Revelation 3:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This, I think, the Lord says only in communion with the Divine Spirit, for one and the same power is necessary both for those who prophesy and for those who hear the prophets. No one can hear a prophet unless the very Spirit who acted in the prophets has given him understanding of His words. In this sense there is also a saying in Holy Scripture that only the one who shuts can open, and no other (cf. Isa 22:22). The Divine Word opens what is shut by clarifying enigmatic sayings.

The sixth group is connected with the best manner of life. Here the custom of the saints is shown. These are those who are humble in this world, unskilled in Scripture, steadfastly hold the faith, and do not turn away from it when frightened by any danger. Therefore He says to them: "I have set before you an open door" (Rev 3:8). And again: "Because you have kept My word of patience," though with so little strength to do so, "I also will keep you from the hour of trial" (Rev 3:10). In order that they may know what His glory is, He does not permit them to be given over to temptation. "He who overcomes," He says, "I will make a pillar in the temple of My God" (Rev 3:12). A pillar is the adornment of a building. Thus the one who perseveres in faith will acquire such dignity in the Church.

His Kingdom is called the key of David, for a key is a symbol of authority. The Holy Spirit, who opens the treasury of knowledge, is the key of the book of Psalms and of every prophecy. The first key belongs to Christ according to His humanity, and the second according to His beginningless Godhead. In some ancient copies, instead of "David" there stands "Hades," and this bears witness to Christ's authority over death and life. He is holy and true, as holiness itself and self-existing truth.

"The Holy One" is the Son of God. The seraphim bear witness to this when they join the three Holies in one Lordship. They show that there is nothing earthly or sinful in the Word, even though He became flesh. For "He did no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth," according to the prophet Isaiah (Is 53:9). He is True in being and in name, truly so in both existence and title. He is called God, and this naming is not false. For Emmanuel is truly God, even if this displeases the accursed Nestorius. He became man, but did not cease to be God. He is truly man, even if this is unbearable to the God-hating Eutyches. What He truly is, He is. There is nothing in Him merely by relation, kata anaforan, as the Nestorians assert.

The mysteries of the Law of God are opened to the faithful only by the power of Christ, and they are hidden from the unbelieving. If He opens, no one will shut. If He binds, no one will loose.

Philadelphia is translated as brotherly love. For this Church the doors of the Kingdom are opened, and she receives the promise of the love of God.

"And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder. He shall open, and no one shall shut. He shall shut, and no one shall open" (Is 22:22). Christ is that desired Door through which, if anyone enters, he will be saved (cf. Jn 10:9). Amid the many temptations that oppress the spirit of Christianity, and amid the reasonings of the carnal mind that seek to trouble the streams of true faith, the Philadelphians will firmly hold to the Gospel. They will not deny Christ. Therefore the Lord has opened for them doors that no one can shut. These doors lead into the untroubled haven, into the strong and impregnable city of David.

"To the angel of the Church of Philadelphia." Philadelphia was the second great city of Lydia, named after its founder Philadelphus, king of Pergamum. It is now still a significant city of Asiatic Turkey, called Alla-Sheher. About one hundred Greek Christian families live there, and they have four churches. "The Holy One, the True One" is ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ ἀληθινός. These epithets are applied to Jesus Christ not only in the sense that He is sinless, pure, and true. They also mean that He is the source of holiness and sanctification for all, and is Truth itself (Jn 14:6). "He who has the key of David" means that the governance of the kingdom and care for the house of David have been entrusted to Him. By this house the Church is understood (Is 22:21-22).

Since the Lord does not indicate a single vicious feature in the Church of Philadelphia, the Shtundists claim that they received their teaching from this very church. But Shtundism arose recently. To identify it with the teaching of the ancient Church of Philadelphia, and to claim that the latter communicated something of its own to it, is an utterly absurd fiction. Moreover, that church had a bishop, an angel, while the Shtundists reject bishops.

What did the Lord command to be written to the angel of the Church of Philadelphia? Rev 3:7-13. Much that is consoling and praiseworthy. Despite her little strength, because of her small number, the Church of Philadelphia did not deny the name of Jesus before the satanic assembly of Jewish persecutors. For this, these very persecutors will come and bow down before her. In the grievous hour of trial for the whole inhabited world, she will find protection and preservation from the Lord Himself. Thus the Philadelphians have only to hold fast and guard what they possess, so that no one may seize their crown. The Lord promises to make the victor amid persecutions a pillar in the temple.