Revelation 3:14-22
The last but not at all the least of the Seven Churches is Laodicea.
Many a sermon has been preached concerning this passage. It has been said, God would rather have us “hot” or “cold” but not “lukewarm.” So I would venture to say that this is a very familiar discussion concerning the “lukewarm Church” being spewed out of the Lord’s mouth.
We will examine this claim in more detail and this may bring about some surprises to the reader as we delve into this discussion.
Laodicea was a very wealthy area, like most of the other seven cities. In fact we could say this was the wealthiest of all the seven cities. In 60AD an earthquake hit that area and destroyed much of the city. The Roman Empire was ready to step in and help rebuild however, Laodicea told them that would not be necessary for they had more than enough wealth to rebuild on their own.
Now that is wealth! Even though they had it, what they did not have was good drinking water which was extremely devastating to a large city such as this. That can make or break a city no matter how well off they are!
Due to lack of good water, they had to have water brought in. They built Aquifers out of sandstone that resembled an underground pipe and had water transported from the nearby cities of Hierapolis and Colossae.
Hierapolis was about 6 miles north of Laodicea and was known for its “Hot Springs” where people would come from all over the Roman Empire to bathe for the medicinal qualities of the hot water and minerals. This was good for different illnesses, aches and pains.
The city of Colossae was about 11 miles east of Laodicea and was known for its very cold and refreshing springs of water.
The problem was that by the time the water would travel the many miles over the sandstone, minerals would collect in it and the water became putrefied. It was nothing more than lukewarm and nasty to drink. The physicians of the day would use it to induce vomiting.
Now we have the picture we needed to understand what Jesus was saying to this Church in verse 15 about being lukewarm and spewing, or we could say vomiting them out of His mouth.
The teaching that has circulated about God would rather have us ‘cold’ rather than lukewarm did not make a lot of sense as being cold would have us hard hearted towards God. If we were lukewarm it would seem we would be getting closer to the hot side rather than being cold. However, it becomes clearer when we examine and understand the history and Geographic’s of the area.
Jesus was saying to this Church that He would rather we be “hot” like the hot springs of Hierapolis which would be to have zeal and passion, bringing a gospel of healing and deliverance. Or, He wants us to be “cold” and refreshing to the saints as the Apostle Paul stated in his letters how others refreshed him; in other words to edify one another.
This is more in line with what Jesus would want of us, right? He evidently is not pleased with a lukewarm, complacent attitude in His Body of those doing nothing to be a supplying joint to help others grow in Him.
Just as Jesus threatens to spew lukewarm Believers out of His mouth, there is a Judgment Seat of Christ in all our futures. We will have an opportunity to see if Jesus was kidding or not. This does not mean that we will be cast out of Heaven as some may suggest, however it would mean that we will lose our reward and be placed in the lowest level of glory, you know; kindergarten class.
Verses 17 and 18 talk of their great wealth, but Jesus says ‘they are poor, wretched and miserable.’ So it does not matter what we think of ourselves, it only matters what He thinks of us that counts.
In addition to being wealthy, Laodicea was known for production of an eye salve used for healing. This could be why Jesus tells them to ‘anoint their eyes with eye salve so they can see things as they truly are and be no longer deceived.’
In verses 19-22 Jesus admonishes them to ‘receive His correction’ and invites them to ‘open the door to fellowship with Him.’ He then concludes with the benefits of over coming.
