by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 3 Study # 4 January 7, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Letter To The Angel Of The Church In Laodicea.
A. Jesus' Self-description.
B. Jesus' Statement of His Displeasure.
C. Jesus' Promise to the "Overcomer".
1. "Behold".
a. This word is used by John in this record in 25 texts.
b. It is a deliberate "pause word" designed to get the reader's attention so that he/she might consider that something significant is about to be recorded in words.
2. "I have taken my stand..."
a. The verb is a Perfect Tense, Active, Indicative of "histemi", a word used by John in this record in 21 texts with 3:20 being the first of the 21.
1) This Perfect Tense form (in the first person) is only used in three places in the entire New Testament (Acts 26:6 and 26:22, in addition to this text in Revelation).
2) The Perfect Tense is also found in the third person in seven texts of the New Testament but only once in this record (12:4; where the dragon has taken his stand before the woman).
3) In the Acts texts, both uses of the Perfect Tense are in regard to Paul's "having taken his stand" before the judgment seat of King Agrippa to defend himself against the charges of his persecutors/accusers.
4) In these three New Testament texts, the "picture" of the word (metaphor) is of a person who has placed his feet in what he considers an immovable stance. (This verb -- not in the Perfect Tense -- is the one chosen by Paul in Ephesians 6:11, 13, and 14 to insist upon "no retreat" in the battle with the full armor upon the body of the warrior. He also uses it in 2 Timothy 2:19 to assure Timothy that "the firm foundation of God stands under seal". This "seal" is this: "The Lord knows those who are His" and "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.") The obvious implication is that "some" of those who profess to belong to God, do not; and "some" of those whose lives are a clear contradiction to the claim of "belonging to God" actually do so "belong".
b. Jesus has no intention of "leaving".
3. "...upon the door..."
a. This is "metaphor": "upon the door" means that Jesus is standing as close to "the door" as He can get (within easy arms length).
b. The "stance" of The Judge is in the Perfect Tense, 3rd Person just like our text in The Revelation, but the pronoun is "pros" rather than "epi".
c. The "door" is a word used in The Revelation in 3:8, 20 and 4:1. In each case, it is a "door" that separates, but in 3:8 and 4:1 it is standing open with the idea of "separation" having been eliminated except as a possibility if someone should "shut" it.
d. This "door" in this text (3:20) is, perhaps, "the door of the building" where the "church" is meeting. It has often been called "the door of one's heart", though the image in this text is of multiple people behind the door, some of whom may hear Him knocking. But, the "opening of this door" leads to Jesus' entrance into ("epi" as a prefix on the verb and "pros" as a stand-alone preposition in respect to "him") (i.e., into his presence) for the purpose of sharing a meal together with the one who "opens". This is, again, a metaphor using the eating of a meal together to indicate harmonious interaction. This declaration moves from the notion of "several" behind the door to the idea of "one" who is to sit down with Jesus in familiar fellowship. This back-and-forth between plural and individual is a part of the "angel's individual attitude" and the inevitable presence of other individuals who are like him in attitude. The words are written to "the angel", but also have application to the multiple individuals who read (i.e., "hear" as those who "have an ear to hear"). Thus, the "door" means whatever is hindering the fellowship of Jesus with "any who hear", and, as such is a matter of the "soul" and the "heart" (Jesus' use of "philo" in 3:19 leads to this conclusion.
4. "And I am knocking..."
a. This is a Present Tense Indicative Mood verb that indicates a persistent, on-going, action.
b. It is only used in this Tense/Mood form in this one place in the New Testament, though the word is found in nine texts of the New Testament. In those nine texts, it is always presented as a persistent action that does not intend to be stopped by those within who might not readily open the door.
5. "If anyone should hear my voice (an explanation of "knocking") and should open the door, I will enter to him and will dine with him and he with Me."
a. The possibility is "open" to those within.
b. The promise is "to dine", but the word so used is found in four New Testament texts with two of the four in the contexts of the records of the Last Supper.