Revelation 3:8

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. I HAVE SET - `given;' my gracious gift to thee. OPEN DOOR - for spiritual usefulness. The opening of a door by Him to the Philadelphian church accords with His having "the key of David." AND. A B C, Origen, 'which no man can shut.' FOR - `because.' A LITTLE. This gives the idea that Christ sets before Philadelphia an open door, because she has some little strength: rather, He does so because she has 'but little strength:' consciously weak herself, she is the fitter object for God's power to rest on (Aquinas), that Christ may have all the glory ...

7-13 The same Lord Jesus has the key of government and authority in and over the church. He opens a door of opportunity to his churches; he opens a door of utterance to his ministers; he opens a door of entrance, opens the heart. He shuts the door of heaven against the foolish, who sleep away their day of grace; and against the workers of iniquity, how vain and confident soever they may be. The church in Philadelphia is commended; yet with a gentle reproof. Although Christ accepts a little strength, yet believers must not rest satisfied in a little, but strive to grow in grace, to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Christ can discover this his favour to his people, so that their enemies shall be forced to acknowledge it. This, by the grace of Christ, will soften their enemies, and make them desire to be admitted into communion with his people. Christ promises preserving grace in t...

Verse Revelation 3:8. _I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR_] I have opened to thee a door to proclaim and diffuse my word; and, notwithstanding there are many adversaries to the spread of my Gospel, yet none of them shall be able to prevent it. _THOU HAST A LITTLE STRENGTH_] Very little political authority or influence; yet thou _hast kept my word_-hast kept the true _doctrine;_ _and hast not denied my name_, by taking shelter in heathenism when Christianity was persecuted. The _little strength_ may refer either to the smallness of the numbers, or to the littleness of their grace....

I KNOW THY WORKS - See the notes on Revelation 2:2. BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR - Referring to his authority as stated in Revelation 3:7. The “open door” here evidently refers to the enjoyment of some privilege or honor; and, so far as the language is concerned, it may refer to any one of the following things - either: (1)The ability to do good - represented as the “opening of the door.” Compare Acts 14:27; 1Co 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12;...

EXPOSITION REVELATION 3:1 _The epistle to the Church at Sardis. _This Church is one of the two which receives unmixed reproof. Smyrna and Philadelphia receive no blame; Sardis and Laodicea receive no praise. Sardis lies almost due south of Thyatira, on the road to Philadelphia, between the river Hermus and Mount Tmolus. It had been in turn Lydian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, and, like its last Lydian king, Croesus, had been celebrated for its wealth. The auriferous stream Pactolus, in summer almost dry, flowed through its marketplace; but its chief source of wealth was its trade. In A.D. 17 "twelve famous cities of Asia fell by an earthquake in the night … The calamity fell most heavily on the people of Sardis, and it attracted to them the largest share of sympathy. The emperor [Tiberius] promised ten million sesterces (£85,000), and remitted

I KNOW THY WORKS,.... Good works, of faith, love, and patience; and which lay much in preaching, professing, and maintaining the pure Gospel, and in acts of charity to one another; and which were done to some degree of perfection, and with great sincerity; since this church is not complained of, that her works were not perfect before God, as the former church is: BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR, AND NO MAN CAN SHUT IT; or "which no man can shut", as read the Alexandrian copy, and others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions. This "open door" may design an uncommon opportunity of preaching the Gospel; and a very great freedom of mind in the preachers of it, and great attention in the hearers, whose hearts will be opened to observe, receive, and embrace it; and a very large gathering in of souls to Christ, and his churches; much and frequ...

CHAPTER 3 Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea _ 1. Sardis: The reformation period (Revelation 3:1)_ 2. Philadelphia: The faithful remnant (Revelation 3:7) 3. Laodicea: The indifferent and apostate Church (Revelation 3:14) Revelation 3:1 . We have traced briefly the decline during the 1450-1500 years of Church history. The climax is reached in Thyatira, prophetically the Roman abomination and apostasy. In Sardis we see the progress of evil stayed. Roman Catholicism, as already mentioned, is a fixed and unchanging religious system. Rome will yet have for a brief season a startling rev

REVELATION 2:1 TO REVELATION 3:22. THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES. These letters are addressed to individual churches, but their messages are intended for the Church as a whole. In every letter there occurs the phrase, He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches....

_PHILADELPHIA_ STOOD ABOUT TWENTY MILES FROM SARDIS AND WAS THE SECOND CITY IN IMPORTANCE IN THE PROVINCE OF LYDIA. IT IS FIRST MENTIONED IN REVELATION, AND THE PRAISES BESTOWED UPON THE CHURCH SHOW THAT IT WAS WORTHY OF. CITY OF _BROTHERLY LOVE._ THOUGH THE OLD NAME HAS BEEN LAID ASIDE BY THE TURKS, THE CITY STILL HAS THREE THOUSAND HOUSES AND. CHRISTIAN POPULATION. THERE ARE SAID TO BE FIVE CHURCHES IN THE PLACE, AND IT IS THE SEAT OF. GREEK BISHOP. THE SEVEN CHURCHES.--At the time when John wrote there were hundreds of churches in existence. On the Asiatic Continent many had been founded in Judea, Syria, and elsewhere, and in the district of which Ephesus was the commercial metropolis, and which was especially designated as _Asia,_ we know that in the last quarter of the first century there were not only the seven churches named, but Colossae, Hierapolis, and perhaps many more. Why th...

THE LETTER TO SARDIS (Revelation 3:1-6)...