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The Seven Churches of Revelation Lesson 7
Revelation 3:14-22 – The Church of the Laodiceans
(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)
Introduction
Laodicea was situated in the valley of Lycus, near Colosse and Hierapolis. The church was probably founded by Epaphras, a companion of Paul. All three of these churches are named by Paul in the letter to the Colossians, and an epistle, now probably lost, was sent to Laodicea.
Colossians 4:12-16 records the following. “Epaphras, who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. (13) For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. (14) Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and Demas does also. (15) Greet the brothers and sisters who are in Laodicea and also Nymphas and the church that is in his house. (16) When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.
Paul references the letter that he wrote while in Laodicea. I can’t help but wonder if the issues that Jesus addressed with the church at Laodicea were similar to what Paul addressed in his letter and it fell on deaf ears.
Laodicea was located about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia (not Philadelphia, PA :-) ) and about 40 miles east of Ephesus, churches we looked at in earlier lessons. Laodicea was a wealthy city. It had thriving banks, a textile industry, and a medical school. The city was also known for its sparse water supply. Although it was the largest and richest city in the region, it had neither hot nor cold running water. Now keep this in mind because Jesus will use it as an analogy in his message to them. When the city was destroyed in AD61, the Laodiceans refused Rome’s offer to help them rebuild the city. Instead, they decided to rebuild it themselves, which meant they also had to solve their water problems.
There were hot springs in Hierapolis, one of the neighboring cities. People would travel great distances to bathe in those waters, believing they had medicinal powers. Here in the United States, there is a city that is known for the same thing. You may have heard of it – Hot Springs, AR. The city has naturally heated springs and many of them are located in Hot Springs National Park, where you will find Bathhouse Row, which has eight bathhouses that were built in the 19th and 20th centuries. If you remember your history, Hot Springs and Warm Springs, CA were two of the cities where President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, spent a great deal of time. Colosse, another neighboring city, was known for its cold waters. People would travel great distances to vacation in Colosse, where they would invigorate themselves by taking frequent dips into the famous, refreshing, and cool-to-freezing waters.
These two cities, while not as prosperous, had something the Laodiceans needed badly – water. The Laodiceans agreed with Hierapolis to obtain water from them. Archaeology shows that Laodicea had an aqueduct system that carried water from the hot mineral springs to them from about five miles away. Now I want you to think about what happened to the temperature of the water from the time it left its source to the time it arrived at its destination. Can you say “lukewarm”? Ladies and gentlemen, what we are going to see in this lesson is, by far, the harshest message that Jesus had for any of the seven churches. But it’s one that we need to hear, that we need to learn, and that we need to put into practice. Rodney, I know you will begin our study but do you want to add anything to my introductory comments?
Thanks, Barry. I want to also stress the need to listen to and understand what Jesus said about this Church being lukewarm. This was truly not a compliment in any way – again, they were the only Church not recognized for doing anything good!
Verses 14-17
Let’s begin reading at verse fourteen. It says, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: (15) ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. (16) So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”
In these four verses, I want you to see right off that, as Barry and I said in the introduction, the church of Laodicea was the only church that was not commended for anything – the only one! They were not commended for one solidary thing! Imagine this. When you look at this Church from the outside, you would believe that Jesus is blessing them and that their prosperity and influence are because of Him. It was a Church of financial influence. It was a Church that didn’t need anything. But it was also a Church that didn’t have Jesus and that’s why they were not being commended for anything – not even for their financial well-being! They were a prosperous Church and, in their minds, they needed nothing.
However, Jesus was not happy with them. He was so displeased with them that He said that He would spit them out of His mouth because they were neither hot nor cold (fully committed to their purpose in Him). What was their problem? They were lukewarm. Before I go further, I want to share what the prophet Isaiah said that will give us a good description of a lukewarm Christian. He wrote, “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.” (Isaiah 29:13)
This is a good description that I want you to keep in mind as we discuss this Church, especially where the Lord says, “but they remove their hearts far from Me…” Also, the book of Titus records the following which I think is appropriate: “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (16) They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (Titus 1:15-16) Titus’ description is also a good view of a lukewarm Christian and further shows why Jesus would be so displeased with them. He said they professed to know God but their deeds, their actions, deny Him. This is the church of the Laodiceans!
Rodney, what we have seen repeatedly in these lessons, and what bothered Jesus, were the choices the Churches made, and this passage from Isaiah, “they removed their hearts” speaks clearly of this important truth: Jesus never leaves us. We leave Him.
Barry, you are absolutely correct. Jesus never leaves us – we choose to leave Him when following Him gets too difficult “in our minds.” In verses 15 & 16, Jesus says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. (16) So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” Jesus said that He knew their deeds and their deeds did not measure up – they were unsatisfactory. Remember what Jesus said about people whose deeds did not measure up? He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (22) Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23) This is what Jesus was saying was on the line for this Church if they did not repent and make a change.
