The Lukewarm Church: Revelation 3:14-22.
“And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write: the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.”
Laodicea is the church of today! It is in apostacy and continues to move away from the “glory and excellence” of God. The history of created mankind follows this very same pathway. We see it graphically expressed in God’s own word portraying the behavior of Israel, His chosen people. Repeatedly Israel chose doing it “their way” rather than the ways of their fathers and faithful Shepherd who came among us providing a salvation of redemption.
It is fitting for Jesus to introduce this love letter to Laodicea with “the words of the Amen.”
Yes, it is true, AMEN! The sovereignty of God, the absolute truth of God in righteous purity is affirmed by AMEN! We were taught “amen” means “so be it,” but this meaning becomes a little shallow here. “AMEN” speaks of God’s utterness, creating something out of nothing! The sovereignty of Jesus is at issue! We are created new in Jesus thru redemption including His faithfulness growing in us His glory as we walk in Him! Paul put it this way: “For all the promises of God find their yes in Him. That is why it is through him we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”
If Laodicea would recognize Jesus as THE Amen, they would, hopefully, make pro-spiritual choices instead of enriching themselves in material ways with strictly earthy values condemned by Jesus … becoming spiritually poor. In fact, this very book of Revelation reveals the certainty of God’s eternal values compared to the earthly notions fostered in minds of men by the encouragement of sin. At the root of this great deception is the master of the lie himself, the dragon and prince of sin, Satan!
“Amen” is from the Hebrew affirming Israel’s faithful God, such as in Isaiah 49:7. Amen affirms all that God is and faithfully will forever be. Were Laodicea spiritually alive, they would discern truth from their self-oriented bias of sin. But the history of mankind continues drifting away from God’s righteousness, satisfying fleshly ambitions and appetites. This is the spiritual battle now raging even as we live and breathe in our own little neighborhood.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own glory and excellence. By which he has granted us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. -2Peter 1:3-4.
The church in Laodicea did but does not experience the divine power granted to believers in Christ pertaining to all things in life and godliness. They did, but do not now possess knowledge of Jesus’ dunamis (δυναμιs) power in personal experience. They knew much about things in temporal life but they walked not in faith, but in their own strength and sight. Humanly speaking, they were and are, temporally strong and spiritually corrupt!
The first of each epistle letter to these 7 churches begins by identifying divine influences needed within each church. The first five letters sourced these divine qualities from John’s vision in chapter one. These qualities of God, observed by John in his first vision, are seen according to each individual church need:
Ephesus: “The words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand,
who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”
Smyrna: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came back to life.”
Pergamum: “The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”
Thyatira: “The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose
feet are like burnished bronze.”
Sardis: “The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”
Philadelphia: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who
opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”
Laodicea: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s
creation.”
The letters to Philadelphia and Laodicea do not conform to this “vision” pattern! The Philadelphia epistle invoked Jewish tradition from the Old Testament, exercising divine authority from the Kingdom throne of David. The believers in Philadelphia were rooted in Jewish tradition and looking to the One who is Holy and True; they looked to the One with absolute authority! He is THE living King who is their resurrected Messiah!
But Laodicea, the 7th and last church letter, is an apostate, lukewarm church. The Lord watches over it in love but it is made up of more tares than wheat. The other churches were able to produce character from a vision of God’s glory but here, in Laodicea, the church cannot produce God’s glory, but AMEN still can and is still lovingly available!
This “AMEN” is a title for Jesus Christ because “through Him the purposes of Christ are establish.” His divine power is still available if we would merely open our own heart’s door to His offer of fellowship and agape love. We are the beginning of God’s creation, He made us … twice!
Even though we continue in the blindness of our wisdom, Jesus continues as a “faithful and true witness,” knowing us in our deepest need, He is walking among the “lampstands,” including even Laodicea.
“I know your works: you are neither cold or hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Here John Walvoord aptly points out for us the contrast between the Amen of Jesus who is the “faithful and true witness” and the witness of Laodicea which is “neither faithful nor true.”
