Welcome back to the 5 Minute Challenge for another study in God’s Word. We are in the very last book of the Bible, Revelation. We have been moving methodically through the book having already covered chapters 1 and 2. Today we will be finishing chapter 3 by studying the 7th of the 7 churches Jesus examines, the church at Laodicea.
The church at Laodicea is the last and the worst of the 7 churches. It is known as the ‘lukewarm’ or lost church. It has the grim distinction of being the only church out of all seven in which Christ has nothing positive to say, only condemnation and correction. To thoroughly understand the church at Laodicea we need to know a little about the town where it resided.
Laodicea was a wealthy city. Very wealthy. It was known for several thriving enterprises that brought about great wealth to its citizens. It was recognized throughout Rome for two of its exports, black wool and “healing eye salve.” Laodicea specialized in soft black wool that only came from this region. It was very coveted and therefore sold at a premium. It was also known for a medicinal eye salve that used the special colored soil from the surrounding mountains. This clay was mixed with a solution and sold as a medication for eye problems. It was known throughout the entire Roman Empire and was sold at a great price, thereby creating great wealth for the city. It’s funny to note that a modern day analysis has been done of this “special soil” and found to be…just regular ol’ dirt. (Some things never change, just flip on the TV late at night and you’ll see ordinary products promising extraordinary results at a premium price!) As a result of the city's wealth, it became a great banking and commerce center. It’s also important to note that Jesus will use all three of these products in His judgement of the church, gold, black wool, and eye medicine.
We saw in our earlier study of the church at Smyrna (church #2) that Jesus proclaimed, “I know of your poverty but you are rich!” (Rev 2:9a) He is saying, I know you are physically poor but you are spiritually rich. The church at Laodicea was just the opposite as we’ll see Jesus state. They were physically very rich, but spiritually they were not just poor, but bankrupt.
Let’s dig right in and explore Jesus’ judgement of the church at Laodicea:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus’ description of Himself. ‘The words of the Amen.’ This is the only place in all of scripture that Jesus calls himself this. Amen is a Hebrew word that means truth, affirmation or certainty. We know Amen as it is said out loud to affirm the truthfulness of a statement. Some Sundays as the Pastor proclaims a great truth of God you might hear a few amens from the congregation. Jesus is proclaiming here that He is the truth. This should comfort us greatly today. As we live and operate in a world that is so full of lies, fraud, misrepresentation, and deceit, our Lord and Savior is pure, genuine truth. ‘The faithful and true witness.’ Here we see back to back statements about truth. Do you think Jesus wants us to know He is truth? In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.” There is but one foundation of this world and it is truth. Without it there is no quality of life. Without truth you can have no relationships. Without truth you can have no honest commerce. Without truth you have nothing to build upon. As soon as man is born, he is on a journey seeking for truth. No matter what religion, education or life path that is taken, the individual, knowing it or not, is on a quest for pure truth. My friends, Jesus is that truth. Every person in the world is looking for Jesus who we see here, declaring himself as just that, ‘the truth.’
‘The beginning of God's creation.’ Some will misinterpret this verse as meaning that Jesus was a created being, that He was created by God. The English translation does not do well, but the Greek clears it up. The Greek reads more as “Christ began God’s creation.’ It means that Christ Himself is the source of creation. Right here in Rev 1:17 Jesus calls Himself, “the first and the last” and in Rev 2:8 He reaffirms this title. In John 1:1-3 it says of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” So, you can see that this description here in Rev 3:14 affirms that He is indeed the creator of all.
Commendation. Jesus has no commendation for the church at Laodicea and moves directly onto the condemnations.
Condemnation. ‘I know your works.’ Jesus has closely inspected all seven of these churches for their works and how they bear fruit for Him. He is still inspecting His church from Heaven today to see how they are serving Him. ‘You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.’ This is a very famous passage in the Bible and one that deserves to be discussed properly to fully understand its true meaning. In order to understand it in its context, we need to better understand the water supply of Laodicea. The city itself sat up on a high plateau which had no natural water source. All of the city’s water had to be brought in. The Phrygian mountains sat off to the south of the city and because of their high peaks, they held snow much of the year. They built aqueducts from the mountains directly into the city to channel this precious water from the melted snow. If you were to travel into the foothills of the mountains, the water there would be ice cold, pure and refreshing. But by the time it had travelled all the way to the city via the aqueduct, it had became a little dirty and it was room temperature. Luke warm. This warm, polluted water did not satisfy like the cold water that it once was. Down in the valley from the city where the Lycus River meets the Maender River, there are natural hot springs. The water there was steaming hot and useful for many purposes. But by the time the Laodiceans had gathered it and hauled it back to the city, it was no longer hot. The water was now lukewarm and had lost its benefit of being hot. It was no longer good for cooking, cleaning or drinking as a hot beverage. It began hot but now it was merely lukewarm.
