"Laodicea--The Church In Name Only"When The Lamb Stands, series by Sharon Clemens

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LAODICEA [3:14-22]--The Lukewarm Church, (applicable to) AD 1900 to the Rapture.

    Laodicea is Christ's last word to the church. It represents His final evaluation and the church's one remaining opportunity to shine before the Age ends with the Rapture. However, Christ is not impressed with the church's final performance. Rather than a love letter to His bride, the letter to Laodicea contains stinging words of condemnation. In its final stage, the institution that takes the name of Christ is not a pure and radiant bride; it is a proud and arrogant social club so self-centered that it does not even realize Christ is outside knocking to get in.

THIS FINAL AGE IS CHARACTERIZED BY MORE FOLLOWERS WHO THINK THEY ARE CHRISTIAN THAN ACTUALLY ARE...
The signs called the "beginning of sorrows" which precede the Tribulation [Matt. 24:8], begin with our Lord's warning of coming deception:
"Take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many." [Matt. 24:4]
Christ warned that false teachers claiming to be "Christ" would precede His return. This can also be interpreted as false believers claiming to be "Christian."
Does the Bible predict that Christianity in the Church Age will take over the world? Although we are called to teach truth, the Lord said,
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" The rhetorical answer is NO, Luke 18:8.
Laodicea is a church that thinks it is Christian but it is self-deceived.

    This seventh letter, because it represents the last era of the Church Age, describes the general characteristics of the church before the Rapture. The logical question is, how closely does the description of Laodicea fit the description of present-day Christianity? The consensus is that the organized church bears a great deal of resemblance to Laodicea--a liberal, proud institution that gauges its success by worldly wealth and numbers rather than spiritual conviction. Rather than teaching believers to conform to the image of Christ, the church has become a social change agent. The church's focus has shifted to solving the world's problems rather than preaching Christ; and it calls its self-righteous works "Christian."

    There are exceptions. Not every individual church exhibits tendencies of Laodicea. Some refer to the true church in this age as a remnant of the Philadelphia church. The Lord always has a remnant of true believers, but the remnant is small in comparison with the whole of mankind. Jeremiah describes mankind as "desperately wicked." [Jeremiah 17:9] For the most part, the world is living up to its reputation. But our Lord is not disappointed with the true church because He justifies and sanctifies believers through the Holy Spirit [Romans 8:28-31]. Christ promised to build His true church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it, Matthew 16:14-18.

    However, the apostate church, Laodicea, is not the true church. They are those Christ described in John 8:44 to 47...those who follow the father of lies, Satan, and reject truth. To make matters worse, their past history was Christian, but they have fallen away from Apostolic doctrine. Christian guidelines for church are replaced with humanistic methodology, but the institution still refers to itself as "Christian." They exhibit a "form of Godliness" but deny the power by denying the full Gospel of Christ and the inerrant Word of God. Paul warned Timothy that such would be the case in the last days, 2 Timothy 3:1-5. True believers are told to "have nothing to do with them." [See also 1 Timothy 4:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:3,4; James 5:1-8; 2 Peter 2; 2 Peter 3:3-6; Jude 1-25.]

DIVISION IN THESE DAYS--THE "CALLING OUT" OF CHRISTIANS FROM APOSTATE INSTITUTIONS:

    As we study the letter to Laodicea, the distinction between true believers and institutions that are Christian in name only must be maintained. This letter, in fact, is an excellent opportunity to study issues that are currently dividing the church--and that division is not a bad thing. We are told not to have anything to do with those who profess Christianity but do not truly believe it.

    One of the tactics of the liberal church of today, also referred to as the emergent [emerging] church, is to avoid any doctrinal issues that are divisive, in order to keep everyone happy. But it is this type of wishy-washy, fence-sitting compromise that the Lord says makes Him sick: "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." [Revelation 3:16]. Jesus Christ is TRUTH. Truth naturally divides because it defines right from wrong, error from correct doctrine. It is, by definition, ABSOLUTE. Our Lord said, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division." [Luke 12:51] The church is being torn apart along the dividing lines of historic orthodoxy and post-modern compromise and apostacy. It was the opinion of Dr. J. V. McGee that true believers would eventually be forced to leave the empty institutions and return to the house church format as described in Acts 2. The history of the church is coming full circle and returning to its roots. During the Tribulation, new believers will meet in secret from Antichrist, and the church will go underground. In countries where Christians are persecuted, they do so now.

