The Hour of Temptation

The Church of Dead Orthodoxy

Revelation 3:1.     And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

     Sardis was a wealthy and wicked city, famed as the capital of ancient Lydia, the home of King Croesus and of Aesop. It was located about thirty miles southeast of Thyatira. A small remnant of the city still exist, but most has been in ruins for over 500 years.

     The Sardis letter contains no specific commendation whatever of the church at Sardis. Whatever the church had once been, it now retained only a remnant of its original zeal and spirituality. The deadness of the church perhaps is the reason why the Lord identified Himself as the one with the seven Spirits of God (that is, the omnipresent and all-seeing Holy Spirit) and with the seven stars, or seven angels. The church was in dire need of the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, as well as the protection of its ministering angels.

     The church had once been known as a strong, Christ-honoring church. They still used the name of Christ, and were outwardly a church of Christ, but the life was gone. Evidently most of the members were professing Christians, but not truly regenerate, and thus only going through the motions of religion. This situation is sadly true also of multitudes of churches today.

Revelation 3:2.     Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

     Each of the four previous churches had been commended by Christ for certain good works. Sardis, however, had none that were sufficient to warrant any approbation at all. Some of its works might have been outwardly impressive toward man, but not “before God,” for the motivation was wrong even when the works were good.

     There were some in Sardis, however, who were genuine believers and were halfheartedly trying to maintain a testimony. Evidently they were discouraged and about to give up; the ungodly environment in which they lived and the lethargic church in which they served were altogether deadening.

     Note also that these in the remnant at Sardis were admonished to
“be watchful.” The implication is to become watchful. The remedy for lethargy and routine religiosity is an awakening to the imminence of Christ’s return. Long before, Christ had told His disciples: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42).

Revelation 3:3.     Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

     The promised return of Christ is sure; the time of that return is unknown. It could have taken place in the lifetime of those living in Sardis at the time it was written. As time goes on, the probability of Christ’s return at the time of the then living generation becomes ever greater, and thus the more urgent it becomes for believers to watch for Him. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4). One of the saddest things a Christian could contemplate is the prospect of being engaged in some Christ-dishonoring activity at the moment of Christ’s return, thus to “be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28).

     Christians in such all-but-dead churches must not only awaken to the truth of Christ’s second coming but must also look back to their own conversions, when they received Christ and heard His voice. To these great truths they must hold fast, repenting of their spiritual indifference.

Revelation 3:4.     Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

     The gracious Lord, as at Sodom, was glad to acknowledge even the very few whose garments of salvation (Isaiah 61:10) were genuine. Their names were still in the book of life (see next verse) and their robes had been washed and made “white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). Their worthiness was not in their own good works, which had been pronounced imperfect before God (verse 2), but in the Lord, who alone is truly worthy (Revelation 4:11; 5:9, 12). These would be included at the marriage of the Lamb, when to the true bride of Christ it will be “granted” (not bartered) that she should be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:8). Those who truly have eternal life through faith in the atoning blood of the Lamb will, of course, also demonstrate in their redeemed lived the evidence of good works, the “righteous acts of the saints.”

Revelation 3:5.     He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

     It is infinitely important that one’s name be in the book of life, for at the last judgment, “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Thus the term “he that overcometh” applies to all who are not finally cast into the lake of fire, for it is only these whose names will remain “in the book of life of the the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). During the coming reign of the beast, those believers living at that time will demonstrate their overcoming faith by not worshiping the beast, even at the cost of their lives (Revelation 13:15). In any age, the overcomers are those not afraid to confess Christ (Luke 12:8). The “fearful,” however, will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).

     But what is the meaning of “blotting out” these names from the book of life? Are certain people saved for a while only to be lost forever when the judgment comes? This seems to be the most obvious meaning of these words, but such an interpretation would contradict many other Scriptures (such as John 10:28, 29 and Romans 8:35-39) which teach clearly that anyone who is genuinely saved is eternally saved.

