Welcome to Truth Matters Church and our expository study through the book of Revelation. Connect with us at truthmatterschurch.org. Today we hear part two of our deep dive look at Christ's statement that He holds the key of David, found in Revelation 3, verse 7. We'll learn of the rich biblical truths wrapped in this simple phrase. Leading our study, here is Pastor Alex Kataroha. If you haven't already, if you can take your Bibles or your electronic device and turn with me to Revelation chapter three, verse seven. We are at part two of our message titled The Key of David. We're going to look more closely into the phrase and statement made by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And as a way of reminder, what we did last week, we introduced Philadelphia to us. We looked to the Scripture. And then we look to history to give us some historical context. So we covered a good part of that last week. And then we started to cover part of Revelation verse seven. And because Jesus made the claim that he has the key of David, we were led to Isaiah's prophecy. And we read all of Isaiah 22 last week. And as you recall, we were led to Isaiah 22 because the only other time that key and David were mentioned together was once. And that was in Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 22. So Jesus made this claim that he has the key of David. That led us to Isaiah 22, and we started to go through it. Now, as far as Isaiah 22, there were three things that I wanted to glean from. where there was some end times implications. Because we're studying the book of Revelation, so anytime we can go to scripture that has some end times implications, I wanna take time to at least bring that to our attention so hopefully we can start connecting the dots to the end times puzzle, if you will. And these were the three things that I called out for us in Isaiah's prophecy. There was this mention of housetops, and Isaiah prophesied that when Judah would be taken into captivity, that there would be some there in Judea that would be on housetops. So Isaiah prophesied about their impending captivity. And what we learned was when Jesus gave his prophecy, and he talked about the events leading up to his return, after the abomination of desolation, he made the comment, for those who are on the housetops, do not go down to get your things. So there was a parallel. Isaiah was prophesying to the Babylonian captivity, And then we have our Lord Jesus prophesying of Judah being taken into captivity again. So Judah will be taken into captivity again at the end times. There is this parallel. So I wanted to pull that out. And I remember as a baby Christian, and reading Matthew 24 for the first time and it's saying, if you're in the housetops, don't go down to get your things. I'm placing myself in it. Like, okay, if there's something going on, I'm on the housetops, don't go down to get your things. But no, that prophecy is localized and it implicates the land and the people of Israel, specifically Jerusalem and that area of Judea. And the second thing I wanted to touch upon from Isaiah 22's prophecy was the mention of a bow. And in Isaiah 22 prophecy, there was a reference of a bow and the leaders being taken in effect without war. And when we look at the first seal of Revelation, and there's a rider and a white horse with a bow, we're starting to kind of put the pieces together a little bit. In one of our past studies, when we looked at Daniel's vision, was there's going to be a holy covenant involving the people of Israel. And this holy covenant is not to be confused with the Mosaic covenant. there's going to be this holy covenant involving the people of Israel. And when we're kind of putting the pieces together, I'm inclined to start to believe is as part of this holy covenant is what's going to enable the rebuilding of the third temple and the reinstitution of sacrifices. So there's going to be this kind of unification, this holy unification, this holy covenant. And it's when that holy covenant is enacted, then in the middle of that covenant, the man of lawlessness is going to make himself revealed. But this parallel of the bow and this vision from Isaiah 22 prophecy and the first seal You know, it's starting to somewhat align up there, where that first seal of Revelation, you know, right now the first seal, and this rider and the white horse, could involve this holy covenant, and from there, this kind of conquest, starting in that part of the world. So I wanted, I drew that out from Isaiah 22. And then the third thing, which I wanted to draw out, was Isaiah mentioned the key of the house of David. which is what brought us there and where we're gonna spend much of our time today. So that's kind of a recap of where we are last week, but we're gonna pick up and we're going to read, reread the letter, and then pick up in Isaiah's part of the prophecy when he makes this mention of the key of the house of David and see where that leads us. Sound good? So let's begin our scripture reading for today. Again, it'll be Revelation chapter three. and I will read verses seven through 13. