“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I 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.”
My Understanding: Laodicea was an extremely wealthy city. It was known for its textile industry, its medical school, and its banking industry. Its medical school evidently produced some kind of eye salve. The city was also a significant center for trade. As well, Zeus, apparently, was worshiped in the city of Laodicea. Zeus, in ancient Greece, was known as the “Father of gods and men.” He was their supreme god over all of their other gods.
The letter is written to the church in Laodicea. The speaker (writer) is actually Jesus Christ. He is the “Amen,” meaning “so be it.” Amen is a word used to affirm the truth of something, or is used to express strong agreement with something (source: Encarta dictionary). We say “amen” at the end of our prayers by habit or by practice, but I wonder how often we really think about what it means. Jesus is the “Amen,” i.e. he is the truth, he is the source of all truth, and he is the one who has absolute divine power to act in man’s behalf.
He is the faithful (loyal; trustworthy; and reliable) and true (correct; right; authentic) witness (one who tells what he has seen and heard; who gives testimony). He is the creator of the entire universe, and he rules supreme over all that he created. Nothing exists that he does not allow for a time, for his purpose, and for his glory. He has divine power over the works of men, and over all that is evil. We can absolutely rely upon his sovereignty over all things. And, we can definitely trust that he will do all that he said he would do. This was important for the Laodicean church to know, so that they took his words seriously, i.e. to heart.
Lukewarm
Of the seven churches, this was the only one about which Jesus had nothing positive to say. He said he knew their deeds, i.e. he knows everything about us, and he pays attention to what we do. He said they were neither cold nor hot. He wished they were one or the other. But, instead, they were half way in between. They were lukewarm.
There are many and varied interpretations of what this means, yet I will share with you what I believe it means. First of all, Encarta dictionary defines lukewarm as “showing or having little enthusiasm, interest, support, or conviction.” I think that is a pretty accurate picture of lukewarm. They were neither on fire for God and filled with passionate desire for him and for his service, nor were they entirely cold toward him, i.e. they were not completely indifferent to him and to the gospel. Encarta defines “cold” as “feeling or exhibiting no friendship or sense of caring.” So, there was obviously some sense of feeling or kinship toward Jesus Christ, though it was severely limited.
I believe the reason Jesus wished they were either hot (on fire for him) or cold (completely indifferent to him) is because that would mean that they were either walking in obedience to him or they fully recognized their own spiritual state, and thus were reachable. The hardest people to reach with the gospel are not the ones who know they are unbelievers, but those who think they are ok with God when they are truly not. That is why I believe he wished they were one or the other, because if they were cold, they would know they were cold and thus could be reached. Those who are lukewarm, nonetheless, often have the false notion that they are truly in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, so they are self-deceived and thus much harder to reach with the truth.
The Church in the USA
I believe the church in the USA, overall, can be characterized as a Laodicean church. First of all, we are probably the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth. We have a reputation as a nation with a high education level, and we excel in many fields such as medicine, technology, banking, automobiles, fuel, power supply, our super markets, and communication, among many others. We have held “Super Power” status worldwide since WWII, and we have definitely flexed our military muscle throughout the globe many times over. We are a nation that feels pretty self-sufficient. We also have given ourselves the reputation of being a “Christian nation,” and have “In God We Trust” printed on our money. Our national pledge to the flag of the USA states that we are “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” So, we feel as though we are a pretty religious nation that believes in the one true God. We also feel as though we have God’s blessings. And, we believe, overall, that our nation was founded upon Christian principles and beliefs.
Yet, from the very beginning of our nation, there has been a blending of religion, i.e. there has been the image our government presented for its people to believe, yet lying underneath, though still in plain sight, is the worship of Satan and of false gods. If we do the research, we will learn about the layout of D.C. and its symbolism, the symbolism behind the buildings and the statues and the monuments, many of which were patterned after Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, and we will learn of the Satanic, Occultist, and Freemasonry roots and symbols of our nation and its leaders, and of the “god” in whom our leaders truly have placed their trust. See: Roman fasces (in Congress on either side of U.S. flag) - http://jamesirvinggreene.blogspot.com/2008/08/roman-fasces.html; History of the U.N. - http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/chronologies/un.htm; Layout of D.C. - http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/washington.html; and Masonic foundations of the U.S. - http://watch.pair.com/mason.html, etc.