Again, the problem with this Church is that they were lukewarm! This specific message that Jesus spoke to this Church would have easily been understood by this Church because of where this Church was located as you heard in Barry’s introduction. It is important to understand that the traditional view of this text has held that hot was good and cold was bad. However, I don’t believe that how these words are used in this context supports this interpretation. When Jesus said, “I would that you were cold or hot” He confirmed that neither “hot” nor “cold” water was bad as both were useful. However, lukewarm water was not useful.
Here is the point we need to see. It is about purpose and this Church, for all of its financial “success”, was not meeting its purpose. If something is supposed to be cold, it should be cold. Likewise, if something is supposed to be hot, it should be hot. Remember what Barry said about the city of Laodicea and how they had to import their water? By the time the hot waters from Hierapolis arrived in the city, it would have been lukewarm at best when they wanted it hot. Likewise, by the time the cold water from Colosse arrived in the city it would also be lukewarm. In both cases, the water they were importing was not arriving in the same condition as they had desired when they contracted for it. It was never received hot or cold which they preferred and desired.
Now, regardless of whether it’s supposed to be hot or cold, if something is not close to its source (whatever it is that’s keeping it hot or cold), it will become lukewarm. If you take a cold cup of water and a hot cup of tea and set them side by side in a room, within an hour both will reach the same temperature. Both, having been removed from their source of cold or heat, are now affected by the temperature of the room. The room temperature overrides the cold and the heat of both cups if they remain removed from their source long enough.
Are you starting to see the problem with this Church and with how this passage has been misinterpreted? The church of Laodicea was called out because they were lukewarm – they had drifted away spiritually from the source that supplied and kept them in the condition they needed to be useful. They were neither hot nor cold; they were lukewarm. They were financially successful and they continued to do all of the religious things related to Church operation and function, but there was no fire burning in their hearts for the things of God. They had drifted away from their source.
Let me describe for you what Jesus meant when He said, “….because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” If you were working outside and were looking forward to a nice cold glass of lemonade when you came inside, what temperature would you expect it to be when you turned the glass up to sip it? You would expect it to be cold. What would you do if you were expecting cold lemonade and you drank lukewarm lemonade? Chances are you would frown and possibly spit it out. The same is probably true if you are a hot coffee drinker. On a cold frosty morning, you bring your coffee cup to your lips to have a warm sip only to find that the coffee is cold. Would you drink it? I would spit it out as I hate cold coffee. My point is this: if it is supposed to be cold, it should be cold. If it’s supposed to be hot, it should be hot. Whichever it is, it should serve its purpose. This Church was not serving its purpose – it had shifted away from its source.
As you were talking, what Jesus said to the Church at Ephesus came to mind. In Revelation 2:4, He said “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” It’s probably safe to say that with every Church, except for Smyrna and Philadelphia, the REAL issue was they were no longer following Jesus.
In verse 17 Jesus said, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” It appears that Jesus was very frustrated with this Church. He was angry. They had so many resources available to them and yet they were not using any of them with a meaningful purpose for Him. In this verse, we find that this Church was not a poor Church by any stretch of the imagination. Based on what we see in the text, it was their wealth and success that made them lukewarm. Their being lukewarm was based on “how” they did things in their service to God, not what they did. Jesus told them that He knew their deeds and that what they were doing was neither cold nor hot. They were doing some “works” but what they were doing was not satisfactory to Jesus. There was no life behind what they were doing – they were checking a box. They knew themselves to be rich, but Jesus said they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Barry, why don’t you take it from here?
Verses 18-22
“I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore 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 will dine with him, and he with Me. (21) He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame 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.” (Revelation 3:18-22)
“I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
Jesus says, “I advise you …” When He uses this word He is saying “I am giving you the best advice and counsel I can possibly give to you and you need to listen to Me.” Jesus says “I advise you to buy from Me…” The word “buy” can also be understood as “redeem”. Now I want us to think about something. If Jesus has already paid the price for everything we could need in this life, what do we buy? As the redeemed, we “buy from Me (Jesus) gold refined by fire …”
What is the gold refined in the fire? We get a clue in First Peter 1:7. “So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” We get another clue in Proverbs 23:23 which says, “Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.”
Jesus is telling the Laodiceans, and us, that we need His truth in our lives and we must be willing to pay whatever the cost to “buy it”. The gold represents true faith. Notice that Jesus says “buy from Me gold.” In other words, the gold, the truth that Jesus is talking about, can only be received from Him. And this is an indictment against Laodicea. They believed that they were rich, not only physically, but spiritually, and didn’t need gold (truth). And we see this so much today.
Barry, not only that, but this is why Jesus said “……Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (24) Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24) Jesus did not say it was impossible because all things are possible with God, but He said it would be difficult because riches tend to change the heart so the rich man must be careful about where he places his faith.
Rodney, I agree. What is interesting is that people who have material things often believe they have them because Jesus has blessed them with them. Well, how do we know Jesus has not blessed them with it? You will be able to rightly discern whether or not what they have is from Jesus by how they choose to use it. Now let me ask a question: How do we buy gold or truth, from Jesus? There is only one way. We buy it with the amount of time that we willingly give to Him. We buy gold when we spend time with Him in prayer. We buy gold when we spend time with Him reading His Word. We buy gold when we spend time with Him in praise and worship. Our time is the currency that buys everything Jesus has for us.
