The
Seven Churches of the 21st Century
Chapter 8
Laodicea: Overtaken By Apostasy
Revelation 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
We come now to the last of Christ’s seven letters, which is, of course, the final step in the downward progression we have been observing. I pray that this study will make a special impact on the reader, for as we will see later in the “Prophetic History,” we are today in the “Laodicean Age.”
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
As we saw in the letter to Philadelphia, we also see here a threefold picture of Christ.
The word Amen is merely a transliteration of the Hebrew āmēn. One purpose of the word is to confirm a statement and could be translated in various ways: “so, be it,” “so it is,” “there you have it,“ and so forth. But another use of the word was originally one of response by the listeners or readers who were present when truth was given. One Greek authority tells us that a certain custom, which passed from the synagogue to the Christian assemblies, was that when someone closed a solemn prayer, others present responded with Amen and thus made all that was said their own.[1]
Here in our text, however, is the only instance in Scriptures where Amen is used as a proper name. This is a beautiful picture of Christ being “Truth,” which we saw in our last chapter. Not only is He Truth itself, but He is also The Amen;” that is, He is The End, the Final Authority. How marvelous this is! Once we have said, “Jesus Christ,” we have said everything; there is nothing more we can add. To speak of Christ is to say, “So, be it,” “So it is,” “There you have it.“
Again, because He is “The Truth,” He is now shown to be the One Who is about to reveal the truth concerning the apostate condition of the Church.
This may also be translated, “The Origin of the creation of God.” That is precisely what the Apostle John tells us in his Gospel (1:1-3):
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
So, as The Creator, Christ’s authority is final, and no one can question Him concerning the judgment He will bring on those who disobey His Truth.
The meaning of Laodicea is truly amazing. It is made up of two words: laos, meaning “people” and dikaō, meaning “rule.” Therefore, the meaning of this word is, “People ruling,” or, put simply, democracy. We will see later in our study just how significant and instructive this is.
Prophetic
History
The church at Laodicea pictures
the period of Church History in which we are right now. This period began in
the early twentieth century and will continue until Jesus comes. We’ll look at
this in detail in “The Rebuke.”
Laodicea was located about forty miles southeast of Philadelphia. As He did with His other letters, Christ adapted His message to something significant in the city. This fact is especially true in this letter. Laodicea was a city that had great wealth, Greek culture, good location, medical knowledge, industry, literature, and great banking operations. But we will soon see that Christ’s rebuke about lukewarmness, gold, clothing, and eye salve all tie in with the description of the city.
Like the letter to the church at Sardis, there is no regard to be found in the letter to Laodicea. We should also not that the situation at Laodicea was even worse. How can that be? How can something be worse than dead? We say the condition was worse because even though Sardis was dead, it still had outward works that made it appear alive. Laodicea, however, had absolutely nothing.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
As William Barclay words it, “Of all the seven Churches that of Laodicea is most unsparingly condemned.” Once again there is much to study in the rebuke, so let us divide this into two thrusts.
In like manner, lust us also divide this thought into two parts.
Simply stated, the problem in Laodicea was “lukewarmness,” but there is a little confusion today about what exactly lukewarmness is. There are, quite frankly, many Christians who have a mistaken idea of what this really means. To understand lukewarmness, then, we must carefully examine the terms used in our text.
First, we note the term cold. The Greek here is not psuchos (cold) but is psuchros, “frigid cold, sluggish, inert with cold.” We know, of course, that our bodies shiver when we are out in cold weather because this is the body’s way of trying to generate heat. But we also know that as someone is freezing to death, his body becomes inert, unable to move. So, cold is used here in a metaphorical way to picture a complete aloofness to Christianity. In other words, the person who is spiritually cold is lost and does not even care that he is lost. Ironically, then, our Lord says that He would actually prefer someone to be cold, that is totally aloof the Him, than to be lukewarm.
Second, we notice the word hot. The Greek here is zestos, from which is derived our English word “zest.” This word means “to boil, be hot, be fervent” and paints the picture of that which is boiling hot. Therefore, “hot” is used metaphorically to show fervency for spiritual things. One example of such spiritual fervency was Zacchaeus (Jn. 3), who after receiving Christ was, according to Jewish law, willing to restore fourfold to anyone from whom he had wrongfully taken money. We could also look at the unequaled fervor of the Apostle Paul.
Third, we come to the word lukewarm. The Greek is chliaros and is found only here in the New Testament. The word means “tepid, warm.” This describes that which is a mixture of cold and hot, that which is just warm. This thought was especially meaningful to the Laodiceans because the city had hot water piped from the famous hot spring of Hieropolis and cold water piped from Colossea, which was known for its pure, cold water. But often the water from both sources was lukewarm by the time it reached Laodicea. So, the picture of the Laodiceans is vivid indeed—many professed Christianity but were not Christian at all; they were in the middle between aloofness to Christ and passion for Christ.
