Revelation Class #15

       We have finally come to the last church in the Book of Revelation. It is the church at Laodicea. It was the last city located on the big circular trade route on which the other six churches were located.

Jesus said to John: Revelation 3:14  And 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 would 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, (18) I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, 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.

       Jesus in this letter and in the letter to Philadelphia, departs a little from the basic structure of the letters in which He refers to Himself using symbolism from the vision that John saw in Chapter One. Here He says, “I am the Amen.” Amen means 'so be it' or 'truthfully.' In the King James Version of the Bible, when you see 'verily, verily I say unto you,' in the Greek and the underlying Hebrew/Aramaic, the words are 'amen, amen.' When we use 'amen' at the end of a prayer, we often think of it as meaning 'the end.' And if you ever go to a Black church down South or even out here in the West, you will hear the preacher shouting 'amen' over and over again. They use it for an 'I feel good' type of thing. In each of these cases, the word has lost its original meaning. What it really means is 'truly' or 'truthfully' or 'verily.' So remember that when you say “amen,” you are affirming that what is being said is true, or you are agreeing with what is being requested in prayer. In other words, you are saying “Amen to that!” That's what Jesus is doing when He calls Himself the 'Amen.' He is saying 'Truly, I am the truth and the way and the light. I am the Amen.' Jesus immediately follows that up with the faithful and true Witness. Here He's reinforcing this thought with its meaning. He is the “Amen,” the One who is perfect faithfulness and truth.

       He is also the Beginning of the creation of God. I've had many arguments about that one! What it means is that the Son of God was present at the beginning of time when God created the world. Now, when you talk to the Jehovah Witnesses, they'll tell you it means something different. They say it means He (Jesus) was the first thing created. They and other Unitarians misinterpret this verse in order to deny the deity of Jesus Christ. If He is created, then He certainly cannot be the Creator. What they fail to understand is that when you carefully examine the Greek, and when you look at all the testimony of the rest of Scripture, it becomes obvious that Jesus is not simply the first created thing, but He is the Almighty Creator, God Himself. In Colossians 1:15-17 we read "For by Him all things were created…all things have been created by Him and for Him." And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. All things have been created by Him - the Greek word is ‘dia’ – which means ‘agency.’ It was by His agency that all things were created. So remember this when the Jehovah Witnesses come to talk to you. It's not simply that He was the first thing created, but that He was there at the beginning, He was the Creator. John says the same thing in his Gospel: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3)

       (15) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. Now this doesn't mean a whole lot to us and therefore different people will interpret it different ways. As usual, it's important to note the historical situation, the actual geographical situation of Laodicea. The city was in a flat valley and about three miles away was a town that had a huge cliff. Up on the plane of this cliff was a mineral spring of steaming hot, mineral-laden water. This water spread out over the plane and cascaded over the cliff. Now when you cool mineral-laden water, it crystallizes. So what you could see from Laodicea 3 miles away, was this huge, white-encrusted cliff with this putrid water coming over the side of the cliff. On the other side of Laodicea there were mountains. Up in the mountains was a city of Colossae. Paul wrote a letter to them (Colossians), and mentions that he also wrote a letter to Laodicea (see Colossians 4:16). So they were very closely intertwined. There was a very clear, sweet, cold spring in Colossae, and what is more, there was an aqueduct of stone pipe that brought this wonderful water down to Laodicea.

       So there are two ways of looking at what is going on here. Jesus says you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot.  A lot of people interpret this to mean spiritually passionate. Should we be spiritually hot or spiritually cold? But why in the world would Jesus ever want us to be spiritually cold? Yet a lot of theologians think Jesus means that if we're going to be spiritual at all, we should be passionately spiritual. The New American Standard says (16) So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth. A lot of commentators look at the fact that this water was very putrid and very lukewarm. Can you imagine someone coming in from the long, dusty trail, seeing this water running down the cliff, running over to be refreshed, grabbing a handful of it, getting it into their mouth, and immediately spitting it out! Jesus doesn't mean a little spit, but forcefully ejecting, spewing, or vomiting it out!

       But what is going on? I think what Jesus is really saying here is not that these people's spiritual passion was hot or cold or lukewarm. But instead He had in mind the things they were doing and not doing. It wasn't so much their heart and their desires that were in view. Rather it was the fact that even though they were a church of God, they were not doing the things of the church of God.

