The Seven Churches-Laodicea
Introduction: (Full disclosure, this message is based on a sermon I preached at New Hope Baptist Church near Fulton, MO on November 30, 2025 but is not an exact transcription.)
This last church of the Seven Churches is both a reminder and a warning to all people. The images which the Lord uses to remind them of their condition were things they already knew. There’s also a verbal image of Jesus, standing and knocking at the door.
In terms of geography, Laodicea was close to Colossae and Hierapolis, all cities in modern day western Turkey (see https://biblehub.com/atlas/full/laodicea.htm). Paul mentioned these believers in Colossians 2 but no one is certain he was personally ever there. Someone had started the church there, and it was still going on even in Paul’s day. Something, though, had happened and now the church just wasn’t where or what it should be. May we as believers today never sink so low as these Laodiceans had done.
1 The Picture of Jesus
Text: Revelation 3:14, KJV: 14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
The Lord gives three different but complementary pictures of Himself in this verse. First, He says He is “the Amen”. Amen is originally a Hebrew word, carried over into the Greek (and in English, even today!) and it means “so be it” along with a few other definitions. Take a look online at https://biblehub.com/greek/281.htm to get more info plus a list of places where the word is used in the New Testament. Not only is our Lord Jesus the Alpha and Omega (the A to Z in Greek), He is the Amen or God’s “so be it” to believers.
He, Jesus, is also “the faithful and true witness”. Faithful means just that: after all, the Lord was always faithful to the Father’s Will. Paul had explained to Timothy that Jesus remains faithful even if we don’t because He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13). True also means exactly that, as well: Jesus had said “I am the Truth” in John 14:6 and He is just as faithful and true now as He ever was or ever will be.
And He closes the verse by saying, “I am the beginning of the creation of God.” As translated in the King James Version, the wording seems a bit ambiguous to me, but commentators like Dr. Ellicott note that the word “beginning” should be translated “the origination (see the online notes at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/revelation/3.htm)”. Paul had said much the same thing in Colossians 1:16 that Jesus created all things in heaven and earth, and John had written in John 1:3 that “all things were made by Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” To me this means Jesus was the One Who did the actual work of creation, and not that He had ever been created.
2 The Description of the Problem
Text, Revelation 3:15-17, KJV: 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
It’s almost heartbreaking that the Lord says only “I know thy works” yet does not mention what those works had done, if anything. Laodicea wasn’t too far from Sardis, where the Lord had sent them a message, “You have a name that you’re living, but you’re dead.” I’ve seen a few dead church buildings, one a former chapel near a now-closed military base, where lumber, maybe 2 by 4 inch studs were nailed in an “X” pattern over the entryway. No, Laodicea wasn’t dead, not yet, but their condition was almost as bad in the Lord’s eyes.
The problem was that the church in Laodicea wasn’t hot; yet they weren’t cold either. The Lord says their condition was “lukewarm”, best described as a tepid, room temperature kind of beverage. I’ve encountered this a time or two, leaving a glass of water (cold, when I got it from the tap) but after a while, you guessed it, it was that uncold/unhot blah-tasting water. Maybe I could have dropped in an ice cube, but not that day. I poured it out! Disgusting!
There’s another way to consider “lukewarm”. Maybe you’ve heard or read about a little girl who was heading to a friend’s birthday party. Her mother said, “Now, honey, make sure you behave and be good at the party!” before the girl left.
The daughter returned home and Mom asked, as the story goes, “Well, honey, how was the party? Were you good over there?” The little girl, honestly, said, “Well, mom, I wasn’t exactly good—but, don’t worry, I wasn’t bad either. I was just sort of comfy!”
This, in a nutshell, was the problem at Laodicea. Several commentators and Bible teachers explain that Laodicea was a very wealthy city at the time. They exported glossy black wool and marketed a product they called “eyesalve”. Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s “Thru the Bible’ commentary mentioned that “salve” was just mud but to paraphrase, that stuff sold like hotcakes.
