A translation of Rev. 3:14-22.
“[14] And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; [15] I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. [16] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. [17] Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: [18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. [19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. [20] Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. [21] To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne, [22] He that hath an ear , let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” The church time and state of the Laodiceans. Rev. 3:14-22.
This church state is a state that develops out of Sardis that has a name that they are “living and dead” Rev. 3:1.
The “living and dead” state of being “partly reformed and dying” deteriorates into crass lukewarmness that is upsetting because the church has the form of godliness but is worldly because they deny the real Gospel, the power of God. (2 Tim. 3:5; Isa. 48:1; Rom. 1:16,17).
Those that heeded the warnings to Sardis went on to become the little church or flock of Philadelphia. Rev. 3:7,8.
The Laodicean church time and state starts sometime in the last days after 1844 because it is the state and time that exists at large in the time when God is judging the church. (2 Tim. 3:1,5; Rev. 11:15-19).
a. The word “Laodicea” means “judging the people” thus it points to the age and state of the church generally at the time the Investigative Judgment begins. Rev. 11:18,19.
“ ‘Laodicea’ signifies “the judging of the people,” or, according to Cruden, ‘a just people.’ The message to this church brings to view the closing scenes of probation. It reveals a period of judgment. It is the last stage of the church. Consequently it applies to believers under the third angel’s message (Revelation 14:9-14). While the work of the great Day of Atonement is in progress, and the Investigative Judgment is going forward upon the house of God, there is a period during which the just and holy law of God is taken by the waiting church as their rule of life.” Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, pg. 358.
The time of the Laodicean state is explained. It is from 1850 A.C.B.
a. “Historically, we say that the time of the Laodicean church state and time began after the great disappointment of 1844. It is interesting, and a bit disheartening, to note how soon after that event the Laodicean message needed to be applied to that people who were later to be called Seventh-day Adventists.” Thomas A. Davis, Laodicea: The Church That Doesn’t Know, pg. 7-8.
a. “...the Laodicean message began to be applied to Adventists in the pages of the Review and Herald in 1850 (Vol. 1, No. 1, pg. 8)—only six years after the Disappointment—by Joseph Bates. Shortly afterward James White began to make a similar application in the paper. In a discussion in the Review of October 9, 1856, he concludes that those who profess the “Third Angel” were the Laodiceans, and that those professors were in the described lukewarm condition… In the same year, twelve years after the Disappointment, Ellen White also applied the message to the Adventists…” Ibid, pg. 8.
The Laodicean message applies to the Seventh Day Adventist Church at large according to Ellen G. White
“The message to the Laodiceans is applicable to the Seventh-day Adventists who have had great light and have not walked in the light. It is those who have made a great profession, but have not kept step with their leader that will be spewed out… unless they repent.” Review and Herald, September 19, 1893.
“The Laodicean message applies to the people of God who profess to believe present truth. The greater part are lukewarm professors.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 4, pg. 87.
Exegesis of Rev. 3:14.
a. “These things saith the Amen…”
i. Jesus is the Amen because of the certitude or trueness of what He says, so He presents Himself to the Laodiceans. 2 Cor. 1:18-20.
b. “...the faithful and true witness…”
i. Jesus is the true witness because He speaks the Truth to save people. Pr. 14:25.
c. “...the beginning of the creation of God.”
i. This verse does not mean that Jesus is the first of God’s creation, because Jesus Himself is from eternity without a beginning. Mic. 5:2.
ii. The beginning of the creation of God means that Jesus who actually had no beginning, is the beginning Himself, the source of all the creation of God. (Heb. 7:3; Rev. 1:8; Jn. 1:10; Isa. 48:13; Heb. 1: 10).
Exegesis of Rev. 3:15.
a. “...thou art neither cold…”
i. To be not cold means they are not completely uncovered to feel their nakedness. Job. 24:7.
b. “...nor hot…”
i. Not hot means they are not living ministers of God, on fire for His glory through His word being in their hearts. (Ps. 104:4; Jer. 5:14).
c. “...I would thou wert cold or hot…”
i. God wishes that they were cold, because such can be brought to see their nakedness or want. Pr. 20:4; Pr. 25:20.
ii. God wishes that they were hot, because they are alive in Christ as fire in their bones. Jer. 20:9.
Exegesis of Rev. 3:16.
a. “...because thou art lukewarm…”
i. To be lukewarm meant that the church was at ease and careless in its state. Isa. 32:9.
ii. The lukewarmness was a negligence on the part of the church to do God’s work. 2 Chr. 24:5; Jud. 5: 16,17,23.
iii. Of the lukewarmness we are told:
“Many of our people are lukewarm. They occupy the position of Meroz, neither for nor against, neither cold nor hot. They hear the words of Christ, but do them not.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 5, pg. 76-77.
b. “...I will spue thee out of my mouth…”
i. A proper translation would read:
“I am about to vomit thee out of my mouth…”
ii. This moral condition is so upsetting to God that He can bear it not for long, so He is about to utterly reject (vomit) the Lukewarm members out from being under His convictions and care. (Lev. 18:28; Jer. 14:19).
