KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR…
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
While this verse of Scripture has to do with Christ outside of the end times church of Laodicea it is often used when attempting to lead someone to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior as an application. While this may be acceptable, it is not the primary application, and for this treatise we will reverse the entire concept to those who come close to receiving Christ or possibly did so. We will look at four people who came KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR, but may or may not have entered in. What do YOU think?
JUDAS ISCARIOT:
💥We all know Judas as the traitor he was to our Savior. However consider his background. He was named one of the 12 original Apostles of Christ.
💥He was apparently given the same privileges and responsibilities and gifts (?!) as the other eleven…
Matt 10:5-8 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
💥Judas, the healer? Judas, the exorcist? Judas, raising the dead? Judas traveled to the same places as the other apostles with our Savior for His 3+ year earthly ministry.
💥He saw His miracles, heard Him teach and preach, got to know Him personally, saw Him react with others and even participate in such events as the feeding of thousands, etc. He held a very prominent position relating to our Savior.
💥You say, “But wait, He betrayed Christ!” Yes he did. We also know he was a thief and stole from the offerings he was placed in charge of. But according to the Scriptures he also repented of his betrayal.
Matt 27:3-5 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
💥So, he definitely KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR, but he obviously did not enter, whereas Peter who betrayed Christ and repented did enter in and became the spokesman for the other Apostles and was greatly used of the Lord. What was the difference? Judas was possessed with Satan or one of his minions, whereas Peter was a recipient of the Holy Ghost.
THE RICH YOUNG RULER:
Luke 18:18-21 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
✨Here is a man who is definitely KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR! According to his own testimony he was in agreement with the O.T. demands on Jews. He kept the Mosaic Law. What is your opinion? Did he enter Heaven when he died? We know he came close according to men’s evaluation. However, Jesus saw his heart and though he was to be commended for the good that he had done, he fell short according to our Savior.
Luke 18:22-25 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
✨Close…but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades!
JOSEPH OF ARAMITHEA:
John 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
❓The question here is, can you really be a “secret” disciple of our Savior? This event is recorded in two gospels, the statement in the Gospel of Mark (15:43) states that he was waiting for the kingdom of God and “went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of Jesus.”
❓The two descriptions of this man seem almost contradictory. A “secret disciple” who nevertheless went to Pontius Pilate “boldly”…a Jew before this Roman governor?! WOW! It seems he was more afraid of the Jews than of this Roman ruler (read the text again).
❓But the issue we are addressing is, can this man who KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR” be admitted as a genuine believer. I will leave the answer to your discernment. What thinkest thou?
NICODEMUS:
John 3:1-10
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
👉We are now introduced to a real mystery man. He was a ruler and master of Israel but didn’t understand what Jesus was speaking to him about when it came to spiritual truths. Jesus even questioned him on his ignorance! (v.10)
👉He did accompany Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus’ body after His crucifixion and death to prepare it for burial (not underground, but in a cave! Just sayin’. Think about that.) But of course that act isn’t necessarily an argument for conversion to Christ.
👉So, the issue once again is about this man who KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR. Did he get in when he died? Do we have sufficient evidence that this man was converted. The evidence of Scripture is interesting, but there is really little to go on for a final, definite conclusion.
🔶My question is this. If I was called upon to preach this man’s funeral, would I be able to console his loved ones with the assurance that he indeed had a place in the glory land? I may personally believe he did, but I could not prove it beyond a shadow of doubt from the Scriptures.
🔶Well, this is my excursion into supposition and arguments based on how I view these four interesting men and what the Bible does and doesn’t say about them and their eternal destiny. Perhaps the question now is what about YOU and ME? Is there enough scriptural evidence that we are truly repentant and born again? We too have KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR. Is anyone, namely the Savior, on the other side of that door, convinced we have met the eligibility requirements?
🔶🔶For we too MUST be born again!
While this verse of Scripture has to do with Christ outside of the end times church of Laodicea it is often used when attempting to lead someone to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior as an application. While this may be acceptable, it is not the primary application, and for this treatise we will reverse the entire concept to those who come close to receiving Christ or possibly did so. We will look at four people who came KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR, but may or may not have entered in. What do YOU think?
JUDAS ISCARIOT:
💥We all know Judas as the traitor he was to our Savior. However consider his background. He was named one of the 12 original Apostles of Christ.
💥He was apparently given the same privileges and responsibilities and gifts (?!) as the other eleven…
Matt 10:5-8 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
💥Judas, the healer? Judas, the exorcist? Judas, raising the dead? Judas traveled to the same places as the other apostles with our Savior for His 3+ year earthly ministry.
💥He saw His miracles, heard Him teach and preach, got to know Him personally, saw Him react with others and even participate in such events as the feeding of thousands, etc. He held a very prominent position relating to our Savior.
💥You say, “But wait, He betrayed Christ!” Yes he did. We also know he was a thief and stole from the offerings he was placed in charge of. But according to the Scriptures he also repented of his betrayal.
Matt 27:3-5 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
💥So, he definitely KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR, but he obviously did not enter, whereas Peter who betrayed Christ and repented did enter in and became the spokesman for the other Apostles and was greatly used of the Lord. What was the difference? Judas was possessed with Satan or one of his minions, whereas Peter was a recipient of the Holy Ghost.
THE RICH YOUNG RULER:
Luke 18:18-21 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
✨Here is a man who is definitely KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR! According to his own testimony he was in agreement with the O.T. demands on Jews. He kept the Mosaic Law. What is your opinion? Did he enter Heaven when he died? We know he came close according to men’s evaluation. However, Jesus saw his heart and though he was to be commended for the good that he had done, he fell short according to our Savior.
Luke 18:22-25 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
✨Close…but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades!
JOSEPH OF ARAMITHEA:
John 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
❓The question here is, can you really be a “secret” disciple of our Savior? This event is recorded in two gospels, the statement in the Gospel of Mark (15:43) states that he was waiting for the kingdom of God and “went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of Jesus.”
❓The two descriptions of this man seem almost contradictory. A “secret disciple” who nevertheless went to Pontius Pilate “boldly”…a Jew before this Roman governor?! WOW! It seems he was more afraid of the Jews than of this Roman ruler (read the text again).
❓But the issue we are addressing is, can this man who KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR” be admitted as a genuine believer. I will leave the answer to your discernment. What thinkest thou?
NICODEMUS:
John 3:1-10
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
👉We are now introduced to a real mystery man. He was a ruler and master of Israel but didn’t understand what Jesus was speaking to him about when it came to spiritual truths. Jesus even questioned him on his ignorance! (v.10)
👉He did accompany Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus’ body after His crucifixion and death to prepare it for burial (not underground, but in a cave! Just sayin’. Think about that.) But of course that act isn’t necessarily an argument for conversion to Christ.
👉So, the issue once again is about this man who KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR. Did he get in when he died? Do we have sufficient evidence that this man was converted. The evidence of Scripture is interesting, but there is really little to go on for a final, definite conclusion.
🔶My question is this. If I was called upon to preach this man’s funeral, would I be able to console his loved ones with the assurance that he indeed had a place in the glory land? I may personally believe he did, but I could not prove it beyond a shadow of doubt from the Scriptures.
🔶Well, this is my excursion into supposition and arguments based on how I view these four interesting men and what the Bible does and doesn’t say about them and their eternal destiny. Perhaps the question now is what about YOU and ME? Is there enough scriptural evidence that we are truly repentant and born again? We too have KNOCKED ON HEAVEN’S DOOR. Is anyone, namely the Savior, on the other side of that door, convinced we have met the eligibility requirements?
🔶🔶For we too MUST be born again!