1“And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write:
“He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things:
“I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God. 3Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you. 4Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write:
“He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name. 9Behold, I make some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie—behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown. 12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. 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 own new name. 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
14“To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write:
“The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things:
15“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth. 17Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing,’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 19As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me. 21He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”
For a number of years many biblical scholars and archaeologists have questioned the historicity of King David. In the 20th century, this began to change because of three important finds. First, Avraham Biran discovered at Tel Dan an Aramaic stela, dated approximately 841 B.C. that mentioned the House of David, a usage in the ancient world clearly referring to the founder of a dynasty, and written about 150 years after David’s death.
The pertinent section of the text reads:
“[I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab] king of Israel,
and [I] killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram kin]g
of the House of David.”(Tel Dan Inscription, lines 7b-8a)
The Mesha stela, dating to the 9th century B.C. (also known as Moabite Stone) reveals the designation House of David (though some recent scholars have argued that it speaks of the Moabite king Balak), as well as the name of Yahweh, God of Israel. The text speaks of Judah’s occupation of part of southern Moab.
The pertinent section of the text reads:
"altars of Yahweh, and I brought them before Chemosh. (line 18)
. . .
“And the house [of Da]vid (bt[d]wd) dwelt in Horonen
[. . .] and Kamosh said to me: “Go down!
Fight against Horonen.”
(Mesha Inscription, lines 31b-32a)
Last of all is the engraving of Pharoah Shoshenq I of Egypt at Karnak, where he has a lengthy list of place names in Israel, Judah, the Negev, and nearby locations, in which the name of David is mentioned (the heights of Dwt).
The pertinent section of the text reads:
“highlands/heights of David”
(Shoshenq I [Shishak in OT] Inscription, number 105 + 106)
(See K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 92-93), André Lemaire, “‘House of David’ Restored in Moabite Inscription” Biblical Archaeology Review 20:3 (May/June 1994, Michael D. Coogan, ed., The Oxford History of the Biblical World, pp. 175-176, and Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III, A Biblical History of Israel, p. 216 [basis of texts and translations above]).