       Jesus goes on to say (17) Because you say, "I am rich…" Laodicea was historically one of the richest of the seven cities. They were known for three things. This is what Mounce’s commentary has to say about the church at Laodicea:

“In Roman times Laodicea became the wealthiest city in Phrygia. The fertile ground of the Lycus valley provided good grazing for sheep. By careful breeding, a soft, glossy black wool had been produced which was much in demand and brought fame to the region (Strabo xii. 578). Among the various garments woven in Laodicea was a tunic called a trimita. So widely known was this tunic that at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 Laodicea was called Trimitaria (Ramsey, L7CA, p. 416). Agricultural and commercial prosperity brought banking industry to Laodicea. Cicero, the Roman statesman and philosopher of the last days of the Republic, wrote of cashing his treasury bills of exchange there…The most striking indication of the city’s wealth is that following the devastating earthquake of AD 60 the city was rebuilt without financial aid from Rome. Tacitus wrote, “Laodicea rose from the ruins by the strength of her own resources, with no help from us” (Ann. xiv. 27)” They didn't need government help because they were so wealthy.

Mounce also explains that they were also widely known for their medical school, which had been established in connection with a temple of a god. It was thirteen miles to the north and west of Laodicea. It had a couple famous teachers that we know of. They theorized in the medical school that since diseases were compound, you needed compound medicines to cure them. So they came up with several different compounds that came to be pretty famous. Two of the most famous were an ointment of spice nard for the ears, and an eye salve made from Phrygian powder mixed with oil.

So they were known for their wealth, their clothing and their medications. Notice what Jesus says: (17) Because you say, "I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," (they didn't need outside help to rebuild the city) and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, What Jesus is reminding them of is that they think they have everything they need. wealth, clothing, medication, a famous eyesalve. But really (18) I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.  It's not the material things that are important, it’s the things that come from God. Jesus says I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, Jesus is saying “buy what you need from Me.” Indeed, we need to remember that everything that is truly good comes from Jesus.

       We see again that this letter to the church at Laodicea would have been especially meaningful to them. They were famous for their wealth. They were famous for their clothing. They were famous for their medication, particularly their eyesalve. But Jesus says, “No, none of that is any good, unless it comes from Me.”

       Jesus says  (19) Those whom I love, (the Greek is literally 'as many as I love')  I reprove and discipline; Wait a minute! Jesus loves me! He's going to discipline me? What is discipline? The word means to teach (to be a disciple). But we usually think of discipline as a swat on the rear, in the sense of punishment. God does not wrathfully punish Christians, he lovingly disciplines them. Why does He not punish us? He does not do so because we've already been punished. All of our sins have already been punished. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1). God's wrath was turned away from Christians at the cross, and we've been adopted into His family as His children. Therefore He disciplines us, He trains and reproves us, but He does not punish us. Jesus says "As many as I love." Now does this mean that if you're not experiencing trials and tribulations right now, that Jesus doesn't love you? No, but if you never face trials and tribulations because of your Christianity, maybe you ought to rethink your relationship with Jesus Christ. Because if you're obedient as a Christian, there will be trials and tribulations. God is going to use those circumstances to teach you, to train you, to make you better able to serve Him. He says "As many as I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent." He is speaking to the church there and He is speaking to us. Remember all of these churches were faced with a particular problem. That problem was compromise. Jesus is saying, “No, repent, turn away from that; stand out as a Christian.”

       You've probably heard lots of sermons on verse 20. You've probably heard lots of evangelistic pleas based on verse 20. Jesus says (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. The plea is “Right now Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, knocking. All you have to do is open the door and let Him come in.” What's the problem here? Jesus isn't talking to unbelievers in this passage. Jesus is talking to Christians in the church at Laodicea.

If this passage were meant for unbelievers, it would be teaching a “works righteous or salvation”. It would be teaching that it's up to the unbeliever to open the door and let Jesus in. This would mean that the unbeliever must do something in order to achieve salvation.