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this, I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door, which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie. I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you because you have kept the word of my perseverance. I also will keep you from the hour of testing that hour, which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So let's pick it up in verse seven, which is where we will settle for the remaining part of today's study, and let's reread what is written there. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens says this. So here Jesus is being directly quoted in this vision. And Jesus calls himself as one who is holy, who is true. Jesus is calling himself the one who was set apart by his father. and is proclaiming his father's will. That's behind that phrase, who is holy, who is true. And he also makes this claim, he has the key of David. Key, as we've covered in past studies, is kleis. And a good way to understand kleis, when you think about key, it speaks of authority. And Jesus says he has the key. And this is in the present tense. So by 95, 96 AD, which is around the time this letter was written, Jesus already possessed this key of David. He has it. And it's not just any key. It's the key of David. So with that, what I wanna do is re-look at Isaiah 22 for more insight behind this statement. So let's look at Isaiah 22, and we'll look at verses 20 through 23. Then it'll come about in that day that I will summon my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your tunic and tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Then, I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one will shut. When he shuts, no one will open. I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, and he will become a throne of glory to his father's house. I want to ask us the question, looking here at Isaiah's prophecy. Verse 22 says, then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder. Who's his? Messiah. How do we know that? It's in the prophecy. He will become a throne of glory to his father's house. So this is a prophecy of Messiah. And when we say Messiah, it's God's chosen one, that's Christ, the anointed one. He's the Messiah. And in this prophecy in verses 22 and 23, the reason why we know it's the Lord Jesus Christ, is because it says, He will become a throne of glory to His Father's house. So this is a prophecy concerning Messiah. And if that wasn't clear enough, what I want to do is, this was also mentioned in Isaiah 6. And we're probably familiar with this, especially when it comes to Christmas time. This is a go-to passage concerning the birth of our Lord. So we'll read Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom. To establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Again, bringing home the point. that the prophecy in Isaiah 22 and here in Isaiah 9 is speaking of Messiah. And there's this reference that the government will rest on his shoulders and there will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace and then on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness. I do want to mention this, when his shoulder, how many of us, when we get stressed out, it kind of, this burden, doesn't it kind of go on your shoulders? For many of us, stress. How about burden? There's a burden. Well, in scripture, the idea is the same. When it says the government will be on his shoulders, Messiah's shoulders, the burden of all the promises made by his father is on his shoulders. What did the Lord Jesus invite to many of us? Those who are burdened and heavy laden. He says, come to me. He's saying, give me your burden on his shoulders. And he goes, and I will give you rest. I'll give you mine. So shoulder is associated with burden. And there is Psalm to show this. I wanna read Psalm 81. We'll read seven verses there. Sing for joy to God our strength. Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon on our feast day, for it is a statue for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He established it for a testimony in Joseph. When he went through the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I did not know. I relieved his shoulder of the burden. His hands were freed from the basket. You called in trouble and I rescued you. I answered you in the hiding place of thunder. I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Salah. So here's a truth behind Messiah and his shoulder. The key of the house of David is on His shoulder. The prophecies of Messiah, including bearing the burden of the throne of David, are on His shoulders, including rescuing the people of Israel. That's on Messiah's shoulders. That's His burden that He's taken on. You can even say that the Father has given to Him. There is another figure in Isaiah 22. We probably haven't, never mentioned his name before. At least for me, I didn't leading up to this study. And that is a man by the name of Eliakim. Okay, raise your hand. How many of us have heard of Eliakim? That's right. Oh, you have heard of Eliakim? Oh, nice. Okay, there are, which one? There are three different Eliakims. There's even an Eliakim in the line and lineage of our Lord. But let's look at this Eliakim in Isaiah's prophecy. Let's look at it again. Isaiah 22, we'll look at verse 20 through 23. Then it'll come about in that day that I will summon my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. and I will clothe him with your tunic and tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I wanna ask us a question. Who's Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah? And if you knew this, kudos to you. And why was Eliakim mentioned in this prophecy? which is clearly also concerning Messiah. We just established that part of Isaiah's prophecy was concerning Messiah. We tied even Isaiah 22 and Isaiah 9. Why is Eliakim mentioned in this prophecy too? The short answer is this. