Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church

Rev. 3:14-22 According to the tale composed by Hans Christian Anderson, there once lived an emperor who was very fond of new clothing. One day two swindlers came to his city and persuaded the emperor they were weavers of the highest caliber. Using the finest cloth with brilliant colors and patterns, their clothing was advertized as exceptionally beautiful. Yet their exquisite clothing line had the unique quality of being invisible to any person who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid. The emperor commissioned the weavers to make him a new suit. A short time passed and the emperor sent an old minister to check on the progress. Not wanting to appear unfit or stupid, the minister pretended to see and admire the clothing which wasn't there. Later, a courtier agreed the clothing was the finest they'd ever seen. At last the emperor wished to see it for himself. Unwilling to be unfit for office or stupid, he praised the work of the weavers. Finally the day for the procession arrived. Everyone in town talked about the precious cloth. As the emperor undressed, the swindlers pretended to put the new suit on him. The emperor admired his image in a full length mirror. He said, "How well they look! How well they fit! What a beautiful pattern! What fine colors! This is a magnificent suit of clothes!" As the emperor marched in the procession under a beautiful canopy, all who saw him in the street and out of windows exclaimed, "Indeed, the emperor's new clothes are incomparable! Nobody wished to let others know he saw nothing. "But he has nothing on at all, said a little child, at last." Though it seemed the child was right, the emperor determined to bear up to the end. And the chamberlains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist. Isn't that your worst nightmare come true? Few things are more humiliating than to be improperly dressed. Yet this final letter was written to a church that was lukewarm / selfdeceived / and naked in the sight of God. Using a variety of images drawn from their setting, Jesus exposed what was true about the actual condition of the church at Laodicea. The COMMISSION - vs. 14a - "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The city of Laodicea was founded between 261 and 246 B.C. by the Seleucid king Antiochus II of Syria. He named the city after his wife, Laodice whom he later divorced. The divorce settlement must not have set well with her because she poisoned him a short time later. As the first century rolled around, the city was very cosmopolitan in that it's population was made up of Greeks / Greek cultured Syrians and Romans / and a sizeable settlement of Jews. From Col. 4:12-13, it seems possible that Epaphras may have founded the church there. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. From Col. 2:1 it seems that Paul was especially burdened for this church. To the neighboring church of Colossae he wrote, I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.

Laodicea was a very wealthy city located at the intersection of three major trade routes. The city was known for the glossy black wool cloth and eye salve it manufactured. Due to its strategic trade-route location, Laodicea became a bustling center for commercial activities. Like New York City or Chicago, it was home to a number of wealthy bankers and financiers. These executives used their wealth to build theaters / a huge stadium / lavish public baths / and fabulous shopping centers. It was very "Laodicean" to take pride in one's wealth and self-sufficiency. That home-town-pride showed itself when Laodicea was leveled by an earthquake in AD 60. Rather than accept loans from the Roman Government, the city fathers rebuilt their city using funds from their own coffers. Valuing freedom and self-determination, they wanted no part of the strings so often attached to federal money. The CHARACTER - vs. 14b - These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. First, Jesus identified Himself as the Amen. The word Amen comes from a Greek root meaning to be firm / stable / sure / and trustworthy. Amen means, so be it. This name is applied twice to God in Isa. 65:16 - Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth... When trans-lated literally from Hebrew, the Lord is called the God of Amen. Amen emphasizes something that is valid / sure / and true. It also contains the idea of the final truth or the last word. When used of Christ, it means He is the end / the finality / and the certainty of all things. There are no substitutes / deletions / amendments / or additions with Jesus. Every promise He made is true and every woe He pronounced will come to pass. II Cor. 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Second, Jesus identifies Himself as the faithful and true witness. This defines what Amen means. As the faithful and true witness, Jesus represented God and the truth in a way that was precise and completely reliable. Jesus was faithful and true in everything He thought / said / and did. Everything about Him was open and above board. No episode of His life was inconsistent / out of character / or in need of airbrushing. Acts 10:38 simply says, ...He went around doing good... Why did Jesus do that? Because God is good, and Jesus is His faithful witness. A clue to the Laodicean condition is contained in this description of our Savior. While Jesus was God's faithful and true witness, the Laodiceans were not. Their lives did not represent or reflect the truth about God. Like the mirrors in a funhouse, the image of God they reflected, was distorted. Third, Jesus identified Himself as ruler of God's creation. Ruler comes from the word arche which can either mean source and origin or ruler. Here Jesus affirms that He existed before God's creation and is in fact the creator and sovereign ruler over it. This echoes John 1:2-4 which says, He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. Like many people today, the Laodiceans were all wrapped up with the things which belong to a world that's passing away and tagged for destruction. They loved and trusted perishable things instead of the eternal

