Revelation 3:8

I know your deeds. Behold, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Christ, identified in 3:7 as the One who holds the key of David, addresses the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the second of seven letters to Asian churches, delivered in a moment of judgment and commendation.

The words — οἶδα (oida) is cognitive knowing, not mere acquaintance; it appears twice, framing the verse. δέδωκα (dedōka) is perfect tense — the door is already placed, the act complete, the result standing.

The thread — Paul speaks of "a great door for effective work" in 1 Corinthians 16:9 and asks for prayer that God "may open to us a door for the word" in Colossians 4:3. Both echo the same motif: God opens; the result is not in human hands.

Why it lands — The door is given, not earned by strength, yet it is tied to a specific fidelity: keeping the word and not denying the name. The reader is asked to see that the same authority who placed the door can shut it (3:7), and that the open door is a present reality, not a promise.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 16:9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.
Colossians 4:3 as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Revelation 3:7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One 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.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,
Acts 14:27 When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Luke 12:9 But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Revelation 2:13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.
John 17:6 I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!