²²I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ²³I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. ²⁴All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots (seed, theme in the OT) — all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

Eliakim, king who sits on David’s throne is now given the authority of David. Eliakim is portrayed as the palace administrator who can permit entrance or exclusion into the palace itself and into the Davidic kingdom.

How then does this get applied to Christ?

This text about Eliakim now get applied to the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the true son of David, now has the authority of entrance into or exclusion from, the kingdom of God that he has now inaugurated.

Isaiah 9 talks about the government on his shoulders:

Isaiah 9:6-7

⁶For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders. (Language from Is. 22)

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father (term applied to Eliakim in Ch. 22:21), Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

According to John, Jesus Christ, is the son of Isaiah chapter 9, also takes on the authority of Isaiah 22, as Davidic king who has the right to the keys—the authority to give entrance to, or, or to exclude from entrance into His Kingdom. This is seen in Revelation 20 where Christ has the authority to include or exclude from entrance into his kingdom.

Interestingly, in Revelation 1:18, Jesus is described not as having the keys of the kingdom but as the keys over death and Hades. Now, in Rev. 3, Christ is the one who has the keys of the kingdom of God.

Therefore, Christ grants entrance to the Kingdom of God and those who who refuse to acknowledge and who refuse to repent and they suffer the second death, and they end up in the lake of fire, death and Hades.

But for the church who is suffering in Philadelphia, this image would be good news: The church have nothing to fear, because it is Christ himself who holds the keys over death and Hades, and who now holds the keys to the Kingdom and grants them entrance.

Revelation 3:8

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

I know your deeds. Jesus knows our deeds.

I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut

What is that open door? The open door is entrance into the kingdom of God.

And so now Jesus is assuring them that they have an open door. He is the one who exclusively holds the keys that permit entrance into the Messianic kingdom and now he has given the Philadelphians an open door.

So no matter what they suffer, no matter how insignificant they seem, no matter how powerless they are in their situation, they have already been granted entrance into the Messianic kingdom by the King, of son of David who holds the keys that grants entrance into the kingdom of God, who has, through his death and resurrection, conquered the power of death and Hades.

Christ has opened the door of belonging/entrance into His kingdom for them. Everyone brought into His kingdom also receives open doors for witnessing Christ for the world as well.

PROMISES TO THE FAITHFUL

a. Vindication: Opponents will Acknowledge God’s Love; v9

All nations (Jews included) will acknowledge God and His love for the Church.

Revelation 3:9

⁹I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

The synagogue of Satan

Satan means – accuser. It is likely that the Jews are brining official charges against these Christians to the local authorities.

The Philadelphians seem to be suffering or receiving some measure of persecution because of the Jewish population in the city of Philadelphia. It’s highly possible that the Jews who enjoyed protection under the Roman rule, an ancient religion, were keen to distance themselves from Christianity, the new way through Jesus. The Jews may have been keen to preserve their privileges under Roman rule and distance themselves from the Christians.

The Jews claim to be God’s people, actually they are gathering of Satan because they persecute and slander the Christians who are in the city of Philadelphia.

But what is interesting is what is said about them: I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

This is actually taken, again, from the book of Isaiah: Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 49:23; Isaiah 16/60 :14

The idea that the nations will come to Israel and bow down and acknowledge them, and acknowledge that God has loved them. Now, interestingly, John reverses that, and says: actually, it won’t be just be the nations who come and bow down to the nation of Israel and acknowledge they are God’s people. Now these Jews who persecute God’s people, they will actually come and bow down to the people of God, the church in Philadelphia, and acknowledge that God loves them.

The nations will one day acknowledge Jesus as the true God and bow down before God’s people.

b. Preservation: Kept Through the Hour of Trial; v10

God Will Preserve His Church

Revelation 3:10

¹⁰Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

Probably John is not so much focusing on their physical removal from trial, but  it could imply that God will simply keep them and preserve them, that even in the midst of trial and even in the midst of what is to come in the rest of Revelation, God will preserve them.

Yes, the church is not promised preservation necessarily from persecution, and especially at the hands of the Roman Empire, but when God pours out his judgment, this text promises that God will keep them, God will preserve them in the midst of that.

c. Reward: v3:11

God Will Reward the Church

Revelation 3:11

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

d. Established: Established forever in God’s Temple/New Jerusalem Identity; v12

God will Establish His Church, will Receive the promised Salvation

Revelation 3:12

¹²The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

• They will be a pillar in the temple of God.
• They will participate in the New Jerusalem that comes out of Heaven.