God who made and sustains everything. Earlier in his first letter John warned his readers about the danger of misplaced love. I Jn. 2:15,17 - Do not love the world or anything in the world...The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. According to the prophetic significance of these seven letters, Laodicea represents the church on earth from about 1900 through the time of the Tribulation. The character of this period in history may suggest another reason why Jesus identified Himself as ruler of God's creation. Wasn't it precisely during this period that God was pronounced "dead" and evolutionary theory was foisted on society? With God removed and the processes of evolution enthroned, we've become a society where morality is subjective and every person feels at liberty to do what is right in his own eyes. In our godless arrogance we even think we can control the climate! But these letters say the Creator is coming! So in the opening verse, Jesus revealed Himself as the firm and final word / the reliable witness / and the ruler of God's creation. Like the other letters, the character of Christ should remind us of who Jesus is and who it is we trust / love / and serve. The CONDEMNATION - vs. 15-17 Despite all the home-town pride because of its prosperity and self-sufficiency, Laodicea had a major weakness. It had no fresh water supply. What it had was an overabundance of lukewarm water borrowed from neighboring cities. Six miles to the north, the city of Hierapolis enjoyed the therapeutic effect of hot springs like those at Yellowstone National Park. This hot water spilled over a mile long cliff that dropped 300 feet to the level of Laodicea. By the time the water got to Laodicea, it wasn't hot anymore. It was tepid and laced with minerals from calcium carbonate formations that covered the cliffs it flowed over. Ten miles to the east, Colossae enjoyed the refreshment of pure, cold water that bubbled up from artesian springs. But as this cold water was piped the ten miles to Laodicea, it was warmed beneath the scorching sun. Back in the days when our family did camping, I always seemed to pick a campground with bad water...water that smelled like rotten eggs. Campground brochures never seem to mention that detail. Even cherry Cool Aide couldn't overpower the minerals. Like those campgrounds, it was widely known that the water at Laodicea was lukewarm / laced with minerals / and suitable only as an emetic or means to induce vomiting. On the bright side, the market for Aquafina was enormous! vs. 15 - I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! In the original language, hot is zestos, a word which means boiling hot. Our understanding of what hot means is aided by the fact that zestos appears twice in Rom. 12:11 - Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. So, hot refers to spiritual fervor, zest, or zealousness for the things of Christ. It means to be excited and passionate about His kingdom.

If we follow the traditional interpretation of this verse, hot represents a positive spiritual condition and cold represents a negative condition. But there may be a better option. Notice that Jesus said, I wish you were either one or the other. If cold represents the opposite of hot or spiritual indifference, it's difficult to understand how Jesus would prefer someone to be spiritually cold. Are you with me? (In favor of the traditional interpretation, people with no religion are often more receptive to the Gospel than people deceived by their religious heritage. But this explanation is less than satisfying to some, myself included.) Given the geographical setting, with hot springs at Hierapolis and refreshing cold springs at Colossae, it's possible that both hot and cold are meant to represent positive conditions! Hot water was healing and therapeutic. Cold water was refreshing. Perhaps two ministries are in view. While water in both conditions is useful, lukewarm water has no value. So the fact that Jesus said, I wish you were either one or the other seems to make more sense if both conditions are taken as positive and beneficial. What is negative and useless is water in the middle temperature range...whether it's hot water that has cooled off or cold water that has heated up. Over the centuries, little has changed with regard to the temperature of our beverages. We like our coffee hot or we like it iced and cold. The waitstaff serving lukewarm coffee gets lots of complaints but not too many tips. But notice what Jesus said next in vs. 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. The word translated spit you out is emeo from which we get the English word emetic or a liquid used to induce vomiting. Like it or not, emeo means to vomit. The NIV has softened it for the squeemish, but spit isn't strong enough to describe the verb. The point is...those in this lukewarm condition were completely repulsive to Jesus. In his book entitled, Soul Food, G. D. Watson writes, "One of the worst features about lukewarmness is that it steals on the soul in such quiet, respectable ways. If the horrible thing had horns and hoofs, and a smack of criminality in it, it would alarm the soul; but, as a rule, lukewarmness of spirit is so decent and well behaved, that it chloroforms its victim and kills him without a scream of terror. This is what makes it so awfully fatal. While open sin slays in hundreds, nice respectable lukewarmness slays in tens of thousands." G. D. Watson, Soul Food Like the slowly rising temperatures that eventually boil the frog in the kettle, spiritual apathy and indifference doesn't happen overnight. Lukewarmness happens by degrees that often go unnoticed. But like information available at webMD and numbers on a thermometer, the symptoms of lukewarmness are no secret if we want to know the truth about our spiritual condition. If we honestly compare our lives with the teachings of God's Word, the Holy Spirit will help us measure and manage our own spiritual temperature. Paul encouraged his readers to do this on a regular basis. I Cor. 11:28 - A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. Again in II Cor. 13:5 - he wrote, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.

