The Key of David

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts; and shuts and no one opens, says these things:” (Revelation 3:7)

In John’s Revelation, Jesus speaks to the church in Philadelphia. Jesus gives the church of Philadelphia two commendations. Although it’s not strong, it has kept His Word and has not denied His Name. “I know your works. Behold, I have given before you an open door, and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength and have kept My Word and have not denied My name.” (Revelation 3:8) Remember that this is a divine revelation. The words that Jesus spoke to the churches can be applied to actual churches, types of churches and types of believers. Keeping that in mind, we can apply its message to existing churches and believers.

Jesus identifies Himself. He is the holy One, the holy One of Israel. (Psalms 89:18) He is holy in all His works and in all His ways. (Psalms 145:17) About two hundred years before the Babylonian captivity Isaiah prophesied about the captivity. But the Lord in His mercy gives the people hope that even in their sin He will help them. In the prophecies of Isaiah, He identifies Himself as the Holy One of Israel. “Do not fear, worm of Jacob and men of Israel; I will help you, says Jehovah, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:14, 16,20; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5)

Jesus reveals that He has the “... key of David...” God promised David that his kingdom would be an everlasting kingdom. Nothing can be everlasting here in this world. So what the Lord was telling David was that from him, from his lineage, would emerge the Messiah Who will reign forever. Nathan the prophet gave the prophecy to David when David wanted to build a house for the Lord. The Lord didn’t permit him but gave him this promise. “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.” (2Samuel 7:16-17) The key of David is the authority to reign on earth. Jesus will rule on earth. This is known as the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ. It will be a time when all of God’s promises to the Jews and to the land will be fulfilled. Satan will be bound and there will be peace. Isaiah prophesied about it. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7) Solomon who wrote Psalm 72 prophesied, “He will judge Your people in righteousness, and Your poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people; He shall save the children of the needy and shall crush in pieces the cruel one. They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In His days the righteous shall flourish; and abundance of peace, until the moon is not. He shall also have the rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. For He shall deliver the needy when he cries; and the poor with no helper. He shall have pity on the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and their blood shall be precious in His sight. And He shall live, and to Him shall be given the gold of Sheba; and prayer shall always be made for Him; He shall bless Him all the day long. There shall be a fullness of grain in the earth on the top of the mountains; its fruit shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure forever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed.” (Psalms 72:2-17) In John’s vision, he sees and hears the declaration of heaven, “And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15) The promise was made to Mary about Jesus. “He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33)

Then Jesus directs Himself to the church of Philadelphia in verse 8. He tells the church, “...you have a little strength...” The word strength was used as a translation for the Greek word “dunamis” which means miraculous power, ability, abundance or might. They had the Holy Spirit, but little miraculous power. They were obedient to His Word but didn’t demonstrate miraculous power. They didn’t deny the Name of Jesus, but there were no miraculous works. They had works, even if they were not supernatural works. And Jesus praises them for it and makes a promise to them for it.  What does this tell us? Some people are so focused on the miraculous that they dismiss the simplicity of just being obedient, of just “doing” the Word. Instead of waiting for a miraculous word, an open door or a supernatural sign to obey God’s Word, we need to simply obey what He has already said. If God said it, do it. Love your neighbor and do good to your enemies even if God hasn’t revealed by some supernatural sign to do so. Give your possessions to the poor without waiting for a voice from heaven to tell you to do so. Serve those who can’t help themselves and do it without a vision or a dream. Just do the Word. This was the Philadelphia church. This Word can be for actual churches or individuals. This can be you. It can be me.

Does God speak in dreams and visions? Yes. Does God still send messages through prophets? Yes. Does God still give supernatural signs? Yes. But these are not necessary in order to obey the Word. And that is what the Philadelphia church demonstrated and for which Jesus acknowledged, praised and rewarded them. While it’s true that to even obey the Word we need strength from the Holy Spirit, the Philadelphia church did not wait on miraculous power and ability to obey the Word of God. They moved in obedience and allowed the Holy Spirit to help them to accomplish their obedience.

Jesus declares that it is He “...Who opens and no one shuts; and shuts and no one opens...” In our obedience, we think that we may be too zealous and overdo, give to the wrong person or think that the results of our graciousness don’t result in good outcomes, so we hesitate and disobey God’s commandment in His Word. This is fear. This is doubt. Jesus promises to open doors and shut others. Pray and believe. He will not allow you to open a door that He has shut. If the door is open, walk through it. The reward is not in the result. It’s in the intention of the heart. It’s in the motivation of the heart. If the door is shut, the Lord will redirect you. Depend on Him to redirect you to those open doors of opportunity to give, to forgive and to love in obedience. This is what the Philadelphia church did.

Summarizing, we see that Jesus was prophesied as a descendant of David to carry on his kingdom forever. Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the One Who has the authority to take that position. He has the key of David. His counsel to the Philadelphia church is for everyone and every church today. Obey the Word of God without doubt and without fear. The result of our obedience is not dependent on us. The Lord is interested in the motive of our heart in giving, in forgiving and in our love. He will shut those doors He doesn’t want you to walk through and will open those doors He wants you to walk through.

Let us pray:

Father God, all things are in Your Hand. You control the destiny of the world, of Your ancient people, the Jews and Your children who have surrendered their lives to You. Father, I may fear and I may doubt, but why should I fear or doubt when I know my Father loves me and will not allow me to go in the wrong direction. I trust You my Lord, knowing that You shut those doors You don’t want me to walk through. I trust You to open the doors that You want me to walk through. You know me, Lord. You know the days I have. You know my heart. You know my strengths and my weaknesses. You know me better than I know myself. You know what I can do and what I am incapable to doing. You also know my Lord the end from the beginning, if I will do a thing or if I will not. I depend on You my Lord. I ask that You lead and guide me through Your Holy Spirit. Help me to hear with ears of understanding. And help me to obey. I depend on You my Lord. I trust only in You. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.