The letter to the church in Laodicea (3:14)
Key phrase: 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. The church at Laodicea were to read Paul's letter to the Colossians, Col 4:16, they had not met Paul personally, Col 2:1. The city had a profitable business from the production of wool cloth and when it was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 60 it was able to rebuild itself without outside help (Walvoord). It had a widely known medical school and produced an eye-salve (Mounce). It got its water from hot springs almost 6 miles away and by the time it got to Laodicea it would have been luke warm. It was also a centre for banking. The church lived within this affluent society and the attitudes of its citizens rubbed off onto the church. v14 - "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. - Jesus Christ is the Amen for in him is the certainty of the fulfilment of God's promises, 2 Cor 1:20. It is frequently uses as a refrain of agreement by God's people to a doxology, 'so shall it be', Rev 1:6-7, 7:12, 19:4. For faithful and true witness see 1:5, see also Rev 19:11, the rider on the white horse is Christ whose name is Faithful and True. Revelation shows us that Christ is the ruler of God's creation, in 1:5 He is the ruler of the kings of the earth and this is demonstrated later in the book, 6:15, 19:19-21. The NASB version has instead of 'the ruler of God's creation', 'the Beginning of the creation of God', in the sense of pre-eminence over creation rather than the first created being, this is more in line with the book, see Col 1:16-18, Rev 13:8, 21:6, 22:13. v15 - I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! - He who walks among the churches sees their deeds. The water supply for the city of Laodicea came from hot springs some distance away so that it was lukewarm. There is more hope for the cold anti-Christian, such as Saul, than these lukewarm Christian who has lost his hunger for God. v16 - So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. - Literally he is about to vomit them out of his mouth. This shows his revulsion of these lukewarm Christians. The remedy is shown in verse 18 in which he counsels them to buy gold, white clothes and salve. v17 - You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. - Their material wealth had blinded them to their true spiritual bankruptcy. The world had invaded this church, compare the similarity of her attitude with that of the harlot who said ''I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn' (18:7). It is frequently noted that Laodicea prided itself on three things: financial wealth, an extensive textile industry, and a popular eye-salve which was exported around the world (Mounce). The church thought it was rich in her own eyes, but in the eyes of Christ it was poor. In Hosea 12:8 Ephraim boasts, 'I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin'. Compare the Laodiceans with the church in Smyrna who were afflicted and poor but in the Lord's eyes were rich. Their attitude was similar to that of the Pharisees who thought that they were healthy but were in fact sick (Mat 9:10-13), they thought that they could see but were blind (John 9:40-41, Mat 15:14). While they were not Pharisees their condition is similar which is why the Lord rebukes them. Their condition is dangerous because they do not realise it. v18 - 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. - Christ's counsel to them is in three parts: to buy gold so that they become rich instead of being wretched, pitiful and poor; white clothes to cover their nakedness and salve for their blind eyes so that they can see. v18 - I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire - This is gospel buying without price (Isa 55:1, Rev 21:6), true riches without price, i.e. salvation that is free. In 22:6 God offers freely to the thirsty to drink from the spring of the water of life, in 22:17 the invitation to the thirsty is given by the church to take the free gift of the water of life. The Laodiceans were relying on their own riches without faith in Christ. The gold represents faith in Christ, see 1 Pet 1:7, rather than trusting in their own wealth which perishes. They can only get this gold from Christ. They cannot take their wealth with them after death, but their labour of faith follows them (14:13). v18 - white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; - Originally Adam and Eve were naked but felt no shame (Gen 2:25), but then after they sinned they were ashamed of their nakedness and sewed fig leaves to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7). In 16:15 at the second coming Christ calls blessed is 'he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.' In 3:4-5 those in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes will walk with Christ dressed in white because they are worthy. Those in Laodicea did not even have any clothes, they were naked, they have to come to Christ to get clothes to cover their sins. Joshua the high priest was dressed in filthy clothes in Zec 3:3-4, he was given new rich garments after his sin was taken away. These clothes are the white clothes of righteousness (Isa 61:10). Throughout Revelation white garments stand for righteousness (6:11, 7:9, 7:14, 19:8, 19:14), in 7:14 they are said to have 'washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' v18 - and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. - They do not even realise their nakedness and need their spiritual eyes opened so that they can see their condition. Laodicea was famous for its eye salve. Once again they must buy this from Christ. v19 - Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent - One of the most tender lines in Revelation. Those whom I love... the Lord disciplines those he loves, who are his children, Prov 3:12, Heb 12:5-8. Note that despite their pitiful condition they had not ceased to be part of the church of Christ, the same applies to the other churches. The Greek word or love used here is phileo, in all the other references to love agapao is used (1:5, 2:4, 2:19, 3:9, 12:11, 20:9) the only exception being 22:15. v20 - 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. - The tense indicates a continual knocking. The anyone indicates a universal but individual appeal. An individual needs to hear Christ knocking, that is His voice, and then open the door of his heart to let Christ come in. The meal indicates fellowship with Christ (John 14:23) and anticipates the heavenly banquet later, the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). Jesus said that whoever hears his voice and believes God has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24). He who belongs to God hears what God says (John 8:47). v21 - 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 - This verse emphases one of the key points in Revelation, Jesus overcame as the Lamb by being obedient even to death on a cross and he gives himself as an example of one who overcame. He obtained victory by being obedient to death on the cross (Phil 2:8-9) and hence is exalted as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Revelation demonstrates that the same obedience to death is required by the saints, who are conquered by the beast (13:7) and are martyred because they refuse to worship the image of the beast (13:15) but who we see later in 15:2 as victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name. Peter points to Christ as our example of one who suffered unjustly even to die on the cross (1 Pet 2:13-25, 3:9 ff.) but who has now gone into 'heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him' (1 Pet 3:22). Those who suffer with him will reign with him (5:10, 20:4-6, 22:5). Lang remarks that Laodicea was a poor lunatic, sitting in squalor, but boasting of fancied riches. He who, by humbling himself, overcame this pitiful pride, shall sit at table now with the Lord, and hereafter shall sit with Him in glory on His throne. v22 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." - Note the formula: 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches', we all need to heed what is being said here. |
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