Not only was the church at Laodicea lukewarm, but they were tragically self-deceived. vs. 17 - 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. Like the emperor's new suit, they saw the issues of life and faith, only as they preferred to see them. A story is told about a young woman who came to see her pastor. She confessed to him, "Pastor, I'm having a terrible time paying attention to your sermons and engaging in worship as I should. From the moment I enter church to the moment I leave, my mind is occupied by the thought that I am surely the prettiest girl in this church. I can't think of anything else. How can I be rid of this prideful sin?" The pastor thought for a moment and then responded, "In your case, my dear, this is not necessarily a grievous sin, but a terrible miscalculation!" Like that young woman, the Laodiceans were self-deceived. In Christ's sight they were not what they thought they were. The One whose name is Amen couldn't say Amen! Like the attitude of many in Laodicea, the church members felt smug and completely self-sufficient. They had so much in terms of wealth and material things, they felt they didn't need anything...including God. But when the Great Physician examined them, He said, you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Let's unpack the meaning of these five descriptive terms: The meaning of the word wretched is not entirely clear, but it seems to mean that they were calloused and hardened to the truth. Pitiful describes a person who exists in such a miserable condition that he becomes an object of public sympathy. The real pity was that the Laodiceans were like a drunk in the cold. They couldn't feel their condition or the danger. Poor means beggarly. The word was used to describe the man who begged crumbs to fill his hunger or craving. Blind means lacking spiritual insight or discernment. Their spiritual sight was so bad, their whole body was full of darkness. Jesus spoke of this condition in Matt. 6:23 where He said, But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Naked meant to be totally without clothes or poorly dressed in rags.

The irony of it all is that Laodicea was wealthy / they manufactured and wore expensive clothing / they produced eye salve. Like churches we've visited in wealthy parts of our country, the church benefited greatly from the prosperity of their surroundings. There's nothing wrong with wealth if that's how God has blessed you. The test comes in what you love and what you do with it. I Tim. 6:10 says, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Yet the Laodiceans were deceived and snared by their own prosperity and the Lord could only describe them in miserable terms. According to the prophetic significance of the Laodicean church, it's not hard to identify or put a face on an entity that fits this description. Since its founding in 1948, the World

Council of Churches has grown to include 349 Christian churches or denominations in more than 110 countries with nearly 600 million members. The Geneva based WWC is the parent organization for the National Council of Churches founded in 1950 and headquartered in New York City. Without going into detail, you need to know a few things about them. While these ecumenical organizations still claim to be Christian, they turned away from Christian teachings long ago. They deny the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible / special creation / the virgin birth / the need for personal salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone / and the literal bodily resurrection of Christ. In recent years, the WCC and the NCC have sponsored joint conferences with Islamic groups in the interest of finding common ground. In a 1991 document and subsequent statements, the WCC informed its constituency that there is no such thing as the rapture, the Tribulation, the second coming of Christ, or the Millennium. They favor peace at any cost / they are: anti-Israel / pro-choice / affirm the gay lifestyle and same sex marriage / are purveyors of Liberation Theology. (By the way, that's the false gospel Jeremiah Wright preaches.) Because of their liberal leanings, the NCC has been knick-named, "The Church of Latter Day Leftists." Since the member churches can't sustain their spending, the Institute on Religion and Democracy reports, "Most of the secular groups that currently support the NCC share several characteristics: they are not affiliated with an NCC member communion, or any other church body Christian unity and common witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ do not appear to be among their principal aims. They have a much stronger interest in addressing social and political issues their positions on these issues...lean overwhelmingly to the left.