Exegesis of Rev. 3:17.
a. “...thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods…”
i. The lukewarm church thought that she was rich by having faith, spiritual interests and good works. Jam. 2:5; 2 Cor. 8:9; 1 Tim. 6:18.
b. “...have need of nothing…”
i. The lukewarm church prided itself in her self sufficiency. Lk. 18:11,12.
c. “...thou art wretched…”
i. They did not know that they were carnally minded with corrupt passions which is being wretched. (Rom. 7:23,24; Rom. 8:6-8).
d. “...and miserable…”
i. They did not know that they were in a hopeless state. 1 Cor. 15:17-19.
e. “...and poor…”
i. They did not know that they were poor in Faith not knowing the way thus the judgment of God. Jer. 5: 4.
f. “...and blind…”
i. They did not know that they had darkness concerning the way and things of God. 1 Jn. 2:11; 2 Pet. 1: 5-9.
g. “...and naked.”
i. They did not know that they were not covered with the Righteousness of Christ. Rev. 16:15; Isa. 47:1-3; 2 Chr. 28:19.
Exegesis of rev. 3:18.
a. “I counsel thee to buy of me…”
i. The only hope for the lukewarm state was to buy or repent of their sinful state and believe, this was the way of coming unto God. Isa. 55:1-3.
b. “...gold tried in the fire…”
i. This is pure gold which would be given to the believer as divine Faith in which is love, from God. (1 Pet. 1:7; Gal. 5:6).
c. “...that thou mayest be rich…”
i. This richness is the riches of Faith in which is love the Nature of God. (Jam. 2:5; Phil. 5; 1 Jn. 4:16).
d. “...and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed…”
i. This is the Righteousness of God which is God Himself as the covering that substitutes idol-sins in the heart, such a person will not be naked of God/Love. (Isa. 61:10; Rom. 3:22).
e. “...that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear…”
i. That their lack of Righteousness will not be seen in the judgment. (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19:7,8).
f. “...and anoint thin eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see…”
i. This is the discernment of the Holy Spirit that they might have spiritual discernment. 1 Cor. 2:12-16; 1 Jn. 2:27).
Exegesis of Rev. 3:19.
a. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten…”
i. It is in love that God rebukes and chastens the lukewarm church that they may repent with zeal from their terrible state since He is about to vomit them out or reject them totally. Heb. 12:5-11.
Exegesis of Rev. 3:20.
a. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…”
i. This means that Christ is outside of the hearts of these lukewarm people, but He is knocking or convicting them to let Him come in. Songs of Solomon. 5:2; Lk. 12:36.
b. “...if any man hear my voice…”
i. This shows that the whole lukewarm church will never repent, it is whosoever hears Christ’s voice, that is those that heed the conviction. Jn. 18:37.
c. “...and open the door…”
i. The door of the heart to let Christ in. Jn. 10:2-4.
d. “...I will come in to him…”
i. This is justification or in-Christ-ment-ing. (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17).
e. “...and will sup with him and he with me.”
i. This sup is a protracted stay; an abiding in Christ that Christ may stay in the person, this is what the “sup” means. This is the means for the people to remain sinless. Jn. 15:4; 1 Jn. 3:6,9.
Exegesis of Rev. 3:21.
a. “To him that overcometh…”
i. The overcomer is he who by Faith keep the Commandments of God despite what he faces. (1 Jn. 5: 4,5; Rev. 12:11).
b. “...will I grant to sit with me in my throne…”
i. This means to be made kings unto God. Rev. 5:10.
We must remember that when a lukewarm person repents and become truly converted they become the little flock of the Philadelphia which is the last true church. (Rev. 3:7,8; Rev. 12:17).
A summary of the basic problem of the Laodicean state:
a. They were not converted zealously to God.
b. They were not fully worldings.
c. They were claiming to be Christians by Christian ethics, but loved the world, and thus were inactive spiritually, lukewarm.
d. They were about to be vomited out or nauseatingly rejected forever by Christ.
e. They were ignorant of their moral state.
f. They thought that they had Faith and love and all the good spiritual works that attended genuine Christianity, so that they needed nothing.
g. They were wretched or carnally minded.
h. They were miserable or in a hopeless state.
i. They were spiritually poor or destitute of Faith and love.
j. They were spiritually blind, that is, devoid of spiritual discernment.
k. They were devoid of any form of Righteousness.
This is the worst and most destructive condition of all the previous church ages and states. This is the ‘evil servant” as described by Jesus in Matt. 24:48-51.
There are two streams of pure and false Christianity flowing together here:
a. The pure stream: The little flock of Philadelphian believers much of whom repented and came out of Laodicea.
b. The corrupt stream: This is Laodicea generally and at large. Christ is without that church and as long as they remain in that state they will be lost.
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