We arrive now at our last stop on this journey with the seventh church, the church at Laodicea. The city of Laodicea was located southeast of Philadelphia on the banks of the Lycus River, a tributary of the Maeaner River. Laodicea was about 40 miles east of Ephesus and 10 miles west of Colossae in the same valley as both Colossae and Hierapolis. The city was located on one of the major trade routes from the east and this strategic position made Laodicea an extremely prosperous city, especially under Roman rule.
Laodicea was originally known as Diospolis and then Rhoas, but was renamed Laodicea after Laodice, the wife of Antiochus II, the king of Syria who rebuilt the city. Laodicea was one of the early seats of Christianity, and although it appears that Paul never visited the city he seems to have had a ministry there. Colossians 4:16 even tells us that he wrote a letter to this church, but that letter has been lost to us today.
Like the city of Sardis, Laodicea was known for its wealth and prosperity. Then in 60 A.D. an earthquake destroyed the city of Laodicea, along with the cities of Colossae and Hierapolis. The Laodiceans refused any financial aid from the government in Rome for the rebuilding of their city saying they would rebuild it themselves.
In addition to the wealth they possessed, the city was known as a center for finance and for its garment industry, which produced a fine black cloth from the wool of the raven-black sheep raised in the surrounding area. In addition to their thriving garment industry they were also known as a medical center. Laodicea boasted a medical school and medical center that was famous for the eyesalve that was produced there.
But for everything that Laodicea had going for it, it had a major problem. There was not a sufficient supply of fresh water anywhere in the city, so they had to bring their water in from the surrounding cities through a series of underground aqueducts. In Hierapolis four miles to the north there was a series of hot springs, which were known for their medicinal properties, and in Colossae 10 miles to the east there was an abundance of cold water. All of the water in Laodicea arrived from one of these two cities through these aqueducts, so the water, when it arrived in Laodicea was lukewarm and dirty. As we move through this letter we will see the importance that this plays in the message to this church. So let’s look now at the message to the church in Laodicea.
First, Jesus identifies Himself as the Amen. The word Amen is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word ˒āmēn, which means:
Next Jesus identifies Himself as the faithful and true witness, which goes right along with the title The Amen that we have just looked at. We have also already seen Jesus referred to as the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5) and the One who is true (revelation 3:7), so we will not take a lot of time on this title here. What you need to know is that by using this title Jesus is assuring the Laodiceans that His diagnosis of their church is true and accurate.
Lastly Jesus identifies Himself as the Beginning of the creation of God. This phrase has caused no small amount of controversy, as there are several possible interpretations as to what this means; here are the three most prominent:
John MacArthur says in speaking of this phrase:
The Greek phrase here is hē archē tēs ktiseōs tou theou. The word arché̄ is the word we translate as beginning and this word “denotes an act [or] cause.”6 Dr A.T. Robertson says of this phrase, Jesus is:
MacDonald and Farstad sum up the meaning of this Greek phrase this way:
Jesus begins just like He has with each of the other letters we have looked at, by stating that He knows their deeds. What Jesus tells them here is that just like the water that was piped into their city they are neither hot nor cold; they are lukewarm.
A person who is hot is one who has been transformed by the power of God and is living a fervent and dynamic life in the power of the Holy Spirit, and one who is cold can best be understood as a person who rejects Christ outright. The spiritually lukewarm; however, fit into neither category. John MacArthur describes them like this:
J. Vernon McGee adds:
In verse fifteen, after showing them that their spiritual condition was like the water they were used to drinking, Jesus says that He wishes that they were either hot or cold. I think we can all understand why Jesus would desire that they be hot, but why would He want them to be cold? The reason is that a person who has rejected the gospel outright has a better chance of being converted than the person who has not rejected Christ, but neither have they embraced Him. To quote John MacArthur:
The Greek word translated spit here is eméō, which literally means, “to vomit.” 12 Dr. Robertson adds that the word means, “to reject with extreme disgust.”13 This is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament, and what Jesus is telling the church by using this word is that their deeds were making Him want to vomit. John MacArthur adds:
There is quite a contrast between how they saw themselves and how Jesus saw them, so let’s look at a few of these words and piece together the differences here.
First they said they were rich and had become wealthy, the Greek word for rich is ploúsios, and the Greek word for wealthy is ploutéō. These two words could also be translated as abundance, and what this is telling us is that just like the city where they lived the people in this church were relying upon their wealth and prosperity to the point that they no longer needed God. This is just the opposite of the church in Smyrna who endured tribulation and poverty, but were truly rich. The Laodiceans thought they were rich, but were truly poor.
