This open door leads us into the heavenly temple, before the throne of God above, and, as Jesus works both in and through our worship, this is what gives our worship its meaning, its worth and its power. The Philadelphian church was not to consider itself worse off that the earthly temple had closed its doors to them. They were to consider themselves better off because their Lord Jesus Christ had set open before them the door to the heavenly temple.

‘These things says 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”:

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

Revelation 3:7, 8

In terms of the myriad of metaphors, illustrations, and picture-imagery in Revelation, the ‘open door’ that has been set open before the Philadelphian church seems relatively minor. The reality is that it contains one of the most glorious truths of Scripture, yet it is a truth that seems to be missed in many considerations of this Philadelphian letter.

Whenever dealing with the imagery of Revelation, it’s always interesting to compare the interpretations of various commentators. John Stott is representative of a quite popular understanding of this ‘open door’, interpreting it as an open door of opportunity – in reference to salvation and evangelism.[1]

The reasoning for this viewpoint is simple: these are generally the meanings whenever door imagery is used throughout the New Testament. The Lord Jesus tends primarily to use door/gate imagery in terms of salvation, i.e. “I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, they will be saved.” (John 10:9). In his epistles, Paul’s usage tends more towards evangelism, i.e. “Pray also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.” (Colossians 4:3).

Whilst this interpretation is not wrong, I feel it only covers only a very small part of what was promised to this Philadelphian church by the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Poole helpfully highlights the Key of David (v.7) as being “the key of the church, which answered the temple, the house David designed for God.”[2] Craig S. Keener somewhat tentatively nudges us a bit further in the right direction when he writes, “The text probably also alludes to a door to heaven… or more likely to the gates of the new Jerusalem… or the entrance to the temple… to presently available fellowship with Jesus.”[3] These thoughts of Poole and Keener both offer hints that there is an idea here that seems to have not quite been fully grasped in the main.

Verse 9 provides a key help that regretfully seems to be seldom read back into the preceding two verses.