The Seven Churches of the 21st
Century
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.”
The Root of the Letter (v.
14)
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;
Concerning
Christ
As we saw in the letter to
Philadelphia, we also see here a threefold picture of
Christ.
Christ is “The
Amen”
The word Amen
is merely a transliteration of the Hebrew amen.
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.[i]
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.“
Christ is “The Faithful
and True Witness”
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.
Christ is “The
Creator”
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.
Concerning
The Church
The meaning of
Laodicea is truly amazing. It is made up of two
words: laos, meaning “people” and dikao,
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.”
Concerning
The City
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.
The Regard of the
Letter
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.
The Rebuke of the
Letter (vs. 15-17)
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.
The Problem
In Laodicea
In like manner, lust us
also divide this thought into two parts.
The
Calamity
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.
The Cause
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
dike (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.
The Problem
Today
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.[ii]
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.
The
Calamity
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.
The Cause
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.[iii]
That was the
Church at Laodicea, and it’s also the Church today. We
say the words but don’t embrace the
Truth.
The Requirement of the Letter
(vs. 18-19)
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.”
Desire The
Right Riches
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).
Put On The
Right Clothing
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.
Look At The
Right Things
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.
The
Reassurance of the Letter (vs. 20-22)
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.
A Twofold
Promise
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.
A Sobering
Question
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.’”[iv]
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.
Conclusion of the Seven
Churches
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?”
[i] Thayer, p. 32. See
also Brown, vol. I, p. 97-99.
[ii] John R. W. Stott,
What Christ Thinks of the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), p.
116.
