Revelation 3:20 where Jesus knocks at the door of the church in Laodicea

Question

What did the Lord mean when He mentioned how He stands at the door and knocks? Was it for the 7 Churches back then? Does the 7 Churches represents the nature of the present Churches today?

Answer 1

Jesus addressed seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. They were individualized letters of instruction, rebuke, and encouragement to the local congregations. To the last church, the lukewarm church in Laodicea, Jesus made this urgent plea:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me (Revelation 3:20).

I found an article on this question, part of which says this:

The idea of Jesus standing at a door and knocking is often used as an illustration of Jesus’ offer of salvation to individuals: if you would only “open your heart’s door” and let Jesus into your life, all will be well. But in Revelation 3:20, Jesus is not pleading with an individual to be saved; He’s seeking admittance to a church! It’s alarming to think of Jesus standing outside of the church and knocking, but that’s the position He was in. The Laodicean church had shut the door on the Head of the church; they were smug in their prosperity, but Jesus was left standing in the cold. He was an outsider to the hearts of the entire congregation.

When Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock,” He was inviting the members of the Laodicean church to recognize their miserable spiritual condition, reject their false righteousness and receive His authentic gift of salvation.

Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/church-in-Laodicea.html

Back then, in Revelation 3:20, Jesus was speaking specifically to the church in Laodicea. However, the principle applies today to any church that is lukewarm in its love for Christ, and that has become complacent.

Answer 2

Revelation 3:20-21 NASB

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

The context of Revelation 3:20 is the Lord’s address to the Church at Laodicea:

Revelation 3:15-19 NASB

¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘“I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.’

Understanding the identity of the original audience is extremely helpful in understanding the author's reasons for writing

They are: wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus Christ was on the outside, knocking to be let in. That was the sad and sobering reality of their true spiritual condition.

Is this an invitation for faithful Christians to have fellowship with God or is this an invitation for lost members of a church to receive salvation?

It doesn’t sound like these are truly abiding in fellowship with Christ, as per John 15, now does it?

for these individuals, who were so filled with pride that they exclaimed, “I need nothing”, Jesus graciously offered them everything; both the richness of his provision and the richness of his presence. He offers them forgiveness and eternal life.

If you’ve heard the Gospel preached, then you’ve heard the voice of Jesus. His voice is heard in His word (Psalm 103:20), and He speaks to us through it.

Hearing His voice alone, however, does not save. Revelation 3:20 states: “…if anyone hears My voice and opens the door....”

Psalm 95:7-11 NASB

⁷ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, ⁹ When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. ¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. ¹¹ Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.

The issue is not whether they could hear His voice, but whether or not they would obey Him or harden their hearts against Him.

Answer 3

Revelation 3:20 where Jesus knocks at the door of the church in Laodicea

Revelation 3:20 NASB

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 will dine with him, and he with Me.

In Revelation, the "seven congregations" is a number of completeness and refers to all the Christian [ kind like Laodeceans] congregations at the time and to all the Christian congregations today that are spiritually half- hearted.

The number seven in the scriptures is a number of completeness. For example:

Genesis 2:2; By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Exodus 20:10 ; The seventh day is Sabbath,

Exodus 23:11 ; But in the seventh year you shall let it [a]rest and lie uncultivated,

Exodus 34:18; Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread,

Leviticus 23:18; Y ou shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect,

Leviticus 23:34; On the fifteenth of this [a]seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven day to the Lord.

Leviticus 12:2 : When a woman gives birth and delivers a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days;

1 Samuel 31:13; Warriors fasted for seven days.

For the number seven also read Leviticus For offerings 4:6; 16:14, 19; Nu 28:11 and for cleansings.​Leviticus 14:7, 8, 16, 27.

Jesus urges the lukewarm Laodicean congregation that were neither warm nor cold to allow him to have a meal with them. Will they open the door to him and let him help them overcome their lukewarm?

"I will dine with him" Why dine? This reminded the Laodiceans, that at the meals Jesus imparted spiritual advice. [ Call Levi 5: 27-39, ] [ The Pharisee Simon asks Jesus to dine with him- Jesus tells the parable of the two debtors 7:36-50 ] [Read also Luke 14:1-24 Jesus heals on the Sabbath]

The Call of Levi

36-39 NASB And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

The Pharisee - Simon ,asks Jesus to dine with him;

40-50: NASB Parable of Two Debtors

40 And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he [y]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred [z]denarii, and the other, fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45 You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not [ab]anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying [ac]to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Answer 4

In Rev. 3:20, they " key" as to who can open the door to Christ ( when He knocks) are all who can " hear " His " voice", as His sheep hear His voice in Jn. 10. They can enter into "the door of the sheep" (Jn.10:7-9). Yes, the seven churches are a representation of the church age. The " overcomers" in each church are those who are truly saved, whom God ordained to eternal life ( Acts 13:48). The church of Philadelphia exclusively represents these people.