“There is no one further from the truth in Christ than the one who makes an idle profession without real faith. The church at Laodicea is a sad picture of the professing church in the world throughout history, and serves as an illustration of those who participate in outward religious worship without the inner reality. How many have outwardly conformed to the requirements of the church without the true state of being born again into the family of God? How many church members are far from God yet by their membership in the professing church have satisfied their own hearts and have been lulled into a sense of false security?”
Laodicea offers a “church” testimony. They are religious using the words they have written down on a scroll from Paul; they had fellowship with neighboring churches at Colossae and Hierapolis.
But they had a proud identity. In AD 60 a devastating regional earthquake hit Laodicea. Rome reached out to participate it its reconstruction but earlier Rome had also denied Laodicea to build their own Temple; Laodicea now refuses Rome’s help and rebuild their city on their own. They were an international banking center and produced a famous, highly valued black wool used in many different products. They were a medical center and produced an eye salve that was shipped internationally. They were rich and on the East-West trade route. Laodicea also included a significantly large Jewish population which was imported by Antiochus III from Babylon about 200BC.
Laodicea was a worldly place. Temporally speaking, they were self-sufficient, but having difficulty seeing their spiritual eternal state since they were in such a plush temporal place. Their local drinking water, coming from a higher mountain, was lukewarm by the time it flowed down into the city. They had the witness of God in their midst, but they neglected it and they too became lukewarm!
“For you say, I am rich. I have prospered, I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. 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.”
We turn now to Lehman Strauss as he depicts this above scene in Laodicea:
“These people were merchants. They were used to buying and selling. In this way they had accumulated large fortunes. But theirs was the gold of this world. They had gained it by trading it with the merchants who came from the East to Laodicea with their camels laden with goods. This, however, is not the coin of the realm of the kingdom of God. The Laodiceans were traders in garments made of the world’s finest wool, but these were no covering for the nakedness of a man’s soul. They were dealers in expensive ointments, but such ointments could never heal their poor spiritual vision. There were no doubt many people in the world who, like the man in our Lord’s parable, of whom Christ said, ‘Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee … So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:20-21). On the other hand, there are those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus to whom Paul wrote, ‘Ye are enriched by Him … Now ye are full, now ye are rich’ (1Corinthians 1:5; 4:8). The Laodiceans had been trading in the world’s mart only. Now the ascended Lord recommends that they turn to him. He does not command them; He counsels them. He respects their right to choose for themselves, but He offers them the best advice.”
How easy it is to be blinded by darkness! This doesn’t make sense to a person until one actually sees the light of God. The deeper we go into a self-perpetuated risk, the more difficult it is to see objectively the reality occurring about us every day! If one “feels” the comfort of temporal life, they are not generally urged to change their circumstances to a spiritual reality.
But redemption is not about shallow circumstances! Redemption is about clean light; it is about peace and wholeness of life. Redemption is about understanding the nature of sin, its consequences and its freedom from slavery. The problem is, we, like many people in Laodicea, are in slavery without the consciousness of it. We too do not understand the eternal consequences of Life in Christ Jesus! Even redeemed people with ears to hear have distractions and difficulties hearing who they actually are within the Person of Jesus Himself.
Jesus is still offering to Laodicea a full grace package! We can buy, without price, gold, white garments and wisdom to see clearly! The longer we say no, the deeper we slip into the mirage of sin and into deeper difficulty seeing the righteous light of Jesus in our own heart for daily living!
“Those whom I love (phileo), I reprove and discipline,
so be zealous and repent.”
Here is our real life model of what God’s love looks like. Jesus views these people in Laodicea with such disgust, He desires to “spit them out of His mouth.” Even in His bitter anger, Jesus comes to these apostate, wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked people with a free gift of redemption. This redemption gift will make them rich, provide white garments and the spiritual ability to see the difference between light and darkness! He is able to forgive, making them and us completely whole as we are intended to be.
This (phileo) love seen above from Jesus Himself to apostate “Christians” turns into agape love when we are “born again.” Here is the way Paul expresses it to the Christians in Corinth:
“For the love (agape) of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that who ever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
“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.”