Herein is a perfect description of what is called apostasy. Apostasy, a word that many Christians don’t really understand, is, “Professed Christianity but a denial of it basic truths.” In other words, it’s a departure from Christian Truth in general. This might consist of all Christian Truth or just a single Truth (such as the Deity of Christ or salvation by grace) that is so pivotal that it results in the destruction of all biblical Truth. An apostate is not a Christian. One historical example was Arius, a 4th Century parish priest in Alexandria who taught that Jesus was not coequal with God and was, in fact, a created being. Arianism has existed in various forms ever since.
Paul gives a vivid description in II Timothy 3 of the apostate days that exist just before Christ returns. Verse 5 is the pivotal verse: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; from such turn away.” As we’ll see, apostates know the language, they know the ritual, but in reality they deny the basic truths of the Christian faith.
An intriguing question is, “What caused the apostasy in Laodicea? Why were these people lukewarm? A possible answer is actually found in the name. Laodiceans is Laodikeus (2994), which is comprised of two words: laos (2992) meaning “people” and dikē (1349) meaning (depending upon the context) “law, right, custom, and even prescribed punishment.” The idea in this word, then, is “the law of the people” or “the people ruling.” You see, the society of that day (and today, may we add) was people centered. People had become the authority instead of the Word of God being the authority. The modern term for this is “Humanism” which says, “Man is the center of all things.” This very thought leads to the second consideration in this rebuke.
In a manner of speaking, we are now entering the “Prophetic History,” but the matter before us is not only historical, it is also present with us right now! As John R. W. Stott wrote in 1980:
Perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to the twentieth-century church than this. It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity which is so widespread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anaemic. We appear to have taken a lukewarm bath of religion.[2]
We will not set this section off as we have done previously, but history (and the present) are nonetheless in view. Let us again look at the two principles that we examined in the last section.
There are indeed many apostates in our day. There are many who profess to be “Christian” but do not in reality possess Christ in the heart. There are many liberal “theologians” and “clergymen” who say they are “Christian” but with their next breath deny the virgin birth of Christ, the sufficiency of the cross, the historical resurrection and go out of their way to deny the historicity, inspiration, infallibility, and authority of the Scriptures, and other foundational tenets of the Christian faith. These men (and women) are not “Christian;” they are apostate! Worse, even among evangelicals there are those who redefine the Gospel in nebulous terms. That is apostasy.
Not only is the calamity the same today as it was in Laodicea, but the cause is also the same. Dear Christian, we are right now living in the “Laodicean Age” of Church History. We are living in the age of Humanism, in which man has set himself up as the final authority on every subject and every question. And, as we have seen, this is the age of “people ruling.” May we add, this is true even in the Church. Never before in Church History has the Church been as “people centered” as today. We build entire churches and ministries based upon what people want. If that’s not “people ruling,” then what is it?
This philosophy is, in fact, so prevalent and so permeating that it has infiltrated every aspect of human society.
First, this philosophy is manifested in social life. The “chief god” in society today is money and material things. The goal of man (if not most) people today is to get rich. No matter how much they have, they want more. There are magazines, seminars, and all sorts of gimmicks and schemes offered to show people how to “manage their money” and get rich. The greatest tragedy of is that countless Christians are being overtaken by such worldliness. Are riches sinful? No, what is sinful is the preoccupation with riches, the love of riches (I Tim. 6:10).
Second, this philosophy is manifested in religious life. The Word of God is not the authority today even in religion! Men, even true Christians, prefer to “philosophize” and “psychologize” instead of just going to the Word for answers. Many Christians are more impressed with the answers given by “Dr. Phil” or other such person than those given by God.
To illustrate further, countless believers (including preachers, ironically enough) are afraid of the word “preach.” Many want to have a “sharing time,” a “sing time,” a “testimony time,” a Christian film, a concert, a play, or countless other things that have almost completely destroyed the pulpit ministry. We live in a day when everything is relative, and if there is one thing people do not want it’s a preacher who declares, “Thus saith the Lord.” Oh, how we need authoritative, expository preaching today! Right on the heels of his description of apostasy in the last days (II Tim. 3) Paul gave Timothy some final words about what to do in the face of that apostasy:
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (II Tim. 4:1-4).