     This is a controversial passage, but a possible harmonization can be made by noting the special circumstances of infants who die before the age of “accountability.” The book of life, as its very name implies, probably contains the names of all those for whom Christ died – in other words, all who have ever been conceived in the womb, and who thus have received God’s created spirit of life. Since Christ died for the sin inherent in every person conceived, a child who dies before becoming a deliberate and conscious sinner does not need to be “saved” from sin, since he has never sinned, and since Christ has made propitiation for his innate sin. When a child does become a conscious sinner, however, he thenceforth is lost and needs to be saved; he needs to be “born again.” His name is still inscribed in the book of life, because he is still living and may, before he dies, trust Christ to save him and give everlasting life. If he continues in his sin and his unrepentant, unforgiven state until death, however, then his name will finally and irrevocably be blotted out of the book of life, and he will experience a second death (Revelation 20:14) as well as physical death.

     Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation and everlasting life (John 10:28), however, will indeed “overcome” in whatever test the Lord may allow them to experience. Their names are not blotted out, and therefore the Lord will be able to confess their names before His Father.

Revelation 3:6.     He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

     Even in such a church as Sardis, where both belief and practice have deteriorated to mere form and only a handful of its professing members really possess eternal life through trust in the name of Christ, the Spirit still calls men to repentance and revival. “He that heareth my word,” saith the Lord (stressing genuine hearing in obedient faith) “is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).    

The Church of the Open Door

     Only two of the seven churches were living and serving in such a way as to receive no explicit rebuke from the Lord, and both of these were small and weak churches in the eyes of the world. The first was Smyrna, a church undergoing terrible persecutions for its testimony; the last was Philadelphia, a church which was maintaining a faithful witness in the midst of general apostasy and unbelief.

Revelation 3:7.     And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

     As is well known, the name Philadelphia means “brotherly love,” and the word is used (in slightly different form) seven other times in the New Testament to refer to this beautiful Christian attribute (as in Romans 12:10). The city was so named by its founder (King Attalus of Pergamum) in honor of his brother, and was located about twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis. It still survives today as the town of Alasehir.

     For the first time, the salutation of Christ to the church does not refer back to the introductory description in Revelation 1. This suggests a distinctively new message to this particular church on the basis of distinctively appropriate attributes of the Head of the church. First, He emphasizes His own unique attributes of absolute holiness and truth. What He does is right, and what He says is true – by definition! “For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth” (Psalm 33:4). This doctrine of the sovereign God is the basis of all genuine witness for Christ, and the Philadelphia church had acknowledged this.

     With such a concept of the nature of Christ, the church was well prepared to have an effective testimony, since truth and holiness must go together. Sound doctrine always generates godly practice; conversely, “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Therefore, Christ also assures them that it is He alone who can open and shut doors of witness and service.

     The reference is to Isaiah 22:22: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” In the Old Testament, this promise was given specifically to Eliakim, who was a high official and faithful servant under King Hezekiah. His predecessor, Shebna, had proved unfaithful in his service, so God was promising to give his position to Eliakim. The “key of the house of David” specifically referred to the keys to the treasuries of the kings of Judah, but figuratively it also refers to all the great responsibilities of government which would thereby be resting upon him in an office essentially equivalent to that of prime minister. Eliakim alone, under the king, would be responsible – the government, like the heavy key-chain hanging from his shoulder, was to be upon him. The same prophetic promise had been made to the coming Savior in Isaiah 9:6, 7. The government was to be upon His shoulder and He would occupy the throne of the house of David forever.

     Thus, Eliakim was presented to the people in Hezekiah’s Jerusalem as an actual visible type of the coming Messiah upon whose shoulders someday God would place eternally the kingdoms of all the world. To the church at Philadelphia, Christ now claims to be the antitype, the fulfillment of the typological promise made over 800 years before through Eliakim (whose very name means “God raising up”). He already has the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) and here claims the keys to the kingdoms of the earth as well. He possesses all the keys, and so He alone has the ability and prerogative of opening and shutting doors.

Revelation 3:8.     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.

     The Lord Jesus Christ, who holds the key to every door, has chosen to maintain an open door for those in the Philadelphia church, one that cannot be shut by men however hard they try. The church doors cannot be shut, prison doors cannot hold them, the gates of hell can’t prevail against them, and God’s treasure-house itself is open to them. Certainly a door of witness and ministry is open to them as long as they are faithful.

