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In the following commentary, words in CAPS indicate the biblical text, while words in lower case indicate the commentary on that text.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 3

Verses 7-13

Revelation 3:7

TO THE ANGEL OF THE ASSEMBLY IN PHILADELPHIA (representing the Missionary Age, from AD 1798, when the French Revolution reduced the temporal power of the Papacy to a mere fraction of its previous levels, to AD 1914, when World War I broke out) WRITE: ‘HE (Jesus Christ) WHO IS HOLY, HE (Jesus Christ) WHO IS TRUE, HE (Jesus Christ) WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID (not an ancient artifact that had been handed down through the family line of David for 1,000 years, until Jesus literally came into possession of it – a 1,000-year-old brass key – but, rather, a symbol of the authority that belonged to David when he ruled as King of Israel; just as we say that the mayor can give someone “the key to the city,” meaning that he has the authority to allow that person access to the city and its opportunities), HE (Jesus Christ) WHO OPENS (a “door” – using His “key” to exercise His authority) AND NO ONE CAN SHUT (no authority in the universe can overturn any action that is done by the authority of Jesus), AND (conversely) WHO SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS (this is exactly what Jesus said to His disciples when He gave them the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18, when He said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” – this is just another way of saying that), SAYS THESE THINGS:

Revelation 3:8

“I KNOW YOUR WORKS (Christians were ‘doing’ a lot of ‘new things’ in the nineteenth century – using new means of transportation, such as steamboats and railroads, to take the Gospel into far-distant, previously-unevangelized places like Africa, India and China; using newer and better printing presses to publish millions of Bibles and other books; and so on) (BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU AN OPEN DOOR, WHICH NO ONE CAN SHUT – there were no major ‘hindrances’ to this worldwide missionary expansion effort; but, since AD 1914, such hindrances have been increasing in most countries all over the world), THAT YOU HAVE (some translations insert the word ‘a’ here, changing the meaning considerably, but it shouldn’t be there; it’s not in the Greek text) LITTLE POWER (the ‘Philadelphian’ church didn’t have much political influence, or the kind of control over people’s response to their message that the churches in previous ages had had; they were pioneers, reaching out into areas of the world that had never been under Christian ‘power’ before), AND KEPT (obeyed) MY WORD (my command – the Great Commission), AND DIDN’T DENY MY NAME (remained faithful to Me).

Revelation 3:9

BEHOLD (‘Look!’), I GIVE OF THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN (the false Church), OF THOSE WHO SAY THEY ARE JEWS (meaning ‘Christians’ – as the word ‘Jews’ often does – in the symbolic language of this book), AND THEY ARE NOT, BUT LIE (He’s referring to people who call themselves ‘Christians’ but are not actually His disciples). BEHOLD (‘Look!’), I WILL (at the Second Coming) MAKE THEM (the false Christians) COME AND WORSHIP (Me) BEFORE YOUR FEET (in your presence), AND TO KNOW (acknowledge) THAT I HAVE LOVED YOU (as opposed to them – see Luke 13:24-30).

Revelation 3:10

BECAUSE YOU KEPT MY COMMAND TO ENDURE (see Matthew 24:13), I ALSO WILL KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TESTING, WHICH IS TO COME ON THE WHOLE WORLD, TO TEST THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH. How can we say that the Christians of the Missionary Age were ‘kept’ from the ‘hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world,’ if we understand that ‘hour of testing’ to be a reference to the Great Tribulation (the reign of the Antichrist)? I believe that the answer to that question is found in recognizing that the reign of the Antichrist (the Papacy) – especially that part of its reign called ‘the hour of testing’ – was almost completely over by the time the Missionary Age began (AD 1798). Thus, the Christians of that age were ‘kept’ from it, because it wasn’t happening during their lifetimes.

Revelation 3:11

I AM COMING QUICKLY! (This is the first time in this series of letters that the Second Coming is described as being ‘near at hand’ – foreshadowing the fact that it was during the Missionary Age that the Millerite/Adventist movement, with its emphasis on preaching the message about the nearness of the Second Coming, came into prominence, in AD 1831-1844.) HOLD FIRMLY THAT WHICH YOU HAVE (preserve what knowledge of the truth of God is already available to you), SO THAT NO ONE TAKES YOUR CROWN (Jesus seems to be saying, here, that it’s possibly for a church to ‘lose’ its status as His, if it doesn’t follow through with the life that He commands it to live).

Revelation 3:12

HE WHO OVERCOMES, I WILL MAKE HIM A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, AND HE WILL GO OUT FROM THERE NO MORE. This refers to a practice that was common in the ancient (pagan) world – and is paralleled, to some extent, in the modern world – whereby when wealthy people (in particular) made (or make) donations to civic or religious institutions, they are ‘memorialized’ by having their names inscribed on the pillars (or walls) of those institutions’ buildings. Nowadays, we often see donors’ names on stained-glass windows, pews, organs, pianos, etc.; sometimes, an entire building is named after a donor or someone who contributed a lot of work to the institution that the building belongs to. In ancient times, it was common to name a pillar after a donor, and then the donor was thought of as having ‘become’ that pillar, and thus never ‘going out’ of the building from then on. This is the actual source of the expression that we sometimes use, when we say that a hard-working, exemplary individual ‘is a pillar in the church.’ I WILL WRITE ON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD (God the Father), AND THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMES DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD (we will learn a lot more about the New Jerusalem when we get to Revelation 21), AND MY OWN NEW NAME.

Revelation 3:13

HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR (see Matthew 11:15, 13:9 and 13:43; Mark 4:9; and Luke 8:8 and 14:35 – this was a ‘favorite’ expression of Jesus’) WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE ASSEMBLIES.”