02.13. LECTURE No. 13 -- Rev_3:7-13
LECTURE No. 13 -- Revelation 3:7-13
The Message to the Church in Philadelphia - The Church of "Brotherly Love" - How Jesus Addressed Himself to This Church - An Open Door for Service Which No Man Could Shut - Jesus Has the Key of David, i. e., the Key to David’s Throne - The Anti-Christ Will Seek to Occupy the Throne of David - Jesus Has the Key to That Throne and He Will Use It When the Time Comes - A Special Promise from the Lord to Those Who Keep the Word of God IN our studies thus far we have discovered that this marvelous book of the Bible is of divine origin, the same as all the rest, and that a special blessing is pronounced upon those who read and who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein. A Book of Prophecy The Book, from its beginning, was primarily a book of prophecy, and as such it was intended to reveal, to the true saints of God, in advance those conditions and events which would come to pass during the Church Age, and during the Tribulation period to follow, and on through the Kingdom Age to the final consummation of God’s redemptive plan for the ages!
Logically, in Revelation 1:1-20 we have recorded the apostolic salutation to the seven representative churches which were in Asia, and the wonderful vision of the glorified Christ, which God gave to John on the Isle of Patmos.
In Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22 we have recorded the Seven Messages of the risen, exalted and glorified Christ to the Seven Churches.
These messages to the Seven Churches did not only apply to the local churches addressed, but were also prophetic of conditions which would come to pass during entire Church Age. The message to each Church, therefore, was representative of a certain period of Church history.
Messages to the Churches
We have already studied the message to the Church at Ephesus, which represented the Church at the close of the Apostolic period; And the message to the Church at Smyrna, which represented the period of great persecutions; and the message to the Church at Pergamos, which represented the Church under imperial favor settled in the world!
We have also studied the message to the Church at Thyatira, which represented the Church in the dark ages.
In our last lesson we studied the message of Christ to the Church at Sardis, which represented the Church during the period of the great REFORMATION.
In His message to the Church at Sardis, Christ gave to us His judgment and opinion of the Church of the Reformation period, and His judgment can be summed up in these words, “I have not found thy works perfect before God!”
Protestantism
Under the leadership of those who led the reformation, the protestant portion of the Church, which had broken away from the dead ritual, and the putrifying corruption of the Roman Church, soon gained for themselves the reputation of being very much spiritually alive, and it was even so, until the strong spiritual leaders began to pass off of the stage of action, and in due course of time the Protestant movement, which stood for reform, began to lag in spiritually, and slowly but surely came to need a reformation within its own ranks, and things have continued to grow worse from then until now, until today there is very little difference between apostate Protestantism and the mother Church.
There is little wonder, therefore, that to the churches of the reformation period, in estimating their work, Jesus said, “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, therefore, and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found thy works perfect before God.”
And so, my friends, we see that the Protestants who set out to reform the Church, themselves came to need a reformation within their own ranks. In other words, many of the reformers needed reforming themselves. A Believing Remnant But let us be thankful and praise God that in the midst of our decaying Protestantism there is still a believing remnant, that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who are worthy, and shall walk with Him in white. Jesus closed His message to the Church at Sardis with these words, “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.”
We are now ready to advance by studying the message of our risen Lord to the Church at Philadelphia; recorded in Revelation 3:7-13, where it says:
“And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write: These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth;
“I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast not denied my name.
“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
“Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth,
“Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown,
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon him my new name,
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches.”
The name Philadelphia means “Brotherly love”; the salutation which Jesus used in addressing this Church is especially interesting and very significant.
He said, “These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no man shutteth: and shutteth and no man openeth.”
There is no doubt but what such a salutation as this brought strength and comfort to those to whom it was given.
Jesus Was Holy When Jesus spoke of Himself as being holy, He was not making an idle boast, or a false claim! No, a thousand times, no! He was holy from the hour of His birth! Why? Because He had been conceived by the Holy Ghost and was born of a Virgin Mother. Therefore, He was rightfully called the Son of God. By His Virgin birth, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, when He became man, escaped the conditions of the Adamic curse. Therefore, Satan had no mortgage upon His soul, either because of a depraved nature, or because of any sin of transgression!
