The following is one of Shema’s entries for the top ten list of most misinterpreted Bible verses/passages. I think it’s a good one. Note: the list is a work in progress: no decisions have been made, nor any votes cast.
Interpretational error category: context
Here’s how things go awry. First, take a loook at this well loved, and oft-quoted verse extracted from its context: 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 him, and he with me. Rev 3:20
Pretty straightforward, right? This is an evangelist’s staple whereby Christ is knocking at the world’s door and inviting everyone and anyone to eat with him, correct? What else could anyone mean?
Before proceeding, I’d like to offer a clarification, if you don’t mind. I believe that without qualification the statement If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me is unreservedly true. Whosoever believes in Christ, whosoever hears his voice and opens the door, will eat with Christ and be saved.
However, that’s a truth gathered from other portions of Scripture, not this one. Take a second look at the verse, this time surrounded by its immediate context:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 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 him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Rev 3:14-22
Our contextual cues here seem fairly apparent. This passage is addressed to the angel of the church of Laodicea. The Greek word translated angel is ἀγγέλῳ, which means messenger, and has been interpreted various ways, none of which are important to the question at hand. What is important, though, is the connection to chapter one of Revelation:
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Rev 1:12-20
It’s clear that the apostle John is addressing our passage to the messenger of the church of Laodicea, who is clearly in the hand of Christ according to the text, not flung out to the nether regions of the earth, or positionally outside of the kingdom. The remaining contextual cues from chapter one leave no doubt that the book of Revelation in its entirety is written to the seven churches, those that existed historically at that time:
On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Rev 1:10-11
John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Rev 1:4
This much should be reasonably non-controversial. Nevertheless, notice what follows Rev 1:4:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Rev1:4b-6
Now, when you write a letter, don’t you customarily begin with Dear Mrs. Smith or To whom it may concern? More than likely, I’d guess. The intent is to let the reader know first and foremost for whom the letter is intended. Thankfully, the biblical writers practiced the same protocol when writing. Check out the greetings and salutations of the New Testament epistles; they’re a key to proper biblical interpretation. Revelation is no different in this regard in that Revelation is written to the seven churches and to those in them that Christ loves, who have been freed from sins by his blood, and made to be a kingdom and priests to serve God his Father.
With that in mind, let’s look back at chapter three. Christ says to the church at Laodicea through its messenger “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” Who is it that Christ loves, rebukes, and disciplines? Those who have been freed from sins by his blood, and made to be a kingdom and priests to serve God his Father, no doubt. It’s the Christians in Laodicea who he describes in the following manner:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Notice the contrast: I am about to spit you out of my mouth yet Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. Certainly, those who are in Christ’s mouth, metaphorically, are those he holds; those he has saved and loves. What a beautiful verse of the preserving promise and power of Christ through his Holy Spirit we have here. What great comfort we have in knowing that Christ stands at the door of our hearts knocking, because he loves us, and intends to rebuke and discipline us, we Christians, when we are lukewarm. What assurance there is in a faithful savior.
He is among the golden lampstands, after all, and he does hold the keys of death and Hades. And we also know that his Father is greater than all, and none can snatch out from his hand. He stands at the door of your heart, Christian, and knocks, always remembering that he now has the resurrected ability to pass through locked doors when necessary. There are other passages to offer to the world than this one; this promise is for you. It’s time to open up and overcome.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…
