THE OPEN DOOR
Revelation 3:7-13
The Church Faithful To Christ – 1700AD to 1900AD 

We left off last time with the promise to look at one of the greatest promises Jesus made to the church at Philadelphia; His true bride. Here it is, but let’s first look at who that promise is given to.

Rev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

He who “keeps” will be “kept.” That is Jesus’ promise to the faithful. The word persevere is also translated “patience” and relates to the fact that we as believers are being established in the “patience” of Jesus: 

2Thess 3:3-5 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

It is also translated My command to endure, meaning that the promise is to those who have practiced the same kind of endurance that Jesus did when He was here on earth. His patience is our example and guarantee that He understands what it means to endure when He requires it of us; we are not to tire in our efforts. 

Heb 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.  

In light of the fact that the church at Philadelphia did endure, Jesus promised them that He would “keep” them from the hour of trial: hora tou peirasmou—the time of temptation); that period the Jews called the “Messianic Woes.” We know it as the great tribulation that unfolds in the ensuing chapters of the book; Rev 14:7 (Dan 12:1; Joel 2:31; Mark 13:14; and 2 Thess 2:1-12).  

Some interpret this to mean that Jesus will not remove the church from the presence of evil but “keep” it from evil or the evil one. Others, as do I, understand Jesus to be referring to the rapture of the church, which occurs before that event. As I have made my understanding of this issue clear in the introduction to this series here I only want to point out one of the reasons for my decision.  

“I will keep you from” is translated tereo ek, which means “out” of place, time or cause; an “exemption” from something—not to be present when something happens. This is opposed to the word dia, which means to keep “through” something; in the midst of it. The use of the phrase “hour of trial” makes it a time period, making it clear that they would be kept “out” of that time period. Christ’s method of keeping His bride “from” or “out of” the tribulation to come is to, as used in the Latin translation, rapture the church (rapturos; suddenly snatch away).  

The Jews understood the hour of trial to come because they always divided time into two ages: the present age, which is entirely bad, and the age to come, which is entirely good. In between is a time of terrible destruction when judgment will fall on the whole world. Jesus’ message was very clear; those who are faithful to Him will be safe in His keeping; safe with Him and away “from” the coming tribulation. All of which makes verse 11 all the more important. 

Rev 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  

Once again we have that phrase: I am coming quickly. Jesus is going to come suddenly and when He does it will all unfold rapidly. We need to be prepared as we do not know that day, hour, minute, or moment; that twinkling of an eye.  

Just a thought—if a blink takes just 300 milliseconds, how long does a twinkle take (1Cor 15:52)? I guess fast enough that it won’t make any difference to those being called.  

This is the same promise made to the Christians in Thyatira (Rev 2:25) and it is both a warning to those who don’t heed His Word and an encouragement to those who do. 

Matt 24:48-51But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

James 5:7-8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Here is a warning to all believers to “hold fast” (kratei; seize by strength) to what they have (the doctrine of faith) so that no one can take their crown. Consider, however, that it is not about someone stealing it but a warning that God will take it from them and give it to someone else because they were not worthy to wear it. Go back and reflect on the parable of the “talents” that many consider only in light of salvation. Crowns, rewards or blessings if you will, have been taken away by God and given to others throughout the Bible as a result of “unfaithfulness:” 

Esau lost his birthright to Jacob

Ruben lost his place to Judah

Saul lost his place to David

Shebna lost his place to Eliakim 

In this letter Jesus talked about open doors; evangelism. It was all about the blessings of being faithful and trusting Him as you step through the doors He opens and share the gospel. God has a task for every believer but not every believer will prove himself or herself fit for the task. As a result it will be given to another and the reward will be lost. Pastor Jon Courson captured the message here when he put a “face” on our crown. This should be both an encouragement and a challenge to all of us: 

Crown? you say. “I don’t have one yet. What does it mean? I believe the answer is found in 1 Thess 2:19,20 where Paul identifies the crown as people—people with whom we’ve shared, people for whom you’ve prayed. “Stay with them,” says Jesus. “Keep praying for them. Don’t give up on them.”

When God opens the door we will be well-served to never take it upon ourselves to close that door; we do so to our own loss. 

Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 I will write on him My new name.  

The pillar reference is to God’s permanent, solid, immovable pillar in the New Jerusalem as opposed to those pillars that came crashing down during the earthquakes that destroyed Philadelphia. It follows then if the faithful Christian will be a pillar in God’s temple then he shall go out no more. The Christian is promised a life of serenity in the peace he has in Christ as opposed to the citizens of Philadelphia that had to run out of the city for fear of the buildings falling on them. It is security versus insecurity.  

In Philadelphia when a priest died after a lifetime of faithfulness he was memorialized by erecting a new pillar in the temple and inscribing his name on it. Here the very name of God and the name of the New Jerusalem (signifying citizenship) will be written on believers. The city that Abraham only looked for, believers will enter into and live securely for eternity: 

Heb 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The new name in this verse was a reference to the many times Philadelphia took on a “new name.” Jesus said He will mark His faithful with “his new name.” What that name is we have no idea, but we sure want to be around when He starts writing it. 

Rev 19:12-13 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

All we know is that it is a name that signifies identification and ownership; a name that says to all that we belong to Jesus. He made this promise to the church at Philadelphia because it had both the right doctrine and was living right. It was important that they had both doctrine and love, for doctrine without love is legalism and love without doctrine is humanism. 

Rev 3:13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  

Once again Jesus closes His letter with both a warning and instruction. It is the Spirit of God who brings both conviction of sin and the power and strength of repentance; the repentance that has been the underlying message in these letters. The church at Philadelphia is the living church of the 21st century. It is the embodiment of all that Jesus expects of His bride: 

 He knows our works, He knows we have kept His Word and not denied His name and because of that He will continue to set open doors for sharing the gospel before us.

He knows that we are depending upon His power and His strength in order to overcome our weakness and accomplish the tasks He sets before us.

He will even open the door to the hearts of those who have persecuted us; the very ones His Spirit will prepare.

Because we have kept His commandment to be faithful and press on to the end He will keep us from the terrible trials that He will soon set before an unbelieving world.

He promises us that He “is” coming back and in that promise we are to hold fast to what we have been given; to be faithful in fulfilling the tasks that God has set before us.

He promises us that our position in the New Jerusalem is secure and it is sealed with His own name; we are secure in Him. 

Over the centuries man has struggled with the commandment God first gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. That “one” commandment became “ten” at the hand of God, over “600” at the hand of man and reduced to “two” at the hand of Jesus. It was those two that the church at Philadelphia—the church of brotherly love—understood: 

Matt 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.‘ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

We would do well to consider this church as it represents one of the two end time churches. They were a missionary church that understood the power of the gospel and the admonition to spread it among those living in an unbelieving world. They understood that their task was simply to share the gospel and trust in God to provide the convicted heart and the power to restore. 

It is our weakness and faithfulness that provides the platform for the power of the Spirit of God to touch the hearts of others. We only have to look for and be available when He opens the door.