[Chapter 3-5] Letter to The Church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)
(Revelation 3:14-22)
“And
to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says
the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation
of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could
wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say,
‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not
know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel
you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and
white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your
nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that
you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be
zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on
My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne.’ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’”
Exegesis
Verse
14: “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These
things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of
the creation of God:’”
Our
Lord came to this earth and obeyed God the Father to the point of His
death to fulfill the will of God. In other words, He obeyed any command
with an “Amen” if it was the Father’s will. Our Lord is the faithful
servant of the Kingdom of God the Father and the true witness who
testified of Himself as the Son of God and the Savior. Our Lord is the
God of the creation of the beginning.
Verse 15: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”
God
rebuked the servant of the Church of Laodicea for his lukewarm faith.
This servant deserved God’s wrath. If anyone’s faith is lukewarm before
God, he/she must make one’s faith clear by making it either cold or hot.
The faith that God demands from us is a clearly defined faith that is
either cold or hot. This clear faith is also an absolute requirement in
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When
it comes to believing in God, there are two kinds of believers. On the
one hand, we have those who believe that the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is the true gospel, and that there is no other gospel but this
gospel. On the other hand, we have those who believe that there are
other gospels, apart from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And
the faith of the latter is only lukewarm.
They
think that it is enough to believe in Jesus, and that there is no need
to discern between the true gospel and the false gospels. Some of them
even think that Jesus is not the only Savior, but that salvation can be
found in other religions of this world as well. Like their faith, the
faith of the servant of the Laodicean Church was also lukewarm, without
any clear separation between the true and the false gospels—that there
is no other gospel but the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is
why this servant brought worries to God and garnered His wrath.
Verse 16: “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
Our
Lord God demanded a clear faith from His servant. We must realize that
God does not appreciate a faith that is neither hot nor cold. When we
believe in the Lord, therefore, we must clearly and unambiguously set
our hearts by measuring them to the Word of God and stand firm on His
will by believing in it. Those who have thus been born again must also
clearly stand at the side of the biblical gospel of the water and the
Spirit, and uncompromisingly face against those who spread other gospels
apart from this true gospel. God tells us that if the righteous do not
stand at the clear side of faith, He will vomit them out. Where, then,
is your faith standing now?
Verse
17: “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of
nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind,
and naked—”
Those
whose faith in the Lord is lukewarm believe their faith to be just
fine, and so they remain oblivious to the poverty of their faith.
Because the servant of the Church of Laodicea was also satisfied with
his lukewarm faith, he, too, failed to realize just how wretched he
actually was. To have clear and definitive faith, therefore, he needed
to face trials and persecution for the truth, and go through the battle
of faith against the liars. Only then could he find out just how
faithless, poor, and naked he really had been. We must all have clear
faith before the Lord.
Verse
18: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you
may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame
of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye
salve, that you may see.”
God
told the angel of the Church of Laodicea to get his faith refined. The
servant of the Laodicean Church must rebuild the foundation of his faith
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and be clothed in the garment
of the whole righteousness. He must also see himself, return, and
redefine his faith clearly. He must keep his faith in perseverance, and
learn and fulfill his hope by the refinement of his faith.
You,
too, must go through heavy oppression and persecution for the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, the gospel of truth given by God. Only then
can you realize how precious the truth of this gospel of the water and
the Spirit is. Have you ever broken your own righteousness of man to
keep the righteousness of God earned through the gospel of the water and
the Spirit? Those who have broken the righteousness of man know how
precious and blessed God’s righteousness is. You must realize that
without your faith that trusts in the Lord, your life of faith would
simply turn miserable. Therefore, you must learn from the faith the Lord
gave to His foregoing servants before us, and cover the shame of your
faithlessness.
We
must not forget the fact that it takes sacrifice to learn the true
faith. Because the true faith is learnt by following the walk of faith
of the spiritual precursors step by step, we must pay the price of
sacrifice. We must also be ready to lose the things of the world for the
sake of the construction of the Lord’s Kingdom and the advancement of
our faith, and to throw away everything for the Lord.
Verse 19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
The
Lord rebukes and chastens those who know and believe in His love, if
their faith is without works. Those who are loved by the Lord,
therefore, must work hard for Him and follow Him with true faith.
Verse
20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with
Me.”
Those
who have become the servants of God share their lives with Him both in
joy and in sorrow. Those who work for the Lord live by always believing
in the Word of the Lord, and, through their faith, our Lord always
fulfills all His works.
Verse
21: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I
also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
True
faith is gained or lost depending on whether one is ready to embrace
martyrdom or not. Those who fight against Satan by believing in the Word
of the Lord will gain victory and be glorified with the Lord. The
saints and God’s servants are always engaged in a spiritual battle
against Satan. In this battle, they can always overcome by believing in
the Word of the Lord. Those who thus overcome in their fight against
Satan will be glorified with the Lord.
Verse 22: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The
saints must always listen to the voice of God and follow the lead of
the Holy Spirit. When they do, their faith becomes one that walks with
the Holy Spirit, and spiritual victory will always be theirs.
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