     The reason for this expansive promise is: “I know thy works.” In this epistle alone, the works are not described in any way; it is evident that, whatever they are, they please the Lord. And the reason they please the Lord is that they proceed from an attitude of heart and life that finds its strength only in Christ, its faith only in His Word, and its very basis for existence only in His name.

     “A little strength” actually conveys the thought in the original of “but little strength.” It is not that the church still has a little strength and thus can still function to some degree. Rather, the very fact that it has but little strength is itself the source of its power for this means it must depend wholly on the Lord. “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” says the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:9). Neither wealth nor influence, neither promotional schemes nor the eloquence of its pulpit, nor the harmonies of its musicians can give it an effective ministry. The Lord alone has opened the door; the Lord alone “giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

     A Philadelphia-like church, furthermore, keeps God’s Word! The pressures to repudiate His Word, to distort the Word, to dilute the Word, to allegorize the Word, or just to ignore God’s Word, have always been great, and multitudes of believers have compromised their witness throughout the centuries by yielding to these pressures. The modern scene is saturated with innumerable compromise-generating pressures, and most churches today have yielded in one way or another. The Scriptures are filled with warnings: “Keep that which is committed to thy trust” (1 Timothy 6:20); “Hold fast the form of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13); “Earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3). “Continue in the faith grounded and settled” (Colossians 1:23).

     When a church begins to deal loosely with the word of Christ, it will sooner or later deny the name of Christ. The name of a person stands for his character, his position, his work – all that he is and does. The concept of the name of Christ is, therefore, vital. There are at least 125 references to His name, as such, in the New Testament alone.

     His formal name could be said to be “the Lord Jesus Christ” (note Acts 2:36). The name “Jesus” means “salvation,” and one who honors this name accepts the great salvation provided by His substitutionary atonement and justifying resurrection (Acts 4:12). One who honors the name “Christ” (that is, “the anointed one”) acknowledges His person – His threefold eminence as God’s anointed prophet, priest, and king. One who honors Him as “Lord” believes and obeys His Word.

     To these who have little strength, but keep His Word and acknowledge His name, Christ gives the marvelous assurance of the open door, which no man can close. Conversely, to those who rely on their own power, their own intelligence, their own influence – thereby denying His strength, His Word and His name – the doors which they manage to force open will soon be shut, for there are always other men with greater power and wit and importance than theirs.

Revelation 3:9.     Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

     Another common experience to the faithful churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, was opposition from the false Jews of the so-called synagogue of Satan (see comments on Revelation 2:9). Apparently the false apostles and other false prophets who plagued the other churches had been unable to get any hearing in these two churches, but the Judaizers and would-be priests and ritualists were a problem. The true believers would be vindicated, however, when these legalists, who desired spiritual worship for themselves (when not even angels would allow men to worship before their feet – note Revelation 22:8, 9) would be forced to bow down in their presence – certainly not to worship them, but rather to worship Christ in His redeeming grace. Since this promise is not one of salvation to such pseudo-Jews, but of condemnation, its fulfillment probably is the great judgment assembly as expounded in Philippians 2:10, 11.

Revelation 3:10.     Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

     This is an important and somewhat controversial verse, one of the key verses supporting the doctrine of the pretribulation rapture of the believing church, as exemplified at Philadelphia. It is somewhat parallel to the promise to Smyrna: “Ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Both speak of a coming time of trouble, and both stress its brevity compared to the glory that follows. The one, however, is caused by the devil, and is suffered by the church; the other is sent by the Lord and suffered by men who dwell on the earth.

     Both churches represent all those churches who are true to the Lord, keeping His Word, patient in tribulation. All their members will be called to endure suffering in some degree, many even to death. “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). This is because of the age-long opposition of the world and the devil to Christ and His followers (John 15:20; 16:33).

     But there is also a time of judgmental suffering coming on the earth whose purpose is not to try the church but to try them that dwell on the earth. This is nothing less than the seven-year period described here in Revelation, whose judgments come when the Lamb opens the seals (Revelation 6:1) and His angels sound the trumpets (Revelation 8:2) and pour out the vials of God’s wrath upon the earth (Revelation 16:1). The purpose of these judgments is neither to allow Satan to test the church nor for Christ to judge the church (the latter will be done at His judgment seat, not on earth).