Ancient Laodicea of John's Day:

    The city was founded by Antiochus II [261-246 BC], one of the Seleucid [Syrian] rulers of the Greek Empire. Laodicea was about forty miles east and inland from Ephesus on the Lycus River. It was located at what is known as the Gate of Phrygia because of its nearness to the Phrygian Mountains. Because of its location on the trade route and its natural resources, Laodicea was a place of great wealth, commerce and Greek culture. It was also a center of science and of literature and boasted of an excellent medical school. Here, they developed what was known as Phrygian powder, a salve for the ears and eyes. Laodicea was also a banking center and center of industry. Jupiter, or Zeus, the father of the gods of Greece and Rome, was the major deity of the city also adding to its distinction.

THE SALUTATION, Verse 14:     The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation [or the beginning of the creation of God].

    *  The Amen: This is the only place in Scripture where Amen is a proper name, and it is the name of Christ. The Lord Jesus is the Amen. He has the LAST WORD to the Church. As the ending of prayer, "amen" literally means "yea, yea, let it be so." But here, Christ IS the Amen. Christ speaks as the source and being of all truth--the Amen--to a church that refuses to define and defend its orthodoxy and instead, remains lukewarm and on the fence. Therefore, there is nothing to which Christ can speak His "amen" in this church.
    *  The beginning of the creation of God: Wiersby notes that this does not suggest that Jesus was created, and therefore not eternal God. The word translated "beginning" means "source, origin." [See John 1:3; Col. 1:15, 18] As the origin of all creation, He is the source of truth; He is creator. When the myth of evolution works its way into the church, even in forms such as theistic evolution, the source of all truth is discredited. Dr. Henry Morris sees the Biblical creation as the foundation of Christian faith.

THE COMPLAINT [CONDEMNATION], Verses 15-16: I know your deed [works]...you are LUKEWARM.

    *  The city of Laodicea was located near both Hieropolis where there were famous hot springs, and Colossae, known for its pure, cold water from the melted mountain snows. By the time the water reached Laodicea by aqueduct, it was neither--only lukewarm and sickening to drink. Laodicea makes the Lord sick, like drinking lukewarm water.
    *  He finds their works lukewarm, worthy only to be spit out or literally vomited from the mouth. There is no commendation for Laodicea. The works they are doing are evil, not good. Proud, unrepentant men are incapable of good works.
    *  Application of HOT or COLD: The Lord prefers extremes of hot or cold rather than the cloying deception of lukewarm beliefs. A cold church could refer to one in dead orthodoxy--truth without zeal--like Sardis. Or it could refer to a church that has rejected every cardinal doctrine of the faith and gone over to complete liberalism. Such a cold church would at least own up to its liberal interpretations--this church won't admit their liberalism. "Hot" speaks of a church with spiritual fervor and passion, but such churches can slip into disorder and chaos as Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 14.
    *  It is easier to expose and regenerate a dead church that admits it is dead than it is to convince a compromising church of their apostacy. It is also easier to restore order to an overly-emotional church. But a church that says it needs nothing and is swelled with pride has no ear to listen to correction. This church is deceiving and is also self-deceived.
    *  DECEPTION: Deception is the mark of the end-times church as described by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12. They practice "all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in ever sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." They LOOK good, but Christ is not in them. Because they place both sides of every issue, they also deceive by hiding their true beliefs. [2 Timothy 3:1-5] They have a name that they live, but they are really dead. If their true beliefs were exposed and compared to Biblical truth, it would be evident that they are Christian in name only, what we call "professing" Christians, not "confessing" Christians...
    *  "You say, 'I am rich..."--Their criteria for success is human principles of material wealth and success. They believe they are good Christians because they are wealthy. This speaks to the false teachers in the health, wealth and prosperity churches who teach that all Christians--if they have enough faith--should be wealthy and healed of all diseases. But spiritual health is what Christ looks for. He calls them "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" in the spiritual area. Like the story of The Emperor's New Clothes, they parade their wealth not knowing they are naked.
    *  The Emergent Church is fond of using management principles such as those of Peter Drucker in order to teach Christian leadership. They ask CEOs of large corporations to teach them instead of finding truth for reproof and all Godliness in the pages of Scripture. They "do church" using emotional gimmicks and Madison Avenue lures instead of practicing the guidelines of the Apostolic Church in Acts 2. Therefore, the pews fill with the lost, who remain lost because the convicting Word is not taught.

"...you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
The Lord, with His AMEN eyes, sees their true spiritual condition, and it is not pretty.

