07 Laodicea

Slides for this study

Review of the first six churches.

  • Ephesus was from Ascension to 100AD.
    • They had desirable characteristics. They were strong in the faith and in the works of God.
    • But they lost their love and zeal along the way.
  • Smyrna was from 100 AD to 323 AD.
    • They were the persecuted church.
    • They regained their love for God. And they were rich in faith.
  • Pergamos was from 323 to 538 AD.
    • The way is being prepared for the antichrist.
    • The doctrine of Balaam, Balak and the Nicolaitans is creeping into the church.
    • This church needed to fight!
  • Thyatira was from 538 AD to 1798 AD.
    • The rise of the antichrist, the dark ages.
    • Yet there would be faithful people with a lot of missionary efforts and works.
    • God would give them the morning star – the translation of the Bible in their common language.
  • Sardis was from 1798 to 1833 AD.
    • They were coming out of the dark ages following man’s tradition.
    • They needed the scriptures and the Holy Spirit to live. And they needed to confess Christ.
  • Philadelphia was from 1833 to 1844 AD.
    • Message of coming judgment and second coming is given.
    • They needed to hold on to God’s word and to have patience.

 

The Church of Laodicea

Revelation 3:14
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 name Laodicea means:

  • Judging of the people, or a people judged.
  • Or a just people. You cannot be just unless God has judged you already and pronounced you so.

The time period of Laodicea runs from 1844 until the second coming.

  • It is the last church and stretches to the end of time until Jesus is done in the heavenly sanctuary above and He has finished His investigative judgment and comes for a second time.
  • It is in Daniel that this date is established about judgment.

How does Jesus introduce Himself?

  • He is the Amen.
  • He is the faithful and true witness.
  • He is the beginning of the creation of God.

Why Amen?

  • It is what we say at the end of our prayers.
  • It means “so be it.”
  • This is the final message to the churches just before the close of probation.
  • This is His last intercession for us. He is about to cease praying for us.

What is the significance of Jesus being a faithful and true witness?

  • Proverbs 14:5
    A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

    • He will tell us exactly our condition and will not lie about it.
    • As hard as it may be to hear, or even unbelievable, Christ is telling us exactly what we need.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:24
    Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

    • Not only will Jesus tell us what we need to hear about ourselves, He will help us to do it as well to overcome whatever condition that we are stuck in.
    • He will be faithful to help us.
  • Psalms 89:37
    It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

    • What is a faithful witness? It is the moon.
    • What does the moon represent?
    • Psalms 89:34
      My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
    • The moon is referring to here as the word of God, the scriptures.
    • Christ will use His word to be the very agent to tell us what we need to hear about our condition and the solution as well.
    • Revelation 12:1
      And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
    • We see in Revelation a woman that is standing on the moon.
    • We already know that a woman represents the church.
    • So God’s people must be standing on the word of God as their foundation.

What is Christ’s other introduction of Himself? He is the beginning of the creation of God.

  • Some people have used this to show that Christ was created – meaning then that He can’t be God.
  • But the language does not necessarily imply that He was created.
  • The word “the beginning of the creation of God” may simply signify that the word of creation was begun by Him.
  • John 1:3
    All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
  • However there is no doubt that Christ is telling this church that they need to remember the creation story.

Why is creation so important?

  • It isn’t simply regarding 7 days and a weekly cycle.
  • At creation there are 2 things that God established and blessed.

The first is the Sabbath.

  • Genesis 2:1-3
    1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
  • The Sabbath is a memorial of creation. And creation belief likewise points us to the Sabbath – that God created the world in six days and He rested on the seventh.
  • We see the importance of the Sabbath especially in the book of Revelation. It is a point that is attacked much by the devil.
  • We already saw the Sabbath introduced in Revelation 1. John says that Christ came to Him with a vision.
    • Revelation 1:10
      I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day…
    • That was the Sabbath day.
  • We will see this point raised again in the future.
    • Revelation 14:7
      worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
    • Worshipping the Creator is pointing us back to the Sabbath, the day of worship.
  • Furthermore, the theory of evolution was introduced around this time as well to go against creation to make people forget the creator God.
    • It was in the mid 1800’s that Charles Darwin introduced this theory.

