Revelation: Church of Philadelphia, He Holds the Keys | June 1, 2023

Revelation 3:7 ESV

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.

Have you ever asked God to open doors? Maybe you are hoping for that new job or new house. Maybe you have been praying for how to reach that one friend with the gospel and you are asking God to make a way, to open a door.

Sometimes God opens doors. Sometimes He closes them. And He doesn’t always tell us why. Maybe if He told us, it just wouldn’t matter anyway, or maybe we just don’t have the understanding.

In this letter to the church of Philadelphia, we see Jesus describing Himself in ways that seems random to us, but to those who lived in the city, it was purposeful.

Because of its large Jewish audience, the book of Revelation often alludes to the Old Testament, and this letter is no different. God is often described as the Holy One in the Old Testament, and here, Jesus uses the word to describe Himself, to let the Jews know that He is God; He is the Messiah. Because this was also a polytheistic city, Jesus states that He is the only true God.

 In the previous letters to the churches, the descriptions of Jesus came from Revelation 1:12-18. But this letter has 4 distinct Old Testament features.

• He is the holy one. (He is set apart, divine)

1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV

¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

• He is the true one. (He is genuine, authentic, and real)

1 John 5:20 ESV

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

• He has the key of David. The Jews would recognize the key of David from the following passage of Scripture:

Isaiah 22:20-23 ESV

²⁰ In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, ²¹ and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² And 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. ²³ And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. 

The Key of David is symbolic. The one who holds the keys is the one who holds the power and authority. Only He can open and close doors.

Lord, help me to remember that only You are holy. Only You are true. You are the only one who can open and close doors because You are the one who holds the keys. I put my faith in You today because You are all-powerful. You are sovereign over all.