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nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

      Jesus promised the Philadelphian congregation an open door into the palace of Heaven, and no one was going to be able to shut this door on them. In the history of religion, there occasionally have arisen groups that limited salvation to a select number of people. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, a large cult today, used to claim that only 144,000 were going to heaven. When their group got bigger, they had to change their beliefs. Some groups of the 1830s and 1840s limited their number to only celibate people—obviously, their groups did not last for more than one generation. Still today, there are some that suppose they have the authority to decide who can get into Heaven.

      But Jesus holds the keys in his hands and no one else. And as the key holder, he determines the entrance requirements. And as Savior, he has already paid the entrance fee with his blood and invites everyone to come to the Father through him. Jesus said of himself in John 10, “I am the gate for the sheep; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and will find pasture.” As members of the body of Christ, we do not have the key to the door, but we know the One who has the key. Our task is to lead people to the Key-holder, so that he can let them in.

But more than just holding the keys, Jesus also promises a restored honor to those who had it taken away by others. Jesus used harsh language to describe those who had prevented the church from participating in their religious activities, calling them a synagogue for Satan. The synagogue of Satan is probably similar to what was encountered in Smyrna. Those who are Jews were trying to oppress or persecute the followers of Jesus. The “real” Jews spiritually are those who hold the teachings of Jesus and stay faithful. These false Jews will one day acknowledge not only the rightness of the church members in Philadelphia, but by doing so they will also acknowledge the truth claims of Jesus and his love for the church. Whether this means they repent or not is not clear.136

      Because of the faithfulness to the command to endure patiently, Jesus promised that he would keep the Philadelphia church from the hour of trial that would come upon the whole world. What is the hour of trial to come upon the earth? Is this the final suffering and judgment upon the earth? Or is this a reference to a more severe level of persecution that the church will escape, while other congregations and followers of Jesus may have to endure?

I think the context, as well as the general teaching of Revelation and the rest of the New Testament, lead to the conclusion that the tribulation is the punishment of the ungodly. The church of Philadelphia will be spared from the wrath of God just as the Jews were spared from the plagues of Egypt. The phrase, “hour of trial,” is the technical phrase for judgment (see 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 12:12; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6; 17:2, 8). This is an intensification of the end-times tribulation on the earth which has already been set in motion.137 The phrase “keep you from,” κἀγώ σε τηρήσω (kago se tereso), is also used by Jesus in John 17:15. There, Jesus prays that the disciples would be kept from the evil one, but not taken out of the world. Thus, in Revelation 3:10 it is not a rapture or protection from persecution, but a perseverance in the midst of that persecution. Jesus will keep them spiritually safe.138

This final trial is also mentioned in Daniel 12:2; Mark 13:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; and Revelation 13:5–10. It is the three and a half years of trial that the church must endure.139 In other words, it is a limited time of persecution under the sovereign rule of Christ. “Although the church will be on earth in these final terrible days and will suffer fierce persecution and martyrdom at the hands of the beast, she will be kept from the hour of trial which is coming upon the pagan world. God’s wrath, poured out on the kingdom of Antichrist, will not afflict his people.”140

Jesus promised the church that he was coming soon. The “soon” here is the apocalyptic “soon,” not necessarily a chronological reference. Because the coming of Christ will take place “without delay,”141 the church is encouraged to hold on to what they have: their teaching, their faith, their holiness as a congregation, and their ministry. If they do so, no one would be able to take their crown. The crown is the same word used in chapter 2, the reward for faithfulness and the wreath of the Olympic games.

      Not only would the crown be permanent, the faithful would become pillars in the house of God. In an area that is accustomed to earthquakes, this is an image that would have much meaning. Often, when an earthquake shook a city, the buildings would fall down, except for the pillars of the temple. The image is real here. Jesus promised to make them pillars, so that even in the midst of the earthquakes of suffering and persecution, they would not fall, but would be fixed in God’s presence. This is where Jesus exceeds the promises made to Eliakim, the palace administrator, in Isaiah 22. Eliakim would hold the keys, but after he was fastened like a peg in a sure place to bear the weight of his father’s house, in time it would give way. Pillars planted by Jesus would not give way.

      Conclusion

      Three names are written on this pillar, the one who is faithful to the end, even in the middle of persecution. First, the name of God, or the seal of God. He will belong to God forever. Exodus 28:36–38 says of the priests, “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.”

      Secondly, is the name of the New Jerusalem, God’s city. The name of New Jerusalem brings to mind also the authority of the keys of David, and the assured promise of the presence of the faithful in the new kingdom, although they had been put out of the synagogue. Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” A suitcase that is traveling overseas has a baggage tag on it. This shows where the suitcase is going. We have a tag or a stamp on us. The claim tag reads “New Jerusalem” because that is where we are going.

Thirdly, the pillar has on it the name of the Son, Jesus. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”142 God is preparing us as pillars. his name is on us. He is sustaining us for a place of honor at his table. We need to hold on.

131. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 115.

132. Osborne, Revelation, 185.

133. For the title “Holy One”, see Revelation 4:8 and 6:10. Also see in reference to Jesus: Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, John 6:68, and 1 John 2:20.

134. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 283.

135. See Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 117 as well as Osborne, Revelation, 188. Aune (Aune, Revelation 1–5, 244) sees the open door as referring to the “reserved seats” in the heavenly kingdom.

136. Johnson, Hebrews through Revelation, 453, sees this as retribution on Christ’s enemies, not that they will repent. It could also be that the bowing down at the feet is an allusion to Isaiah 45:14, 49:23, and 60:14. Isaiah 45:14 reads: “Thus says the Lord, ‘The wealth of Egypt and

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