Scripture Notes: The Open Door (Revelation 3)

In Revelation 3, Jesus has a message for the Church in Philadelphia (in Asia Minor, modern Turkey). He tells these faithful Christians that He has set an open door before them, a door that no one can shut. They do not have much power, He recognizes, yet they have kept His Word and refused to deny His Name. Even in the face of temptation and persecution, they have remained faithful. They have endured with patience, so now Jesus will guard them and keep them in the “hour of trial” that is coming upon the world. He loves them, He assures them. And when He comes (and that will be soon), they must hold fast to the crown of life that He has given them. 

If they do this, they will conquer, and Jesus will make them a “pillar in the temple” of God. In other words, He will make them firm and secure, reaching up to God and upholding others. Jesus will also write the Father’s name and His own name upon them. They will belong to God. They will be His forever and ever. They will enter through that open door, not on their own strength but by the power of God’s grace working in and through them.

What Jesus tells the Church in Philadelphia He also tells us. We, too, face an open door, but we can turn away from it. We, too, are weak and lack power, but God gives us He strength. We, too, are called to keep His word and remain faithful. We, too, must practice patient endurance. We, too, have to prepare for the hour of trial and face it assured that God loves us and wants to save us. We, too, must trust in His gifts and strive to receive the wonderful things He longs to give us. Then we, too, will one day walk through the open door of God’s love and enter into an eternity of intimacy with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.