The Revelation of Jesus Christ Revelation 3:14-22 – (The Lukewarm Church: Laodicea) Commission Revelation 3:14 Laodicea The Apostate Church The Putrid Church The Lukewarm Church 1900 – Tribulation 40-50 miles SE 17,000 people Major Trade Route – Ephesus to Sardis Unique breed of sheep Glossy black wool Great and expensive clothing Medical School Eye salve for curing eye diseases- Borax Collyrium Banking Money exchanging Minting own coin Extremely wealthy area Very self-sufficient Founded by Antiochus II Named after his wife – Laodice Major earthquake demolished it – 60AD Roman government offered to rebuild They refused Didn’t need the financial help Horrible water – needed to pipe in usable water Cold water from Colossae Hot water from the hot springs of Hierapolis Lukewarm by the time it got there Not sure how the church started May have been by Epaphras Paul was aware of them (Colossians 2:1) Sent his greetings (Colossians 4:15) Asked that the letter to the Colossians be shared with the church of Laodicea (Colossians 4:16) Character Revelation 3:14 The Amen Reliable and true So be it Hebrew root word Certainty or truth The divine standard of truth His word regarding the church and their spiritual state is truthful and reliable The faithful and true witness Revelation 1:5 Accurate Endured temptation Shared truth with all people while facing adversity Endured suffering and the cross Therefore, His assessment is not dilated, diluted, distorted or double tongued The beginning of the creation of God Colossians 1:15-17 John 1:1-3 ZERO COMMENDATION Strongest Condemnation Revelation 3:15-18 Lukewarm Not cold Not having salvation, spiritual knowledge or unresponsive to spiritual things Not hot True believers – received Jesus as Lord with spiritual fervor Lukewarm Putrid, gross, not palatable, make you sick Vomit, spew it out To spiritually straddle the fence Conscience rarely touched Doesn’t take Jesus or Bible seriously Doesn’t take sin or the lost world seriously Erratic or sporadic with fellowship Doesn’t let the Bible serve as a guide for living life No witness to others Some sense of duty but severely lacking conviction Some might say this congregation was mainly lost Some might argue they were believers without the deep commitment – no doing, no being I will vomit you out Paul’s example – Pharisee to soul winner “Perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to the church at the end of the twentieth century than this. It describes vividly the respectable, nominal, rather sentimental, skin-deep religiosity which is so widespread among us today.” John Stott (Walvoord, 49) Self-sufficient No to Roman aid No need for God But you are Wretched – oppressed with a burden from the wealth you have built Miserable – pitiful and complacent being seen by all Poor – beggarly and spiritually bankrupt Blind – nearsighted because of your massive wealth Ironic with them developing the salve Naked – costly garments should be replaced with the white garments of righteousness Their spiritual poverty, blindness and nakedness made them wretched and miserable In John’s writing, blindness generally portrayed lostness (John 12:40; 9:30-31) Nakedness illustrates a lack of righteousness (Revelation 7:13-14; 22:14) Gold Resembles faith Priceless gospel Those who possess it reveal lives which glorify the Lord So, you may be rich but really you are poor White Garments Christ’s holiness and righteousness Acceptable in God’s sight Irony Sleek black wool Major income Wonderful clothing Still naked before God Sight healed Blind Irony of the salve Only Jesus can truly heal spiritual blindness Challenge Revelation 3:19-20 As many as I love I still love you Phileo – affection with less depth Disciplinary Believed to only be used with believers ii. Agape – self-sacrificing love John 3:16 There is always hope and opportunity for repentance Be zealous and repent Passionate, committed, resolved Turn from sin and self to God Revelation 3:20 Popular Gospel presentation Context – you are here/there is where I want you Invitation more than a reproof Parallel to John 14:23 Also an invitation to believers Not just an appeal to nonbelievers Overall principle Whose responsibility to open the door Mine William Homan Hunt – 1854 Painting of this verse Did not include an exterior doorknob Friends thought he had messed up Shared the reasoning Reward Overcome Share the throne Relationship with Him and the Father Share in the inheritance 20th century Introduced the idea that God is too narrow minded We know better Leaving sound doctrine Henry Emerson Fosdick – 1922 – sermon to the Northern Baptist Convention Christians did not need “the intolerance of fundamentalists but rather the tolerance of diverse belief practiced by enlightened modernists.” Overall summary 1). The local church is important – mentioned repeatedly in the Revelation of Jesus 2). Seven messages for all to hear 3). Warnings and indictments are to both believer and unbeliever 4). Promises to overcomers relate to salvation - Kingdom and eternity