“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.” Revelations 3: 14 – 21
The greetings that Jesus gives each of the churches of Revelations are very interesting to look at. To the Laodicea church is calls himself the ‘Amen’ meaning, the final word, the one in total agreement with the Father, the “I said it that settles it” kind of God. The he adds the “ruler of God’s creation.” Why would Jesus use this kind of greeting when speaking to a church that is lukewarm?
When a believer is placed under great pressure the spiritual insight of who Jesus is can get lost. This happened to John the Baptist. We see it in Matthew 11 when John asked the question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” This is the same John the Baptist that said, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” “He must increase and I must decrease” now he is asking in effect, “was I wrong”? What happened? He felt the pressure.
Now the Laodicea church had different form of pressure. They had the pressure of prosperity and political correctness. They were blessed and they knew it! They were religious and self reliant. The blueletterbible.org shares this interesting history of the city.
a. Laodicea was an important, wealthy city, with a significant Jewish population. Like other cities in the region, it was a center for Caesar worship and the worship of the healing god Asklepios. There was a famous temple of Asklepios in Laodicea, with a more famous medical school connected with the temple.
i. After an earthquake devastated the region in 60 A.D. Laodicea refused Imperial help in rebuilding the city, successfully relying on their own resources. They didn’t need outside help, they didn’t ask for it, and they didn’t want it. “Laodicea was too rich to accept help from anyone. Tacitus, the Roman historian, tells us: ‘Laodicea arose from the ruins by the strength of her own resources, and with no help from us.’” (Barclay)
In a pluralistic society such as Laodicea, or modern America, the desire for harmony can cause the believer to compromise their principles and beliefs. There is no “Amen” left in the culture. There is nothing that is settled and nothing that is true. So Jesus tells them, “I am the Amen.” He knows that he is dealing with a people who have compromised his truth. He therefore has to bring them back to the basics. He does that by stating I am, “the ruler of God’s creation”
When spiritual insight is lost it is wise to return to creation. Psalm 19 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.”
The Laadicea church substituted passion for Christ with the comforts of this world. Few American’s see with eyes focused toward a lost and dying word. The Occupy movement was about the 99%, but every American when compared to world’s income is part of the 1%. We just don’t see it. We are like the Laodicea church. We are comfortable. We view our rages as riches instead of our riches as rags.
Jesus real concern was not Laodicea’s material wealth but their spiritual health. They had no passion. Heat and coolness both can refresh the soul. Laodicea was neither. It was just living out the daily grind concerned with daily pleasures while to world around them did not know Jesus. Can consider these facts about the 10/40 window.
“The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called "The Resistant Belt" and includes the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.” http://www.joshuaproject.net/10-40-window.php “There are 62 nations within the 10-40 window. 4.1 billion of the world's 5.6 billion people live in this area. 97% of unreached people groups are located here. It contains over 1 billion Muslims, nearly 1 billion Hindus and 600 million Buddhists… Many in the 10-40 window have never heard the name of Jesus-even one time.” http://www.10-40evangelism.org
When Jesus is referencing himself as the ruler of God’s creation he is stating that I am the God of all men. Those men may not know him, but that is not God’s fault. The fault lies with a lukewarm church that is not concerned about sharing the Gospel globally or in its own back yard. This blog is one of my efforts to do both. I hope you will share it.
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.” Revelations 3: 14 – 21
The greetings that Jesus gives each of the churches of Revelations are very interesting to look at. To the Laodicea church is calls himself the ‘Amen’ meaning, the final word, the one in total agreement with the Father, the “I said it that settles it” kind of God. The he adds the “ruler of God’s creation.” Why would Jesus use this kind of greeting when speaking to a church that is lukewarm?
When a believer is placed under great pressure the spiritual insight of who Jesus is can get lost. This happened to John the Baptist. We see it in Matthew 11 when John asked the question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” This is the same John the Baptist that said, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” “He must increase and I must decrease” now he is asking in effect, “was I wrong”? What happened? He felt the pressure.
Now the Laodicea church had different form of pressure. They had the pressure of prosperity and political correctness. They were blessed and they knew it! They were religious and self reliant. The blueletterbible.org shares this interesting history of the city.
a. Laodicea was an important, wealthy city, with a significant Jewish population. Like other cities in the region, it was a center for Caesar worship and the worship of the healing god Asklepios. There was a famous temple of Asklepios in Laodicea, with a more famous medical school connected with the temple.
i. After an earthquake devastated the region in 60 A.D. Laodicea refused Imperial help in rebuilding the city, successfully relying on their own resources. They didn’t need outside help, they didn’t ask for it, and they didn’t want it. “Laodicea was too rich to accept help from anyone. Tacitus, the Roman historian, tells us: ‘Laodicea arose from the ruins by the strength of her own resources, and with no help from us.’” (Barclay)
In a pluralistic society such as Laodicea, or modern America, the desire for harmony can cause the believer to compromise their principles and beliefs. There is no “Amen” left in the culture. There is nothing that is settled and nothing that is true. So Jesus tells them, “I am the Amen.” He knows that he is dealing with a people who have compromised his truth. He therefore has to bring them back to the basics. He does that by stating I am, “the ruler of God’s creation”
When spiritual insight is lost it is wise to return to creation. Psalm 19 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.”
The Laadicea church substituted passion for Christ with the comforts of this world. Few American’s see with eyes focused toward a lost and dying word. The Occupy movement was about the 99%, but every American when compared to world’s income is part of the 1%. We just don’t see it. We are like the Laodicea church. We are comfortable. We view our rages as riches instead of our riches as rags.
Jesus real concern was not Laodicea’s material wealth but their spiritual health. They had no passion. Heat and coolness both can refresh the soul. Laodicea was neither. It was just living out the daily grind concerned with daily pleasures while to world around them did not know Jesus. Can consider these facts about the 10/40 window.
“The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called "The Resistant Belt" and includes the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.” http://www.joshuaproject.net/10-40-window.php “There are 62 nations within the 10-40 window. 4.1 billion of the world's 5.6 billion people live in this area. 97% of unreached people groups are located here. It contains over 1 billion Muslims, nearly 1 billion Hindus and 600 million Buddhists… Many in the 10-40 window have never heard the name of Jesus-even one time.” http://www.10-40evangelism.org
When Jesus is referencing himself as the ruler of God’s creation he is stating that I am the God of all men. Those men may not know him, but that is not God’s fault. The fault lies with a lukewarm church that is not concerned about sharing the Gospel globally or in its own back yard. This blog is one of my efforts to do both. I hope you will share it.
