The imagery of Revelation 3:20 captures the imagination, Jesus standing and knocking at the door of the sinner’s heart. Many have used this as an image of conversion, taking this passage as a teaching verse for non-Christians.

The only way to do that is to ignore the context. This letter isn’t going out to the unconverted. This is an appeal to the Christian who has fallen away. In Letters From The Lamb I wrote:

Jesus is speaking to a group of people who already profess to be his followers. They need to recognize that they have reached the point where Jesus is no longer in their lives, no longer in their hearts, and they need to find the way to let him back in… Christians can reach the point where Jesus vomits them out of his mouth, they can travel to the place where Jesus is no longer in their lives. That’s when we stop, repent, and open the door to let him back in. Or we will have our name blotted out of the Book of Life.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 154-55)

I hope you’ve enjoyed these excerpts from the book. Starting next week, we’ll move on to another topic.