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, he replaced a man named Shebna, who was in charge over the royal palace under King Hezekiah, who was the king of Judah at that time. And this was prophesied in the verses prior. So let's go back a few verses. We'll look at verse 15. Thus says the Lord God of hosts, come go to this steward, Tishebna, who is in charge of the royal household. That's Hezekiah. What right do you have here, and whom do you have here, that you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, you who hew a tomb on the height, you who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? Behold, the Lord, Yahweh, is about to hurl you headlong, O man. He's talking to Shebna. and he's about to grasp you firmly and roll you tightly like a ball to be cast into a vast country. There you will die, and there your splendid chariots will be. You shame of your master's house." That's Hezekiah, king of Judah. I will depose you from your office of being in charge of Hezekiah's household, and I will pull you down from your station. Then it will come about in that day that I will summon Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah." Here's where I want to draw from this prophecy. Remember, who's Yahweh? The Father. The Holy Name of God, when you see the capital L-O-R-D, that's a reference to the Father. The Father is speaking here. Here's the truth. The Father established Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, to be over the royal household during the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah. So he deposed Shebna, actually killed him, had him killed, and he, in his place, he raised up Eliakim to be over the royal household. God the Father did that. the Lord, Yahweh as we call it. In this same prophecy, the Father established the Son too. Let's look at it again. Isaiah 22, and this time we'll pick it up in verse 21. See, here I'm putting in brackets. I think this practice will help us open up the Scriptures and seeing When the persons of the Trinity are doing their work, who's doing what? So let's look at Isaiah 22 verse 21 again and following, and I'm gonna input the subjects. And he, Messiah, will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Then I, Yahweh speaking, I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, Messiah's shoulder. When He, Messiah, opens, no one will shut. And when He, Messiah, shuts, no one will open. I will drive Him, I will drive the Messiah like a peg in a firm place. And He, Messiah, will become a throne of glory to His Father's house, to Yahweh's house. Part of Isaiah 22 prophecy was to remove Shebna as steward over the royal household, and he was replaced by Yahweh himself, God the Father. Meaning God the Father established Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, to be over the royal household during the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah. And as we'll see, he did the same thing concerning Messiah. Here's what I want us to kind of make the connection from the Isaiah 22 prophecy. There's a parallel going on here. It played out in the days of Hezekiah when Shebna was over the house. The father, through the prophet Isaiah, prophesied of his impending judgment and removal as steward over Hezekiah's house. He was deposed. The father established Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. In the same prophecy, we have the father setting the key of the house of David on Messiah's shoulders. Meaning, the key of David wasn't taken by our Lord, it was given to him by his father. It was the father who made Messiah a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. It was the father who set the house of the key of David on Messiah's shoulder. It was the father who granted Messiah authority to open and shut. And it was the father who made Messiah to become a throne of glory to himself. So the reason Eliakim and Messiah were both mentioned in this prophecy was God the Father was the one who established them both to their respective offices. That's what I want us to get. God the Father established Eliakim to that position. And God the Father established Messiah to his position. And when it comes to the Father's house, and we're all familiar when Jesus made a court of whips, and there was the money changers and so forth going on, and Jesus and his holy rage turned the tables. And what did he say? You know the story. My father's house was to be a house of prayer and you have turned it to a den of thieves. He said, my father's house. When the father's house is referenced in scripture, it's