Letter to Laodicea

""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: '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, 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. '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. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"" - Revelation 3:14-22

Identity of Jesus
1. ""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:" - Revelation 3:14
  1. The Amen – a direct transliteration of אָמֵן (amān), this may very well be the most ubiquitous word in existence (aside from “ok”). Instead of translating אָמֵן into “firm, faithful, certain or true” the word was preserved because of it's formal significance. It was used at the end of a prayer to allow those gathered together to substantiate the prayer as their own and carried a spiritual weight similar to that of a signature on a document.
    1. "For as many as are the promises of God, in [Christ] they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us." - 2 Corinthians 1:20 NASB
      
      All of the promises of God are substantiated in Christ, therefore it is through Christ that we find our confirmation and assurance for whatever we need so that His glory would work through us. - 2 Corinthians 1:20 SMV (Sean's Meditative Version)
      1. This does not mean Jesus agrees with any one of our prayers, it means our prayers become real when they are anchored in the living words of the Living Word.
        
        Please note “living words” means that even praying scripture is absolutely useless unless it's what the Spirit is saying in that moment.
    2. ""Truly, truly (Amen, amen), I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." - John 14:12-14
      1. Pagan/witchcraft interpretation: If you know the proper name of the right divinity, then you can use that name to make something you want happen. E.g. “I used the name “Yeshua” in my prayer, so now God has to get me the job I want.”
      2. Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ: As My ambassadors to the world, If I ask you to do something (something in My name), ask for whatever you need to get it done and I'll get it done for you. e.g. “I want you to talk to your friend about their gossip problem because I love them, but they are losing their ability to hear Me.” “Um, I have no idea how to even begin that conversation.” “Great! What do you need?”
  2. Faithful and True Witness – Jesus identifies Himself as the one who is the accurate representation of the exact nature and character of God as well as being the only faithful human/image-bearer; Adam as he should have been.
    1. "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." - Hebrews 1:1-4
      1. Here the writer of Hebrews establishes a very important hermeneutic: Though God has spoken to us through the fathers and prophets (Torah), in Jesus we have been given not only a living example of God's teaching, but one that has more glory, more power, and is more accurate than any of the scriptures could ever hope to be.
        
        In fact, according to Jesus Himself,
        
        ""You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." - John 5:38-40
        
        Anyone who searches for Truth will find Him and will discover life in Jesus.
        
        Anyone who searches for validation of their own self-centered worldviews will find it and deceive themselves.
    2. Jesus is also the witness at the end of the story who testifies as to whether or not people have found their hope in Him.
      1. Those placing their hope in the law are accused by the law:
        
        ""How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"" - John 5:44-47
      2. Those placing their hope in their own conscience will be accused by it:
        
        "For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." - Romans 2:12-16
      3. People will be defined by their trust in Christ, not their exposure or “belongingness” to a racial or social club.
        
        "Now when Jesus heard this [statement of trust from a Roman centurion], He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."" - Matthew 8:10-12
      4. Though Christ sits on the throne and presides over the judgment, people stand judged already by what they have chosen/judged as the object of their affections.
        
        ""For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes/places their confidence in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. "He who believes/trusts in Him is not under the judgment; he who does not believe/trust is under the judgment already, because he has not believed/trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."" - John 3:16-21
        
        Notice that it is the object of affection that establishes the judgment, while the deeds are the confirmation of the affection.
        
        Some love hiding from the truth so that they may continue to live in the evil of self-centeredness.
        
        Some love stepping into truth so that they may build a life in God.
  3. Beginning of the Creation of God – Jesus is not only the one through whom creation came into being, but He is also the one through whom the new creation is being made, and those who are in Him are bringing it about with Him.
    1. "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn/beginning of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven." - Colossians 1:13-20
      1. In short, anything that is not in Christ will cease to be, for it is only in Him that things hold together/find meaning/become real.
        
        There's quite a bit that seems important now that will “disappear like a dream in the night” or “vanish like vapor”.
        
        The way of Christ is to put our hope in the things that are becoming real rather than the things that are fading away.
        
        ""Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21
        
        Notice again that the focus is on where people are placing their heart, where they turn their affections, and what they choose to love.
        
        "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." - Hebrews 11:13-16
        
        Once again the mark of faith is a dissatisfaction with the way things are coupled with a confident hope and a desire for that which is coming.
        
        “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” ~ Clive Staples Lewis, Mere Christianity
        
        "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Character of Laodicea: apathetic, self-deceived and dull.
1. "'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," - Revelation 3:15-17
  1. Context.
    1. Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in the region due to it's location as the first main trading post in the region for goods from the east as well as it's own industry of rich, black wool. It's wealth supported a large scientific/medical community that developed very valuable healing remedies and salves. It was also a major center of banking for all of Asia Minor. Almost everyone in the region lived comfortably as a result.
      1. In fact, after a devastating earthquake in 60CE the people of Laodicea refused help from Rome and rebuilt the city themselves.
      2. Laodicea also avoided a lot of the Empire's influence due to their own wealth and was one of the few “Free Cities” of the Roman Empire.
    2. The cities fortunate location came with an unfortunate twist: it was very far from potable water and had to pipe it in from miles away. In contrast to neighbor Heirapolis, which had valuable, healing, mineral-rich hot springs or Colossae, which had cool, pure mountain runoff, the water that came through the calcified pipes into Laodicea was tepid, a little muddy and tasted terrible.
  2. In contrast to the other churches, Laodicea is neither influential and powerful, nor faithful and pure of heart. Neither hot nor cold speaks to their lack of usefulness and their nearly complete compromise.
    1. Some have said that “hot or cold” refers to being for or against Christ, but both hot and cold are positive in this context and, thus, it speaks more clearly to their lack of usefulness one way or another.
    2. This lack of usefulness is further substantiated by the fact that Jesus has nothing positive to say of their deeds.
      