This verse is precious to both the wheat and the tare (weed), the “born again” believer and the Christian person who has not really entered into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many a pastor has used this passage to introduce the non-believer to the invitation Jesus is making to accept His gift of agape love and salvation. But this verse is also written to one of the 7 churches having known the truth of being set free, yet, falls back into the slavery of self!
This itself shows the dangers of sin, by having entered into God’s reconciliation by redemption and yet, falling back again into Satan’s grip of self-deception. We can be set free and still make bad choices entering into our human life style … causing us NOT to grow in grace!
“Behold,” is noteworthy. Jesus is telling us to pause and consider His faithfulness to us even when we become unfaithful to Him! So, this we must do, and through the eyes of J.B. Smith below:
“To the sinner Christ Himself is the door. The sinner is invited to enter. The invitation is sufficient; no knocking is required. If he enters, he shall be saved. John 10:9.
“Believers are invited to knock (at the door of God’s storehouse), with the assurance that it will be opened. Matthew 7:7,8.
“Christ makes His abode or dwelling place in the heart of the believer (John 14:23; 15:5; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27), and dwells with the body of believers. Due to the worldly and compromising spirit of the Laodicean church, He has taken His place on the outside of her door. He is standing outside and knocking. The verbs are in the present tense, implying continuity and prolonged waiting for admittance. The church as a whole having rejected Him, He makes his appeal to the individual: If any (one) will open the door, I will come in to him – note the singular number in each case. Next to Calvary this is one of the most pathetic and heart-rending scenes in the entire Bible. …
“I will sup with him, and he himself (by way of emphasis) with me. That certain ones open the door and “let the Saviour in” is indicated by the promises Jesus makes. One must wonder what kind of table the individual believer has to set for such a distinguished guest, unless it be his sins, his sorrows, his burdens, and his cares. This menu He tasted at the cross. However, what He shares with the believer as He enters his heart, is rather the joy of salvation that has come through His atoning work. The believer will sup with Him to share His joys. For the Father has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above his fellows, which means that He is the happiest “fellow” that ever lived. The supping with Him will not be concluded when He enters the heart of the believer. As belonging to the bride of Christ, he will have a part in the celebration of the Lord’s supper in His kingdom. Luke 22:16, 29, 30.”
We might add to Smith’s above observations a focus on the eternal security of the believer once the believer has received God’s eternal gift of salvation. A believer is created new in Christ Jesus and sealed by the Holy Spirit. New birth is a creation act of beginning a continuing work by Jesus Himself within the believer to grow in grace and the personal knowledge of Jesus Himself. This growing process is implied by “the one who conquers.”
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
“Christ’s throne is the throne of His father David at Jerusalem (2Samuel 7:12, 13, 16; 1Chronicles 29:3; Jeremiah 3:17; Luke 1:32; Acts 15:14-18). But our Lord’s royal inheritance by the Davidic covenant extends to His heavenly Bride, the Church, as Eve shared the dominion that God gave first to Adam. In his first epistle (first in divine order), Paul writes ‘Concerning God’s Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh’ (Romans 1:3); and in his last epistle, ‘Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David according to my gospel’ (2Timothy 2:8). We shall consider the millennial order in Revelation 20. Here, in 3:21, at the close of the unfaithful corporate testimony of the church, we are again overwhelmed at this infinite grace of Christ. ‘The assembly whom Christ just before threatened to spew out of His mouth, is now offered a seat with Him on His throne.’ -Fausset. Trench truly says, ‘The highest place is within the reach of the lowest; the faintest spark of grace may be fanned into the mightiest flame of love.’ Let not the most wretched, defeated believer despair, - if only there be the lest yearning for Christ. The most tender plea of all the seven is made to a lukewarm assembly. And the most distinct promise of actually sitting down with Christ upon His throne is given at the very close of the Church’s testimony.
Note the Lord speaks as one who Himself overcame, and is therefore now sitting upon His father’s throne. As a Victor He calls to you and to me. It is only in sharing by faith His victory that any saint ever overcame! As Christ warned in the upper room, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). He also triumphed over Satan and all his hosts at Calvary, and gives us the benefit (Colossians 2:14,15; Hebrews 2:14,15). ‘And this is the victory that overcometh – even our faith’ (1John 5:4).
