Laodicea: Revelation 3:14-18
Laodicea. What thoughts does this conjure up in your mind? It is a word that we like to throw around as a people. Whenever things are not as we feel they should be, we blame it on being the Laodicean Church, and possibly this is quite true. This morning I would like to spend some time looking at the historical Laodicean Church and see what lessons we can learn for today.
Revelation 3:14. Jesus introduces Himself to this church with three names, three titles shall we say: The Amen. What does Amen mean? It means, "Let it be so." "Let it be established. It’s kind of the stamp that says, "Certified, Done!" Christ says, I am the Amen! The message is coming from the One who is certified. And then He says this is a message coming from the faithful and the true witness. Why would He have to introduce Himself to this church as being the faithful and the true witness? Could it be that the message He has for this church is so radical, so shocking, so out of line with their perception that He has to remind them that this message comes from a Witness who is faithful and true, and therefore you’d better pay attention to it?
And then He adds one more emphasis. Not only does He say, "Do I have the last word? Not only is My witness faithful and true, but I am the Archaei, which can mean the chief or the beginning or the preeminent or the ruler. The Archaei, the ruler of God’s creation. Christ is the Creator Who rules over the Creation.
The message that he is about to give them is so unbelievable to them that they have to be told that it comes from the faithful and true Witness; it comes from the Ruler, the supreme Authority.
This message from the Supreme Authority of the Universe is a message we ought to pay attention to. This introduction is designed to capture their attention; to grab them by the shoulders, look them square in the eye and say, “Listen carefully to what I say, it is extremely important for your salvation.”
Rev 3:15-16. I want to look at Laodicea’s perception of itself. And then we’ll come back the lukewarm part. Revelation 3:17. Now why would a Laodicean say, "I am rich, I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing?" Why would the church say that? Laodicea is a very interesting city. It was founded couple hundred years before Christ, kind of as a little outpost to guard a crossroad of two major trade routes, so that trade could get through. If you control the crossroads, you control the trade. When Rome became the ruling power, and the famous Pax Romana was signed there was no threat of nations rising against this little city. Under this Roman peace, they flourished into a major financial centre, almost the Wall Street of their day. They had major banking, not unlike Swiss banking today. Laodicea was a major centre too; they were into currency exchange, banking and investments, what ever. As a result they were supremely rich.
They also had, of course, their garment industry, which was focused on black woollen garments. They also had their medical industry which involved eye powders, or salve, which was to help improve vision. Therefore, between the medical establishment, the fashion industry and the financial industry, these people were rolling in money.
What is of interest is that in AD 60 Laodicea was flattened; it was levelled by catastrophic earthquake. We have all seen images of what Earthquakes can do; what happens after a major earthquake? A TV appeal is launched to the public and the Government comes to the party and directs some aid money towards them. Laodicea gets flattened, and so the Emperor sent a delegation offering money to help them rebuild their city. They declined the Emperor’s money. They rebuilt their own city with their own money and they were still rich. This is a very self-reliant city. "You flatten us? We’ll pick ourselves up by our bootstraps. We don’t need your help. We help everybody else."
They were self-confident. They didn’t need anybody. "We can fix it ourselves." Now, when you are self-confident with regard to civic pride it’s good. But when pride and self-confidence comes into your spiritual life it’s bad. It was the nature of this city to be self-confident, "We can do it ourselves." These folks had a huge self-esteem issue. They had too much of it. Many psychologists would love Laodiceans, and compel us to be like them. They don’t see anything negative about themselves. "We’re rich, we’re increased with goods, and we need nothing. We don’t like to hear negative things in Laodicea. It undermines our self-worth, and our morale." Laodicea is this church who needs nothing. "Just tell us positive things, Pastor. We don’t want to hear negative things and hurt our self- esteem. We can serve God best when we feel good about ourselves."
