Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 13

Our study this week is on the last of the seven specific letters to churches in Asia Minor, sent from Christ Himself in Revelation 2-3, through the apostle John. This letter is to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. It follows the same pattern as the other letters. It is addressed to the “angel,” the pastor, the “messenger” and leaders of the church.

These are the words, again, of Christ Jesus Himself. He is called “the Amen” (Revelation 3:14). The word “Amen” means “truly,” “true,” and “most certainly true.” This word is tied in with God in Isaiah 65:16, where one blesses himself by “the God of Amen.” (This is what it literally says, though many translate it “the God of Truth.”) When Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “Truly, truly, I say unto you,” He is literally saying, “Amen, Amen, I say to you.” (See examples of this in John 3:3, 5:24-25, and 8:51-54, etc.) Paul then says of Jesus that “in Him it is always yes. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20). Therefore, Jesus is also “the faithful and true Witness” to what is true. Revelation 1:1-2 tells us that John “bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is “the faithful witness,” though, John says (Revelation 1:5, 3:14).

Jesus is also called “the Beginning of God’s creation” (Revelation 3:14). This does not mean that He was the first created being, as some heretical teachers have tried to say, in the past. It means that He, as God the Son, with His Father and the Holy Spirit, existing as the One True God from all eternity, was the Source of God’s creation. (See John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Jesus Himself prayed, predicting His ascension and return to heaven: “And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). See also the very detailed words of Paul about Christ in Colossians 1:15-20 and in Colossians 2:1-3.)

Did you notice in Colossians 2:1 that Christians at Laodicea were mentioned, as they also are in Colossians 4:13 and 4:15-16? This is because Laodicea was only about 11 miles from Colossae and about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians from Rome about 60 AD, and it was to be passed on to the Christians at Laodicea and Hierapolis, too. The “letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16) was probably Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, written about the same time, with the intent of its being circulated also to the other churches. That is eventually what happened with all of the letters of the apostles, along with the other parts of the Scriptures.

This means that the church in Laodicea had had solid Biblical teaching available to it in the past. This is now about 35 years later, assuming that this letter was written around 95 AD. From what we know about the city of Laodicea itself, it may have greatly influenced the thinking and attitudes of the church members there. Laodicea was the wealthiest city in this area. It was a center of business and commerce and banking; had a strong textile industry, producing cloth and clothing goods; and had a respected medical school and produced a famous eye salve. The city seemed very proud of itself and self-sufficient. There had been a bad earthquake earlier, but the city was able to bounce back and rebuild, without needing much help at all from Rome. One major weakness was not having a good water supply.

The people in the church seemed to have developed a self-centered, self-sufficient attitude, too. Jesus says that He knows their works: that they are “neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm,” presumably in their Christian faith and life; and Jesus is about to “spit (literally, to spew or vomit) them out of His mouth,” like a drink that is at the wrong temperature and can’t be tolerated or makes one sick (Revelation 3:15-16). The church members are saying, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” while they are really in a “wretched” situation, and cannot see their many spiritual problems (Revelation 3:17). They need to “be zealous and repent” (3:19) and receive again the blessings from the Lord and see again their genuine needs.

Next week, we will look at Christ’s response to them in more detail. We’ll also talk about “discipline” from God and the famous passage in v.20 which is often used and misused by people. Think about how this passage applies to churches today. The Lord’s blessings on your week.