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you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying, “Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.”’” Beale, The Book of Revelation, 287.

137. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 290.

138. For other verses in the New Testament that speak about the reality of believers going through physical suffering or persecution, see Romans 8:35–39; 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:10; 6:4–10; Philippians 3:10–11; Colossians 1:24, as well as the rest of Revelation, particularly 7:14. This sounds a death-knell on the dispensational view of the rapture of the church out of persecution. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 119, writes, “It is precisely because the church was faithful to Christ in time of trial that he in turn will be faithful to them in the time of their great trial.”

139. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 119.

140. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 62. See also Osborne, Revelation, 194 who views this protection as protection from the wrath of God, not protection from persecution.

141. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 120.

142. John 10:27.

      Revelation 3:14–22

      Jesus’ Message to the Church in Laodicea

      Introduction

      Lora and I have a good relationship of mutual trust. But sometimes she just does not seem to trust me as well as she trusts others. For example, if she is wondering about some decision—either a dress or a product to try out, or whether something will work well in the garden—she will often ask me my opinion. A lot of times I have good opinions. And so, I will give her my opinion. But then I can see the doubt in her face. She is not quite sure I know what I’m talking about. I do not blame her if that happens to refer to clothes because many times, I do not know what I’m talking about.

      The funniest thing is when I hear that later she had a conversation with a friend, a doctor, or her mother. And she comes to me and gives me their opinion on her dilemma which convinces her of that course to take. And you know what? Many times, that opinion is the exact opinion I had given her days before. It could be an important issue to me. I could think, “Am I not sufficient enough?” “Doesn’t she trust me? Are my opinions not good enough? Do they not rank with those people?” In matters where my opinion really is not that important, I realize that she is going to a better source anyway, so I’ll give my opinion and see if my opinion matches the other person’s opinion. And if so, I can quietly do a high five to myself.

      Imagine how offensive we are to Jesus, however, when we live our lives with no concern with his opinion. This does not concern temporal matters of what to wear and how to plant our flowers. This concerns matters of the soul, matters of holiness and lifestyle. Imagine how offended Jesus is when we do not act like we need him in our lives? In living for Jesus, and in working for Jesus, there is no other one we need but Jesus. Unfortunately, we are so prone to forget him or get used to doing things without him, that we eventually almost completely leave him out of our decision processes. This was the problem in the congregation in Laodicea.

      Exposition

Laodicea was forty miles southeast from Philadelphia. It was named after the wife of Antiochus, Laodice. It was the wealthiest city in the Phrygian region, known for its black wool industry, banking industry, and medical school. One of the most famous ointments made was an eye salve made from Phrygian powder mixed with oil.143 The city was so wealthy that after it experienced a significant earthquake that destroyed the city in 60 A.D., it rebuilt itself without outside help from the Roman government.144 The main weakness of the city was its lack of water. Because of that, an aqua-duct system was built to bring water into the city. Water was retrieved from the hot springs that came from the city of Hierapolis and from the cold springs of Colossae.

In verse 14 Jesus is identified as the Amen, the Faithful Witness, the Truth, and the Ruler of God’s creation—there is authority and truth and judgment. His word is final. There is no other witness higher than Jesus. There is no opinion that is more worthy of query. Isaiah 65:16 says, “So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth.”145 This verse could be understood as the God of the Amen. Jesus is the Amen. What he says will happen. In the Old Testament, “amen” is primarily an acknowledgement of that which is valid and binding. In referring to Jesus, it would mean the One in whom perfect conformity to reality is exemplified. Jesus made this claim in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” All truth and true reality are found in Jesus. What the world needs today is someone to trust. We have tried programs and policies, but they have failed. But Christ never fails. He is as good as an “Amen.” His “yes” means yes. The name, Amen,” applied to Christ, guarantees the truthfulness and reliability of his words.146

Jesus is also the faithful and true witness, that which puts him in stark contrast to the character of the Laodicean church. But he is also the ruler of God’s creation. Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Surely this is enough to convince us that our sufficiency can only be found in Jesus, the “Amen,” the end of all things, the perfect and faithful Witness, the very Creator. The word ἡ ἀρχὴ (he arche) can be translated “beginning” or “ruler.” Implicit in the idea is inauguration, supremacy over, and temporal priority.147 All creation was begun by him, for him, and in him. Because of his resurrection, Jesus is the inauguration of and Sovereign over the new creation.148

Jesus considered the Laodicean church lukewarm, neither hot, nor cold. That is his primary criticism of the church body. Hierapolis was famous for its hot springs, used medically. These springs rose within the city, flowed across a wide plateau and spilled over the cliff directly opposite Laodicea. The cliff was about 300 feet high and encrusted with white calcium carbonate. As the hot, mineral-rich water traveled across the plateau, it gradually became lukewarm before spilling over the edge. You get a picture of sickly, insipid water seeping over slimy rock, which the unsuspecting visitor drank only to spit up on the ground. In contrast to the hot springs of Hierapolis were the cold, refreshing and pure waters of Colossae. By the time these flowed down toward Laodicea, these waters were also tepid or lukewarm and good for nothing.149

      Again, Jesus called the Laodicean church lukewarm. The word for lukewarm is χλιαρὸς (chliaros). That meant that they were filled with disease and bacteria. They were neither hot nor cold. He wanted them to be useful for his kingdom, but instead they were good for nothing except to be spit out. Jesus’ desire was that they would be either useful for healing or useful for refreshing, one or the other. But they were neither. Their purpose and ministry and usefulness in the kingdom were gone. This made the church distasteful to the Lord.

      We don’t need to investigate too many churches in the world to see that there are many churches very much like Laodicea. Many churches have ceased being useful vessels in the hand of the Lord, and he is about to spit them out of his mouth. He wants us to be cold waters of refreshment to the spiritually weary. Those who are burdened with life need the cup of cold water of encouragement from the

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