Seven churches - Laodicea

“To the angel of
the church in
Laodicea write…”

The lukewarm church

The Letter to Laodicea
“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: „I know
your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or
hot. „So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you
out of My mouth. „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, 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.
„Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and
repent. „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. „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.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
(Revelation 3:14–22)

Interesting Fact…

Laodicea is the only church that receives no commendation
from Jesus. All this church gets is rebuke. Many believe
this church represents the modern day, Western church.

General Background on Laodicea
• Named for the wife of Syria‟s
Antiochus II, Laodice
• Means “justice of the people”
• Known for its banking, linen/wool
industry, as well as its pharmaceutical
skills
• Very well to do populous
• Tacitus wrote that, after an earthquake,
they were able to build themselves back
without Rome‟s help
• Paul evidently wrote a letter to the
church (cf. Col. 4:16)
• Now a deserted locale and called by the
Turks, “old castle”
• Famous for its worship of Zeus, whose
likeness was found on the city‟s coins

The Description of Christ
“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning
of the creation of God, says this" (Revelation 3:14)

Amen – “a strong affirmation of what is said; truly; let it be so”. Also in Hebrew
is „amen‟, which means „truth‟ or „surely‟. Jesus is the Amen because He is true
and certain. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes;
therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. " (2
Corinthians 1:20) . Paul means that all God's promises and covenants are
guaranteed and affirmed by the person and work of Christ.


Witness (Martyr) is someone that testifies in legal matters and one that
affirms or testifies. Jesus is both a faithful and trustworthy witness in
what He says and the judgments He makes.

Jesus is about to bring accusing testimony that contradicts what the
Laodicean church thinks about itself.


The word „beginning‟ is „arche‟, which is where we get the word for „architect‟.
Some cults teach that this verse says Jesus was the first creation of God,
however this is incorrect. Jesus is saying He is literally the origin or source of the
creation itself. The Greek term also means „one with whom a process begins‟.
This dovetails perfectly with John 1:3, which says: “All things came into being
through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into
being.”

The Condemnation
„I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish
that you were cold or hot. „So because you are lukewarm,
and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. "
• Deeds are an indicator of a person‟s
“temperature”
• “But because of your stubbornness and
unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for
yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, who will render to
each person according to his deeds: to those who
by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and
honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those
who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and
indignation. " (Romans 2:5–8)

“So then, you will know them by their fruits. “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. “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?‟
“And then I will declare to them, „I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness.‟ " (Matthew 7:20–
23)

“For men will be . . . holding to a form of godliness, although
they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. " (2
Timothy 3:2–5)

The Condemnation
„I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish
that you were cold or hot. „So because you are lukewarm,
and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. "

• Some have tried to say that the Laodicean church was an “in the
middle” type church – not fully unsaved or saved
• Why, however, wish that they were unsaved or cold?

The Condemnation
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you
were cold or hot. „So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold, I will spit you out of My mouth…”
• Laodicea was between Hierapolis and
Colossae.
• Hierapolis was known for its hot mineral
springs which produced healing properties
• Colossae had a rare cold stream whose
waters were very refreshing
• Laodicea built aqueducts to pipe both the
hot water from Hierapolis and cold water from
Colossae into the city
• However, the hot water cooled down and the
cold water warmed up; they both became
lukewarm
• The water contained sludge that made it
sickening to drink.

The Condemnation

• Christ is telling the Laodiceans they are just like their water;
they neither heal/comfort nor refresh and literally are of no
value; they make Him sick just as their water does them.

“The Laodicean church was a half-
hearted church. Perhaps none of
the seven letters is more
appropriate to the twentieth
century church than this. It
describes vividly the respectable,
sentimental, nominal, skin-deep
religiosity which is so wide spread
among us today. Our Christianity
is flabby and anemic, we appear to
have taken a lukewarm bath.“
- John Stott

The Warning to Us
• What about you?
• Do material possessions weaken our
zeal for us and blind us to our spiritual
reality
• Does you life provide help, comfort,
encouragement, or other such things to
others around you?
• Christ knows your deeds, which tell
what‟s in your heart
• Think about yourself and take an
honest inventory – are you lukewarm in
what you do and how you interact with
others?

