THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA 
Revelation 3:14-22

I know this is a longer passage, but please take the time to read it through.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:  
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, 
the Origin 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 vomit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say
“I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” 
and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, 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 the shame
of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve
to apply to your eyes so that you may see.

‘Those whom I love, I rebuke 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.

‘The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit 
with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with 
My Father on His throne.

‘The one who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

The city of Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos valley.  The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 66 A.D. and was rebuilt by Marcu Aurelius.  Laodicea had an awful water supply.  Colossae, located 10 miles southwest of Laodicea, had an abundant supply of cold water, and Hierapolis, located 6 miles north, had hot springs that provided sizzling water that was used for medicinal purposes and healing.  The people of Laodicea would pipe water to their city from those regions, but by the time it arrived to them, it was usually stagnant and good for nothing.  

In His message to the Laodiceans, Jesus describes Himself as:

• The Amen.  This word was translated directly from Hebrew into Greek, then from Latin to English.  It is a universal word that means firm and trustworthy.  “Amen” was directly related to the Hebrew word for “believe” (aman) or “faithful”.  This word came to mean sure and truly, and was an expression of absolute trust and confidence.  
• The faithful and true witness.  Faithful (pistos) meant trustworthy, that which can be relied on, and true (alethinos) meant genuine, real, good, opposed to that which is imperfect, defective, frail, and uncertain. The word “witness” (martys) reflected a witness in a judicial sense.  
• The Origin of the creation of God. Origin (arche) means the commencement, chief in order, time, place, and rank.  What comes to mind when I consider this is John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  He began all things and He is preeminent above all things.  

What Jesus had to say to this church was pretty strong.  “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold (psychros–freezing) nor hot (zestos–boiling); I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm (chliaros–tepid), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (verses 15-16).  Jesus was using the word lukewarm metaphorically to indicate the condition of these wretched souls, as they fluctuated between torpor and fervor of love for Him.  (If you’re like me, you’re now wondering what “torpor” means. Haha  It is defined as a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility).  These people were numbed-out spiritual slugs.  

• These people made Jesus wanna vomit. By using the word vomit (emeo), Jesus was conveying rejection with extreme disgust.  It’s the feeling of having something so intensely putrid in your mouth that you have to spit it out or vomit it forth.  The accusation of being “lukewarm” would probably have hit its mark with these people because they would have more than likely connected “extreme disgust” with how they felt about the water that had been piped in from Colassae and Hieropolis.  By the time the water reached them, it was disgusting, stagnant and useless.  Pause to ponder the two types of water abundant in Colossae and Heiropolis.
• These people were self-deceived.  “‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything’, and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (verse 17).  The definitions of those descriptive terms are very telling.  Check it out.

• • Wretched (talaiporos) means deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind : extremely or deplorably bad or distressing : being or appearing mean, miserable, or contemptible : very poor in quality or ability
  • Miserable (eleeinos) to be pitied; something to be regretted.  This was a condition, not a feeling of being miserable with something.  
  • Poor (ptochos) to crouch as a beggar, to cringe as a pauper.  These people were destitute of the Christian virtues and the eternal riches.
  • Blind (typhlos) opaque as if smoky; to be blind, mentally or physically
  • Naked (gymnos) unclad; without clothing

In essence Jesus was saying, “You think you’re all that and you got nothing”.  

Jesus’ admonition to these people was this. First, He told them they needed to realize their spiritual poverty.  He told them that as long as they thought they could meet their own needs, they could never be in a position of allowing Him to meet them. They needed to rely on Him and not themselves.  If they would receive from Jesus His riches, they would be truly rich, able to be clothed in white garments, able to have their spiritual sight restored.  But all this hinged on them humbly admitting they needed Jesus’ help.  

Secondly, Jesus called for them to be zealous and repent (vs. 19b).  The Greek word for zealous (zeloo) comes from the same word as hot.  Jesus was urging them to be full of zeal, to have an ardent feeling for the things of God.  He told them they needed a change of mind, shifting their reliance from the things of this world to total reliance on Him.  He was telling them they needed to stop being lukewarm and become “hot” for God again.  He told them to repent (metanoeo–to think differently, to change one’s mind for the better, to amend with abhorrence their sins).  

Jesus told them in verses 20-21 that if they would change direction, He would “come in to them” and they would dine together. In that culture, to dine with someone meant so much more than merely the act of eating a meal together.  Eating was secondary.  Fellowship, spending time together, was the emphasis of dining with someone.  He also promised that “the one who overcomes” would enjoy a place with the enthroned Jesus.  They would be able to fellowship and spend time with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!  

Through this passage, I see the worst of the seven churches being extended grace.  Jesus was giving them a chance to repent.  He was showing that even the worst of sinners can repent and be accepted into fellowship with Him.  

So take a minute and ask the Spirit of God to show you areas in your life where you may have become lukewarm, and then choose to take action about what He reveals..  

“…fan into flame the gift of God which is in you…” ~~ 2 Timothy 1:6~~