This church said they were in need of nothing. The Greek word translated nothing here in verse seventeen in the word oudeís, which conveys the idea of “no one, nothing, none at all, not even one, not the least.”15 This church believed that they were in need of absolutely nothing; they had everything they needed and their wealth was their security.
But Jesus, who sees the true condition of His church, said they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
This is an interesting series of words that Jesus chooses to describe their condition; the words for wretched and miserable are talaípōros and eleeinós respectively. These two words have almost the same meaning in that either of these words can be translated as either wretched or miserable. The interesting thing about these words is the other ways they are translated in the Bible. The word talaípōros is found one time in the Septuagint in Psalm 137:8 where it is translated as devastated one.
Quite a different perspective than what the Laodiceans had of themselves, and Jesus is not finished yet.
Next Jesus says that they are in addition to being wretched and miserable they are also poor, blind, and naked. The Greek word used here for poor is ptōchós, which means not just poor, but it refers to “someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution.”17
Despite all of the wealth that the Laodiceans possessed, in Jesus’ eyes they were completely destitute.
He’s still not finished, next Jesus tells them they are blind and naked. Again, Jesus is using imagery that would have been familiar to the people in this church. Remember that Laodicea was known for their school of optometry and their textile industry; the city produced an eye-salve that was famous throughout the known world, and a fine black wool that was used for making garments. But Jesus tells them they are blind. The word here is tuphlós, which means not just sightless, but also “to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly.”18
This expresses the idea that the Laodiceans were actually in a fog when it came to seeing their spiritual condition; they were unable to see clearly how lost they really were.
And to complete the picture Jesus said they were naked. This is the Greek word gumnós, which means stark naked. A.T. Robertson, in his Word Pictures in the New Testament says of this word:
As we move now into verse eighteen Jesus tells them what they need to do to correct the problem. In this verse Jesus tells them three things that they need buy from Him:
The first thing Jesus said to them was, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich.” There are a couple of noteworthy things in this sentence, and they are just as applicable to us today as they were to the Laodiceans.
Notice first that Jesus said, “I advise you.” Jesus could have judged the church right then and there, but He was giving them a chance to repent and turn to Him. The word advise could also be translated as counsel, admonish, or exhort, and that is what Jesus is doing here. Just as it says in Luke 19:10, Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and as long as there was still an opportunity to repent He will continue to do so. But remember, today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2) and the opportunity to repent will not last forever.
Next notice that Jesus said they were to buy these things from Him. This church was in need of salvation, and salvation is found only in Jesus, as the following verses make clear:
It must also be pointed out here that although they were admonished to “buy” these things from Jesus, they had nothing with which to do so. Jesus has already pointed out that they are poor, blind, and naked, and they were no different than us. We too need to buy these things from Jesus, and just like the Laodiceans we have nothing with which to buy them. But look at this promise from Isaiah:
As we have already noted Jesus told them that they needed three things from Him. The first of these was “gold refined by fire.” This is a picture of true salvation, which Peter called “more precious than gold” (1 Peter 1:7). J Vernon McGee says this gold represents “the precious blood of Christ.”22
Next they are to buy white garments. The Laodiceans were famous for their black wool, but Jesus tells them that they need not the black garments that they make for themselves, but white garments that only He can provide. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. We must remove the filthy garment of sin and put on the clean white garment of righteousness that we get from Jesus. Dr. McGee says this [white garments] speaks of the righteousness of Christ.”23
Lastly Jesus tells them they need eye-salve. This is once again an illustration that would have been obvious to the Laodiceans since they prided themselves on their medical school and the eye-salve that was produced in their city. But unlike the eye-salve that they were used to, the eye-salve the Jesus was offering them was not for physical eyes, but for spiritual eyes. Despite all of their wealth and prosperity this church was spiritually blind, and they desperately needed their eyes to be opened. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light; that is exactly what Jesus is offering here. Again, Dr. McGee says, “this speaks of the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of believers…”24
In verse nineteen Jesus says “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.” There are two views concerning the condition of this church:
On this point I tend to agree with the position that John MacArthur takes; here he says,:
I believe that this is an unregenerate church is made clear by the next verse. Verse twenty says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
This is an invitation to salvation, and it is personal. Though this message is given to the church as a whole, this invitation individual. The promise to anyone who hears and opens the door is that Jesus “will come into him, and dine with him, and he with Me.” This is a promise of intimate fellowship; Palmer and Ogilvie point out that:
Jesus closes His message again with a promise to the overcomer; in verse twenty-one He says, “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.”
