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The Church of Laodicea
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nd 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; 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: 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. 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. (Rev 3:14-22)
With
this devotion, we complete the beginning series on Revelation with the last of
the seven churches. There have been numerous attempts to depict these churches
as representing different ages of the Church; however, an honest and solemn
examination of each will reveal characteristic common to the geographic
churches mentioned, as well as representing one or more common characteristics
of churches of our day. When God exposes the sins of King David, it is not only
his sin that is revealed, but ours as well since God’s whole Word is a mirror
on the souls of men and women,. The same is true of the churches described in
Revelation.
The
Church at Laodicea was hot on the issues of social propriety, but only room
temperature when it came to the issues of greater gravity such as reverence and
obedience to the Word of God. This does, indeed, describe perfectly the
condition of most of our modern churches; but, I remind you, it has been a
besetting problem for churches of all ages. The edifice, the ornamentation, the
public image, the sophistication of the members invited, and considerations of
finances today far outweigh the diligent study, and obedience, to Holy
Scripture. Men love short sermons and long entertainments at service. They
cajole the wealthy members of society to enter on the rolls, and are
indifferent to the common man whose soul is every whit the worth of the man or
woman of worldly wealth and prestige.
Laodicea
was the worst of the line of Seven Churches. The fact that it is last of all
mentioned is coincidental, but not completely, to the very similar marks the
modern church bears to it in my view; however, it seems legitimate to compare
the modern church in its luke-warm ministry to every weakness of the Church at
Laodicea. When we view the depravity that characterizes most of the bigger
church family, is it any wonder that our Lord asked, Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8
(KJV)
The
Book of Revelation ends with these faithful words. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev 22:21) He is the End and Finisher of all things; but He
is also the Beginning of all Creation. In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth. Gen 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him
was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
So, now our Lord opens His greeting to this
Church with these words, These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God.
I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. If the Lord knows the works, and inner
secrets, of the Churches and of nations, how do you suppose He could not know
your very thoughts at this moment, and every moment? It is better to be cold
dead and lost than to be a marginal believer who professes faith with the
mouth, but lives a life that is not differentiated from that of the world and
her carnal desires. The pews are more commonly occupied with such marginal
professors than with those of deep and living faith. Unfortunately, so are the
pulpits. The Judgment will be far more severe for nations (and churches) who have known the blessings of the Lord, and
forgotten, than those who never knew the Lord. America, Beware!
So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out
of my mouth. The Lord castigated the false ministers of the Jewish people –
Scribes, Pharisees, and priestly rulers – for their falsely professing the
faith of Abraham as their father when their true father was the Devil. If God were your Father, ye would love
me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he
sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot
hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of
your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:42-44) What would
you say if I told you that Abraham was a Christian? He was that in the truest
sense. And so were those of Israel who believed in the Promise made to Abraham.
He looked forward, with unfaltering faith, to the coming Redeemer just as we
look back upon the accomplished event. But the Jewish rulers rejected Christ
and, I believe, knew exactly WHO He was.
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. While God pronounced the material poverty of the
Church at Smyrna, He also proclaimed them to be spiritually rich, He pronounces
the material wealth of the Church at Laodicea as poor and naked. Moreover, by
their own lack of faith and love, they are blind. Look at the monuments to
vanity on every main street of America and see if the description fits.
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. That Gold
tried in the fire is not
purchased with money or false religion. A man who owns a million acres of land
and ten billion in the bank is not a man of wealth compared with the economy of
Heaven. His holdings are measured in years, months, weeks, or even days when he
will relinquish all to a survivor. But true wealth is deposited in a bank with
an eternal future of security. That bank receives the deposits of good and
beneficent works of the saints and keeps them on safe deposit for a future
without end. Laodicea is exactly like those seven women of Isaiah 4:1 of whom
the Lord said; And in that day seven women (religious
entities) shall take hold of one man (Jesus Christ),
saying, We will eat our own bread (eat our own bread of worldly
religion, not the Bread of Heaven), and wear our own apparel(trust in
our own righteousness, not the righteousness of Christ): only let us be
called by thy name (Christian), to take away our reproach (to
give us respectability). (Isaiah 4:1)
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent. God may send earthquakes, floods, the whirlwind, disease, and
captivity upon the nations of His love in order to awaken them of the need to
repent. If that chastisement goes unheeded, so will the pleas for
mercy at the Last Judgment go unheeded.
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. To whom is our Lord speaking? To the churches, and particularly to the
Church of Laodicea. Though His words are more relevant to that church than the
others, He nonetheless addresses every Church in this counsel of grace – not
only at that time, but for all time as long as the world endures. At which door
is the Lord standing? He is standing at the door of the Church. Is He standing
INSIDE, or OUTSIDE the Church? He is standing outside the Church of Laodicea,
and every church that follows in its trail. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. Unfortunately, that is where He is standing today at the greater
number of churches. To only those who hear His Voice and respond from the death
of sin, will He respond. I
am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:14) In the
stone-cold tomb, Lazarus heard His Voice and responded to that call. He was
dead, just as all lost in trespasses and sins. We celebrate that
Supper of the Lord at each occasion of Holy Communion. We know Him more at the
Breaking of Bread just as did the two men on the Road to Emmaus.
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. If we take
up our cross daily and follow Christ, we will follow every place that cross
leads – to service, to compassion, to sacrifice, to the cross, to the grave,
and, ultimately, to the glorious resurrection. If any manwill come after me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23) Even if
your ears are dead, as were those of Lazarus, you will hear His Voice if the
Holy Ghost draws you to our Lord. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches. That is,
to ALL the churches!
