Revelation: Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock

 Revelation: Justification by Faith

Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock

Revelation: Justification by Faith
Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.
21. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

This is the promise to Laodicea. The promise has much to do with the second coming of Jesus. At that time, we will sit on the throne to judge, and Jesus will come, and we will have a meal with Him.
But the first part is more related to the heart. Jesus knocks on the heart. He wants us to acknowledge Him and accept Him as the Bridegroom. He wants us to love Him as He loves us.
In those days, sharing a meal with someone was a special sign of friendship and fellowship. That is why it is often prohibited to eat with sinners.
Jesus wants to have a meal with us in peace if we let Him in. Then He wants to have a simple but serious conversation about eternal things. He offers us the bread of life and living water. He offers pure new wine.
In the Song of Songs, this image is best described:

Song of Songs 5:2 I slept, but my heart was awake.
The voice of my Beloved, who knocked:
Open to Me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one,
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.
3. I have put off my coat—
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
How can I defile them?
4. My Beloved put His hand to the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for Him.
5. I arose to open for my Beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6. I opened for my Beloved,
But my Beloved had turned away and was gone.
I sought Him, but I could not find Him;
I called Him, but He gave me no answer.
7. The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls took my veil away from me.
8. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my Beloved,
That you tell Him I am lovesick!

When Jesus knocks, we often feel uneasy. He comes at an inconvenient time when we are already resting in bed. She does not want to become dirty, or, in the Christian experience, she does not want to see her uncleanness. But she smells her Beloved, and her heart beats fast. She is lovesick. But she waits too long! That golden moment is gone. She opens the door, and He is gone.
Then she searches and searches, and after a long time, she finds Him.
This is often the Christian experience. Oh, that we would open before we have to go through that painful search to find Him again!

Finally, the promise is given that if we overcome in this struggle of faith, we will sit on that throne just as Jesus sits. We are given authority and will rule as He will rule.
All of this we will cover in more detail later when we reach Revelation 20.

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