Revelation 3:3:14-22 “And to the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write: These things says the Amen, the witness on whom you can rely and who is true, the moving cause of the creation of God. I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are tepid and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich and I have acquired riches, and I need nothing, and are quite unaware that it is you who are the wretched and the pitiable one, the poor and the blind and the naked one, I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined by fire that you may be rich, white raiment that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be openly displayed, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
I rebuke and discipline all those whom I love. Be eager, therefore, and repent. Behold, I am standing at the decor and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and will have my meal with him, and he with me. I will give to him who overcomes to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and took my seat with my Father in his throne. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.”
In real estate there is a saying, “LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!” If you were looking for a city with a prime location, Laodicea had it all! Laodicea was on the main road from Ephesus to Syria, and there were two other main roads that also led through Laodicea. As a consequence of its location, Laodicea was a banking and financial center with so much wealth that when it was destroyed by an earthquake, its citizens REFUSED help from Rome and rebuilt the city themselves! Near by, there was a very wealthy Jewish congregation who probably were involved in the banking industry. Laodicea was the center of a major clothing trade and its cloth was famous. And Laodicea had a huge medical center and a medical school. The medical center was particularly known for producing ointment for ears and for eyes. These ointments were exported throughout the world. Yes, Laodicea appeared to have it all! And yet, this is the only one of the seven churches for which Jesus has nothing good to say! Why?
“And to the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write: These things says the Amen, the witness on whom you can rely and who is true, the moving cause of the creation of God.” Jesus is reminding those in Laodicea who He is. “The Amen”: when “Amen” is written at the end of a prayer, it is used as an indication that this prayer is true and real. Jesus is about to reprimand the believers in Laodicea and He wants to make sure they are not going to try to argue their way out from under His criticisms. “the moving cause of the creation of God…” John 1:1-3 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus is the Living Word and the moving cause of the creation of God.
“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are tepid and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Above all else, those Laodiceans were sharp businessmen and women. If there was any money to be made, rest assured, they would take every opportunity. But along the line, they had had to compromise. And once compromise became a fixed habit, it became a way of life. It’s very likely that the church in Laodicea was beautiful and that its members were sleek and well – dressed and complacent, much like many churches today who spend their money on themselves in the name of evangelism. Nobody ever heard the Gospel because the pew cushions were softer or the singing band had fancier outfits; yet, many modern churches spend huge amounts of money on these things.
Barclay says, “The problem of modern evangelism is not hostility to Christianity; it would be better if it were so. The problem is that to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference. This indifference can be broken down only by the actual demonstration that Christianity is a power to make life strong and a grace to make life beautiful.”
Hot food can be very appealing, as can very cold food. But tepid food has little taste. Again, Barclay says, “The one impossible attitude to Christianity is neutrality. Jesus Christ works through men; and the man who remains completely detached in his attitude to him has by that very fact refused to undertake the work which is the divine purpose for him. The man who will not submit to Christ has necessarily resisted him.”
But Jesus is just really getting started. “Because you say, I am rich and I have acquired riches, and I need nothing, and are quite unaware that it is you who are the wretched and the pitiable one, the poor and the blind and the naked one, I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined by fire that you may be rich, white raiment that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be openly displayed, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.”
Remember, this is the town that refused a government hand – out because they were so rich and felt they could take care of themselves without any outside assistance. But Jesus is stripping away that illusion! Spiritually, the Laodiceans are wretched and pitiable! Remember the textile industry? That cloth that was so highly prized? From the standpoint of Jesus, the Laodiceans are stark naked without a single spiritual covering because they have persistently refused to follow Him. And these same people who are so proud of their eye salve that they are exporting all over the known world? They themselves are blind and need eyesalve that only Jesus can give! In a few pithy statements, Jesus totally vaporizes all the things that made the Laodiceans so proud of themselves.
“I rebuke and discipline all those whom I love. Be eager, therefore, and repent.”
Jesus is warning the Laodiceans that they must do a complete turn – around before it’s too late! The Risen and Glorified Lord of All Creation is pleading with these people! Yes, Jesus is saying harsh things, but these warnings are necessary. Nothing less is going to grab anyone’s attention. As it is, we have no idea how many in Laodicea actually heeded these warnings and repented.
“Behold, I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and will have my meal with him, and he with me.” This statement is in the continuous tense. That means that Jesus is continuing to stand at the door and continuing to knock. Even today, Jesus is still knocking on the door of hardened hearts!
In 1853 William Holman Hunt created a painting called “The Light of the World.”Based on these verses, the painting shows Jesus knocking on the door of a believer’s heart. There are two lights shown in the picture. The lantern is the light of conscience and the light around the head is the light of salvation with the door representing the human soul, which cannot be opened from the outside. There is no handle on the door, and the rusty nails and hinges overgrown with ivy denote that the door has never been opened and that the figure of Christ is asking for permission to enter. The bright light over the figure is the morning star, the dawn of the new day, and the autumn weeds and fallen fruit represent the autumn of life. The writing under the picture, which is rather hard to read, is taken from Revelation 3 ‘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.’
I will give to him who overcomes to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and took my seat with my Father in his throne. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.”
Is there hope for the Laodicean Church or those who are in similar situations? Yes! Absolutely! Jesus continues to call all those on earth to come to Him. But we humans are time limited and none of us knows the day when time will end for us and eternity will begin. Today is the only day we have! Don’t make the mistake made by the Laodiceans! Without Christ, all of us are poor, naked, wretched, miserable, and blind.
PRAYER: Father God, please, please, please cause everyone who reads this devotional to turn their hearts to You now, while they still can! Open blinded eyes, Lord! And speak to every heart! In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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