Can we see where there might be a problem? And, to doubly press the point, the Lord said because they were lukewarm, He was going to “spue (them) out of His mouth.” In a word, they were making Him sick enough to make Him spit them out!
Again, I had a similar situation years ago. During military basic training, we were all issued plastic canteens and a cover for it. We’d fill up the canteens with water (which in our barracks never got much above lukewarm in the first place) and go through close order drill (marching, and the like). After some time in the summer sun, we’d gladly go back and choke down some of the water from our canteens. Now, I figured, we’ll drill some more but I sure didn’t want to have an empty canteen, especially in the summertime! So, I left a little water in the canteen for the next break, whenever that would be.
Big mistake. By the time the next break rolled around, the water in that canteen had gone from just about cold to absolutely nasty. I took one drink of, you guessed it, water that was lukewarm: not hot enough for coffee or tea, but not cold enough for cold water—I took one drink and literally spat it out on the ground. I’ve never had water that awful from that day to this!
And the Laodiceans would know exactly what the Lord meant by lukewarm, too. I’ve read that their water supply was basically brought in using aqueducts (they look like stone arch bridges but carry water—somehow—but don’t ask me how) from the source to the city. There was, and may still be, a hot-water spring a few miles away, and it’s anybody’s guess where they would find cold water, but by the time the water reached Laodicea itself, the hot and cold had both become room-temperature lukewarm. If the Lord was disgusted, it had to be bad water indeed.
Now let’s take another look at the basic problem these people were facing. The Lord listed several things that were wrong with this church. First, He said, “You’re saying you’re rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” This reminds me or takes me back to the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12. There, the rich man figured he had enough time to gather a great harvest, tear down his current barns then build larger ones, and then, basically retire for a life of ease. He thought he had years to live. The Lord said, “Your life is over tonight.” Could it be that they thought in Laodicea, prosperity meant everything? The Lord had told Smyrna they were poor—but they were rich. For Laodicea, the Lord told them, “You think you’re rich, but you’re a lot worse off than you realize.”
The Lord added more things. He said, “And you don’t know you’re wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” Each of these charges had to hit like a hammer when these saints heard these words from the Lord. For example, “wretched” means “beaten down by continued strain (see notes at https://biblehub.com/greek/5005.htm)” I also found that the only other time in the New Testament anyone or anything else was called “wretched” is in Romans 7 where Paul called himself “wretched man that I am!”
“Miserable” could also be translated “most to be pitied” per https://biblehub.com/greek/1652.htm. Paul had used this word, again only twice in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 15:19 to show that if Christ had never been raised from the dead, then we who believed it were “. . .of all men most miserable”.
We’ve seen the word “poor” before, as one of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). Jesus started off with “blessed are the poor in spirit”, the same word for poor used here as there. It refers to someone utterly helpless, unable to support himself or herself (https://biblehub.com/greek/4434.htm). “Blind” means exactly that, unable to see, just like the blind whom Jesus healed.
“Naked” could mean either literally unclothed, or it could mean not having the appropriate outer garments. Most people in those days wore a kind of tunic or very long T-shirt or tank top kind of inner garment, next to the skin and often made of linen. The outer garment was usually a woolen robe used for protection and as a cover when one went to sleep. I’m allergic to wool, or at least used to be, so that makes me glad I didn’t live back then!
All of these things mentioned are different aspects of the problem, or we could say puzzle pieces. The most serious thing of all in Laodicea is that lukewarm, tepid, maybe “going through the motions” while, incredibly, they weren’t even aware of anything wrong! A friend of mine once pastured a small rural church and once asked a deacon or one of the other members to contact a visitor. This was because his job required him to do a lot of traveling. According to him, the other member asked, “Why should I do this?” If that isn’t a picture of a Laodicea congregation, then what else could it possibly be?
But the Lord hadn’t yet given up on them. He’s going to tell them what they need to do.