The church, overall, in the USA reflects this blending of religion and this blending of the world culture with the culture of the church. The true church, i.e. the people of God in the New Testament began by meeting from house to house and in the temple courts. They met for the teaching of the word, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. They shared with everyone as they had need. They used their spiritual gifts within the body of Christ for the edification and nurturing of the body. They operated as one body, too, with various parts which did not all have the same function. They also recognized that it was the Holy Spirit who was the source of all gifts, and that he assigned people the gifts and ministries he wanted them to have. They were not perfect nor without problems, though.
The Church, Inc.
Today’s church in the USA, though, has moved away from this New Testament model of what the church is supposed to be as a working body of Christ. Instead, the church has turned itself into corporations (businesses) of men under the authority of the US government. And, the church operates itself just as though it is a secular business, for the most part. The church utilizes human marketing techniques (schemes) for attracting people to their businesses, even to the exclusion of the teaching of scripture. They focus much attention on the Big Show, i.e. the main service, and to the presentation of the music and the preaching, and to having something that will draw in large crowds of people.
They use worldly means to attract the world, but what are they attracting the world to? - A business; an organization of men; a social club, but not to the true church. The way into the church is via the cross, and the Bible says the cross is an offense to those who are perishing. The church also waters down the gospel to where it barely even resembles the true gospel. Words such as sin, repentance and obedience are taboo. Much of today’s church teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation and that Christ is pleased with us no matter what we do. Well, if we read just the letters to the churches in Revelation, we know that is not true. Yet, it explains why the church today is lukewarm.
Forcefully Expel
Jesus said that because they were lukewarm, he was about to spit them out of his mouth. I have tasted lukewarm water before, and that is exactly the response I have had. To spit is to expel forcefully. To expel is to eject; oust; force out. A mouth can be an entrance; opening; doorway, as well as it is the body part through which we speak. Truly he is saying here that he is about to forcefully expel them from his presence; and from his acknowledgment of them through some kind of divine judgment. And, I believe the Lord Jesus is giving this same message to his Laodicean church in the USA today. If we, as the church, do not wake up, and we do not take God seriously, and we don’t repent of our sins of complacency and spiritual lukewarmness, we will be judged most severely. Yet, the purpose of the judgment is to bring us back into a right relationship with God, so its motivation is love and its goal is forgiveness and restoration once we repent. Jesus said that those he loves he rebukes and disciplines, “so be earnest, and repent.”
He said he is standing at the door and is knocking. Many interpret this as the door to the hearts of unbelievers, yet Jesus is addressing this to his lukewarm church. An unbeliever would be one who is cold toward the gospel. Yet Jesus is standing at the door of the hearts of those who are complacent and who have gotten caught up in worldliness and who have even given approval to the watered-down gospel, because they have been deceived and have believed the lies of men. He wants us to wake up from our slumber and to get on fire for him, because a church that is lukewarm is useless to him and to his kingdom work. If the church in the USA would truly open its heart to Jesus (who he really is and what he truly taught), then they would experience true intimate fellowship with him, they would hear his voice, they would know his will, they would obey him fully, and they would no longer be lukewarm and useless to him, but would be fruit-bearing disciples for his kingdom.
As in all the letters to the churches, Jesus concluded the letter with an encouragement to the church to be overcomers against Satan and sin, and to live victorious Christian lives in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. For those who turned from their sin (repented) and walked in obedience to Christ - for this is what it truly means to overcome - they would have the hope of eternal life with God. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” May we put into practice what Jesus taught his lukewarm church.
You are Loving and Forgiving / An Original Work / February 19, 2012
Based off Psalm 86
You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.
Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.
You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.
Song lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/you-are-loving-and-forgiving
Song on video:
http://youtu.be/MfJbAwhiVkU
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