This is to the promise of Revelation 20:6 that we will reign with Him for a thousand years. Jesus is telling the Laodiceans, and us today, that if we overcome we will not only have intimate fellowship with Him, but we will also reign with Him.
This message ends then with the same admonition as the other six letters; with the words “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This shows us once again that this message is just as relevant for us today as it was in the first century for the Laodiceans.
Next week as we conclude this series we will look at the messages to the seven churches as a prophetic history of the Church.
Laodicea was originally known as Diospolis and then Rhoas, but was renamed Laodicea after Laodice, the wife of Antiochus II, the king of Syria who rebuilt the city. Laodicea was one of the early seats of Christianity, and although it appears that Paul never visited the city he seems to have had a ministry there. Colossians 4:16 even tells us that he wrote a letter to this church, but that letter has been lost to us today.
Like the city of Sardis, Laodicea was known for its wealth and prosperity. Then in 60 A.D. an earthquake destroyed the city of Laodicea, along with the cities of Colossae and Hierapolis. The Laodiceans refused any financial aid from the government in Rome for the rebuilding of their city saying they would rebuild it themselves.
In addition to the wealth they possessed, the city was known as a center for finance and for its garment industry, which produced a fine black cloth from the wool of the raven-black sheep raised in the surrounding area. In addition to their thriving garment industry they were also known as a medical center. Laodicea boasted a medical school and medical center that was famous for the eyesalve that was produced there.
But for everything that Laodicea had going for it, it had a major problem. There was not a sufficient supply of fresh water anywhere in the city, so they had to bring their water in from the surrounding cities through a series of underground aqueducts. In Hierapolis four miles to the north there was a series of hot springs, which were known for their medicinal properties, and in Colossae 10 miles to the east there was an abundance of cold water. All of the water in Laodicea arrived from one of these two cities through these aqueducts, so the water, when it arrived in Laodicea was lukewarm and dirty. As we move through this letter we will see the importance that this plays in the message to this church. So let’s look now at the message to the church in 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.Once again Jesus begins His message by addressing the pastor of the church. In this message Jesus identifies Himself as the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. Let’s look at these one at a time:Revelation 3:14-22 (NASB)
First, Jesus identifies Himself as the Amen. The word Amen is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word ˒āmēn, which means:
[T]o confirm; to support; to be faithful. The major idea behind this word is constancy and reliability. It is used as a declaration to acknowledge affirmation of a statement; acceptance of a curse; affirmation of a prophecy. It is also used in response to worship and praise. The English word amen comes from this word and means, ‘I agree; may it be so.’1Dr. Vine tells us:
[T]he ˒amen was an affirmation of a covenant...” 2And Dr. Zodhiates writes that in Greek, the word amé̄n means:
[T]o be firm, steady, truthworthy” and that it is “Rendered also as ‘truth.’3So what is Jesus telling us here by identifying Himself as the Amen? First of all, this is an Old Testament title for God, which we can see in Isaiah 65:16
Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!In this verse the word translated truth is the Hebrew word ˒amen, so in this verse God is called the God of Amen. This passage in Revelation is the only place in the Bible where Amen is used as a title for Jesus, but it clearly points back to this Old Testament title for God found in Isaiah. John MacArthur writes that this word:Isaiah 65:16 (NASB)
[R]efers to that which is firm, fixed, and unchangeable” and he goes on to say, “It is through the person and work of Christ that all God’s promises and covenants are fulfilled and guaranteed. All the Old Testament promises of forgiveness, mercy, lovingkindness, grace, hope, and eternal life are bound up in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. He is the Amen because He is the One who confirmed all of God’s promises.”4So we can see this from this, and the definitions above, that this is exactly the point that Jesus was making about Himself here in Revelation. By saying that He is the Amen Jesus is telling us that He is the God of Truth and that all of the promises of God are wrapped up in Him.
Next Jesus identifies Himself as the faithful and true witness, which goes right along with the title The Amen that we have just looked at. We have also already seen Jesus referred to as the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5) and the One who is true (revelation 3:7), so we will not take a lot of time on this title here. What you need to know is that by using this title Jesus is assuring the Laodiceans that His diagnosis of their church is true and accurate.
Lastly Jesus identifies Himself as the Beginning of the creation of God. This phrase has caused no small amount of controversy, as there are several possible interpretations as to what this means; here are the three most prominent:
- Jesus is saying that He was the author of creation, meaning that He caused it.
