Philadelphia - Hold on to What You Have | A Sermon on Revelation 3:7-13

Introduction
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

This is both an exclusive statement and an open invitation. It’s exclusive because anyone who refuses Jesus cannot come to God or Heaven. But it’s open to everyone, because anyone who chooses to come through Jesus is welcome.

This same Jesus spoke to seven churches in ancient Turkey. Today, we look at what He said to the church in Philadelphia—a small, weak church.

Revelation 3:7-13
⁷ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
    the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
    and what he closes, no one can open:^[c]

⁸ “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. ⁹ Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

¹⁰ “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. ¹¹ I am coming soon.^[d] Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. ¹² All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

¹³ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

The Key of David
In the opening lines, Jesus—holy and true—says He holds the “key of David.” This means He has full authority to give people access to God and His Kingdom. He welcomes all who truly belong to God.
If you follow Jesus as Lord and Saviot, if you've truly repented of your sins and follow Him, He welcomes you into the Kingdom of God.  And He has the key to let you in!
But the thing about keys is, the both unlock and lock the door.  And whether it is a good thing that a door is locked or unlocked depends on what side of the door you are on.  You don't want to be locked out of the Kingdom.  But once you are inside the Kingdom, it is a really good thing for the door to be locked behind you so you are protected from the evil locked outside.

The Synagogue of Satan
In the first century, Jewish people proudly claimed to be God’s chosen people. But many rejected Jesus, God’s Son and the promised Messiah. Even worse, they opposed Christians who followed and served Him. They believed the claim that Jesus was the Messiah was false and even blasphemous. They thought Christianity was a dangerous break from Judaism, especially because Christians welcomed Gentiles into God’s family without making them follow Jewish traditions.

Early Christians were sometimes accused before local authorities of being troublemakers or heretics, which hurt their reputations and could lead to being excluded from their communities, losing income, or even facing legal punishment.

Jesus said they were “liars who claim to be Jews but are not.” He called them a “synagogue of Satan,” meaning they were a group of people working against God and His Kingdom.

Jesus promised that one day He would humble the “synagogue of Satan,” making them bow at the feet of the Christians in Philadelphia and admit that God loves them as His chosen people.

The Great Tribulation
In verse 10, Jesus talks about something that many end-times teachers and so-called prophets love to discuss—the Tribulation. He says, “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.”

The “Great Tribulation,” which Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:21 and Mark 13:19, will be unlike anything the world has ever seen—worse than anything before, and never to be repeated. Over time, so much has been said about it that the phrase has even made its way into popular culture.

For about the last 200 years, many Christians have believed that believers will be taken from the earth before the Tribulation begins (a view called the pre-tribulation rapture). But for most of church history, Christians were taught they would go through the Tribulation before Jesus returns. So a big question remains: Will Christians escape it, or will we have to endure it?

Sometimes, as comfortable American Christians, we might think we’ll be spared from any real trouble—especially if we believe we’ll be raptured before things get bad. But many of our brothers and sisters around the world already face intense persecution for their faith. They’ve been beaten, imprisoned, and even killed for following Jesus.

Whether or not we escape the Great Tribulation, the Bible calls us to be ready, to trust Jesus no matter what, and to stay faithful even when life is hard. Our hope isn’t in avoiding trouble—it’s in Jesus, who promises to be with us through it all.