Jesus, speaking of Satan could say, “Now the Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.”
Indeed, my friends, Jesus was holy, for He had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression! He was holy because He had been conceived by the Holy Ghost, and because He had fulfilled all righteousness, as required by the law!
Therefore He could address Himself to the Church at Philadelphia, saying, “These things saith He that is holy” and no one dare question the truth of what He said, for it was the absolute truth!
- He was holy apart from forgiveness;
- He was holy without the need of the new birth;
- He was holy without the sanctifying power of God’s word;
- He was holy even before He was baptized by God’s Holy Spirit that day at the River Jordan!
Indeed, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, not to make Him holy, but because He was already holy! Having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, His very nature was pure, and God could trust Him with the fullness of the Holy Spirit!
Therefore, when Jesus addressed Himself to the Church as the one who was holy, He did so, not in vain glory to make a great show of Himself, but to impress them with the deity of the one who was addressing them.
Jesus Is True Not only did Jesus address them as the one who is holy, but also as the one who is true!
This statement should have impressed them also. The outstanding characteristic of Satan is that he was a liar from the beginning. He is a liar, and the father of it, and the truth is not in him. But this was never true of Jesus. Even while He was upon earth He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
And it was even so! Jesus never told a lie. He never acted a lie, not even to keep from being crucified. And He has given to the world more absolute truth than any man who ever lived. Therefore, when He said to the Church at Philadelphia, “These things saith He that is true” He was making a legitimate claim for Himself, in an effort to arrest the attention of those to whom He was speaking.
Jesus Has the Keys of David But Jesus also said to them, “These things saith He that hath the key of David.”
Now, what do you suppose those Christians at Philadelphia understood from these words? What did Jesus mean when He spoke of Himself as the one that hath the key of David?
For an answer to this question we will have to turn to Isaiah 22:22-23, where it says (speaking prophetically of Christ):
“All the key of the House of David will I lay upon His shoulder: so He shall open and none shall shut: and He shall shut and none shall open. And I will fasten Him as a nail in a sure place: and He shall be for a glorious throne to His Father’s house.”
This passage would indicate that the key of the House of David has to do with the Throne of David.
This is confirmed in 2 Samuel 7:1-29. There we have recorded the great Davidic covenant, in which God promised that the Kingdom, and the Throne would be established for ever within the Davidic household.
Jesus Is Heir to David’s Throne That Jesus is heir to the Throne of David is confirmed in Luke 1:31-33, where it says:
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS.
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the Throne of His Father David.”
And so, Jesus wanted the Christians at Philadelphia to know and to understand that He has the key to the Throne of David.
From the scriptures, and from history, and from current events, we all know that the Throne of David is the only Throne that God ever established upon earth, and therefore it represents the plans and purposes of God in the earth, relative to the future of the Kingdom. The Throne Is Vacant We know also that the Throne of David is now vacant, and that it has been so for more than two thousand years.
Why has it been vacant all these years? Because the Jews rejected Jesus as their King.
And it has remained vacant all this time because Jesus holds the key to that Throne, and He openeth and no man shutteth, and He shutteth and no man openeth.
And history, my friend, confirms this fact. The Jews rejected Jesus as their King, and crowned Him with a crown of Thorns, and gave Him a reed as a sceptre, in mockery of His claims of Kingship.
But little did they realize that He whom they buffeted and spat upon, and caused to be crucified, held in His possession the Key to the Throne of David!
Jesus had been born a King. He did not receive His Kingship from man, but from God.
Therefore, neither rejection, nor persecution, nor even death by crucifixion could rob Jesus of His Kingship. And having risen from the dead, and being at the right hand of God, it can still be said of Him today, the same as to the Church at Sardis, that He is the one who hath the key of David.
The Angel Gabriel promised to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, even before Jesus was born, in Luke 1:32-33, that God would give unto Him the Throne of His Father David, and that He should rule over the House of Jacob, and that of His Kingdom there would be no end!
