Revelation 3 (WK) - 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, having each of them six wings, round about and within are full of eyes; and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty that was and that is and that is to come. (Rev. 4:8)

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

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Psa. 16:10• (Psa. 16:10)

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Psa. 89:18• (Psa. 89:18)

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Psa. 145:17• (Psa. 145:17)

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Isa. 6:3• (Isa. 6:3)

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Isa. 30:11• (Isa. 30:11)

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Isa. 41:14,16,20• (Isa. 41:14,16,20)

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Isa. 47:4• (Isa. 47:4)

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Isa. 48:17• (Isa. 48:17)

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Isa. 49:7• (Isa. 49:7)

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Isa. 54:5• (Isa. 54:5)

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Isa. 55:5• (Isa. 55:5)

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Mark 1:24• ²⁴saying, [Let us alone]: 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• ³⁴Eh! 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 for a murderer to be granted to you; (Acts 3:14)

he that is true.

Rev. 3:14• ¹⁴And to the angel of the church that is in Laodicea 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, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loveth us and 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 Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those 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 wonderful {i}are{/i} thy works, O Lord God the Almighty; just and true {i}are{/i} thy ways, thou King of the nations. (Rev. 15:3)

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Rev. 16:7• ⁷And I heard the altar say, Yea, O Lord God the Almighty, true and righteous {i}are{/i} thy judgments. (Rev. 16:7)

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Rev. 19:2,11• ²for true and righteous {i}are{/i} his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
¹¹And I saw the 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 saith [to me], Write: for these words are faithful and true. (Rev. 21:5)

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

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

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the key.

Rev. 1:18• ¹⁸and the living one: and I was dead, and, behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages; and I have the keys of death and of hades. (Rev. 1:18)

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Isa. 22:22• (Isa. 22:22)

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Luke 1:32• ³²He 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 in the heaven nor on the earth nor under the earth was able to open the book neither to look thereon.
⁴And I wept much, because no one was able to open the book neither to look thereon.
⁵And one of the elders saith to me, Weep not: behold, the lion hath overcome that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, that openeth the book and the seven seals thereof.
⁹And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain and hast bought [us] 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• (Job 11:10)

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Job 12:14• (Job 12:14)

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Matt. 16:19• ¹⁹{i}And 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.{/i} (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.