“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the
words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one
or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to
spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do
not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor,
blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you
can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful
nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I
rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will
give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat
down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14-22)
Jesus who is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler
of God’s creation speaks to the church in Laodicea. Jesus is the Amen to the
Father all the time. He is in the Father and the Father in Him. This intimate and
total communion with the Father is the secret for the Lord Jesus to say Amen!
He is the faithful and true Witness. He was in the beginning, appeared on the
earth, died and buried, rose from the dead, ascended far above all heavens to
fill all things, and sat down on the right hand of God. He sees and knows all
about what we are and who we are. He is the witness before the Holy God. Apostle
Paul says in the Epistle to the Romans that our Lord the faithful and true
witness who sees and knows our hearts and minds.
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according
to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory,
honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are
self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and
anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:
first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for
everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does
not show favoritism.” (Romans 2:5-11)
Jesus is the ruler of God’s creation. He is the firstborn
over all creation which tells that He is the owner over all creation
(Colossians 1:15). “And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he
says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” (Hebrews 1:6) Jesus who is the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, and the ruler of God’s creation speaks to the
church in Laodicea. The owner of all things in the universe pronounces the
verdict upon the church. His verdict is true. The Laodicean church is neither
cold nor hot, so the Lord Jesus says He will vomit them out of His mouth. They
are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. They think they are rich and have everything
but in fact they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They are
broke but don’t know it.
They are shallow in understanding the reality of life. They
think that everything is okay and going well and do not see what is truly in
want. Usually they boast of the numbers in the congregation and the various and
lofty programs to show off to the people in the world. They do not think the
word of God seriously, nor take careful heed on it. They think they know the scriptures. But the
owner of everything pronounces that they are blind, wretched, naked, poor, and
even miserable. He will vomit them out of His mouth because they are disgusting
and pathetic.
What is the remedy for them? Jesus says, “I counsel you to
buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes
to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your
eyes, so you can see.” (Revelation 3:18) Some seven hundred years before Christ
came to the earth, Prophet Isaiah prophesied so aptly for the people of Israel
to buy the real food and drink without any cost.
“Come, all
you who are thirsty,
come to the
waters;
and you who
have no money,
come, buy
and eat!
Come, buy
wine and milk
without
money and without cost.
Why spend
money on what is not bread,
and your
labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.“ (Isaiah 55:1-2)
Why does Jesus rebuke and reproach the church instead of
punishing them immediately? It is because He wants them to repent and be saved.
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest
and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To
the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,
just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 2Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation
3:19-22)
In order to give opportunity to come to reality in life that
God rebukes and chastens His children to repent. It is proved in history that
no one can live without sweating and toiling all time throughout the lifetime
until they go back to the ground (Genesis 3:17-19). It sounds gloomy and
depressed but is not. It’s an amazing and marvelous invitation of God to come
unto Him that He will give the most abundant and exciting life, having the
intimate communion with the Father of all. It is eternal life freely given to
anyone who opens the heart. Moreover, Jesus will grant to sit with Him on His
throne. In fact, those who are cleansed and washed away by the blood of Christ
have been made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in
mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is
by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us
with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming
ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
What a promise! What a grace! This is the age of the Lord’s
favor. Admit that you are poor, naked, blind, miserable, and wretched and
repent to the Lord Jesus Christ who is faithful and just to forgive your sins
and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
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