- Jesus is saying that He is the preeminent ruler of the creation of God.
- Jesus is saying that He was the first created being by God.
John MacArthur says in speaking of this phrase:
The English translation [The beginning of the creation of God] is somewhat ambiguous and misleading. As a result, false teachers seeking to deny Christ’s deity have attempted to use this verse to prove He is a created being. There is no ambiguity in the Greek text, however. 5So let’s look at the Greek text and see if we can learn what Jesus meant by saying that He is the Beginning of the creation of God.
The Greek phrase here is hē archē tēs ktiseōs tou theou. The word arché̄ is the word we translate as beginning and this word “denotes an act [or] cause.”6 Dr A.T. Robertson says of this phrase, Jesus is:
Not the first of creatures… but the originating source of creation through whom God works. 7
MacDonald and Farstad sum up the meaning of this Greek phrase this way:
The expression, ‘the Beginning of the creation of God’ does not mean that He was the first Person to be created; He was never created. Rather, it means that He began all creation. It does not say that He had a beginning, but that He is the Beginning. He is the origin of the creation of God. And He is pre-eminent over all creation. 8This is the very thing that John said as he began his gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.Now that Jesus has identified Himself He move right into the message for this church. As we move through this message you will see that Jesus does not have a single good thing to say to this church; they only receive condemnation from the Lord, and a call to repent.John 1:1-3 (HCSB)
Jesus begins just like He has with each of the other letters we have looked at, by stating that He knows their deeds. What Jesus tells them here is that just like the water that was piped into their city they are neither hot nor cold; they are lukewarm.
A person who is hot is one who has been transformed by the power of God and is living a fervent and dynamic life in the power of the Holy Spirit, and one who is cold can best be understood as a person who rejects Christ outright. The spiritually lukewarm; however, fit into neither category. John MacArthur describes them like this:
They are not genuinely saved, yet they do not openly reject the gospel. They attend church and claim to know the Lord. Like the Pharisees, they are content to practice a self-righteous religion; they are hypocrites playing games. 9
J. Vernon McGee adds:
Many… attempt to maintain a middle-of-the- road position. They do not want to come out flatfootedly for the Word of God and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. And at the same time, they don’t want to be known as liberal… So they play footsie with both groups... To my judgment this middle-of-the-road position is the worst kind of hypocrisy there is.10This, Jesus said, was the condition of this church. They were neither hot nor cold, they were lukewarm, and because they were lukewarm Jesus tells them that they made Him sick. I don’t know about you, but that is not something I ever want to hear from my Lord.
In verse fifteen, after showing them that their spiritual condition was like the water they were used to drinking, Jesus says that He wishes that they were either hot or cold. I think we can all understand why Jesus would desire that they be hot, but why would He want them to be cold? The reason is that a person who has rejected the gospel outright has a better chance of being converted than the person who has not rejected Christ, but neither have they embraced Him. To quote John MacArthur:
These smug, self-righteous hypocrites are far more difficult to reach with the gospel than cold-hearted rejecters. The latter may at least be shown that they are lost. But those who self-righteously think that they are saved are often protective of their religious feelings and unwilling to recognize their real condition. They are not cold enough to feel the bitter sting of their sin. Consequently, there is no one further from the truth than the one who makes an idle profession but never experiences genuine saving faith. No one is harder to reach for Christ than a false Christian. 11So the problem with a lukewarm “Christian” is that they don’t realize that they are in need of anything. For them Christianity is just a religion; it is all ritual with no relationship. This is not the kind of person that Jesus wants in His church, and we can see this in verse sixteen where Jesus says, “because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
The Greek word translated spit here is eméō, which literally means, “to vomit.” 12 Dr. Robertson adds that the word means, “to reject with extreme disgust.”13 This is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament, and what Jesus is telling the church by using this word is that their deeds were making Him want to vomit. John MacArthur adds:
Some churches make the Lord weep, others make Him angry; the Laodicean church made Him sick.14In verse seventeen Jesus explains in detail exactly why this church was in the condition they were in. Just like the city where they resided the attitude of the church at Laodicea was “I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” But Jesus tells them their true condition, He says, “you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”
There is quite a contrast between how they saw themselves and how Jesus saw them, so let’s look at a few of these words and piece together the differences here.