The second that God established and blessed at creation is marriage.

  • I don’t think it requires much input today to show that the marriage and the home is in trouble.
  • So much divorce today.
  • So many people just living together.
    • Adultery and fornication everywhere.
  • Then there’s the LGBTQ movement that is making great strides everywhere.
  • Laws against the disciplining of our children – not allowed to even spank them now. All under the guise of pretended love for them.
  • The home is in trouble. The devil is doing all that he can to destroy the marriage relation.

Now let’s jump into the message that Christ has for the Laodicean church.

 

Revelation 3:15
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

God knows our works. It is not cold or hot.

  • He wishes that our works were cold of hot!

What does it mean to be cold or hot?

  • Matthew 24:12
    And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
  • Because of sin increasing everywhere, our love for God waxes cold.
  • So to be cold is to not love God, to hate God.
  • And so the opposite is true as well. To be hot is to be totally in love with God.

So God wishes that we were either totally in love with Him or we hated Him.

What is the problem with this church?

 

Revelation 3:16
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

We are lukewarm.

  • We’re not hot or cold, we are mixture of both.
  • We think that we love God, but we really don’t.
  • We have one hand holding on to God and we have one hand holding on to the world.
  • Technically speaking, from a spiritual and biblical perspective, these 2 don’t mix.
  • The spiritual condition of lukewarm is not a possibility.
  • 1 John 2:15-16
    15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

    • If we love the world, we don’t love the Father.
    • They are polar opposites.

So then what does it mean to be lukewarm?

  • This word lukewarm is only found once in the scriptures right here in Revelation 3 relating to the Laodicean church.
  • The meaning of this word in the concordance is found written this way:
    • of the condition of the soul wretchedly fluctuating between a torpor and a fervour of love.
  • What does that mean?
    • One minute we’re hot, one minute we’re cold.
    • Up and down.
    • One minute we’re on a high for church, the next minute we hate anything to do with God.
    • Schizophrenic love for God.
    • I love Him, I hate Him.
  • Because this hot and cold does not mix, we are constantly going between both.

God says that because you are lukewarm, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

  • Such a graphic picture represented here. To spit water out of your mouth.
  • It is like total and utter disgust for what is in your mouth.
  • God will reject those that are lukewarm.

So what is the actual underlying issue of this church? What does it mean spiritually to be lukewarm? The next verse addresses this.

 

Revelation 3:17
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:

They are rich and increased with good and have need of nothing.

  • Total worldliness has come in.
  • This is not referring to rich in faith.

As a result, they don’t know that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

  • They don’t know.
  • They are self-deceived of their true condition.
  • This is the biggest problem with our church and this generation.
    • They don’t know that they need help.
    • They think that they are fine.
    • They don’t know that they are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
  • The most difficult thing that we will ever have to do is to help people to see their condition and their need.

What does it mean to be wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked? Let’s go through this and you will see that there is order. There is a reason why all these conditions are put in this order.

 

Wretched

  • Romans 7:24
    O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
  • This is the only other place that this word wretched is found in the Bible.
  • Paul is making a conclusion based on an experience that he has just been describing. What is this experience?
  • Romans 7:15
    For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
  • Romans 7:19
    For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

    • This sounds like a person that is in addiction.
  • But addiction to what?
    • Romans 7:20
      Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
  • This is the condition of a person that is trapped in sin and they aren’t experiencing victory.
  • They know what is right but they aren’t doing it. They are slaves to sin.
  • Revelation is sharing to us about Jesus who will give us that victory.
  • But in the Laodicean church, they have lost sight of Jesus. One eye is on the world and one eye is on the church. But really, both eyes are totally on the world, but they comfort themselves saying that they pray once in a while, read their bibles once in a while, go to church here and there.
  • They are lukewarm.

