The final church in the book of Revelation that is being addressed is the church at Laodicea. This church probably gets more attention than any of the others because of the messages that are here. Ephesus, the first church, gets some attention as well. However, these two bookend the seven churches and draw more commentary perhaps than the others.
The church of Laodicea was an interesting church. It is actually mentioned in the book of Colossians. The book of Colossians was to be sent to the church at Laodicea so that they could read it. So, we have to believe that there were some solid Christians there at that church at one point in time, and they had received the messages of the book of Colossians and possibly Philemon and Ephesians as well. When we come to this particular point in time, we find that something very different has taken place.
Revelation 3:14, says, “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…” So once again, Jesus is characterized here. He says who He is. He is the Amen. The Amen is “so be it” more or less. It’s a final word on anything. He is the final word on all things. He says He is the faithful and true witness. His faithfulness is pinpointed. If they are not faithful and true, He is, and He is a faithful and true witness. He also says, “the beginning of creation of God says this.” The word “beginning” there is the idea of “source.” He is the One who created all things, so He is the monarch over all things because of that.
Now here is what He has to say. In Revelation 3:15, “I know your deeds.” So once again, I’m aware of who you are. I know your deeds. I am omniscient. He continues, “that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.” This verse of Scripture and the one that follows is often used in sermons and so forth to say that the Lord wants us to either be red hot for Him - just serving the Lord with great passion or just as cold as a fish and just have no passion whatsoever just go through the motions. The Lord would rather have you one or the other. So, reading just this verse of Scripture it would seem that could be the case. He says, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” So, because you are not one or the other, I am going to spew you out or vomit you out of my mouth is what Jesus is saying there. So, what is He saying? I’m going to take exception to the idea that the Lord wants you either red hot for Him or cold and that lukewarm Christianity is that which He cannot stomach. I don’t think that’s exactly what He is saying. One of the keys to understanding this verse is to know that near Laodicea were hot springs where water was boiling hot, and it was used for purposes because it was hot. There were also cold springs nearby in which water had to be piped into Laodicea from those springs of water that were very icy cold. So, you had nearby hot and cold. Both of those types of water were very valuable. Hot water has wonderful purposes. Who doesn’t like to bathe in a nice warm bath? The cold water is good to drink. So, He is talking about that, but lukewarm water doesn’t have much value. So, I think what He is saying is not that He wants us either hot or cold for him. He is saying He wants us to be useful for Him. Hot water is useful, cold water is useful, but lukewarm water is not. He is saying that if you are not going to be useful to Him – He would just spit you out of His mouth. He has no real use for one that is not useful for His purposes. So, I think that is what He is saying. I trust that you can think about that . . .
