Revelation 3 (KJV) - 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 beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Rev. 4:8)

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

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Psa. 16:10• ¹⁰For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psa. 16:10)

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Psa. 89:18• ¹⁸For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. (Psa. 89:18)

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Psa. 145:17• ¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. (Psa. 145:17)

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Isa. 6:3• ³And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord 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, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, 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 the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. (Isa. 41:14,16,20)

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Isa. 47:4• ⁴As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. (Isa. 47:4)

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Isa. 48:17• ¹⁷Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isa. 48:17)

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Isa. 49:7• ⁷Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. (Isa. 49:7)

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Isa. 54:5• ⁵For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord 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 that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. (Isa. 55:5)

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Mark 1:24• ²⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? 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, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art 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 One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; (Acts 3:14)

he that is true.

Rev. 3:14• ¹⁴And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith 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, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Rev. 1:5)

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

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Rev. 15:3• ³And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. (Rev. 15:3)

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Rev. 16:7• ⁷And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, 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 hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (Rev. 19:2,11)

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

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Matt. 24:35• ³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matt. 24:35)

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John 14:6• ⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

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the key.

Rev. 1:18• ¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Rev. 1:18)

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Isa. 22:22• ²²And 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. (Isa. 22:22)

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Luke 1:32• ³²He 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: (Luke 1:32)

he that openeth.

Rev. 5:3‑5,9• ³And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
⁴And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
⁵And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
⁹And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Rev. 5:3‑5,9)

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Job 11:10• ¹⁰If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? (Job 11:10)

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

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Matt. 16:19• ¹⁹And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (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.