William Newell, in the above passage, sums up for us the marvelous grace package our living resurrected Lord has opened up, not to us but in us! We have the resurrection power of Jesus available in us to be overcomers just as was He Himself on the cross. But faith is the issue. In the Greek, faith and believe are the same root word, πιστευω. How deeply in our soul and heart does our believing faith run?
Those living today in our current day Laodicean church who are not taken up in the pre-tribulation rapture may still find a salvation available as they enter the tribulation period or the 70th week of Daniel.
Laodicea, not only is a historical real physical church, expositors agree it is the church type for the current age in which we now live. This gives us a great opportunity to walk through the tribulation and into the millennium age through the eyes of this last church, after the pre-tribulation rapture has taken place.
We have here, then, a story which continues into and through the 70th week of Daniel, continuing with a remnant into the 1000 year millennium reign of Jesus Christ on earth after the great tribulation.
When the rapture has taken the church out of this world, the redeemed in Christ Jesus, receive new Spiritual bodies and leave behind their drags of temporal living on earth. But there are many “tares,” Laodicean Christians, who were “believers” in testimony only, who had not entered into the kingdom of heaven, who were not “raptured.” Many of these “believers” from all different cults and denominations, along with those who were earnest disbelievers are left behind!
After the rapture many will have heard the redemption story which they would not and did not accept as true before it actually happened!
Now millions of vanished people from all over the globe are missing without a trace. Many houses are deserted, property values plummet on empty available homes! Cars are abandoned and travelers are faced with tragedies as drivers and pilots suddenly disappeared. Hordes of non-believing people will suddenly realize they were “left behind” or some means of escaping to another world has been found!
Salvation is still available to all those who are left behind but the divine grace provided to those living in the period of the church is now closed; now we are moving into a salvation under the nation Israel. The people “left behind” have entered into the first half of the tribulation period under God’s judgment, but God has His messengers ready with a salvation that will come through His chosen people Israel; the 144,000 Jewish Israelites will be called into action by God the Father during this 7year judgment period.
We also find in Revelation 11 two witnesses who have been given the assignment of speaking forth God’s message for 1260 days, this is ½ of the seven-year tribulation period. These two witnesses, which are probably Elijah and Moses, are indestructible and have themselves miraculous powers. Expositors are divided on whether these two witnesses are prophesying during the first 3 ½ years or the second 3 ½ years. Both arguments are tenable. They may be in the first half and rendering, therefore, a testimony to those who are left behind from the time of rapture and in need of salvation. It is clear that the 144,000 will be sharing the “eternal gospel” because we see them in white robes in Revelation 7:9cf. We also see the 144,000 during the entire 7-year judgment period. Some expositors tell us the 144,000 continue on into the Millennium.
We also have in Revelation 14 the angel flying overhead with the “eternal gospel” which is proclaimed to them who dwell on earth: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
After the sixth seal is opened, John is shown innumerable people in heaven wearing white robes with no crowns. But what they do have is palm branches! An Elder asks John to identify who these people are but John cannot. The Elder explains: these thousands of saints have been taken out of the tribulation. Some of our Laodicean brethren have become saved but they are not now part of the church which already had been removed from earth!
To see the “kingdom of heaven” more clearly we should review Mathew 13 where are described the seven parables of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus narrates these parables to two separate groups of people.
The first group of people is standing on the beach while Jesus Himself is standing in a boat, like a podium in front of a congregation. This is an earthly view of the kingdom of heaven by people on earth.
From this position in the boat, Jesus shares the first parable about the sower who went out to sow his seed which falls on all different kinds of ground. “Other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Notice the first parable does not have the designation of: “The kingdom of heaven is like.” This first parable is Jesus Himself who is the sower, whereas in the following 6 parables the players are earthly peoples or things related to the kingdom of heaven.
After Jesus spoke the first parable, He took a break and spoke privately to the disciples who were asking why He was now speaking in parables to the people. Here Jesus distinguishes, for the disciples, a rule of separation for those who are believers and those who are not!