So when you aren’t experiencing victory in the Christian life, something else begins to happen. You become miserable.

 

Miserable

  • 1 Corinthians 15:19
    If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
  • As a result, you begin to lose hope. We begin to lose sight of the future immortal life.

 

Poor

  • What does it mean to be poor?
  • James 2:5
    Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
  • So if you are rich, you are rich in faith. Then poor, must be poor in faith, or just have no faith at all.
  • You begin to lose belief that you can gain the victory over this sin.

 

Blind

  • 2 Peter 1:9
    But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
  • When you lack the experience of victory, you forget that Christ has purged you from your old sins.
  • Why? Because you keep doing it over and over again. And also because you are losing faith in God that He will forgive you even though you may have committed that same sin so many times.

 

Naked

  • Where do we see the first instance of nakedness in the Bible? Right at the very beginning in the garden of Eden.
  • Genesis 2:25
    And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
  • At the beginning there was no shame. But after they sinned, what happened?
  • Genesis 3:7
    And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
  • Then they were naked and the shame came in.

 

So this is a waterfall of events that take place.

  • Wretched – know what is right but not doing it. A slave to sin.
  • Miserable – as a result you begin to lose hope that Christ can save you from sin.
  • Poor – then you begin to lose faith that Christ can save you from sin.
  • Blind – you forget that He’s forgiven you in the past before because you keep committing the sin over and over again.
  • Naked – then you have shame and guilt in your life.

How does the Laodicean church try to take away this guilt?

  • They’re changing the truth to give excuse for their sin.
  • They are just simply saying the there are certain things that just aren’t sin anymore.
  • Hot and cold. Lukewarm.
  • And the result is they don’t even know that they are in this condition.

Some of the lies that we tell ourselves:

  • We’ve told ourselves that it’s OK to be gay and Christian.
  • It’s OK to lie once in a while.
  • It’s OK to live with our boyfriend or girlfriend before we get married or even go beyond just holding hands once in a while.
  • We’ve been deceived by sin to the point that we make excuses for our sin.

But God gives a solution to our wretchedness. What is it?

 

Revelation 3:18
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.

There are three things that Christ recommends for the Laodicean church as a solution. What is it?

  • We need gold that is tried in the fire.
  • We need white raiment.
  • And we need eyesalve.

But notice here that we need to buy it.

  • What is the concept of buying? I give you something in exchange for something else of similar value.
  • What do we have to give to Christ except our wretchedness and our sins?
  • But you know what, our sins actually belong to Him. He died for them.
  • And in exchange Christ will give us gold and a white clothing and eyesalve.
  • Doesn’t sound like a fair trade. But Christ isn’t complaining.

What is the gold?

  • 1 Peter 1:7
    That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
  • The gold is faith. But it is faith that has been tried.

Then what is the white raiment?

  • Revelation 19:8
    And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
  • It is the righteousness of Jesus that He is willing to give us. His spotless character and robe of righteousness.

And lastly the eyesalve. What is it that will help us to see?

  • 1 Samuel 9:9
    (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
  • What helps us to see is a Seer which is a Prophet.
  • How does the prophet help us to see? What was so special about the prophets?
  • They were God’s messengers. But more specifically they had a really important role.
  • 2 Peter 1:20-21
    20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
  • They wrote the scriptures.

So the Laodicean church need:

  • Gold – faith.
  • White raiment – the righteousness of Christ.
  • Eyesalve – the scriptures.

But let’s dig just a little deeper.

  • How to have faith?
    • Romans 10:17
      So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
    • We need to hear the Bible, the scriptures, in our life.
  • How to have righteousness of Christ?
    • Psalms 119:172
      My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
    • We need an interaction with God’s word and His commandments.
    • Romans 1:16-17
      16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
    • The gospel of Christ, which is the word of God, is the power of God to salvation, and that is where we find the righteousness of God!
  • What is the missing ingredient really, of the Laodicean church?
    • They need the Bible and the Bible only!
  • It means, they are calling themselves Christian, but they really aren’t spending time with Christ as well in His word.
    • They know about Jesus, but they don’t really know Him.
  • Titus 1:16
    They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

    • They just have a profession, but their lives tell a totally different story.

