The Door, The Key and The Keyholder.

Revelation 3

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


I read this text on Friday morning, 24th of June 2016. I was waking up to the terrible shock announcement of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

Here in the UK right now tempers and emotions are high. There is a sense of panic and uncertainty . The political landscape is changing fast. Sometimes landscapes change gradually through years of erosion and development, or sometimes, as in the event of an earthquake or a volcano eruption, they can change in an instant. The kind of change we are seeing here is of the latter type. And there will be aftershocks. We are only just getting started.

Jesus said that the house build on a poor foundation would fall quickly in a flood, but the house on the rock would stand firm.

I think this is a time for Christians to reassess and realise just how much they have been building on the sand, and how much they are standing on the rock.

In Hebrews 12, the author speaks of the shaking of what may be shaken, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain.

These are going to be turbulent times for us here in Britain, and perhaps there will be more shaking, even throughout the world.

That is certainly my instinct.

But, here in this letter to the Philadelphians, yet another of the churches under persecution, Jesus paints himself as the Holder of the Key of David, and the opener and closer of doors.

And I do not know what the outcome from this trying time will be. But I do know this. If Jesus has closed the door on the EU for Britain, then it will stay closed. And that is both scary and reassuring.

We have our Monarchs, Prime-ministers,  Generals and Presidents  but Jesus is in charge. No power would be granted to any of these people or governing bodies unless it was allowed by him. He is the doorway of Salvation, and while he holds it open, then nothing can stop you from being saved. But once he shuts it, that is it. We must face judgement.
And the door shut on the UK's membership with the EU, is a door opened for opportunity to redefine and reshape a nation, however scary that currently looks. And in that , the church has a new and unique opportunity to speak with a prophetic voice, and to hold out the Hope Jesus offers in a world falling apart.

And the falling away of all kinds of scaffolds that propped us up, will expose the true strength of the structure of all our building.

And that is a useful discipline. God disciplines those he loves. they are his children. I say we take this opportunity, to wake up, survey the damage from the storm and start to strengthen the things that remain.

And do not fear.

Jesus has got this. He holds the key. He stands at the door. He invites us to step through into a new phase of trust and faith, like we have never experienced before.

Amen.