When Jesus was born, therefore, He had the key of David with which to unlock the door to David’s Throne, but because the Jews rejected Him, He refused to use the key at that time, except to shut and lock the door to that Throne against all others who would aspire to that high and exalted position.
In consequence for more than two thousand years no man in Israel has ruled as King upon that Throne! For two thousand years Israel has been without a Temple, and without a King, and without a ruling High Priest, while their true King has been absent. For two thousand years the Children of Israel, and the land of their inheritance, has been ruled over by the Gentiles. The Ambitions of the Antichrist
All students of Bible prophecy know that the coming Antichrist will aspire to sit upon that Throne, because it is the only Throne which, in the purpose of God, represents world dominion. And we know that under the permissive will of Him who has the key of David, Antichrist will usurp that Throne for a very brief space of time, and rule the world in wickedness! But when the time comes Jesus, who holds the key of David will come at His revelation, at the close of the Tribulation period, and destroy the Antichrist, and the false Prophet, and will Himself ascend to the Throne of David, and rule the world in righteousness!
Jesus Will Use the Key
Yes, indeed, Jesus is the one who hath the key of David. And when the time comes He will use it to unlock the door to David’s Throne! And in spite of His rejection by the Jews two thousand years ago, and in spite of the final rebellion and anger of the nations, as described in Psalms 2:1-12, Jesus will use that key, and open the door to that historical throne, which was divinely established, and upon that throne He will rule the world in justice and judgment, and reprove with equity for the meek of the whole earth.
All of these things were prophetically implied when Jesus addressed Himself to the Church at Philadelphia as the one that “hath the key of David,” who “openeth and no man shutteth, and who shutteth and no man openeth.”
And so we see that Jesus addressed Himself to the Church at Philadelphia with a remarkable and a very important salutation.
Imagine, if you can the feelings of those Christians when they read: “These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.”
Greater Than Abraham
Surely one who could address Himself thus to the Church at Philadelphia was greater than Abraham, greater than Moses, greater than King David, greater than the Prophets, greater than John the Baptist, and greater than any man who has lived during the present Church Age!
To the Church at Philadelphia He said: “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name!”
Door of Opportunity
There is no doubt but what Jesus was here speaking to them of the door of opportunity for spreading the Gospel which He would give to them, because they had been faithful, and because they possessed at least a little spiritual strength for the task!
We may rightfully say, therefore, that the Church at Philadelphia represented the true Church within the professing Church, and that, historically speaking, it represents the great Missionary period of Church history, which followed the great reformation period.
Jesus not only promised the Philadelphian Church an open door for service, which no man could shut, but He also promised them victory in advance! For He said in verse Revelation 3:9 :
“Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, but are not, but do lie: behold, I will make them to worship at thy feet.”
This was to be a reward for their faith and service. In other words, God would exalt them to a place of high degree and respect, in the very eyes and estimation of those who had opposed them!
Kept from the Hour of Temptation But that was not all! Jesus further said, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
There is no doubt but what the “hour of temptation” spoken of here by our Lord refers to the coming time of Tribulation, spoken of by Daniel, in Daniel 12:1, and by Jesus in Matthew 24:21-22, which is to come upon the world in the end time of the present dispensation.
What a comforting promise this must have been to the Christians of the Church at Philadelphia!
And in consequence, to all Christians in every period of Church history who have belonged to the believing remnant of God’s true Church!
Because of this promise, many Christians believe that before the great tribulation comes upon the world, the rapture of the Church will take place, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and that we shall be delivered from that dark hour of temptation which is coming to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The Rapture of the Church
Just when the rapture of the Church will take place, no one knows but every true Christian hopes that it will take place very soon, before the awful time of Tribulation comes. If the great Tribulation is near, then the rapture of the Church must be even nearer!
Therefore, let all of us who believe in Christ, hopefully and patiently wait for the fulfillment of this glorious promise of deliverance from the hour of temptation. For we are not appointed unto wrath, but unto salvation!
Jesus closed His message to the Church at Philadelphia by saying,
“Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown, Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and He shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth unto the Churches.”
~ end of lecture 13 ~