So what does Christ have to do?

 

Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Christ needs to bring us to the point of repentance. How?

  • He rebukes and chastens us.
  • Rebuke, which means to convict, by maybe sending a preacher, giving a straight message.
    • Someone to scold us, to take us by our shoulders and shake us, and shake our world.
  • Joel 2:1
    Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand.
  • Isaiah 58:1
    Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

    • This is the preaching of a very straight message! To help awaken people from their spiritual slumber.

But the second way is that Christ needs to chasten us. The word chasten means to punish, to discipline.

  • Through life circumstances God continues to bring us to the point to help us to see our need, to try and to save us.
  • The church is to receive punishment.
  • The Lord must be cruel to be kind.

James 4:8-10
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

  • This is the experience that the Laodicean church needs to go through in order to be overcomers.

 

Revelation 3:20
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.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.”

  • What door is this referring to? It is the door of our hearts.
  • No matter how bad the church is, God still loves each of us.
  • And here is a personal pursuit of each person.
  • Christ is coming to our place, our door, and knocking.

“If any man hear my voice.”

  • There’s the word of God again.
  • If we can hear God’s voice speaking to us through circumstances in life, through people, through the word of God, then He wants us to respond.

“Open the door.”

  • Christ is giving us the choice. He’s not forcing Himself upon us. He wants to come in and eat with us. He wants a loving relationship with each of us.

 

Revelation 3:21
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.

This is the greatest promise that Christ has given to any of the seven churches. The worst of the worst is given the greatest promise! To rule as Christ and God the Father rules. To be elevated to the same position.

 

Look at the different rewards for each church.

  • Ephesus – eat of the tree of life.
  • Smyrna – not hurt by the second death.
  • Pergamos – eat hidden manna and a new name.
  • Thyatira – power over the nations and ruling with a rod of iron.
  • Sardis – white raiment, and name not blotted out of the book of life.
  • Philadelphia – made a pillar in the temple of God, the name of God, New Jerusalem and Christ’s new name.
  • Laodicea – sit with Christ on His throne.

 

Laodicea is given the greatest promise. Why?

  • We are living in the most difficult times.
  • Never has it been harder to be a Christian.
  • Temptations on all sides.
  • The age of affluence and compromise.
  • It has never been so difficult to retain our faith and zeal.
  • This last generation will pass through one of the greatest terrors of the last day – the mark of the beast and his image.
  • It will be so bad that the Bible tells us:
  • Matthew 24:22
    And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved…
  • Matthew 24:9-10
    9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
  • It will be trying times, difficult times.
  • Yet God says that He will have His overcomers.

To prepare for such times requires a faith beyond that of Abraham, Elijah or even Noah.

  • We shouldn’t be content to compare ourselves who have lived before.
  • We should not be satisfied of a low level.
  • We need a faith and a love and a zeal beyond any of the other churches.
  • We need to dig deep into the scriptures more than any other generation.
  • And today we are living in that time of enlightenment.
  • Though it is so difficult to retain one’s faith, it has never been easier to become a Christian if we wish to.
  • The word of God is readily available to us today.
  • Though sin abound on every side, God’s grace is deeper than any of our sins.

 

Revelation 3:22
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, he will immediately jump out. If you put him in cold water and gradually heat it until it is boiling, he will relax and stay in the water—until it is too late and he is cooked. We need to ask ourselves if we are like that frog. Are we comfortable with a half-hearted Christian experience that allows the world around us to gradually, imperceptibly lull us into a false sense of security so that we won’t even notice when the “heat” is turned up? Our loving God has prepared the remedy for us. Let us buy it and apply it. “Heaven is cheap enough.”

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