Introduction
Hello, is anybody home?
“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.” (Re 3:20 NAS)
This verse was the inspiration for the title of this book. The message of this book has been on my heart for a long time. This is not my message it is Jesus message. It is the message of the Gospel, of salvation, deliverance from sin, peace with God, and eternal life. For many of us it is a familiar message that we have heard all of our lives. It is because of this message that the Church exists. This message has not changed, but the church has changed. The way in which this message is communicated has changed.
Obviously a lot of change has taken place since Jesus walked this earth and brought clarity to the plan of salvation. Numerous times throughout history there has been a need to return to the Scripture to restore the purity of the message that came from above. Each generation is responsible to make sure that they are living in harmony with the Word of God. We are no different or better than past generations.
Before the first century had passed many within the Church had drifted and compromised the message of the Gospel. The Book of Revelation begins with an examination of seven churches of that day and Jesus addresses each one of them. These were recorded so that we might also learn from them and examine ourselves. Although these messages were address to the churches, the final appeal was to the individual and their response. It is at the close of these messages that we are given this picture of Jesus standing at the door knocking and asking to be invited in. Today He still stands knocking, because in a lot of cases He has been excluded. The question for us is, will we respond and invite Him in?
I do not have new revelations or great insights into the mysteries of God. What I am attempting with my book is to give us a fresh look at what the Scripture says about salvation, sanctification, and righteous living. In my experience with church people I have found that they know a lot about what someone said the scriptures say, but often do not know what the Scripture actually says. I hope a fresh look at the Scripture will help bring clarity and help us conform to the truth of the Gospel. Having confidence in our salvation can only come through the witness of the Word and God’s Holy Spirit.
With the advent of COVID-19 we have been shocked into realizing how quickly things can change. Things that we in America have taken for granted for so long, like freedom, our constitution, and basic law, are now being ignored. Time is short and people need to wake up.
Knowing what is going to happen is not as important as knowing where you stand in light of God’s Word. That is why the first part of the Book of Revelation is focused on our spiritual standing. It is only with a fresh look at God’s Word that we can come to grips with where we stand. Just like the churches in John’s day, we need to examine ourselves and make the necessary adjustments. We need our lamps to be burning bright in these dark times.
It was not my original intention to write about The Book of Revelation, but I have ended up giving an overview of it. There is a lot of the symbolism in this book that I do not fully understand. There is not a shortage of books by people who think they do understand it, but interpretation is wide and varied. Never-the-less I feel like it is necessary in the times we live to take a fresh look at Revelation. If you can approach Revelation without any pre-conceived ideas, it will allow us to take a fresh look. I know that this is going to be hard considering all that has been promoted, but give it a try.
Knock! Knock!
Who’s there?
Jesus, may I come in?