3 The Remedy for the Problem
Text, Revelation 3:18-19, KJV: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Now we can see how the Lord gives a remedy to each part of the problem in the Laodicean church. Oddly enough, to me, He tells them to buy gold, but not just any gold: He wanted them to purchase “gold tried in the fire” so that they would really be rich. I haven’t mentioned any of the sources of wealth, but even though the people of Laodicea may have had money in the bank, so to speak, they were dirt poor as far as the Lord was concerned. He even tells them to buy this type of gold directly from Him, so that they would be truly rich. We can count on the Lord to be an honest merchant: has anyone been cheated when they deal with Him?
Next, He tells them how to avoid the problem of being naked: purchase white raiment! White is the symbol of purity and, may we never forget, those of us who return with the Lord to this earth as recorded in Revelation 19 will be dressed in “fine linen, white and clean.” This could also be a rebuke to the saints in Laodicea who might have preferred garments of black wool from the black sheep raised nearby. The Lord will provide what He specifies.
Then He closes with a word of advice, which, again, these folks may have already known. Laodicea was known for its own brand of eyesalve, but now the Lord is telling them to use His brand so that their eyes could see. It’s bad enough to have less than perfect vision (believe me, my eyeglass prescriptions seem to get stronger with every eye exam!) but to be blind spiritually is one of the worst things to ever happen to anyone. The last few verses of John chapter 9 have the words of Jesus to religious leaders who weren’t happy when Jesus healed the man born blind.
The Lord closes this prescription with a word of encouragement, and yet warning: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (and He had been doing so in this letter) so (implied) be zealous therefore and repent.” We don’t catch the strength or intensity in our English translations, but in the original the Lord is saying, “As many as I love, I continually rebuke and continually disciplne. Keep on being zealous (“boiling”, as some render the word) and begin to repent or, “repent at once”. He’s once again telling it like it is, not lukewarm as these Laodiceans were, but very warm. He also noted the fact that these saints had not repented; if they had, they wouldn’t be in that lukewarm, disgusting to the Lord condition they were in at the time.
And as with all the other churches, the Lord gives a promise and an invitation in the last few verses of this message.
4 The Invitation and Promise
Text, Revelation 3:20-22, KJV: 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Here is a beautiful, and yet definitely sad, invitation. Remember, the Lord is speaking to the church in Laodicea, to saints who had trusted Him for salvation, but apparently weren’t very anxious to have much of anything to do with Him. The picture is of Jesus standing at the door, and as a preacher once observed, He—Jesus—has been standing (for a while, implied) but He is still knocking. The very Lord Who had given His life to save their souls was left outside while they went on their merry way.
But let’s not stop there. First, anyone—you, me, literally anybody—can open the door and have instant, forever, fellowship with the Lord Himself! Salvation, friendship, His presence with us always, it’s almost too good to be true, but it IS true! And did we catch the second part of this invitation? If anyone opens the door, Jesus will come and “sup with him and he with Me”. This reminds me of Luke 24, when the two disciples walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. As they walked, Jesus came alongside, walking and talking with them. They all arrived at the house and they asked Jesus to have the evening meal with them. To their surprise, He became the Host and shared the meal with them!
All this and more is available for the asking. But there is something very important to consider.
We notice that Jesus isn’t demanding entry into any human entity. He’s desiring to have fellowship with His own followers, even those who have shut Him out and left Him outside, to knock and ask if anyone will open the door to Him.
A couple of final thoughts. First, this invitation is primarily addressed to believers. Sadly, some, maybe more than we think, have left the Lord outside when He so wants to spend time with us. Sure, He won’t come down to us physically, but we can still enjoy His presence through reading the Word, spending time in prayer, and just being aware that He is with us, always, “even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20, KJV)”
Should anyone read this message and not yet be a believer in the free gift of salvation, may I encourage you to open the door to your heart, too? There was a story of a man who became a follower of Jesus because, he said, Jesus was polite enough to not demand entry into anyone’s heart. Friend, the Lord is standing near you, close enough to reach you. But the handle to the door is on the inside. The Lord will never stay where He is not wanted.
Don’t let Him go away. Believe on Him and know your sins are forgiven, then enjoy the fellowship with Jesus that He’s already promised You’ll never be sorry if you do!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