First they said they were rich and had become wealthy, the Greek word for rich is ploúsios, and the Greek word for wealthy is ploutéō. These two words could also be translated as abundance, and what this is telling us is that just like the city where they lived the people in this church were relying upon their wealth and prosperity to the point that they no longer needed God. This is just the opposite of the church in Smyrna who endured tribulation and poverty, but were truly rich. The Laodiceans thought they were rich, but were truly poor.
This church said they were in need of nothing. The Greek word translated nothing here in verse seventeen in the word oudeís, which conveys the idea of “no one, nothing, none at all, not even one, not the least.”15 This church believed that they were in need of absolutely nothing; they had everything they needed and their wealth was their security.
But Jesus, who sees the true condition of His church, said they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
This is an interesting series of words that Jesus chooses to describe their condition; the words for wretched and miserable are talaípōros and eleeinós respectively. These two words have almost the same meaning in that either of these words can be translated as either wretched or miserable. The interesting thing about these words is the other ways they are translated in the Bible. The word talaípōros is found one time in the Septuagint in Psalm 137:8 where it is translated as devastated one.
O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us.The word eleeinós is only used one other time in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians where it is translated pitied.Psalm 137:8 (NASB)
If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.So these two words together paint the picture of one who is wretched, miserable, devastated, pitied, afflicted, or as Dr. Zodhiates puts it, “suffering from spiritual or emotional misery.” 161 Corinthians 15:19 (NASB)
Quite a different perspective than what the Laodiceans had of themselves, and Jesus is not finished yet.
Next Jesus says that they are in addition to being wretched and miserable they are also poor, blind, and naked. The Greek word used here for poor is ptōchós, which means not just poor, but it refers to “someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution.”17
Despite all of the wealth that the Laodiceans possessed, in Jesus’ eyes they were completely destitute.
He’s still not finished, next Jesus tells them they are blind and naked. Again, Jesus is using imagery that would have been familiar to the people in this church. Remember that Laodicea was known for their school of optometry and their textile industry; the city produced an eye-salve that was famous throughout the known world, and a fine black wool that was used for making garments. But Jesus tells them they are blind. The word here is tuphlós, which means not just sightless, but also “to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly.”18
This expresses the idea that the Laodiceans were actually in a fog when it came to seeing their spiritual condition; they were unable to see clearly how lost they really were.
And to complete the picture Jesus said they were naked. This is the Greek word gumnós, which means stark naked. A.T. Robertson, in his Word Pictures in the New Testament says of this word:
The figure completes the picture of actual poverty.19Warren Wiersbe adds:
[T]heir material wealth and glowing statistics were but shrouds hiding a rotting corpse. 20This was the spiritual condition of the church that said they “have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17).
As we move now into verse eighteen Jesus tells them what they need to do to correct the problem. In this verse Jesus tells them three things that they need buy from Him:
- Gold refined by fire.
- White garments.
- Eye salve.
The first thing Jesus said to them was, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich.” There are a couple of noteworthy things in this sentence, and they are just as applicable to us today as they were to the Laodiceans.
Notice first that Jesus said, “I advise you.” Jesus could have judged the church right then and there, but He was giving them a chance to repent and turn to Him. The word advise could also be translated as counsel, admonish, or exhort, and that is what Jesus is doing here. Just as it says in Luke 19:10, Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and as long as there was still an opportunity to repent He will continue to do so. But remember, today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2) and the opportunity to repent will not last forever.
Next notice that Jesus said they were to buy these things from Him. This church was in need of salvation, and salvation is found only in Jesus, as the following verses make clear:
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.Acts 4:12 (NASB)
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.1 John 5:11 (NASB)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.There are many more verses we could look at, but the point here is this: salvation is in Jesus alone, and it is offered to freely to everyone, but the door will not be open forever.John 14:6 (NASB)
It must also be pointed out here that although they were admonished to “buy” these things from Jesus, they had nothing with which to do so. Jesus has already pointed out that they are poor, blind, and naked, and they were no different than us. We too need to buy these things from Jesus, and just like the Laodiceans we have nothing with which to buy them. But look at this promise from Isaiah:
Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.John MacArthur says here:Isaiah 55:1 (NASB)
The Lord, of course, did not teach that salvation may be earned by good works; lost sinners have nothing with which to buy salvation. The buying here is the same as that of the invitation to salvation in Isaiah 55:1. All sinners have to offer is their wretched, lost condition. In exchange for that, Christ offers His righteousness to those who truly repent.21This was the counsel that Jesus gave to the Laodicean church.
