Jesus Christ Revealed: "To the Church in Philadelphia"

Revelation 3:7 (NASB)

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is Holy, who is True, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this":

In the seven individual letters, we see the careful logic involved in deciding why each church received the section of the description that it did. Jesus Christ purposefully presented Himself to each of the churches in a way that would be historically and culturally relevant to them. The “self-descriptions” of Jesus Christ are not just general facts about His nature; they are specific pieces of revelation intended to deeply connect with the hearts and situations of these churches.

This is also how the Holy Spirit speaks to us through prophecy. In these letters, Jesus Christ delivers His prophecies in a very personal manner. He gives each church a piece of revelation regarding what He is like and who He is that is especially applicable to them in their situation.

Philadelphia: "The Holy and the True, who has the key of David"

Jesus Christ begins with a two-fold self-description. First, He presents Himself as God. Unfortunately, the way this text is translated into English, the words Holy and True seem like adjectives. However, in the Greek, these words are preceded by the article “the” making them not just descriptions but titles. In other words, it should read, “These are the words of Him who is “the Holy and the True….” Jesus Christ is announcing two of His titles: the Holy One and the True One.

These titles (the Holy, and the True) are significant because they are used throughout scripture to refer to God the Father. For example, Psalm 22:3 says, “Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the one Israel praises.” Later in Revelation, God the Father is referred to as the “Sovereign Lord, Holy and True” {Revelation 6:10}. Jesus Christ again assumes these titles in Revelation 19:11, where He is called “Faithful and True.” By using these titles for Himself, Jesus Christ is reminding the Philadelphians that He and God the Father are one; Jesus Christ is Divine.

After reminding the believers of His divinity, Jesus Christ expands upon His statement, “I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18), saying: …who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut… {Revelation 3:7–8}. Not only does Jesus hold the keys of death and Hades, meaning that He has overcome them, but He also holds the key of David. In other words, Jesus Christ is the promised long-awaited son of David who has inaugurated the new covenant kingdom of God that will never end {2 Samuel 7}. 

The “key of David” is only mentioned specifically in one other place in the Bible, Isaiah chapter 22. There, it is also connected with the ability to “open and close doors.” The prophecy of Isaiah 22:22 declares: “I 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” {Isaiah 22:22}. In the preceding aforementioned text, God promises to remove the evil Jewish religious leaders and replace them with a righteous leader. This righteous leader is the one described in Isaiah 22:22. As we now know, that prophesied righteous leader is Jesus Christ. This is essentially the picture Jesus Christ paints in Matthew 23–24, where He first reprimands the religious leaders of His day and declares the destruction of the Temple, and then says He is inaugurating the new covenant.

The church in Philadelphia was severely threatened by a powerful Jewish presence in the city. Therefore, the names of Jesus Christ chosen here reflect that situation and reassure the beleaguered Philadelphia believers that the Messiah is indeed on their side, not on the side of the “synagogue of Satan” {Revelation 3:9}. The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, as the defenders of the old covenant, were those who “shut the door of the “Kingdom of Heaven” in people’s faces” {Matthew 23:13}. As a result, God was removing them from leadership.