84. LAODICEA

Revelation 3:14. “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17. 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: 18. 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,'” (Revelation 3:15-18).

Another play on words may have come from the Greek word Laodicea by using the meaning of the Hebrew word, La’at, which sounds similar to the root Laod, “swallow down, speak confusedly ... eat greedily or devour.” "I am about to spit you out of my mouth," the nauseating effects of gorging food too hurriedly, or drinking warm water. This also in the context of the fact that Laodicea had warm, soda-laden springs that, when one drank of them, induced vomiting. The nearby city, Hierapolis, had beautiful springs of water but thirsty travelers found it warm and tasting of minerals – very distasteful, and often spewed out.  This would fit the context of their "lukewarm-ness."

Their diseased eyes and nakedness, perhaps also with issues caused from venereal disease, made them unclean according to the law, and therefore not to be associated with by the priests.  The writer may have suggested that these people were dâliy, “containers for repulsive or obscene liquids.” To spue out means to vomit, or to loath or abhor. Ironically, the people were even more loathsome because they considered themselves rich and in need of nothing!

But the gracious Lord Jesus Christ counsels these repulsive, ugly and unlovable souls with some of the sweetest promises in the entire Bible:

3:18-22: 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. 19. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. 20. 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. 21. 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. 22. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

For their poverty the Lord offers "gold refined in the fire," for their nakedness He offers "white raiment" to cover their shame; for their diseased eyes He offers a healing salve. For their languid, feeble condition He challenges them to "be zealous"; for their sin He exhorts them to "repent."  He reminds them of His love, even in spite of their loathsome condition. He wants to clean them up, heal them, and even eat with them in fellowship. And as if that were not enough, He offers them the privilege to sit with Him in His throne. What a Savior!

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net