There's little doubt in my mind that many in the WCC member churches are unsaved and unlikely to hear the true Gospel. This organization may well be the forerunner to the Apostate World Church of Rev. 17 that reaches its zenith in the Tribulation. The WCC proudly believes they have programs which can bring peace and utopian conditions to earth. Without the power of the Gospel, Jude describes this crowd and their empty programs as clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. (vs.12b) Because they are unsaved, Jesus said they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked and desperately need to repent. But let's be careful not to pass the buck to a big organization and miss the personal application. You and I need to ask questions like: Do I provide spiritual refreshment to believers and unbelievers? Am I known for bringing others encouragement, joy, and hope? Do I bring healing by challenging the careless, correcting the erring, and rousing the indifferent? Remember, we can't help anybody if we're lukewarm. Whether hot or cold, the Lord wants us to be beneficial to His purposes. The COUNSEL - vs. 18,19 In these verses Jesus offers Himself as the solution to those in the Laodicean condition. First, He says, I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich. It may seem strange that Jesus would

say buy from me...What the Laodiceans needed, money can't buy! But if we compare Christ's counsel with Isa. 55:1, the meaning becomes apparent. There the Lord said, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. In this context as well as in Rev. 3:18, to buy means to obtain. The first item the Laodiceans needed to obtain is gold refined in the fire. From I Pet. 1:7 we learn that refined gold is a metaphor for faith that has been tested and proven. When heat is applied to gold, the impurities rise to the surface and the refiner then skims them off. Peter wrote, These (fiery trials) have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. The Laodiceans were a faithless, untested bunch who because of peace and affluence, trusted their own sufficiency instead of trusting God. Paul addressed this temptation in I Tim. 6:17 - Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Second, Jesus counseled them to obtain from Him...white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness. The wool cloth produced in Laodicea came from black sheep. Yet throughout the Bible, righteousness is symbolized by white clothing. So even though the Laodiceans were all decked out in the finest wool suits money could buy, they were naked and shameful in the Lord's sight. He instructed them to repent of their sins and be clothed in His holiness. Third, Jesus counseled them to obtain salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. The Laodiceans offered a natural remedy for eye problems. People came from miles away to obtain it. But here Jesus was talking about a supernatural salve. God's remedy for spiritual blindness is a ministry of His Spirit working through Christ's healing touch. Perhaps you remember the occasion when two blind men called out to Jesus asking for mercy. Matt. 20:34 says, Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him. And friends, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Whenever someone opens their heart to trust Christ, their blindness is healed and God's Spirit opens their eyes to the truth. To His disciples who believed Him, Jesus said, blessed are your eyes because they see... While vs.18 is directed toward the unsaved in this church, vs.19 is directed to those who were saved but misguided and far off base. Jesus said, Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Be earnest is a present imperative which refers to a continual state of being... stay earnest...stay fired up...don't allow yourself to be lukewarm! As we've said previously, to repent means to change your mind and behavior. The verb is an aorist imperative which means don't delay. Do it now! So, here Jesus urges these wayward believers to be earnest and repent in order to stop the discipline before it begins. Yet here Jesus warns that discipline will come to every Christian who slides into a lukewarm state. Heb. 12:6 - the Lord disciplines those he loves, and He punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

The CHALLENGE - vs. 20-22 - 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. This verse has often been used in connection with a salvation invitation and I think it's OK to use it that way. The guy who led Pastor Jerry to Christ used Rev. 3:20, and I'm reasonably sure it worked. It's not the words that save us...it's the faith...it's the heart attitude that God recognizes. But technically, we're not saved by asking Jesus to come into our life, we're saved by trusting that His death was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. In the context, Jesus is outside the doors of this Laodicean church. The latch is on the inside. He's knocking in hopes that this church which thinks they need nothing will awaken to their true condition and invite Him in. His desire is to fellowship with His people. Yet there's a forward and literal meaning because we someday we will dine with Jesus in the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly city. That's the connection with vs.21 - 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. As we've seen in the previous letters, this promise belongs to all who are born again...that's who overcomers are. I Jn. 5:4 - ...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. True wealth and the utopia the world dreams of come from only one source...they come from the One who is ruler of God's creation, the Lord Jesus Christ. We obtain them, as we put our faith in Him. Matt. 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Don't allow yourself to be deceived or to slouch into a spiritual condition where you are useless and distasteful to Christ and His purposes. Keep yourself aligned with the teachings of His Word. As we finish this part of our Revelation study, I've produced a summary of Christ's letters to the churches on the back of the sermon notes. The bottom line is repeated again in vs. 22 - "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Do you have ears to hear?