Jesus came to earth as the Messiah to Israel but the Pharisee’s have just rejected Him by saying His miracles were from the power of Satan. Jesus then turned His ministry from Israel to the gentiles and opened a salvation of grace to the Jews and gentiles who become the bride of Christ after the resurrection. Now Jesus is ministering by parables to those who will accept Him as their personal savior and not as the future king of Israel.
The next 6 parables are divided into two groups which follow the two different groups of people. The first group are those described above standing outside on the beach. The second group are the disciples who have gathered privately inside the house.
The first three parables are all spoken to the first group of people who are outside on the seashore while Jesus speaks to them from the boat. This first set of 3 parables, after the first sower parable, concerns weeds sowed in the wheat field at night unknown to the farmer. The second is the mustard seed, sown and becomes an unnatural tree where the birds nest. The third, and last parable in this three parable set, speaks of leaven hid in flour till the flour itself becomes totally unleavened.
All three of these parables speak to common defects people see in life and experience. These are natural outcomes the world witnesses in day-to-day life. They are spoken to the public who see the church as a religious organization doing good in the world of trouble and woe. These 3 parables reflect a human point of view of the kingdom of heaven!
The second group of three parables is spoken to the disciples privately in the house. These 3 spiritual parables provide our Lord’s rendering of what “heaven is like” to those who understand spiritually. These parables depict God’s plan of those who will become the players in the kingdom of Heaven.
The first parable, in this 3 parable set, is about a treasure in the field. The field is the earth and the merchantman is Jesus. Jesus finds the treasure, sells all He has by coming unto earth, becoming the Son of Man, dying for man so that He can redeem man from the kingdom of sin. The treasure is Israel. When Israel rejects Jesus, He buries Israel (the treasure) back into the earth and looks for a fine pearl.
The second spiritual parable is the pearl where the merchantman (Jesus) on finding one pearl of great price sells all He has to purchase “the one pearl.” The pearl of great price is the church. The price Jesus paid was for all mankind, both Jew and gentile, by redemption through the shedding of Jesus’ own blood and through His resurrection.
The third spiritual parable is about the net. The first two spiritual parables speak to the relationship of the merchantman to what he has found that is worth buying. Here, the merchantman (Jesus), is replaced by men who drew the net to shore full of all kinds of fish, good and bad. The first two spiritual parables speak to the salvation relationship between God and man through Jesus. It seems consistent that this parable would also follow this same pattern of establishing the salvation dynamic.
The treasure that is buried in the first parable, is “covered up” or reburied. During the tribulation period, Israel is re-established on earth with Jesus as the Messiah sitting on the throne in Jerusalem. This occurs as Israel becomes restored during the tribulation-millennium and the re-buried treasure is actually made visible on earth.
In the second spiritual parable we see the pearl of great price. The pearl is the church, the body of Christ Jesus. We also see in Revelation 21 the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven prepared as a bride for her husband. The twelve gates of this jasper city are of pearl. Each gate is a single pearl.
The third spiritual parable is the very large net that has been pulled in onto the shore containing good fish and bad. The first two parables deal with the salvation of men; we see here merely the separation of fish by men, the good from the bad. It is men sitting down doing this task of separation, putting the good fish into containers. When the task is complete, angles come into the picture taking the evil fish and placing them into the fiery furnace where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The “kingdom of heaven is like,” is the salvation of different souls as accounted for by these parables of Jesus. The treasure buried in the ground is Israel. The pearl of great price is the bride of Christ, the gentile church. The only group of souls missing seems to be those saved by the “eternal gospel” during the great tribulation. These must be those gathered by men during the tribulation such as the 144,000 and the 2 witnesses. They didn’t come to Christ before the rapture but God thru His loving mercy still provided a way even during His judgment on earth. We see this as being the parable of the net. Our Father God is a God of mercy, AMEN!
The church at Laodicea is included with other survivors from the tribulation who heard the “eternal gospel,” having not believed before the rapture. Now they have heard and accepted the gospel message of the tribulation. They are the good fish separated into containers and saved!