“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
For perhaps decades here in America, this verse has been used to describe God knocking on the door of our hearts and offering salvation through His Son, Jesus. We use it as a metaphor of inviting Him into our hearts.
Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation were addressed to seven churches, which today would be located in the country of Turkey. They were: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. On a sad side note, apparently all seven of these locations have little or no viable Christian presence today.
The community of believers that was addressed in this verse was the wealthy one at Laodicea. In this passage, the believers there were reprimanded for their “lukewarm” service to the Lord. Further research will tell you that Laodicea actually had lukewarm water supplied to the city, so they would have been familiar with this analogy.
The believers there were urged to repent or risk rebuke and discipline. Therefore, in this 20th verse, they were urged to answer the Lord’s call and come into close fellowship with Him.
This verse was also a figure of speech from the Jewish wedding custom, whereas the bridegroom knocked on the door of his bride-to-be’s home and hoped she would invite him in. Finally, it was an image of Jesus, the bridegroom, coming to His bride, the church. So, although this verse sounds appropriate for salvation, it is referring to believers uniting with their Savior.
Here are two appropriate verses about salvation:
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with
your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10