     Therefore, this promise seems clearly to promise a deliverance of the Philadelphians from this coming time of judgment. There is no suggestion that this promised deliverance will be by death, as at Smyrna, and it would be redundant to say that they would be delivered “through” it.

     There will be multitudes of men and women who will become believers during this great tribulation (Revelation 7:14), as a result of this last great “trial” of those who dwell on the earth. However, great numbers of these will be martyred as a result (Revelation 13:15), so that it could hardly be said that they would be delivered “out of” the tribulation.

     The only legitimate conclusion from this verse, therefore, is that genuine believers will be delivered from this coming hour of judgment of the earth by Christ Himself, as He returns to take them by resurrection and rapture to be with Him, in fulfillment of His age-long promise (John 14:2, 3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; Philippians 3:20, 21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; etc.).

     Posttribulationists reject this conclusion, contending there is no reason why Christians in the last generation deserve to escape the great tribulation.  The fact is, however, that Christians in every other generation have escaped the great tribulation, so there is no reason why the last should be singled out for participation in it. No generation of the Christian church has ever escaped satanic tribulation, including the last, but none will be judged with the world in Christ’s coming purging of the earth. Even those who are saved during the tribulation, while they will suffer persecution and, in some cases, death because of Satan and his followers, will not be the objects of the wrath of God as will others during this time.

Revelation 3:11.     Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

     The Lord promises to return while Philadelphia-type churches are still functioning, just as He had in the cases of Thyatira and Sardis. The Thyatira profligates, however, would be cast into the great tribulation (Revelation 2:22) and Sardis would be caught unawares (3:3), while Philadelphia, faithfully watching and serving, would be kept from the coming hour of temptation.

     Although the Philadelphians were faithful, there is always the danger of backsliding, especially in the face of sustained opposition: hence, the admonition to hold fast. The “crown of life” had been promised to those who are faithful unto death (2:10), but there is always the possibility of losing one’s reward (1 Corinthians 3:14, 15), though not of losing one’s salvation (John 10:28, 29).

Revelation 3:12.     Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

     In the spiritual temple now being erected, each new believer is a living stone (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5). In the new Jerusalem, however, “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Revelation 21:22), and overcoming Christians will be the eternal pillars of it. Upon their apparel will be emblazoned three marks of glorious identification: (1) the name of his Savior God; (2) his heavenly citizenship; (3) his own distinctive new name, selected and awarded him by Christ Himself (Revelation 2:17).

Revelation 3:13.     He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

     Note the remarkable sequence of revelation to each of the churches. The Lord speaks to John, John writes to the church’s angel, and the angel somehow communicates it to the church (note the implications in the phrase “tongues of angels” in 1 Corinthians 13:1, and in the phrase “the spirits of the prophets” in 1 Corinthians 14:32). And all of this information was incorporated in John’s all-inclusive letter to the seven churches (Revelation 1:4; 22:16, 21). But, however the information finally reached the churches, it was none other than the Holy Spirit Himself speaking to the churches.    

The Neutral Church 

     The last of the seven letters was to the church at Laodicea, a city forty-five miles southeast of Philadelphia and almost one hundred miles east of Ephesus. It was a very wealthy trade center, and the church members at Laodicea shared in that wealth. Outwardly, the church at Laodicea was the most impressive of the seven, but spiritually it was the most distressing of all.

Revelation 3:14.     And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. 

     As at Philadelphia, the opening salutation to Laodicea goes beyond the description of Christ in the first chapter, calling attention to those attributes especially needing recognition at Laodicea. Because of its worldly success, the church had become indifferent to its real spiritual need. Doubting the absolute and unique authority of the Word of God, it had imbibed much of the humanistic philosophy of the intellectual world of that day. The neighboring church at Colosse, to whom Paul had written thirty years before, had even in his day been influenced by such speculations, and Paul had urgently warned them against all philosophies of men (Colossians 2:8-10). Furthermore, all false philosophies of past and present have been based of evolutionism, the denial of an ultimate Creator transcendent to His creation. The Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, in His message to the Laodiceans (as Paul did to the Colossians) reminded them of the basic distinctives of the true biblical theism in which they once had expressed belief. He was the beginning of the Creation, none other than the Creator of all things in heaven and earth. (See also Colossians 1:16-19). Not only was He the Alpha but also the Omega – the Amen. Of Him and for Him are all things, and His word is true and faithful.