“In the history of the church and in my
experience, no one has been harder to
reach for Christ than a false Christian.
Satisfied with the measure of his good
works, satisfied with his attitude toward
God and they sit in churches across
the world. It would be easier to win a
harlot, it would be easier to win a
criminal, it would be easier to win an
agnostic or an atheist, it's
easier...Jesus certainly said...to reach
the Publicans and the harlots than it is
the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
There's more hope for the salvation of
an atheist than a spoiled half-hearted
conceited hypocrite who thinks he
knows the truth and pretends to
accept it.”
- John MacArthur

The Second Condemnation
“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" (Revelation 3:17)

• Rich materially or spiritually?
• Some commentators say the latter
• However, the city itself was quite
wealthy because of its banking,
retail, and medicinal businesses
• It may be that the Laodiceans saw
their material blessings as
confirmation that they were in right
standing with God
• The old „health and wealth‟ gospel
is refuted very plainly here


• Wealth has a way of blinding a
person to their real need(s)
• Persecuted churches in the near
and far East actually pray for the
Western churches persecution
because they believe the West
has grown fat and complacent due
to the material prosperity it has
experiences

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich
man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to
himself, saying, „What shall I do, since I have no place to
store my crops?‟ “Then he said, „This is what I will do: I will
tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will
store all my grain and my goods. „And I will say to my soul,
“Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come;
take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ‟ “But God said to
him, „You fool! This very night your soul is required of you;
and now who will own what you have prepared?‟ “So is the
man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God.” " (Luke 12:16–21)


• Their wealth had dulled the people
in the church to the point where they
were clueless about their true
spiritual condition, which is what
matters most
• “For the heart of this people has
become dull, With their ears they
scarcely hear, And they have closed
their eyes" (Matthew 13:15)

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
Cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed
- Keith Green, excerpt from Asleep in the Light

Who wants to be…

Wretched – Miserable - Poor - Blind - Naked

• “Miserable” – eleeinos – “deserving of sympathy for one‟s
pathetic condition”
• They think they‟re rich, but they‟re poor; they think they can see,
but they‟re blind; they think their rich garments have them covered,
but they‟re exposed. They‟re spiritually bankrupt

The Counsel
“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. " (Revelation 3:18)

God‟s grace still reaches out to these people; it‟s not the end for them
yet.

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without
cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not
bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and
delight yourself in abundance. "
(Isaiah 55:1–2)

“Gold refined by fire…”

• Instead of their Laodicean banks,
they needed real gold
• What „gold‟ is Jesus referring to?
• “In this you greatly rejoice, even
though now for a little while, if
necessary, you have been distressed
by various trials, so that the proof of
your faith, being more precious than
gold which is perishable, even
though tested by fire, may be found
to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus
Christ" (1 Peter 1:6–7)

“But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron
furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as
today."
(Deuteronomy 4:20)

“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of
Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say to them,
„Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who
does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded
your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of
Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, „Listen to My voice, and
do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My
people, and I will be your God,‟ "
(Jeremiah 11:2–4)

“White Garments…”

• The Laodiceans prided themselves on the
sleek, black wool that made them famous
• “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul
will exult in my God; for He has clothed me
with garments of salvation, He has
wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a
garland, and as a bride adorns herself with
her jewels. " (Isaiah 61:10)
• “After these things I looked, and behold, a
great multitude which no one could count,
from every nation and all tribes and
peoples and tongues, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, and palm branches were in
their hands" (Revelation 7:9)

“shame of your nakedness will not be revealed …”

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife,
and clothed them. "
(Genesis 3:21)

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. " (Galatians 3:27)

“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. "
(Revelation 19:8)