Paul’s final counsel, counsel given just prior to his being beheaded for the cause of Christ, was to, “PREACH THE WORD.” Literally translated, verse 3 tells us, “There will come a time when they will not put up with sound doctrine.” This is what we see today. People don’t want to hear the truth; they just want to be tickled behind the ear, to hear something that will make them feel secure in their sin and rebellion. Further, verse 4 shows what liberal Theology has done; it has turned the Truth of God’s Word into “fables” (muthos, myth) and allegory. Oh, how we need authoritative preaching today!
Third, this philosophy is even manifested in political life. We often hear today that we who live in America live in a “democracy.” But may we boldly say: NO, WE DO NOT! We live in a “Representative Republic;” there is a world of difference between the two. As one political analyst puts it. A democracy is when the people decide, while a Representative Republic is the people electing those who decide.” In fact, the Founding Fathers of America strongly warned of the terrible dangers of a democracy. A democracy is no less than “socialism,” and tragically America is growing more socialistic by the day. Historically, countries that turned to democracy ended up in anarchy. The rallying cry in such places has always been, “The People!” Then, while in confusion and anarchy, the “hammer and sickle” of communism moved in. It happened in Russia in the October Revolution of 1917, Vietnam, and may we notice also in Laos (the root word of “Laodicea”); likewise, it has happened in many other places and will continue to happen till Jesus comes.
It is for that reason that it is a tragedy that many local churches operate according to this very philosophy. Instead of being lead by the godly leadership of a pastor who shepherds the sheep, most evangelical, fundamental churches today have some form of “Congregational Rule.” This is no less than a “democracy,” the people ruling. It is naïve to think that all the members of a given church are spiritually mature enough to cast the proper “vote” in a business meeting. Historically, congregational government, which came from the Reformation, was nothing but a reaction to Papal rule and was merely the opposite extreme.
So then, what is the true condition of the “Laodicean Philosophy?” Verse 17 gives us a five-fold description of “people ruling.”.
First, this philosophy is wretched, which means “vile and sinful.” Anything that is man-centered (democratic) is wretched.
Second, this philosophy is miserable, or literally, “to be pitied.” We can merely shake our heads in pity at those who reject the truth.
Third, this philosophy is poor (that is, “beggarly”). This is the same word used for the physical poverty of the Smyrnan believers, but even though the Laodiceans were physically rich, they were spiritual beggars.
Fourth, this philosophy is blind. The irony here is that despite the famous Laodicean eye-salve (which we’ll come back to later), the spiritual condition of that church was blindness. Even when the truth is placed in front of people’s eyes, they still refuse to see it.
Fifth, this philosophy is naked. As William Barclay recounts, “Laodicea prided itself on its clothing trade. The garments made there were famous over all the world, and the wool of the sheep of Laodicea was a luxury article which all men knew.” But even in all their splendor and gala appearance, the Laodiceans were shamefully naked. Commentator William Newell offers this powerful application:
Is not this a description of the professing church today? How they count up their numbers, the wealth and worldly importance of their “membership;” their great churches, cathedrals, and universities; their worldly influence. . . . The Laodicean church would fain “reform” the world that crucified the Lord. It denounces as “pessimists” those who would show from Scripture that “evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse.”
The following inscription on the cathedral in Lübeck, Germany, is still true today:
Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us:
Ye call Me Master and obey Me not.
Ye call Me Light and see Me not.
Ye call Me Way and walk Me not.
Ye call Me Life and choose Me not.
Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not.
Ye call Me Fair and love Me not.
Ye call Me Rich and ask Me not.
Ye call Me Eternal and seek Me not.
Ye call Me Noble and serve Me not.
Ye call Me Gracious and trust Me not.
Ye call Me Might and honor Me not.
Ye call Me Just and fear Me not.
If I condemn you, blame Me not.[3]
That was the Church at Laodicea, and it’s also the Church today. We say the words but don’t embrace the Truth.
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
The Lord used an extraordinarily vivid word back in verse 16; He used the word spew, which literally means “to vomit.” Lukewarmness is truly a sickening thing, and our Lord is quite literally saying, “You turn my stomach.” He, therefore, requires three things from those in the Laodicean church. The amazing thing about these is that they coincide with the three most vivid descriptions of the church: “poor,” “blind,” and “naked.”
How this is needed in a humanistic age! Laodicea had quite a banking industry, so the Lord used that fact to drive home the requirement that these people buy “refined gold” from HIM. In other words, He demanded that they exchange the wrong wealth and values for the right wealth and values; trade in the empty riches of the world for “refined gold,” the pure riches which are found only in Christ (Eph. 1).