     The compromising neutrality and self-centeredness of Laodicea is characteristic of great numbers of so-called evangelical churches today and they, like the church at Laodicea, need to be called back to belief in true creationism and true biblical authority, and to belief in Jesus Christ as the true Creator and the faithful witness.

Revelation 3:15.     I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

     In one sense, Laodicea was a better church than Sardis; it was at least tepid, but Sardis seemed cold and dead. Yet the Lord says He would rather it be cold like Sardis. In modern terminology, a church of dead orthodoxy is better than one of prosperous but neutral evangelism.

     The Laodicean church was not one of complete apostasy; its candlestick had not been removed, and the Lord was still in the midst of the candlesticks. Neither was it barren and cold, as many doctrinally sound churches had become, such as Sardis. It was apparently receiving many new members. It had a large and prosperous congregation, impressive facilities, and an active program. But it sought to be neutral on controversial matters, to maintain open dialogue with both left and right, to have recognition from the mighty and the wealthy and the intelligentsia. It was not cold to the vital truths of God, His Creation, His Word – but neither would it take a firm stand and proclaim a true witness. And Christ amazingly said, if they could not be “hot,” He would rather see them “cold.”

Revelation 3:16.     So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

     The Lord Jesus Christ, the same as any other man, could enjoy either a hot drink or a cold drink, but no one wants a tepid drink. He uses graphic language to describe His reaction: “I will [literally, ‘am about to’] spue thee out of my mouth.” His determination to cast out such a church was not final; there was still room for repentance and revival, but the situation was grave.

     The number of such churches today is legion, and they are a greater hindrance to the cause of Christ than if they were cold and dead. The latter reach no one, so they harm no one. The neutral churches, however, -- the middle-of-the-road churches, the mediating churches, the compromising churches – reach many whose temperaments favor accommodationism anyhow and, with eloquent dissimulation, persuade them that, while a little religion is good, they must avoid fanaticism. Furthermore, they bitterly resent “hot” churches and do all they can to cool their enthusiasm and dilute their convictions. They cannot abide churches which, by their very existence, constitute a rebuke to their own lack of doctrinal conviction and missionary zeal.

Revelation 3:17.     Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

     Such words as these bite and burn. Yet many commentators on these verses have come from just such neutralist churches – as well as other compromising Christian institutions and organizations. Such commentaries apply the passage to modernistic and apostate churches, churches where the inspiration of the Scriptures, the virgin birth of Christ, the substitutionary atonement and other basic doctrines are openly denied and repudiated. Neutralist writers find it easy enough to reject such blasphemies as these, and it soothes their conscience to do so, yet all the while – as Christ says – they know not it is “thou” (the Greek here is emphatic) to whom He speaks. Blatantly liberal churches are not churches at all in the biblical sense. They have no candlestick, and Christ is not in their midst. It is the neutral churches of which He here speaks.

     Such churches, commonly calling themselves conservative, or evangelical, or charismatic, or even fundamentalist, may have big church buildings and ostentatious programs and be very much impressed with themselves, but if they do not stand solidly and fervently for true creationism and full biblical inerrancy and authority in all things, He who is the Creator and the Word finds them intolerably distasteful and threatens to spue them out.

Revelation 3:18.     I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

     He who is the “Wonderful Counsellor” (Isaiah 9:6) still loves this church (verse 19) in spite of its tepid accommodationism. He therefore lovingly gives His counsel concerning their desperate, but unrecognized, need. “Buy from me!” He says. But all their wealth cannot buy what they need. Buy “without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). The purchase price is merely to recognize their wretched condition and come to Him in repentance, forsaking their riches and prestige for the true riches (faith tried in the fire – 1 Peter 1:7) and their worldly wisdom for true wisdom (Colossians 2:3) in Christ. They must receive the pure white garments of His righteousness to replace the filthy rags of their own righteousness (Isaiah 64:6). As eyesalve is needed for physical blindness, so their spiritual blindness must be assuaged by “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17, 18).

