The meaning of Revelations 3:3
The following passage explains it, and it’s taken from “The Great Controversy”, a book written by Ellen G. White, one of the most published and translated writers of all time. If you are unfamiliar with concepts such as the time of the end, the investigative judgment or the prophecies of Daniel, including the 2300 day prophecy, please read The Great Controversy and it will make these crystal clear to you.
“Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon – none know how soon – it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Savior’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.’ Mark 13:33. ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’ Revelation 3:3” (The Great Controversy).
What the Lord means in Revelation 3:3 is that He may come across our case in the Heavenly court at any time. We know not what that time is, so we must be prepared at all times to have our case considered. If we were involved in an earthly case that would decide the fate of our life, and we knew not when we would be called at the stand, we would be ready at all times, wouldn’t we? We would study all of the details of the case so we could be thoroughly prepared to defend ourselves, would we not? It should be the same, no, much more so with our heavenly case, for it will decide the outcome of our eternal lives!
Do we want to miss out on eternity with God? Then we should make sure that we are ready. When Jesus comes to our case, He will look at the way we are now living. Are we consummate sinners, are we slaves to vices and pleasure and the seeking of worldly goods? If so, He will declare us lost, and we will be sentenced to death. But if He sees that we are earnestly trying to be good Christians and we want to respect His Commandments, and we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness when we fall, He will claim forgiveness for us in front of the Father and the host of angels. “He will [lift] His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: ‘I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands’” (The Great Controversy). King David writes: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). This is what we have to do to be prepared and considered ready for salvation. Jesus Christ knows that we are weak beyond our control when it comes to the devices of the devil. He will look directly at our hearts and know whether we are really trying to be good Christians, or just faking it for the world to see. When He sees our true nature as being good and worthy of salvation, He will plead His sacrifice for our sins, and we shall be considered saved.
This is what Revelations 3:3 talks about! All this time, I thought it referred to the second coming of the Lord, but it refers to the time when our case will be considered in the courts of Heaven. I couldn’t put it together with the other verses in the Bible that make it clear that the end of the world will make itself known through preceding events that will leave no doubt as to what will follow, but now it does make sense.
I urge every one of you reading this to pick up a copy of The Great Controversy and read it for yourselves. A lot of things will become clear to you that you have been wondering about for years. Read it, and re-read it. I think I read this particular chapter three times before I understood it on this level.