As noted earlier, Laodicea had a clothing industry, and the people there were quite fashion conscious. As people today say, “Oh, this came from Paris,” people in that day might have said, “Oh, this came from Laodicea.” What a terrible thing it is when Christians get caught up in such self-consciousness! In essence, our Lord says, “Cloth yourself with spiritual clothing.” Since we are positionally clothed in Christ’s righteousness for salvation (II Cor. 5:21), we are now to live out this righteousness practically by living holy.
Laodicea was well-known for its medical school. In fact, a
famous eye salve that was used for treating common eye problems was developed
there. Our Lord was therefore saying, “Even with all your eye salve, with all
your medical knowledge, you are still blind.” What an application this is! What
they needed, and what is needed today, is the “spiritual eye salve” which is
the Word of God. Only this “salve” can give us discernment; only this can make
us see the right things. The words of verse 19 are then added to reemphasize
that we just need to come back to God: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The most tragic picture in this letter (if not in all these letters) is painted by the words, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. What a sad situation it is that our Lord is standing outside His own Church asking for permission to come it. We present this closing point in a twofold manner.
First, our Lord promises that if we obey, He will come in unto and fellowship with us. This is first of all a plea to the lost, the apostates. Again, our Lord is standing outside of His own Church wanting to get back in. How true it is today! Apostates have thrown the Lord Jesus out of that which belongs to Him. But this first promise is also a plea to believers who are being overtaken by apostasy. The word sup is so important! The Greek (deipnon) refers to the last meal of the day. Dear Christian, what we see here is the last call before Jesus comes (Rev. 4:1). God is one last time calling us to obey. Will we return to spiritual values? Will we return to Biblical authority?
Second, our Lord promises that if we obey, we will reign with Him. This is similar to the promise He gave to the church at Thyatira.
I would like to end the study of this seventh church, and our study of the seven churches as a whole, with a question that has been on this preacher’s mind for many years. The question is this: “Is there any real hope for the Church?” There are some today who believe and proclaim that there will someday be some sort of worldwide revival, or another “Great Awakening,” or perhaps a “Second Reformation.” But as commentator Lehman Strauss rightly observes,
“Someone has said, ‘History affords little ground for optimism that an organization that has departed from Christ will return.’”[4]
Likewise, neither is any Scriptural support for such a return. In fact, the Word of God tells us the exact opposite—the world will grow increasing worse until Jesus returns. The Apostle Paul could not have been clearer in II Timothy 3 and 4 about the days of apostasy. We build churches today based upon what people want, for example, instead of on Truth. We are right now in days of apostasy, and things will not improve as the Savior’s return draws near.
We should interject here that this is one reason why some teachers reject the fact that these seven churches picture Church History; these folks feel that this view is fatalistic and leaves us with no hope of doing a successful work for God. But, without trying to paint a hopeless picture, we still must say that very few will obey God’s Word. It has, in fact, always been that way.
So, it will now be asked, “What, then, is the point in even trying to do anything?” The answer is found in verse 22: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Just as it was true in every period of Church History, it is also true in this one that there is a remnant. There will be individuals in this age, and even whole churches, that will get right with God and obey His Word.
Dear Christian, we need to realize that the Church is in serious trouble. With the exception of two, each period of Church History has gotten progressively worse; each age has taken the Church just a little bit farther from Biblical truth. This historical progression is simply too obvious and compelling to ignore. The only hope, then, is to get away from man’s ideas, opinions, traditions, programs, and organizations and get back to the emphases of the Early Church, to return to what God designed. To this thought many say, “How naïve! That won’t work.” But I submit that such statements prove our point that much more. The Church today is the result of centuries of ignorance and ignoring of the Word of God. Indeed, the majority will keep on ignoring it, but some, THE REMNANT, will obey.
By the Church at Ephesus we are warned not to leave our first love, to abandon the simplicity, joy, depth, and passion of a personal relationship with Christ. By the Church at Smyrna we are encouraged to not become discouraged by suffering and be willing to give all for Christ. From the Church at Pergamum we learn not to become tolerant of the worldliness and false teaching. From the Church at Thyatira we are then challenged not to embrace pagan practices and be absorbed into the world. By the Church at Sardis we are warned about dead orthodoxy, warned about having only outward form and no inward fervor, only liturgy and no life. By the Church at Philadelphia we are encouraged to a faithful witness and recognizing that God’s people rejoice in being the minority. Finally, by the Church at Laodicea we are challenged to beware of apostasy and spiritual anemia.
As our study comes to a close, let us each ask ourselves some probing questions: “What kind of Christian am I?” “Which of these characteristics is true in my life?” “Which kind of church do I attend?” “Do I contribute to the condition of that church?” Finally, “Am I going to listen to and heed God’s Word?”