THE WARNING, Verse 18: Buy from Me gold refined in the fire; My white clothes; My salve for your eyes...
    *  His gold is gold refined in the fire of testing. True spirituality comes not through worldly comfort, but through fire. This is not a teaching you will find in the Prosperity Gospel pulpits. "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold." [Job 23:10] James MacDonald in his book When Life Is Hard, says the answer to "Where did this trial come from? Who did this to me?" is, God did. God allowed this to come into your life. Why? "God is far more interested in your holiness than in your temporary happiness. God's love is a perfecting love, not a pampering love." But Laodicea displays no ability to understand the refining love of God; they are too involved in their material comfort. But the Christian life is not about us; it is about Him and His glory [emphasis Phil's].
    *  The white clothes Christ warns them to buy from Him are the robes of righteousness we receive from His justification. The Laodiceans were famous for a glossy black wool cloth produced in the area. Wearing rich black robes made from their famous cloth made them look rich, but it was a metaphor for the sinful blackness of their hearts. Every 50's child knows that the cowboys wearing the black hats are "the bad guys." Those wearing white are "the good guys," the redeemed in this case.
    *  He also counsels them to quit buying the eye salve for their blindness produced in the city. Chemical analysis today shows that there is absolutely no healing property in this salve. It was merely a combination of a local red clay and fragrant spikenard oil. However, the packaging made it a great seller. The label may have claimed that it was produced by the Laodicean Medical Center with the endorsement of great Zeus himself as the chief deity of the city. This is the kind of snake oil Christianity being peddled by false teachers. The marketing plan is great, but their product is worthless. It labels itself Christian, but has no power to save.

CONTINUED WARNING, Verse 19: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent...
    *  Even in this age, it is not too late. Christ stands outside knocking, a sign of mercy. But salvation begins with an earnest repentance of sin, and sin is not a popular subject in the church today. He also reminds them that comfort and wealth are NOT evidence of Christianity. Rather, rebuke and discipline are signs of sonship. Trials test and perfect our faith [Hebrews 12:5-11; James 1:2-8]. He is conforming us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, Romans 8:29.

* A poignant picture: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me." Rev 3:20

There is hope for this church because Grace is always present, but the Holy Spirit will not always hold open the door as He did for Philadelphia. Here, He is not enabling them; He is simply allowing an opportunity. But the door is closing quickly because the Tribulation is coming...


THE PROMISE, Verses 21-22: To the overcoming remnant of this age He promises that they will reign with Him. The phrase "I will grant to sit with me on My throne..." is figurative language meaning we will share the privilege and authority that Christ enjoys as we reign with Him. [Also Rev. 1:6] We shall also share in His authority in the Millennial Kingdom. The disciples specifically were promised authority to judge, Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:29, 30. THIS PROMISE SETS THE STAGE FOR THE SCENE IN HEAVEN IN REVELATION CHAPTERS 4 AND 5 THAT WILL FOLLOW. In the throne room in the heavenly dimension, we see the Father on the throne, and the Lamb at His side. The 24 Elders around the throne represent the completed Church in heaven after the Rapture. [REVELATION 4:4]

3:22--"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
    The same closing the Lord used in each of the letters is even more convicting here as this age exists in a time of deception and lies. It truly takes an anointed ear to discern the truth. In Daniel 12, the prophet said in the last days, only the "wise" would understand. This is His last word to the churches. We must pray for spiritual discernment and wisdom because Christianity is being re-defined and packaged in humanism. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK.

HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO THE END OF LAODICEA, AND THE RAPTURE?

    We may well be in the last days of the Church Age; how close we are to the end is known only by the Lord. The last day of the Church is the Rapture--it is an imminent event, meaning it could happen at any moment. Dwight Pentecost in Things to Come, P. 155, lists some characteristics that would abound in the apostacy of Laodicea. Pentecost states that the church is being prepared for its role as the "great whore of Babylon," the false one-world religion of Revelation 17. This false religion will be used by the Antichrist to gain control and power over the world until the midpoint of the tribulation. The New Testament pictures the condition within the professing church by a system of denials. Compare these with the current trends in the church of our day:

    *  Denial of God--Lk. 17:26; 2 Tim. 3:4,5
    *  Denial of Christ--1 Jn. 2:18; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:6
    *  Denial of Christ's return--2 Peter 3:3,4
    *  Denial of the Faith--1 Tim. 4:1,2; Jude 3,4
    *  Denial of Sound Doctrine--2 Tim. 4:3,4
    *  Denial of the Separated Life--2 Tim. 3:1-7
    *  Denial of Christian Liberty--1 Tim. 4:3,4
    *  Denial of Morals--2 Tim. 3:1-8, 13; Jude 18
    *  Denial of Authority--2 Tim. 3:4

NEXT TIME: The Rapture of the Church

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]