        In fact, I understand there's a famous painting of Jesus standing at a door, knocking. But on His side of the door, something is missing – the doorknob. What does this say? Here's poor little Jesus out there in the cold, forlornly knocking at the door, hoping desperately that you will hear His knock and open the door. Who is in power? The man on whom Jesus is waiting is. I don't think that's very biblical. If God wants you, He walks up to the door and BOOM! He walks in and says, “Come here!” The way this verse is frequently used rips it out of its context. What we need to understand here is that Jesus is not talking to unbelievers, He's talking to Christians, to the church of Laodicea. He says (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock; note that He's referring to communion: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will [do what?] dine with him, and he with Me. Jesus is telling the church that they were lacking something. They needed Him! They needed His fellowship and to acknowledge their dependence upon Him. They were famous for being rich and self-sufficient. They had gold, beautiful clothing, great medications. Just like we have in America. But they had forgotten that in reality they were poor, naked and blind. They needed to recognize that everything they had came from and would continue to come from Jesus. That was Jesus’ message for the church at Laodicea, and that is His message for us. In fact, that's what joy is really all about. How joyful would I be if I had to run my own life? Have you ever tried to run your life? Were you very successful? Did you know what was going to happen when you walked around the corner? No.

       But that is how the universe is portrayed in movies and on television. People are portrayed as being successful running their own lives; up to a point. Then they discover they can't really be successful doing that.

       The world feeds us the lie of Satan that “you can do it yourself.” I used to believe that. I grew up believing that there was nothing that I couldn't do, given the right circumstances. I had the ability. I had the wherewithal. I had everything I needed to make myself successful, whether I wanted to be President of the United States or anything else. Boy, did I get a real shock! We're taught that by the movies, television, reading, and by example. Then when we meet with reality, there's no joy. Instead, there's a great deal of anxiety, frustration, and anger. That's what we need to understand about being a Christian. We need to understand that God is in control of all these events in which we are involved. Because He truly loves us, He is reproving us. He is training us. He is providing circumstances that will make us better. Isn't that a great reason to be joyful? Yes! “Amen!” Amen in the true sense of the word – verily, verily! That was Jesus’ message to the church at Laodicea and that is His message to the church today.

       Again Jesus says, (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. Where are we going to be in eternity? We are in Christ! I confess I can't really comprehend that. It's absolutely mind-boggling to think in terms of sitting on the throne of creation with God, to be part of the Godhead in some sense, to sit on the throne with Jesus. But Jesus says so: I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne” How then can any Christian be dejected? How then can any Christian in any eternal sense, have sorrow? Yes, in this life. We're all so self-focused and present-focused. But we need to be God-focused. We need to be future-focused. We need to see the world in terms of God's reality, not whatever the temporary, present situation is. If we had that kind of focus, we could be like Paul or David. We could be like all the saints throughout history who were God-focused. Yes, they struggled with day-to-day events. David went into the depths of depression over his sin and some of the events going on around him. All of the biblical characters did. But they were buoyant. Like a cork they bounced right back up to the surface. They all returned to the incredible realization that God was working in and through it all – past tense – and that all they had to do was remember His reality and the future eternity.

       What happens if I'm put through a trial that is absolutely devastating? If I drive home to my boat in Alameda, and as I come around the corner and look where my mast normally sticks up, all I see is the top of it just above the water. My home and all my belonging are underwater. Everything I own is lost. Then, as I slow down to turn into the parking lot, my engine goes boom! Smoke and flames pour out. Then my wife, Jan steps out of the car to see about it and a semi-truck comes flying by and flattens her. Why would God be allowing this to happen? To teach me to trust in Him. You see, no matter how difficult the circumstances are, what we've got to understand is that God is there and He's in control. He's limiting what Satan can do. He has a hedge around me. He has me cradled in the palm of His hand. Jesus is the One who overcame the worst possible circumstances at the cross and all I have to do to be an overcomer like Him is to trust in Him.

       When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was “God is My Co-Pilot.” I must have read it ten times. Although I wasn't a Christian at the time, when I think about it now, the title just isn't true. Is God ever a co-pilot? No way! I'm the one who's sitting in the back of the bus with my eyes blindfolded, my ears stopped, and my hands tied around my back! God is the Pilot; He's not my co-pilot. And we desperately need to get away from that kind of thinking.