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 aodicea
is located in southern turkey. This ancient city is named after Antiochus
II Theos’ first wife (261-246 B.C.) who killed him and his second
wife. The city was known as a center for banking and for its medical
institute. As a result it was very wealthy. The city is located between
the two cities of Hieropolis and Colossae in the Lycus Valley. It was
known as the Gate of Phrygia since it sat in a corridor through which
camel caravans traveled. Laodicea received its water from both Hieropolis
and Colossae. The northern city of Hieropolis provided hot water from
its hot springs through a clay aqueduct. Colossae was south of Laodicea
and provided cold mountain water from the Phrygian mountain range through
an aqueduct system too! Historians tell us that by the time the hot and
cold water reached Laodicea, the water was lukewarm and dirty from traveling
through the clay pipes. As a result the water tasted so bad that visitors
would frequently spit it out. The Jewish Talmud rebuked the Laodiceans
for living a life of ease and pleasure.
Spiritual Blessings. Laodicea must have been the dream city of the region
due to its luxury and the promise of a healthy life. It boasted of indoor
hot and cold running water, although the water was lukewarm. This city, just
as the previous ones, had some citizens who were Christians. We do not know
if they were persecuted as the Christians in Philadelphia or Smyrna. In fact,
the only thing that we really know about them is that they disappointed our
Lord Jesus Christ. Here are His opening words to these Christians.
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (NASB) Rev. 3:14-16 The Lord Jesus used something that was familiar to them to make a point.
He told them that they were just like their own water - lukewarm. At
the points of origin, their water was hot or cold, but it was lukewarm
when it arrived at the city. The hot water was not hot and the cold water
was not cold. The water started out clean and ended up dirty. So, Jesus
said that they were neither spiritually cold or hot. They were spiritually
lukewarm. They “tasted terrible” and He will spit them out.
Did they think that God had blessed them? Did they think that their wealth
and great medical institute were blessings from God? The trade caravans
were like grocery and department stores with riches from the Far East,
Africa, and elsewhere. Did they think that God had blessed them with
earthly things because they were spiritual?
The Problem. Most likely these “Christians” were sincere
and had good hearts. God did not rebuke them for not being involved in
their church. They apparently were involved and active. Their problem
was more serious.
Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked . . . (NASB) Rev. 3:17 The Greek word the Holy Spirit used for “wretched” means “pathetic” and
the Greek word for “miserable” means “deserving of
pity because of a condition.” These “Christians” were
wealthy in the world’s things and did not understand that they
were spiritually pathetic. They did not understand that they were actually
spiritually poor, blind, and naked or stripped bare. These are strong
words coming from the Holy Spirit. They are hard words to accept.
They Were Content. What happened to them? How did this occur? The answer
is found in the words, “ . . and have need of nothing.” These
men and women were content with their “Christian activities.” This
is a hard spiritual disease to identify in a church. What was the problem?
Did the congregation stop doing anything? Did they stop attending church,
worshipping in song, teaching and preaching the Bible, giving money,
or having social times with one another? In what way were they content?
The
key measures of spiritual success in most churches are how many people
are attending on Sunday morning and whether the church bank account is
full. But these are not biblical standards of success. Money is not a
measure of God’s blessing nor is attendance. If that were true,
then Jeremiah the prophet would have been a great failure because he
was alone during his ministry. There were men who deserted the apostle
Paul for a number of reasons. The size of the crowd is not a biblical
standard for success. If money is the measure of God’s blessing,
then how do we explain the situation that the apostle Paul endured? The
apostle gives us some insight into his own suffering when he says,
To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. (NASB) 1 Cor. 4:11-13 Spiritual blessing is not found
in the offering plate or in the size of the church meetings. A church
without a passionate vision for the lost, without a passionate vision
for spiritual growth, and without a passionate vision for making each
church member a minister for Jesus is a church that is lukewarm. The
early church had vision for the lost. Its leaders were committed with
a passion to the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:1-4). The saints
were dying as the result of persecution and the battle for truth was
now a war. |
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| Revelation: Prophecy of the Future | |||||