There was this ad that was on one of those “Best Ads in the World” type shows; and this ad was made by the plastics industry. A little toddler is wandering around the house while his mother is talking on the phone. While she is oblivious to reality, he knocks a bottle of soft drink off the counter, and of course they had a close-up of it hitting the floor and not breaking because it was plastic. Then he knocks plates and dishes on the floor, but they don’t break because they’re plastic and not glass. Then he hits something and it doesn’t break because it’s plastic and not glass, etc. He’s destroying the house; then mum hangs up the phone and she picks him up with a big smile and says, "What’s my good little boy been doing." The issue is that she didn’t want to hurt his self-esteem. We’ve got a generation of young people who know they’ve been lied to, but they’re addicted to being told only good things, and we wonder why they’re so insecure. The truth will set you free. We know that we’re not one hundred percent good.
I think it’s better to be honest with our young people and give them a balance view of themselves than a sugar-coated view. The truth will set us free. But Laodicea wants the sugar-coated version. "We’re rich. We’re increased with goods." Just tell me how good I am, and only positive things.
The modern church is described this way in the book, Addicted to Recovery. In chapter nine it is commented that whilst the Christian world may fight for the Inerrancy of the Scripture, by and large the church does not allow itself to be shaped by it. The message that God sent Jesus to die in order to fill our empty love tanks, and thus make us feel better about our selves, is found nowhere in the Bible. Yet our bookstores bulge with this lie. That inerrant Word, which God gave us, tells us plainly that our most basic need is for peace with a just and holy Creator."
"Most of mankind has failed to accept that making peace with an omnipotent Creator is necessary at all. Much less have they recognized that to be their most basic need. The miserable church of the twentieth century tries hard to manufacture good feelings in its people. The church is failing to remind people that it is only when we take our rightful place before our Creator as a creature that we find any pleasure in life."
Laodicea is off the tracks. It suffers from false assurance. This is not a new issue. In the Old Testament we find a five hundred year time frame where false assurance was the curse of God’s people. Micah and Isaiah fought false assurance. "God will never bring destruction on Israel. His temple is here. We’re the covenant people. He’s just trying to scare us. He really won’t do anything." Isaiah preached to a similar thing. What do I hear? It’s negative stuff. Jeremiah had the same problem. Ezekiel had the same problem. Malachi had the same problem. Malachi 2:17.
The Jews of Christ’s day were sure they were God’s people. Without a doubt they thought they were right, but they crucified the Messiah. A Pharisees stands before the Lord and says, "Thank You Lord that I am not like others." Who was that went home justified? It was the one who said: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
John the Baptist came to that generation and spoke challenging words. Matthew 3:10. That was not the message they expected. They were looking for "peace, safety and to conquer the Romans."
According to the Scriptures the irony is that the church that is so confident in God’s unconditional loving acceptance is the church that is about to be spewed out of His mouth. That’s why He has to tell them it’s a message from the faithful and true Witness. We are so sure of our salvation we’ve become comfortable and blasé, which is what leads us to the real problem of Laodicea. Lukewarmness is only the symptom of the problem. Revelation 3:15-17. Ellen White recognised this as an issue when she said that there are "...not one in twenty...who knows experimental religion." - 1 T504.002.
The problem with Laodicea is not the "wretched, pitiful poor, blind, naked and lukewarm. The problem is they don’t know their condition. To put it another way, they don’t see what God sees and therefore they don’t understand their true condition. They think everything is wonderful. They’re basking in God’s blessing. "We have baptisms. Tithe is up. We have new ministries. God is blessing us. What do you mean, ’Something is wrong?’"
God comes with a shocking message that while they think they’re covered by Christ’s righteousness, they’re actually naked. While they think their spiritual vision is expanding and excellent, they’re blind. While they think they are basking in the blessings of God, they’re poor. The irony is that this church, who is so sure of their standing with God, is about to be vomited out because God is nauseated by those who think they see when they’re blind.
