There
are eleven bad things and no good things mentioned of the Laodicean
church in Rev 3:14-22. It seems this church has forgotten that Jesus
is the ultimate Authority, He is true, and He is the true Judge.
They have forgotten that He is faithful, He is God Almighty, and
He created all things.
It is the most heavily rebuked and deceived
church in the history of the church age; however, it sees itself
as "the best." It is the only church of the seven in which
the entire church will be spit out (rejected).
This church is described as lukewarm, indifferent, not concerned
with right and wrong, or with good and evil. They take a neutral
position: one of "live and let live; don’t rock the boat;
and don’t cause waves." They are trying to serve two
masters—God and self (or the world). They are positive they
are right. At best, their understanding of God’s Word, obedience,
sin, repentance, and the fruits of the Spirit, is only lukewarm.
It is the worst of all the seven churches,
yet the most confident. They claim they are rich, increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; however, God judges them to be
wretched, which is the result of having no faith or faith like a
wave.
It comes from a lack of truth, sound doctrine, and understanding.
They are miserable, tossed about with all kinds of incorrect doctrines,
which come in like the wind from every direction.
They are poor in wisdom, in knowledge,
in faith, and in the Word of God. They are not zealous for the truth,
but are blind to their true condition and to Satan’s schemes.
They think their condition is just the opposite of what it
really is. They gather around themselves teachers that say what
their selfishness, emotions, and deceived hearts want to hear. They
are shamefully naked. They do not have on the white garments of
righteousness, but are clothed with the black wool of deceit, which
is no clothing at all.
This church is shown to be naked, but
they do not know these things. -They are positive they are saved,
but are positively wrong-. THE FOOL RAGETH, AND IS CONFIDENT-Pv
14:16.
One of the most appalling aspects of this church is, they
are totally ignorant of all these things. They are unaware of their
true spiritual condition. They are, sometimes, willingly ignorant.
They are sometimes so deceived and blind that they do not
even recognize that the letter to the church of the Laodiceans is
actually a letter to them.
As a result, they do not seek to change or repent. It may
be said, these are people that go to church, sing spiritual songs,
pray to God, tithe, look good before men.
They behave as if they will never have
to face the judgment. Laodiceans are told to buy of Jesus gold that
is refined by the fire. They are told to anoint their eyes with
ointment, so they can see their true spiritual condition as God
sees it.
The Lord appears to be admonishing them to be zealous for
the things of God—wisdom, knowledge, and truth—and to
hate every evil way. He is telling them to repent.
Jesus is shown outside the door of
this church, not inside. He is depicted as knocking on the door
of the church and on the individual’s heart, but the Laodiceans
do not want to let Him in. They do not want to be shown they are
wrong and will perish. They do not want to see their true blind
and wretched condition. They do not want correction or truth.
Often, ministers, churches, and ministries focus more on
getting money and more people, rather than on humbleness, brokenness,
and good sound doctrine.
This is a description of the last church—the worst
of all, in which the entire church is described as being spit out
(or perishing).
This is a description of the most confident
church of them all, yet it is the most deceived church that has
ever existed; however, they do not know or understand it.
This is the description of today’s church. The verses
on the Laodicean church are in perfect harmony with many other verses
that tell how the times would be, leading up to the Tribulation.
We would all do well to heed the words
of Jesus: Rev 3:22
'He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.'"