Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 3:11

"I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown." — Revelation 3:11 (ASV)

Here the words of Christ “I am coming soon” (cf. 22:7, 12, 20) are not a threat of judgment but a promise of Christ’s second coming, such as the promise the faithful Christians in Thyatira received (2:25). The testing that faced the Philadelphians was not the same as that facing the unbelieving earth dwellers (v.10). Loyal disciples must face one type of conflict, the world with its earth dwellers quite another. Some such conflict is envisioned when Christ says, “Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” They had kept his word and had not denied his name in the face of persecution. Either Satan or other people could rob them of their crown by diverting them from exclusive loyalty to Jesus (on crown, see comment on 2:10).