Jesus said to the Pharisees, "If you admitted that you were blind, I can handle that, but because you say you see, your sin remains." So, what’s this deal about the lukewarmness? Laodicea was the richest city of the region, a major economic power. But they had one fatal flaw: Water supply. They had found no permanent water supply within the walls of Laodicea. All of their water had to come from outside the city. Which means, without the Pax Romana they were vulnerable. If their water supply was cut off, they were finished. Their money would not help them. They were near a river, but thirty odd metres above it came Applisus’s hot springs, by the time it got to them it was lukewarm and they would pump some of that water up to a little water tower which gravity fed downhill into the city. But the main water supply... well they were suspicious of whatever might be dumped in the river, so, they went ten kilometres away to some hot springs and they built a shallowly buried clay pipe aqueduct and piped that spring water into the city underground. And again, after flowing ten kilometres, through a clay pipe, it was not hot anymore, it was lukewarm. So, all of their water sources were lukewarm.
Coming out of the hot spring, there was so much calcium carbonate in that water you could just about walk on it. It was hard water. If you have ever lived in an area with hard water, when you wash your white clothes, they come out looking like a pale grey. They don’t look white. Why do you think black clothes were so fashionable in Laodicea? You couldn’t get white laundry out of that water. It changed the whole fashion industry. Black was in. It didn’t show that dingy grey.
They didn’t have water-softeners in those days. All their water coming from outside was filled with these mineral deposits, which would deposit on the aquifer and if they did nothing, it would choke off the aquifer, the aqueduct. So they had to scrape that crust out the aqueduct so that the water would flow to the city.
The Laodicean church loves the prayer of Jabez: "Lord, bless me so I can be a blessing." But Laodicea needs to pray the prayer of Paul on the Damascus road: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" And they need to pray the prayer of Jesus: "Not My will, by Thy will be done." And they need to pray the prayer of David in Psalm 51: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
After such a rebuke, we have to wonder, "Can anything be hopeful about this church?" And, the answer is, "Yes." The reason that God brought such a stern message to Laodicea: it tells us that God believes that Laodicea can be redeemed. That’s the Good News of Laodicea.
Revelation 3:18-19. God has enough hope for Laodicea that He offers them counsel, but Laodicea doesn’t view love that way. Laodicea thinks everything is wonderful. Laodicea thinks love turns a blind eye to the problems; it only helps us feel good about ourselves. That’s why God comes to them and He says, "Those whom I love, I rebuke and I chasten" and it’s such a shocking message He has to remind them it’s coming from the faithful and a true Witness. He loves us so much that he will not allow us to settle for second best.
Laodicea was not the only one who struggled with a message that God disciplines those whom He loves. Come over to Hebrews 12:5-8. The Hebrew Christians who were thinking about giving up their faith in Jesus just because of persecution, Paul uses a similar argument. After reminding them that they have not yet resisted unto blood, they haven’t paid with their lives.
When we get disciplined by God, that’s good news because it means He is treating us as His own children. God still sees Laodicea as His children even though he is nauseous and about to spew them out of His mouth. He continues in Hebrews 12:9, If we want to share the holiness of God, we must submit to His discipline. Hebrews 12:11. Paul says that discipline produces something good, but when we go through it, it’s not fun. When we go through it, it’s painful. I am sure that you have heard the saying, "No pain, no gain." If we’re going to overcome the Laodicean spirit it is going to involve some kind of discipline and suffering, pure and simple. Laodicea doesn’t like pain and suffering. "We like it comfortable."
In Revelation 3:18, Jesus gives us three commands, the first says "Therefore I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich. Read 1 Peter 1:6-7. Peter compares our faith to gold that has to go through a fiery experience in order to purify it. Gold, to my knowledge, does not temper; it does not harden like steel. But, the heat helps purify the gold. It makes it moldable, and floats the dross up so it can be skimmed of and be pure. So, if we want pure gold, it’s got to be heated. It’s got to go through a fiery experience.
And He says to Laodicea, "You need a faith that has been tested in the fire." You see, Laodicea has never had to suffer for Jesus. They are like the seed in the parable that was planted in the stony ground, and it springs up with great rejoicing. They love Jesus; great greenery erupts out of the ground. But the roots haven’t gone deep. And when the fiery sun of persecution scorches the land, that greenery withers and dies because there’s not enough root. Laodicea needs to seek roots that will withstand the scorching heat of ridicule and persecution.