As we have already noted Jesus told them that they needed three things from Him. The first of these was “gold refined by fire.” This is a picture of true salvation, which Peter called “more precious than gold” (1 Peter 1:7). J Vernon McGee says this gold represents “the precious blood of Christ.”22
Next they are to buy white garments. The Laodiceans were famous for their black wool, but Jesus tells them that they need not the black garments that they make for themselves, but white garments that only He can provide. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. We must remove the filthy garment of sin and put on the clean white garment of righteousness that we get from Jesus. Dr. McGee says this [white garments] speaks of the righteousness of Christ.”23
Lastly Jesus tells them they need eye-salve. This is once again an illustration that would have been obvious to the Laodiceans since they prided themselves on their medical school and the eye-salve that was produced in their city. But unlike the eye-salve that they were used to, the eye-salve the Jesus was offering them was not for physical eyes, but for spiritual eyes. Despite all of their wealth and prosperity this church was spiritually blind, and they desperately needed their eyes to be opened. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light; that is exactly what Jesus is offering here. Again, Dr. McGee says, “this speaks of the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of believers…”24
In verse nineteen Jesus says “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.” There are two views concerning the condition of this church:
- They were a truly saved and redeemed church, but they were living in a state of carnality. In other words, they were backslidden.
- They were unredeemed and were Christians in name only having never truly placed their faith and trust in Jesus for their salvation.
On this point I tend to agree with the position that John MacArthur takes; here he says,:
Because the Laodiceans outwardly identified with Christ’s church and His kingdom, they were in the sphere of His concern… the terminology of verse 19 does not demand that Christ be referring to believers. The Lord compassionately, tenderly called those in this unregenerate church to come to saving faith, lest He convict and judge them. 25It is interesting to note here that Jesus admonition to this church was to “be zealous and repent.” While repentance always accompanies salvation the Greek word zēleuō, which comes from a root word meaning “to boil” is used only here in the New Testament. In contrast to their lukewarmness Jesus call to the Laodiceans is that the repent and become hot.
I believe that this is an unregenerate church is made clear by the next verse. Verse twenty says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
This is an invitation to salvation, and it is personal. Though this message is given to the church as a whole, this invitation individual. The promise to anyone who hears and opens the door is that Jesus “will come into him, and dine with him, and he with Me.” This is a promise of intimate fellowship; Palmer and Ogilvie point out that:
In Jewish and Greek daily life there is a special significance to the meal taken together. It has the deeper significance of interpersonal commitment and joyous fellowship. 26This is the promise to all who repent and open the door to Christ.
Jesus closes His message again with a promise to the overcomer; in verse twenty-one He says, “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.”
This is to the promise of Revelation 20:6 that we will reign with Him for a thousand years. Jesus is telling the Laodiceans, and us today, that if we overcome we will not only have intimate fellowship with Him, but we will also reign with Him.
This message ends then with the same admonition as the other six letters; with the words “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This shows us once again that this message is just as relevant for us today as it was in the first century for the Laodiceans.
1 Baker, W. (2003, c2002). The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (70). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
2 Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words (1:17). Nashville: T. Nelson.
3 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G281). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
4 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (133). Chicago: Moody Press.
5 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (133). Chicago: Moody Press.
6 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G746). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
7 Robertson, A.T. (c1932, c1960). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Volume VI Pg 321. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
8 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 3:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
9 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (136). Chicago: Moody Press.
10 McGee J. Vernon (c 1983). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol.5 1 Corinthians–Revelation Pg.922. Nashville TN.: Thomas Nelson.
11 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (137). Chicago: Moody Press.
12 Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words (2:592). Nashville: T. Nelson.
13 Robertson, A.T. (c1932, c1960). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Volume VI Pg 321. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
14 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (136). Chicago: Moody Press.
15 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G3762). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
16 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G5005). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
17 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G4434). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
18 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G5185). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
19 Robertson, A.T. (c1932, c1960). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Volume VI Pg 322. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
20 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 3:14). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
21 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (138). Chicago: Moody Press.
22 McGee J. Vernon (c 1983). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol.5 1 Corinthians–Revelation Pg.924. Nashville TN.: Thomas Nelson.
23 McGee J. Vernon (c 1983). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol.5 1 Corinthians–Revelation Pg.924. Nashville TN.: Thomas Nelson.
24 McGee J. Vernon (c 1983). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol.5 1 Corinthians–Revelation Pg.924. Nashville TN.: Thomas Nelson.
25 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (139). Chicago: Moody Press.
26 Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 35 : 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (149). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