associated with Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And when you hear the house of David that the father established, he has chosen to identify that as his house. So when God the Father made and entered into that Davidic covenant with David and promised that he will always have a son and that his throne will be established forever, the Father was in effect saying, David, through you and your line and your family, I am choosing as my very own house. So God the Father's house, Jerusalem and the house of Judah and the house of David are the Father's house. And I do wanna talk a little bit about, from here, the Messiah has many roles, and one of them is father. And I wanna talk about this a little bit. And I wanna go back, let's look at verse 21. And I will clothe him with your tunic and tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. So Messiah is described as becoming a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And one more time, I wanna cross-reference Isaiah 9, which we just read earlier, verses six and seven. For to us a child will be born, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name, Messiah's name, will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. and there will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom. But here in the Isaiah 9 prophecy, one of the descriptions and titles of Messiah is eternal father. So how do we harmonize that? And from what we've learned in past studies, all authority that Jesus has, every single one of them, even the title or authority of Lord or Kyrios was his father's. All authority in heaven and on earth was given by the Father to the Son. So all the authority that Jesus has was given to Him, or delegated that authority by His Father. And one of those titles or authority is Eternal Father. Who's the Eternal Father? God the Father. And what the Father did is He took that authority of Eternal Father, and He's saying, My son, I'm going to give you the title of Eternal Father over the people and the land of Israel. It's His Father's title, which is among the many other titles that our Lord Jesus carries. In fact, Lord, or kirios, is a title of His Father. that was given to him, and that would also include here this title of Eternal Father. And here's a scripture to support that statement. 1 Corinthians 15, 27, Paul writes there, for he, speaking of Christ, has put all things in subjection under his feet, but when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he, God the Father, is accepted, who put all things in subjection to him or to Christ. The point I'm trying to make is one of Jesus' many titles includes Eternal Father, and that is because the Eternal Father, His Eternal Father, granted that authority, among all of the other authorities, to His Son. That's why He's Eternal Father in prophecy. Also, in Isaiah's prophecy, it says Messiah will become a father. That's a future, meaning the Lord Jesus Christ, at the time Isaiah gave this prophecy, was he the father of the inhabitants of Jerusalem? And the house of Judah, not yet. I'm telling you, this is starting to make sense. Remember when our Lord says, as far as the cross goes, that's his destiny. That's his pathway to glory. He cannot be bestowed and exalted by his father unless or until he does it. So he was compelled by love for his father. to bear the father's wrath on our behalf. And one of the rewards of his faithfulness from his father was being given all authority in heaven and earth, and that would include the title of eternal father, which is why the prophecy says he will become a father, whereas God the father, he always is and always was the father. And okay, from here, I wanna do conjecture. So I wanna put a disclaimer here. I mentioned this before when I'm knee-deep in Scripture. the wheels start spinning. And I want to make sure that I take some moments to reflect on some of these things. And here's one thing, one of the things that struck me from Isaiah's prophecy. Concerning Eliakim, it says, then it'll come about in that day that I will summon my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your tunic, and I will tie a sash securely about him. So here's an observation. When Eliakim was established to now be the steward over King Hezekiah's house, the father speaking says, I will tie your sash securely about him. In John's vision of the glorified son of man, John wrote there, Let's go back, chapter one, verses 12 and 13. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the middle of the lampstands, I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet, and girded across his chest with a golden sash. Let me ask us a question. If God the Father tied a sash around Eliakim, Who do you think tied the golden sash around our Lord Jesus' chest? You know, and I get this father and son picture where, you know, let's say a son's going to a prom or something or some formal, and you see the father, let me get that bow tie straight. Let me put this coat on you. In that same way, the father to the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, son, come here. Let me tie the golden sash that I've prepared for you. so that you can fulfill your role in destiny. Pretty cool observation. This is stuff that just, as I'm just in it, I was like, wow, and I'm seeing the love relationship between the Father and the Son in this. Another conjecture, and it's concerning Eliakim. Eliakim, the name, what it means, God raises up from the dead. Eliakim also served as one of Hezekiah's messengers. Thus, the mention of Eliakim in Messianic prophecy, it could be, I'm not gonna be dogmatic about this, it could be an allusion to a future messenger being resurrected prior to the coming of Messiah. When we get to the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11, they're described as two olive trees and two lampstands. They're two prophets who's gonna arrive in the scene by the time Revelation 11 rolls around. Now, I'm not gonna get into it. There's already some teachings out there that says, well, the two lampstands or the two olive trees aren't really prophets. It's the Old and New Testament. It's a church in Israel or something along those lines. The scripture says they are prophets. And I'll show that when we get there. But the two witnesses who will arrive on the scene, they're going to proclaim as messengers of God, God's message. They're both going to be killed, and then both are going to be resurrected before our Lord Jesus comes. And those two witnesses will be given authority to shut the heavens, just like Elijah, when it didn't rain for three and a half years. And when we read the story of the two witnesses in Revelation 11, it's wild. It says, fire devours those who come before them. They're gonna be supernaturally empowered by God himself. And they're gonna have authority to even shut the heavens. What did Jesus say? When he shuts, no one will open. And when he opens, no one will shut. There is this parallel here. All that is to say this. How many of us have taken guesses of who the two witnesses are? How many of us have said Eliakim? Someone by the name and in the spirit of Eliakim. Eliakim is in play as one of the two witnesses, because there is a parallel in this prophecy, and he's closely mentioned with Messiah. And even his name kind of tells a story that he'll be a messenger, he will die, and be raised up. So he's in play, that's all I have to say. I know who the other one is, but I'm not going to tell you yet, because I'm going to see what the scripture tells us. So I think I know who the pairing is of who's gonna arrive on the scene when we get to Revelation 11. But you gotta stay with us if you wanna know who that is. And that finally now, now this takes us to the crux of Isaiah's prophecy, finally. And that'll tie into our key verse in Revelation 3, verse seven. Let's look at, we'll look at Isaiah's prophecy one last time. Then it'll come about in that day that I'll summon my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, "'and I will clothe him with your tunic "'and tie your sash securely about him, "'and I will entrust him with your authority, "'and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem "'and to the house of Judah. "'Then I will set the key of the house of David "'on his shoulder. "'When he opens, no one will shut. "'When he shuts, no one will open, "'and I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, "'and he will become a throne of glory.'" to his father's house. This is pretty much verbatim. When you take Isaiah 22 prophecy and now you take the quote of our Lord, Jesus is in effect quoting Isaiah. See I put it here side by side. Verse 22 says, then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one will shut, and when he shuts, no one will open. And here's what our Lord Jesus said. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this. Remember when Jesus was in the synagogue and he read Isaiah, and then he read the passage concerning him, that he's here, and he rolled it up, and he looked straightly dead into their eyes, and he said, this prophecy has been fulfilled in your hearing. And that caused such a ruckus. In that same way, Jesus is saying that Isaiah 22 prophecy has been fulfilled by the time that this letter has already been delivered to the angel over the church in Philadelphia. Isaiah 22 was before Jesus' exaltation. So that Philippians 2 passage when Paul says, let this humility be in yourself as it was in our Lord, that though he was the son of God, he humbled himself and took on the form of a servant. and He became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. And therefore, God His Father highly exalted Him and gave Him the name, the Enoma, the title that is above all name, all authority, all Enoma. The Father bestowed and exalted Christ and gave Him all of the Father's authority, except the authority of His Father, the Father Himself. But everything else that the Father has, in Jesus' exaltation, is when it was given to Him. So Isaiah 22, that's why He wasn't the Eternal Father yet, He will become. you know, the mighty counselor, you know, mighty God, Prince of Peace, that was all prophecy. And as far as this statement that he will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, we can deduce that that happened during, as well, the exaltation of our Lord that Paul described in Philippians 2. That's how, when Jesus says He has, He was