How do we do that? That means that we have to step out of our comfort zone now and take faith risks for Jesus. It means that we need to open our mouth and tell somebody about our faith in Jesus, and risk that they reject us or ask questions that we don’t have answers for.
The second thing He tells us is to buy...white garments to cover the shame of your nakedness." Now, Laodicea thinks they are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, but God says, "No, you’re not." That’s a dangerous position to be in; to think that all is well when it’s not. It is much better to be given a true picture of where things are really at, than to cruise through life thinking that everything is wonderful. What colour was the fashion in Laodicea? Black! Christ says, "No, you need white garments and you need to drill a well that will give you water that will give you white washes. Therefore, Laodicea must renounce this modern doctrine that man is inherently good and if we stroke the ego in the right way we can form it into a fashionable shape. We must replace it with the reminder that the human heart, my own heart, is deceitfully wicked above all things and that I need new birth daily. That everyday I must surrender my life to Christ.
This brings us to the eye salve, or the eye powder. This is designed to help people clear up their vision so they could see. What does God give us to help us see clearly? The Word of God; often we go to the Scriptures to see how it applies to their life, but we are blind to how it applies to ourselves. We know how it applies to our neighbour and to the pastor and to our fellow members and even to the church down the road, but when it comes to applying to us, we suddenly get this blind spot. What is it that penetrates blindness so we can see how the Word applies to me? It is the Holy Spirit. John 16:7,8. We don’t like to be convicted of sin. That’s bad for my self-esteem. God says, "It’s good for your spiritual life." He’ll convict the world of righteousness. He convicts us of right and wrong? He also convicts us of Judgment. What does it mean to be convicted of judgment? Is means that we will be personally accountable to God? Ecclesiastes 12:14. How many words do we give account for? Every word? I know I’ve said a few words that I don’t want to give account for. Probably you have, too. That’s what forgiveness is about.
It’s ironic that the church of the judgment, Laodicea, doesn’t want to hear about accountability, especially as accountability is a buzz word today. We cannot see accurately unless the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and of righteousness and of our accountability to God. Laodicea needs the Holy Spirit. By the way, the sign that the Holy Spirit is working is not sensing miracles and tongues, it is conviction and Laodicea needs conviction, to open our eyes. Not to see how it applies to our neighbours, but how it applies to me. Therefore the Lord says to them, be zealous and repent. God is not afraid of zeal. Don’t be shy about your faith. Be zealous and repent."
Repentance is a state of being. Jesus said in Luke 5:32, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Repentance is a way of life. It is a character trait of the saved. We need to have an attitude of submission to God’s evaluation. Instead of telling God how I think things are going, I need to let Him tell me my condition.
In conclusion let’s look at a couple of promises to Laodicea.
The first one is the appeal of Christ, Revelation 3:20, "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door,..." You see, Laodicea doesn’t see that Christ is on the outside. Christ is trying to get into His own church. Just like the water is outside, Christ is outside. And just as we need the wellspring inside, we need to let Christ inside. The good news is "If you’ll open the door, He will come in. He doesn’t care how messy the house is. He’s not there to see the house. He’s there to see you. Let’s open the door and let Him in and have the fellowship He wants to have with us.
"To him that overcomes." That’s good news, isn’t it. We don’t have to live in a gospel of defeat. Through Christ we can be more than conquerors. In Christ He can give us the strength to overcome our rebellion against Him and learn to submit our judgment to God’s.
I’m glad God says "To him who overcomes" because it gives me hope that I don’t have to be trapped in mediocrity. Let’s rejoice in the hope and not be ashamed of a message that calls us to overcome. Let’s not be victims of Satan. But let us revel in the challenge and in the strength of God. Let’s step out and stand up and be counted for Jesus. And when we do that, we can and we will overcome. As overcomers we can look with hope and anticipation for the soon return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus.