      Make sure to become the kind of people who act upon the revelation they've been given rather than the kind of people who cheat themselves and deceive themselves by merely listening. After all, if you're the kind of person who hears the Spirit without acting accordingly, you're the kind of person who gets a good look at himself in the mirror and then immediately forgets what he's learned about himself. But somebody who truly sets their gaze on the perfect law, the law of liberty, and lives accordingly, not a forgetful hearer but an effective doer, that person will experience the blessing and joy of the Spirit as they move in it.” - James 1:22-25 SMV
  3. The danger of riches.
    1. "And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." Then he said to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."" - Matthew 19:16-26
      1. Yes, this is the context of, “with God all things are possible”: even getting a rich man into heaven! Which makes it more than a little ironic when people use this verse to support the idea that God is going to give them impossible financial blessings.
      2. Notice that the rich man is also a good man: he has genuinely kept the commandments, but he knows that there is something more. He's “being good”, but that isn't enough.
      3. Jesus cuts to the heart of one of the most classic compromises: “Are you willing to give up your other savior?”
        
        This doesn't have to be money, but it's the most common false savior for most people throughout history and Jesus was constantly calling out either wealth or human religious traditions as the spirits of evil.
        
        ""The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear/sincere/single, your whole body will be full of light. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." - Matthew 6:22-24
        
        Clear/Sincere/Single - haplous – single, whole, simple. Its base root means “single plait” and corresponds to the root for sincere - “same growth or single root”.
        
        Bad – poneros – diseased, twisted, troubled. It's base root means something that has been corrupted or impoverished.
        
        “The thing you pay attention to is the thing that gives spiritual life to your body. If your attention is anchored and fixed on the Source, everything in your life will be energized by the light you see, but if your attention becomes twisted or sapped away by a different source, everything in your life will be in some way tainted by that corruption. If the corruption gets so bad that you can no longer distinguish between light and dark, then you will enter into a terrible spiritual blindness! No one can live for more than one master; your heart will love one and hate the other or you will hold fast to one and think nothing of the other. You cannot split your allegiance between God and other treasures.” - Matthew 6:22-24 SMV
Laodicea's call to action and consequences for inaction: start to spend your lives on things that matter or the age to come is going to be quite the embarrassment for you.
1. "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." - Revelation 3:18-19
  1. Gold refined by fire – Gold that has been tested by heat, from which impurities and imperfections have been removed, leaving only that which is truly gold. Used symbolically of the restorative power of endurance through hardship and the way that God uses our challenges to reveal and to strengthen our character in Him.
    1. ""Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness." - Malachi 3:1-3
      1. Malachi shares that God will not forget His people and will come to restore them, but that they need to guard against compromise, because part of the restoration of that which is good is the purifying fire that evil and worthless things will be consumed by.
      2. We've mentioned this many a time before, but this is the same “passing through the fire” spoken of by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 as well as the fire alluded to by Jesus in His parables and by John later in Revelation.
    2. Essentially, “Do something with your life that will be worth something in the age to come instead of spending yourselves on things that are eaten up by moths or flames.”
  2. White garments – The righteous deeds of the saints.
    1. ""Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." - Revelation 19:7-8
      1. Remember that throughout the book of Revelation people are clothed in garments that represent who they are and what they have done with Christ. The deeds that they have done in relationship with Him.
    2. Essentially, “Don't make it all the way to the end only to be ashamed when you realize that we haven't actually done anything together.”
  3. Eye salve to anoint your eyes – The medical community of Laodicea was famous for an eye salve that people came from all over the region to experience, so this is a contrast between their physical sight and their spiritual sight.
    1. This is why we went into so much detail on the whole “eye is the lamp of the body” thing. Jesus is once again calling their attention to something He said in His sermon on the mount.
    2. Essentially, “Shift your attention to the spiritual things that I have already told you and that I want to show you so that you won't continue in your spiritual blindness.”
  4. Love = Discipline
    1. "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." - Hebrews 12:4-11
      1. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus resists temptation to the point of sweating blood and continues to resist the temptation to vengeance and violence all the way through the crucifixion unto the resurrection. We are invited into the same process (though not expected to do nearly as well).
      2. If we have a relationship with God that does not involve some kind of discipline (training, chastisement, correction, rebuke) then we are not children of God.
        
        Love accepts and wants people no matter where they are or what they're doing, but it certainly refuses to leave them there.
      3. Discipline is not to force someone into a mold, but to prepare them and equip them for their life's purpose. Our fathers on earth guess at this as best they can (which often means not very well), but God does this as the one who truly knows who we are and what we were made for.
      4. Love in the midst of our inner turmoil means that we experience momentary sorrows that lead to joy as we trade temporary comforts for eternal delights.
Rewards for overcoming: Intimacy now and a resulting authority in the age to come.
1. "'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." - Revelation 3:20-21
  1. Stand at the door and knock – taken from another time where Jesus was giving the “sermon on the mount”, something He did regularly.
    
    ""Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves." - Luke 12:32-38
    1. One of the great things about this passage is that we see God's desire to serve! He wants to give them the kingdom. He wants to serve them. However, love has to be reciprocated to be completed. Just as He was willing to give everything to be with them, they need to be willing to give everything to be with Him. Those who have that attitude are fixated upon Him and what He's doing.
  2. Sit down with Me on My throne – Where Thyatira was told to complete their deeds and to finish strong that they might reign with Christ, Laodicea is being asked to start, yet the same invitation remains for Laodicea. If they will choose intimacy and will forsake their comfort, they still have the chance to share in the same invitation that was given to the strong and faithful followers of Jesus in Thyatira. It's never too late to start.

Letter #6: Philadelphia

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