Revelation 3:14-22 Church in Laodicea

Rev. 3:14   “To the angel of the church in  Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness,  the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

Rev. 3:15   ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot;  I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will  spit you out of My mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 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 that  the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and  repent. 20 ‘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. 21 ‘ He who overcomes, I will grant to him  to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Map created in Accordance Bible Atlas 2.2

1.  To whom are verses 14-22 addressed? 

“the angel of the church in Laodicea” (3:14).

•       Laodicea was an affluent city in the western part of the Roman province of Asia (modern Turkey), located 11 miles west of Colossae and 100 miles east of Ephesus. Mystery religions, such as the cult of Isis, thrived in the decadent city. 

2.  How is the speaker described? (3:14)

“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God” (3:14).

3.  Of what does Jesus know concerning the church in Laodicea? (3:15)

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot” (3:15b).

4.  What does Jesus have against the church in Laodicea? (3:16-17)

“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 spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (3:15-17).

•        “spit” – ἐμέσαι (aorist active infinitive of ἐμέω) – “to vomit, throw up” “spew someone from one’s mouth like undrinkable water” (BDAG, 322).
•        “In any thermal area waters of cold streams mingle with the hot chemical-impregnated effluents of thermal springs. The result is a lukewarm mixture, nauseating in the extreme” (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1309).

5.  What does Jesus tell the church in Laodicea to do? (3:18-19)

“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 that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent” (3:18-19).

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (3:22).

6.  What does Jesus promise the church in Laodicea? (3:20-21)

“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. He who overcomes, I will grant to him  to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (20-21).

7.  How does the message to the church of Laodicea apply to the church today?

Lukewarm faith arouses the Lord’s urge to spew.

LORD God Almighty, You are clothed in splendor and majesty, awesome in power, captivating. You are exalted on high, yet You are near. You hear and respond when sought with whole heart and soul. Each fresh glimpse of Your glory inspires worship, absolute trust, zealous pursuit. Jesus is the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of Your creation, the firstborn of the dead. Jesus, who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood, has made us to be a kingdom, priests to You, His God and Father. Those who worship You must worship in spirit and in truth. As the world grows darker, it becomes more difficult to withstand desensitization, demoralization, and homogenization. Devotion becomes diluted through decadence, and worship grows stagnate in sin. Lukewarm faith nauseates the Lord. May You intervene. Stir a spirit of revival. Save us from the murky mire of this present world and deliver the compromised of heart and mind. May Your Spirit minister gloriously amongst us, awakening a fervent, contagious faith that causes the cold to become colder and the hot become hotter. May the lukewarm be flushed and overcome by zealous faith and love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.