Are We Lukewarm Like the Laodicean Church?

For centuries laymen have disputed the Bible book of Revelation. During the same time period, scholars argued the meaning of the details. I’m not going to try to analyze the entire book in this small insignificant article, but I will try to try to understand one small part of this book of prophecy that I believe has relevance today. I am speaking of Revelation 3:14-22 where Christ (in his glorified body) speaks to John concerning the Church of Laodicea.

4 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 eyesalve, 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 hears my voice, and opens 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 on 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.

This prophecy was first of all to a real church in a real place. Laodicea was a city located in Phrygia, a few miles west of the city of Colosse in Asia Minor in present-day Turkey. The city was known for its aqueducts which brought tepid water into the city.

The people of Laodicea at the time the prophecy was given were prosperous and self-sufficient. This prophecy warned them that they needed to be more humble and less egotistical.

Many scholars who call themselves dispensationalists, have long believed that the various churches represent seven distinct church ages. There are a number of scholars who are very knowledgeable about this topic. Googling and studying what these scholars say about this topic makes an eye-opening Bible study. I believe there is credence to this idea. I can see where if it were true, Laodicea would definitely represent a large portion of what is called the church of today.

Some people that believe that each of the churches represents a potential problem that each person could face during their Christian walk. I also believe that this interpretation of the prophecy is also accurate.

When we look around at the Christian church today, we see a lot of people in churches putting themselves out as being the only ones who are right. In church, we act like we are important, holy people, but during the week, we live in a self-centered world. We think we are the church of Philadelphia and the other denominations are Laodicea. We have fancy buildings, fancy cars, and wear fancy suits. We believe that if someone’s life doesn’t appear perfect that somehow they are in sin. We think we are rich, but we’re not. We look down on those who do not have these luxuries and think that because of their poverty that somehow they don't have God's blessings.

We are spiritually naked! We say we believe the Bible but only give it lip service. In this passage, Christ says that he will spew this type of person out of his mouth or in other words vomit us from his mouth. The key to making sure that Christ doesn’t vomit us out of his mouth is that we need to recognize that God is the one who provided us with our salvation. We are not the ones who saved us; Christ did when he paid the price on the cross. We did nothing in ourselves which is worth being proud of. We are nothing outside of what Christ did for us on the cross. We need always to be grateful and humbled by his love for us.

Someone who thinks he or she has the keys to heaven but doesn’t is the most difficult person to convince that he or she needs Christ and his cleansing, life-changing blood applied to his or her life.

It’s time for us to examine ourselves against what the Spirit says to the Church of Laodicea. The most tragic thing a Christian could face would be to spit out from God's mouth.