I think a great analogy for us today would be coffee. I love my coffee in the morning as I study and write. I grind my beans and then use a French press to get a good, rich, hot cup of coffee. I keep it in a stainless steel covered mug so it stays nice and hot. As I write this I just reached down and took a sip and it’s nice and hot, yum. But some mornings I study so long that I’ll reach down after a few hours and take a drink and almost recoil. It’s no longer hot, it's not cold, it's just...blah. (kinda like the porrige in the three bears) But Margie loves iced coffee. She’ll go to Starbucks and get a big coffee that’s loaded with ice. When you take a drink it has that cold refreshing sensation as it hits your tongue. But leave that drink in your car in the sun for a few hours. It becomes warm and it’s no longer as enjoyable as it once was. The point here that Jesus is making is one of before and after. The mountain water was once cold but it no longer is. The hot springs water was once hot but it no longer is. You have 2 extremes but they have both melded into one common ground, lukewarm. And Jesus says that this lukewarm state is enough to make Him vomit. It’s disgusting for Him encounter. What a powerful picture about how Jesus sees our view of Him and His Word. If your cold towards Jesus, it means that your absolutely in rejection of Him and His Word, you’re icy. If your hot for Jesus, it's like being on fire for Him, not only do you embrace Jesus, but you study His Word, you bear abundant fruit for Him, you love your brethren, you’re and active member of a local body of Christ, and you fellowship often with believers. Be hot or be cold, but don’t be lukewarm or it will nauseate Jesus to the point of making Him sick.
‘For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.’ Money changes us. A lot of money can ruin us. Just watch or read a story about when people win or inherit a ton of money. They’re usually broke and miserable within a few years. I heard a great saying one time and it’s so true. “God knows how much money it will take to ruin us and He gives us just a little less.” I watched an ESPN documentary about NFL football players and how they have one of the single highest bankruptcy rates of any profession. You see whether you want to admit it or not, money changes us. Money had taken its toll on the Laodiceans. They had “made it.” They had wealth, ease of life, luxury, and comfort. Jesus says ‘you think you need nothing.’ Not even Him. If we were to look at the church at Laodicea today, we would probably consider them to be very successful. I used to teach a learning element where I worked on just this topic...success. What is success to you? Money? Cars? Big house? Power? Education? Influence? These are the answers I most regularly heard. The world sees these things as making it or acquiring success. We could drive by the Laodicean church and see Bentleys, Ferraris, and Lexus filling the entire parking lot of the 15 million dollar sanctuary and nod our heads in approval. But that’s not what Jesus sees. Jesus looks beyond, Jesus looks within. He says that beyond this façade they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” What a condemning description from our Lord. Wretched is “a person in a very unhappy or unfortunate state.” Pitiable is “deserving a feeling of sorrow and compassion from another.” Poor is “worse than is usual, expected, or desirable; of a low or inferior standard or quality.” Blind here is twofold. Spiritually and personal awareness. They cannot see the need for Christ through their blindness and they cannot see their own current state of lostness. This is reminiscent of the great old hymn Amazing Grace. I was blind but now I see. Jesus causes our eyes to be opened to Him and His Word. Naked here means that they lack the covering of the white robe of righteousness.
Command. ‘I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.’ This is where Jesus makes it very personal for them by mentioning what is going on right in their own backyard. Take careful notice to see that He commands them to “buy these from me.” The gold speaks of the wealth of the city. But Jesus says you don’t need regular gold you need ‘my gold’ which is pure. It’s been refined by fire and is pure and precious. This reflects the precious pure salvation of Jesus Christ. They need white garments. Recall that the city was known for its coveted super soft black wool. The rich people would be clothed in this precious commodity to show off their status. The black garments represented the staining of sin in their lives. Jesus says get rid of the black and wear white. The white garment speaks of the righteousness of Christ that covers your life. ‘And salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.’ He says you don’t need that useless snake oil that you're selling to everybody in Rome, you need a salve that will truly open your eyes. Blindness in God’s Word represents a lack of understanding and knowledge of spiritual truths. When you accept Jesus as your Savior you are gifted with the anointing of the Holy Spirit whom will open your eyes to the things of God.
‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.’ Our Heavenly father is like our Earthly fathers who will discipline us out of love. In the midst of this discipline, God commands us to “straighten up and fly right.” He says don’t keep on messing around with sin, turn from it and come to me.
Promise. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.’ Another famous verse that we’ve all probably heard but didn’t know where it came from or in what context it is used. Remember that Jesus is addressing a church here so what door is He knocking on? The door of the church. But who is inside the church? Many people. But who can open the door? It only takes one person. This is Jesus looking for just one righteous person within the church at Laodicea. If even one would open the door to His knock He would come in and dine with them. To dine with someone is to get to know them very personally. We made some new friends at church and they have graciously invited us to their home for dinner this Sunday night. I know that when we leave Sunday night we will know them much better than before the dinner. When Jesus knocks on the door of your heart all you need to do is answer the door and a loving Savior will enter your life and change it with His boundless love, mercy, and joy.
‘The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.’ What a promise here. We will not only be with Jesus in Heaven but we will rule with Him. We will be heirs to the throne. We will sit with Him on His throne. My friends if this doesn’t make you throw your hat in the air today, nothing will. We serve a God that loves us in an unimaginable way.
Well, that wraps up the seven churches! What an unbelievably vast and thorough view we have had of the seven churches of Revelation. I pray the study has been enlightening to you and that you feel closer to God through becoming closer to His Word. All of these studies will stay on The5MC.com and be archived under the Revelations heading. If you ever find yourself wanted to revisit or reference any of the studies, you can easily find them all. Please feel free to use the site a reference tool for yourself, friends and family. The knowledge of God’s Word turns into God’s wisdom and that is how we can navigate this world, by seeing things through God’s eyes, not our own.
Tomorrow we will start the 3rd and the largest division in the book of Revelation, the program of Jesus to usher in His kingdom. Tune in tomorrow as we start chapter 4 and get a glorious glimpse of what the throne room of Heaven looks like.
God bless ~ Dan
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