already exalted, by his father and bestowed the name, the title, the authority that is above every name, title, and authority, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, whether in heaven and on earth or under the earth. If the Father didn't exalt him, then those privileges will not follow. But because he humbled himself to that extent, took on the form of a servant, and died in our place, that's why God the Father exalted him and gave him all authority. And he's also part of that. It says, here, son, is the key of David. And Jesus, by the time we get to Revelation three, verse seven, he says, he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David. You can even say that the father put that key figuratively. You can say in his hand, here you go, son. You have the authority over his house. So all that is to say this, when Jesus says that he has the key of David, here's what it means. When Jesus addresses the angel over the church in Philadelphia, and addresses himself as he who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens, says this, Jesus is declaring that he is the holy one, that he is the way, the truth, the life, and was given the key of David, promised to his holy people through the holy prophets, and is the one who was given all authority in heaven and on earth, including the throne of David, which was promised by his father. And because Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, there is nothing that the angels who joined in the angelic rebellion, nor any man, nor world power, nor Satan, nor Antichrist, nor his false prophet can do anything to thwart which was spoken of and prophesied by Almighty God. In other words, the key of David is the Davidic kingdom, which the Father promised the King David, that he will always have a son sitting on his throne, and the Father has made his choice. The Father has decreed it, it is irrevocable, and the Father has given the keys of that authority of the kingdom of David to the glorified Son of Man, the Son of God, the very Lord Jesus Christ, speaking in this vision to the church in Philadelphia. Do you know I could have just said that? I could have just said, the key, he has the key, this is the Davidic kingdom, and move on. Why didn't I do that? Because it's easy for someone to say, this is what the Scripture says, or this is what the Scripture means. It's another thing altogether to show you, here's what the Scripture says, and here's what the Scripture means by what it says. It's easy to go the other way, what we're doing, takes good discipline, great care in handling the scripture. And what we're also doing, you know, we're also demonstrating the veracity of scripture, how it's so intricately connected. There's this congruency, can't be broken. And when we go through these excursions, however way we go in it, it always falls as part of God's redemptive will and plan. So we went through all that because there is more, there is layers when Jesus is making these statements and he's pulling from Scripture and he's applying it to himself. So it's one thing to say the Scripture is the Word of God and points to Jesus. It's another thing to demonstrate through Scripture that the Word of God not only points to Jesus, but all prophecies too will be fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. And this would include the Davidic kingdom promised by God the Father when he made that or entered into that covenant with David. The very Son of God, the one who is holy, true, and has the key of David, he evaluated the church in Philadelphia. And to their credit, to Philadelphia's credit, and we will see this when we progress, Jesus had nothing negative to say about them. There's no mention of sin, compromise, warning. And we're going to look closely at that evaluation and commendations, but before that, In addition to having the key of David, Jesus also made this profound declaration. The glorified son of man declares that he has the key of David who opens and no one will shut and who shuts and no one opens. I wanna ask you a question. What will Jesus open and no one will shut? And what will Jesus shut and no one will open? I'll say this. We might just read that and move on. Jesus is gonna open something, and Jesus is gonna shut something. What is it? So what we'll do is we'll look to scripture. We'll go to one of the parables. The kingdom of heaven is like, and then we, okay, now let's tie it together. He says he has the key of David, and when he opens, no one will shut, and when he shuts, no one will open. Let's see where that takes us. So we'll look at that next week. Thank you for tuning in today. We do hope you were blessed by this deep dive expository study. We'll pick up next time in the latter half of verse 7 and see Jesus' fascinating claim that he is the one who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. If you've missed any part of our study, you can find them all archived at our website, truthmatterschurch.org, or look us up on Sermon Audio. And consider joining us for our weekly Bible study, in person or on Zoom, every Friday night. Find out more at truthmatterschurch.org. Contending for the faith, one verse at a time, this is Truth Matters Church.