Let’s continue. What we are about to read can only be received after we buy the gold that Jesus has available for us. “… so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” The richness that Jesus is talking about is not related to money, but to the richness of the truth that we are walking in – that we have implanted inside of us.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you don’t get anything else from this portion of the lesson, please get this: for Jesus, riches never refer to money. Riches are His truth living in our lives. The white garments represent “righteousness” and we see this in Revelation 19:8. “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Jesus also tells them to buy from Him “eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” Why? In terms of living by truth and righteousness, the Laodiceans were blind. They were blind to their status with Christ and to His views of them.
At the time John wrote this, this would have been understood as a reference to a compound substance believed to have healing qualities being placed on sore or weak eyes. What are we to anoint our eyes with? Psalm 19:8 says “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Ephesians 1:18 says “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” The eye salve, for us, is the enlightenment we receive when we “buy from Jesus” the truth of His Word.
Now let’s look at verses 19 and 20 together. “(19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore 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 will dine with him, and he with Me.” How does Jesus reprove and discipline us? He doesn’t do it by causing us harm or allowing bad things to happen to us. He does it through His Word and we see this in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; (17) so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” And in Hebrews 12:10 we read, “For they (our earthly fathers) disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He (our Heavenly Father) disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” Because He reproves and disciplines us with His Word, Jesus tells the Laodiceans to stop being lukewarm about Him and for Him. He says “Repent and accept the rebuke and the discipline and become zealous for Me again.”
Now verse 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 will dine with him, and He with Me.” How many times have we heard this verse preached as Jesus knocking on the door of the sinner’s heart for Him to come in to be their Lord and Savior? Yes, Jesus does do that. But that is not what is happening in this passage. Remember ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to studying God’s Word, context is everything. Jesus was reaching out to the Laodiceans in the same way He’s reaching out to many in the Church today! The Christians at Laodicea had become lukewarm towards Him. They had closed the doors of their hearts to Him. But He continued to knock. He continued to speak hoping they would hear Him and open the doors of their hearts to Him again and He’s doing the same thing today. Church, if this is you, if you are lukewarm in your relationship with Jesus, you need to repent now! And when you do, you will open the door for Jesus to once again come into your life and together you will feast at His table!
We’re going to wrap up this lesson with verses 21 and 22. “(21) He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame 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.” What is it that Jesus is telling the Laodiceans, and us, to overcome in order to sit with Him? He’s telling us we need to overcome our lukewarm attitudes concerning Him and His gold, His truth. I am going to close with some possible reasons as to why the church then and the church now are lukewarm.
Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is one who keeps the Law.” When we don’t understand why we’re here, when we don’t understand our mission, which is to seek and save the lost as Jesus says in Luke 19:10, then we will be lukewarm.
Hosea 4:6a – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The word “destroyed” means “silent, dumb.” In what way? We are silent and dumb to the results that God’s Word can produce in our lives when we know it and believe it. This is harsh ladies and gentlemen.
Proverbs 13:13 – “One who despises the word will do badly, but one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” The doing “badly” is defined by the second part of this verse – the person is not concerned about whether or not he is living according to God’s Word.
Psalm 11:3 – “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” Ladies and gentlemen, please let this verse sink in. We are seeing Christians yielding and, in many instances, supporting societal and cultural values that are opposed to traditional Christian values.
Isaiah 9:16 – “For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are confused.” This verse, first and foremost, is directed towards those of us who guide and teach. It’s talking to me. It’s talking to Rodney. It’s a grave responsibility that carries eternal consequences.
Ladies and gentlemen, living a lukewarm life is a choice, but it is a choice that Jesus hates and those who continue to live this way and never repent are in danger of losing their salvation. And thus, this last “ears to ear,” is a warning that will come to pass if the person doesn’t respond by “hearing what Jesus has said.” Rodney, just thinking about the need for Jesus to knock on the hearts of lukewarm Christians saddens me more than words can say. It’s His last-ditch attempt at trying to keep us from spending an eternity in the lake of fire.
Summary & Prayer
If we are doing things for the Lord but our attitude is one of doing it because we are supposed to do it, because it’s our job, our relationship with Jesus has become lukewarm. However, if we keep our focus on Christ and remain sealed in Him, that will not happen to us. The impact of the world, because we are sealed in Him, will not draw us away from Him. Consider what Paul stresses in these two verses: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians 1:13) Also note 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 which states “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” We have been sealed so we are always able to fulfill our purpose when we choose to do so.
Barry and I hope that this series on the seven Churches of Revelation has been a blessing and an encouragement to you and raised your understanding of what Jesus expects from His Church and those things that He finds offensive. And, it is our prayer that these lessons were only a starting point for you to dive deeper into the first three chapters of the book of Revelation and allow Jesus to speak to your hearts.
God bless.
Let’s pray.