“Eye Salve…”

• The Laodiceans were well known for the
school of medicine that offered a special salve
to heal common eye troubles of the Middle
East.
• “But get up and stand on your feet; for this
purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint
you a minister and a witness not only to the
things which you have seen, but also to the
things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you
from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles,
to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so
that they may turn from darkness to light and
from the dominion of Satan to God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those who have been
sanctified by faith in Me.‟ " (Acts 26:16–18)

“And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss
with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this,
said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you
not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? “Having eyes,
do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not
remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many
baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full
of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” And
He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” And they came to
Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to
touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the
village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked
him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see
them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes;
and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything
clearly. " (Mark 8:15–25)

The Command
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and
repent." (Revelation 3:19)

• Those not targeted for salvation don‟t receive discipline from God as
He is not their Father; a father only reproves his own children
• “For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the
son in whom he delights. " (Proverbs 3:12)
• “Zealous” is the condition desired by Jesus, not lukewarmness

The Promise
“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." (Revelation 3:20)

• The door is not the door of the human
heart as some commentators have said, but
rather the door of the Laodicean church
• The head of the church is waiting for His
servants to open the door to Him
• Eating with someone back in the first
century represented intimate fellowship
• The word “dine” refers to the evening
meal
• If they would open up to Him, they could
have fellowship before the night of
judgment fell

“Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the
wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him
when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those slaves whom the
master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he
will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will
come up and wait on them. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or
even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But be
sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the
thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken
into. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
that you do not expect.”
(Luke 12:36–40)

The Promise
“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." (Revelation 3:21)

• “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the
world.”(John 16:33)
• “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God? " (1 John 5:5)

“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, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power
toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the
strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised
Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put
all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things
to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. . . .
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that
in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
(Ephesians 1:18–23, 2:4-7)

The Repeated command to Hear
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.” (Revelation 3:22)

This phrase is repeated each time in Christ‟s
address to the seven churches of Revelation. In
the gospels (it is never used in John), it is
always used to highlight radical truths, great
principles, and promises.

Note that Jesus says it is the Spirit speaking
to the churches, even though He is the actual
one talking: “All Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness”
(2 Timothy 3:16)

“Let me just remind you of a perspective that may help you get
a grip on the nature of this letter. One of the most heart-
moving passages in Scripture is found in the tenth chapter of
Paul's letter to the Romans because it gets us in touch with
Paul's own heart. In Romans 10:1 it says, "Brethren, my
heart's desire and my prayer to God for them," that is for
Israel, "is for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they
have a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge. . . .
That great tragedy has a parallel today, another tragedy not
unlike that one exists. It is a story of an equal kind of tragedy.
It is a cause, I believe, for an equal kind of heartache, an equal
kind of concern and an equal kind of prayer. And it is the
lostness of the church...the lostness of the church. Today
within the church there is a lost population of people.
Religious, yes. Having in their hands the New Testament,
having in their hands all the information they need about the
New Covenant, holding in their hands in the very Scriptures
the truth about Christ, the saving truth about Christ, His
death, His resurrection. They have the understanding that
God has given in the Scripture of saving faith and
repentance. They have the truth about sin and eternal destiny.
Many of those churches have sincere people, very religious,
zealous people but they are doomed just as Israel was."
- John MacArthur

Ye call Me Master and obey Me not.
Ye call Me Light and see Me not.
Ye call Me Way and walk Me not.
Ye call Me Life and choose Me not.
Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not.
Ye call Me Fair and love Me not.
Ye call Me Rich and ask Me not.
Ye call Me Eternal and seek Me not.
Ye call Me Noble and serve Me not.
Ye call Me Gracious and trust Me not.
Ye call Me Might and honor Me not.
Ye call Me Just and fear Me not.
If I condemn you, blame Me not.
- Inscription on cathedral in Lubeck, Germany

Seven churches - Laodicea

Seven churches - Laodicea

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