Philadelphia: Hold Fast (Rev. 3:7-13)

[Sung Psalm: 23]

Each of the letters starts with the question: who is Jesus?

Jesus is the holy one – a phrase used often in the OT to refer to the LORD himself.

And he is the true one: This connects back to the portrayal of Jesus in 1:5 as the "faithful witness" (the "true witness"). It also prefigures the "falseness" of those who say that they are Jews, but are not.

And Jesus is also the one who has the key of David – who opens and no one will shut – who shuts and no one opens.

When you hear about keys, you may also think of chapter 1 as well – but in Rev. 1:18, Jesus had said, "I have the keys of Death and Hades" – whereas here he says "who has the key of David."

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 22 as a way of identifying himself as the one who holds the future of the house of David in his hand. When Jesus opens the door – no one can shut it. When Jesus shuts the door – no one can open it.

And Jesus encourages the angel of the church in Philadelphia – I know your works – a line that Jesus uses with five of the seven churches! – sometimes for good – sometimes for bad!

But in this case, it is good...