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Revelation 3

Rev. 3:8 KJV (With Strong’s)

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8

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an openx door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

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1 Cor. 16:9• ⁹For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Cor. 16:9)

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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I know.

Rev. 3:1,15• ¹And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
¹⁵I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (Rev. 3:1,15)

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Rev. 2:2• ²I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: (Rev. 2:2)

an open.

Rev. 3:7• ⁷And to the angel of the church 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 man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Rev. 3:7)

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1 Cor. 16:9• ⁹For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Cor. 16:9)

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2 Cor. 2:12• ¹²Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, (2 Cor. 2:12)

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Col. 4:3• ³Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: (Col. 4:3)

a little.

Dan. 11:34• ³⁴Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. (Dan. 11:34)

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2 Cor. 12:8‑10• ⁸For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Cor. 12:8‑10)

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Phil. 4:13• ¹³I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Phil. 4:13)

and hast kept.

Rev. 3:10• ¹⁰Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3:10)

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Rev. 22:7• ⁷Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Rev. 22:7)

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John 14:21‑24• ²¹He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
²²Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
²³Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
²⁴He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:21‑24)

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John 15:20• ²⁰Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. (John 15:20)

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John 17:6• ⁶I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. (John 17:6)

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2 Tim. 4:7• ⁷I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2 Tim. 4:7)

and hast not.

Rev. 2:13• ¹³I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. (Rev. 2:13)

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Prov. 30:9• ⁹Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. (Prov. 30:9)

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Matt. 26:70‑72• ⁷⁰But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
⁷¹And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
⁷²And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. (Matt. 26:70‑72)

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Luke 12:9• ⁹But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:9)

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Acts 3:13‑14• ¹³The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
¹⁴But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; (Acts 3:13‑14)

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1 Tim. 5:8• ⁸But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim. 5:8)

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1 John 2:22‑23• ²²Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
²³Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (1 John 2:22‑23)

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Jude 4• ⁴For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)

• It is not the way of God to produce great strength at a time of general ruin. At the era of the return from the Babylonish captivity, the Lord wrought in great grace. There was no outward power (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• Consider what it is to keep Christ's word. It is evident there had been a departure from His word. It might have been circulated; but had it been cherished? Had it been loved and sought into, as for hid treasure? Was it for this thing that men met together to pray and read — that they might understand it better? (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• See here the personal links — "my word," and "my name." The name of Christ apprehended by the soul is salvation; but it is much more; it is all. When the heart is brought down to submit to God's judgment of its sin, He Himself brings before that soul Christ's name; when it finds that it has no name in which to stand before God, He says, Here is a name, My Son's name. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

• There may be much to try our patience; but what we have to do is to wait on the Lord. This is what the Lord seeks — that we should have confidence in what He is and has, taking the place of weakness and dependence in prayer, however much we may be tried. (“Lectures on Revelation 3:7-22: Philadelphia” by W. Kelly)

J. N. Darby Translation

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8

I know thy works: behold, I have setg before thee an opened door, which no one can shut, because thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

JND Translation Notes

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g

Lit. "give" or "have given" (ver. 8) and "give" (ver. 9).

W. Kelly Translation

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8

I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door which no one can shut: fora thou hast a littleb strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not deniedc my name.

WK Translation Notes

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a

But surely the better rendering in the latter half of the verse gives the reason "because," instead of "that" as the Revisers say, connecting what follows with "I know thy works," and treating the intervening words (the open door) as a parenthesis.

b

Regarding the meaning of "a little strength, is not "little power" more suitable to the context than "a" little, meaning some? Weakness characterized the Philadelphian assembly, but they kept Christ’s word and denied not His name.

c

There seems no change of moment in the RV in vs. 8, though there is a marked literality of rendering, save that they depart from their usual preterite for the aorist at the close.