Revelation 3:11-13

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹²The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Both of those images come right out of Revelation 21 & 22. In Revelation 21, John describes the New Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven to be inhabited and inherited by the people of God.

But interestingly, the image of a pillar in the temple of God also resonates with Rev. 21 & 22. There the New Jerusalem is not only portrayed as a city; it is clearly portrayed as a spiritual temple. The New Jerusalem is not only an end time city; it’s an end time temple.

So by using the image of a pillar in the temple of God, and then turning right around and using the language of New Jerusalem, John is saying the same thing: They will inherit the New Jerusalem/temple of God, where God is there and we His people will be with him.

We also see that the temple is associated with God’s people as in Ephesians 2 & 1 Corinthians 3, where temple imagery and is applied to the people themselves. That is, the restored temple is not to be understood in terms of a physical structure but in terms of God’s people themselves. God’s people now constitute the true temple of God.

Ephesians 2:19-22

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16

¹⁶Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

CONCUSION

The context for the church at Philadelphia or any church this is faithful, is a context of trial. It tells us what it means to walk by faith. It also gives us some application as to how live and then it offers rewards to the one who persists through this life of faith.

1. Remember: God’s Power is in Work in You; Eph. 1;19-20

We Have Incomparably Great Power in Christ

Though the church has no power, they are linked with the one who has all power and God is intervening into their situation on their behalf.

However weak you may be, things are not like you see, in the spiritual realm you have tremendous power. Ephesians 1:18. Paul prays that they will be able to see the tremendous power that is available to us, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come, Eph. 1:21.

2. Value: Jesus above Everything

Jesus is Worth Everything

The Ultimate Value in life is Jesus and His Kingdom.

Nothing in this world has value compared to the value that we have in Christ. Christ is that of greatest value for all of us. One day, when that final days comes, everything that we have achieved in the world will be shown to be lacking in value relative to Christ himself. A day is coming when bank notes will be useless as scrap paper, where Gold will be as useless as the roadside sad. Christ is of great value. Though they lack power they are full of power and authority by virtue of being connected to Christ.

What is it that you and I attribute the most value to?

What about the stock market or crypto this past week? The uncertainty with the tariffs in the world and economy now? What about your job pressure? It has causing some to worry or anger or concern.

When was the last time you felt the same level of concern or emotional regarding a failure of obedience to Jesus or regarding lack of faith toward God? Does this not reveal our true values and our heart and where we are placing our priorities and trust? The ultimate value is Jesus and his Kingdom.

In Mark 10, Jesus cannot tell the rich young man to go and sell all that he has and then come and follow him if he is not worth more than everything than that the young man has. Jesus is worth more. He is everything. Jesus longs for all of us to acknowledge that reality and then to live accordingly. Jesus is worthy.

If Jesus is the great treasure of your life how do you live:

3. Endure: Do Not Fear the Accusations; Remain Faithful

Be Faithful to Jesus: Do Not Fear the Accusation for Being Righteous

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Do not fear. Do not be anxious. Don’t fear, don’t panic, don’t be afraid, don’t turn from it. Rather accept it as the fatherly training from the providential hand of God who in his wisdom allows the devil some range of freedom in the world and in our lives.

Job 1:8

⁸Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

Or apostle Paul who had a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan for the purpose of keeping him humble and not conceited. Jesus was led into the wildness at the beginning of his ministry that he might be tested by the devil, Mt. 4 & Lk. 4. Don’t be afraid.

“You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished, but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why are you waiting? Bring on whatever you want.“

Polycarp, an early Christian leader (Bishop of Smyrna) who was executed around 155–167 AD

Jesus is worth Everything

Revelation 3:11

Crowns were a sign of rule, victory, authority. If you are powerless, you are not what people think you to be, defeated and you are more than conquerors. Just like an athlete is given a crown, so to the one who is faithful is given a crown of victory, the crown of victory is the crown of life. You will lose nothing of ultimate value. You will live on.

Pillar in the temple of God. Permanence, and honuor – Triple honuor from v12. A secure place awaits those who is faithful to Jesus.

V12

4. Live: Holy, True, & Kingdom minded – Because you belong to Him

Be like Jesus: Be Holy, True and live like Kingdom People

If we live as a faithful witness, there will be friction with the world around us but Jesus will approve us and lead us into his eternal Kingdom.