Revelation 3:19.     As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

     It is obvious that these lukewarm, compromising Christians in Laodicea are, indeed, Christians. Otherwise Christ would not rebuke and chasten them. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). The Lord does not indicate what the chastening would be, but it would certainly include exposure of their spiritual poverty and nakedness to the worldly crowd whom they had been so anxious to impress. “That the shame of thy nakedness do appear” would certainly be among the worst chastisements for such a proud and intellectual church. But Christ loves them, and desires their repentance.

Revelation 3:20.     Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

     Here the Lord uses a different figure, but to the same purpose. His rebuke and chastening are like a knock at one’s door. If that person hears His knock and also hears His voice – both through his experience of chastisement and through Christ’s written Word – then he ought to respond, though Christ does not compel him to do so. He does not force the door. The occupant must open the door. That is, he must repent of his pride and his self-sufficiency, his human wisdom, and his cowardly neutrality. Then – but not until then – will he know the real joy of true fellowship with his Lord.

     Clearly, this exhortation is directed to compromising worldly believers in the church at Laodicea, and in all other such churches, of which there are multitudes today. It is not a gospel verse addressed to the unsaved, though it is so used widely today. The verse contains nothing of the gospel message as such – no mention of substitutionary atonement, of Christ’s resurrection, of repentance, of faith in the person and work of Christ. Neither is there anything in the adjacent context about these vital matters. Yet evangelists and personal workers everywhere commonly employ this verse as a gospel invitation. God, in His grace, does occasionally use it to help bring an unsaved person to Christ, since it does enjoin a proper attitude of openness to God’s call, but that is not its intent. It was addressed only to compromising, lukewarm Christians in compromising, lukewarm churches, and it is they whom Christ is seeking to draw back to Himself.

     There is a further important truth here. In the three previous letters, He had urged His people to expect and prepare for His imminent return, either in judgment or blessing. In that context, the lukewarm Laodiceans should certainly be expected likewise to prepare for the Lord’s coming. His knocking also takes the form of prophetic fulfillments and world events in the light of His word (“hear my voice”). As these are observed, even a lukewarm compromising brother might well be stirred up, to look for the Lord, and to believe His Word.

     So, when He says, “I stand at the door, knocking,” He is also referring to His imminent personal coming back to earth again, where one day, indeed, He will literally “sup” with His people, at the great marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33).

Revelation 3:21.     To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

     This is an amazing manifestation of grace. One who was about to be spewed out of His mouth is invited to sit with Him on His throne. When the Lord was faithful unto death, He was raised from the dead and “is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). In like manner, those who are His will reign with Him when His own throne is set up, first His millennial throne (Revelation 20:4) and finally His eternal throne (Revelation 22:3, 4).

     Notice again that all seven of the promises to the overcomers involve features that are mentioned again in the description of the ages to come, where all will be fulfilled. Thus, the tree of life was promised at Ephesus (Revelation 22:2), deliverance from the second death at Smyrna (20:6), the new name written at Pergamos (22:4), the morning star to the Thyatirans (22:16), white raiment to the church at Sardis (19:8), the new Jerusalem to the Philadelphians (22:2) and a sharing of His throne at Laodicea (20:4).

Revelation 3:22.     He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

     The seven epistles close with the seventh rehearsal of this exhortation. Such a seven-fold repetition of an identical commandment stresses its extreme importance. It is vital that we read and heed these messages to the churches. The same problems that faced their churches, confront our churches, and the same warnings and promises apply to us as well as them.

     In this verse is the last mention of the church in the Book of Revelation until the last chapter, where John is reminded that the entire book is to be sent to the churches (Revelation 22:16). There are no churches as such on earth during the climactic events of judgment described from Revelation 4 onwards, and so no reference to the churches appears in these chapters. The message of all the chapters (Revelation 1:4) is for all of Christ’s churches, however, and it is that message to which we now proceed.