Revelation 3 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

Philadelphia.Philadelphia, so called for its founder, Attalus Philadelphus, still exists in the town called Allahshehr, "the city of God," "a column in a scene of ruins."

It is situated on the slopes of three or four hills, the roots of mount Tmolus, by the river Cogamus, twenty seven miles E. S. E. from Sardis, about long. 28 degrees 40', lat. 38 degrees 23'.

The number of houses is said to be about 3,000, of which 250 are Greek, the rest Turkish; and the Christians have twenty-five places of worship, five of them large and regular churches, a resident bishop, and twenty inferior clergy.he that is holy.

Rev. 4:8• ⁸And the four living creatures, each one of them having respectively six wings; round and within they are full of eyes; and they cease not day and night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. (Rev. 4:8)

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Rev. 6:10• ¹⁰and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O sovereign Ruler, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth? (Rev. 6:10)

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Psa. 16:10• ¹⁰For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption. (Psa. 16:10)

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Psa. 89:18• ¹⁸For Jehovah is our shield, and the Holy One of Israel, our king. (Psa. 89:18)

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Psa. 145:17• ¹⁷Jehovah is righteous in all his ways, and kind in all his works. (Psa. 145:17)

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Isa. 6:3• ³And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! (Isa. 6:3)

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Isa. 30:11• ¹¹get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us! (Isa. 30:11)

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Isa. 41:14,16,20• ¹⁴Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁶thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. (Isa. 41:14,16,20)

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Isa. 47:4• ⁴Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. … (Isa. 47:4)

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Isa. 48:17• ¹⁷Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go. (Isa. 48:17)

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Isa. 49:7• ⁷Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall worship, because of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee. (Isa. 49:7)

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Isa. 54:5• ⁵For thy Maker is thy husband: Jehovah of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: the God of the whole earth shall he be called. (Isa. 54:5)

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Isa. 55:5• ⁵Behold, thou shalt call a nation thou knowest not, and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of Jehovah thy God, and the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. (Isa. 55:5)

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Mark 1:24• ²⁴saying, Eh! what have we to do with thee, Jesus, Nazarene? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God. (Mark 1:24)

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Luke 4:34• ³⁴saying, Eh! what have we to do with thee, Jesus, Nazarene? hast thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. (Luke 4:34)

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Acts 3:14• ¹⁴But *ye* denied the holy and righteous one, and asked that a man that was a murderer should be granted to you; (Acts 3:14)

he that is true.

Rev. 3:14• ¹⁴And to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: (Rev. 3:14)

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Rev. 1:5• ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, (Rev. 1:5)

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Rev. 6:10• ¹⁰and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O sovereign Ruler, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth? (Rev. 6:10)

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Rev. 15:3• ³And they sing the song of Moses bondman of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are thy works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, O King of nations. (Rev. 15:3)

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Rev. 16:7• ⁷And I heard the altar saying, Yea, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. (Rev. 16:7)

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Rev. 19:2,11• ²for true and righteous are his judgments; for he has judged the great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his bondmen at her hand.
¹¹And I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and one sitting on it, called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war in righteousness. (Rev. 19:2,11)

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Rev. 21:5• ⁵And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. (Rev. 21:5)

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Matt. 24:35• ³⁵The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away. (Matt. 24:35)

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John 14:6• ⁶Jesus says to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father unless by me. (John 14:6)

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the key.

Rev. 1:18• ¹⁸and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades. (Rev. 1:18)

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Isa. 22:22• ²²And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isa. 22:22)

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Luke 1:32• ³²*He* shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father; (Luke 1:32)

he that openeth.

Rev. 5:3‑5,9• ³And no one was able in the heaven, or upon the earth, or underneath the earth, to open the book, or to regard it.
⁴And *I* wept much because no one had been found worthy to open the book nor to regard it.
⁵And one of the elders says to me, Do not weep. Behold, the lion which is of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book, and its seven seals.
⁹And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou hast been slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, (Rev. 5:3‑5,9)

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Job 11:10• ¹⁰If he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him? (Job 11:10)

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Job 12:14• ¹⁴Behold, he breaketh down, and it is not built again; he shutteth up a man, and there is no opening. (Job 12:14)

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Matt. 16:19• ¹⁹And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens. (Matt. 16:19)

• The first thing that strikes us is not what the Lord does or has, but what the Lord is Himself. If there is anything that delivers from mere dogma, with all its chilling influences, it is, I apprehend, the person of the Lord appreciated in any special way. And this is seen in the epistle to Philadelphia. The Lord here presents Himself personally more than in any other of these epistles. It is true He is said to have the key of David; but before anything appears about this, He says that He is the Holy One and the True. In the other epistles we do not find the Lord characterised in the same moral point of view. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• "The key of David" represents administrative power, the means of access to whatever he possessed. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• Therefore they ought not to look to the power of the world, nor to man; for if He had the key, it was the very thing they wanted. The energy of man might be at work all around, Jezebel, false prophets, etc.; but there was this Blessed One, the Holy and the True; and so much the more needed, because they were weak. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• They turn to the Lord, and He presents Himself as the Holy One and the True; not as against them, but full of tenderness and grace, putting before them an open door, and giving them the certainty that no man could shut it. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• Key: Delegated authority. Trust (Isa. 9:6-7; 22:22). (“Revelation 3 Symbols” by A.H. Burton)

• Jews: (See Rev. 2:9). (“Revelation 3 Symbols” by A.H. Burton)

J. N. Darby Translation

And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: These things saith the holy, the true; he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall openf:

JND Translation Notes

Some authorities read "opens."

W. Kelly Translation

Anda to the angel of the church that is 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 one shall shut, and that shutteth and no one shall open:

WK Translation Notes

There is a measure of uncertainty in the readings, but the sense is only affected in a slight degree.