And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know they works that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: I counsel thee to buy of my gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I reprove and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. 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. He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcome, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Revelation 3:13–22

                 

Read More Than Conquerors, pp. 93–97

For the sake of variation I shall use the space of this Lesson for the simple purpose of drawing a descriptive picture, as it were, of Laodicea. This picture will serve as a kind of background for the study of verses 14–22. With this background in mind, plus the explanation of the letter given in my book More Than Conquerors, it should be easy for each member of the Society to work out the answer to the questions that will be presented at the end or the Outline, and thus to see the important lessons which the Lord here teaches us.

Note, therefore, the following;

(1) Laodicea was situated about fifty miles south-east of Philadelphia. It was one of three neighboring cities. All of them are mentioned in the epistle to the Colossians. They were Hierapolis, Laodicea, and Colossae (or simply Colosse). These three were situated about one hundred miles east of Ephesus, the city from which we started out on our tour of the seven cities in which the seven churches that are addressed in Rev. chapters 2 and 3 were located.

(2) The three cities were situated in the valley of the river Lycus, near where it joins the Maeander River. A simple sketch of their location would be as follows:

Hierapolis and Laodicea were only six miles apart, with the river Lycus between them. Eleven miles to the east was Colossae, straddling the river.

(3) Laodicea was the junction-point of several important highways. Roads naturally seek valleys to pass through. One road would be taken by a person who wanted to travel west, from Tarsus (Paul’s birthplace) to Ephesus. It passed through such places as Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch, Colossae and Laodicea, and thus down the Maeander Valley to Ephesus. Another highway ran south from Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis. Having passed through Laodicea it led the traveler toward the regions of Pamphilia and Pisidia. Now, a junction-point of travel means trade, business, and, if the road-center is located in a fertile region, it probably also means riches.

(4) Now the valley of the Lyeus was plagued by many an earthquake. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions spell disaster. Nevertheless, volcanic ground is also fertile ground. I t is generally excellent ground for grass and vgetation. And so it was in the Lycus valley. On its rich meadows grazed great flocks of sheep, bringing riches to the manufacturers of garments.

(5) This was all the more true because of one other characteristic of the Lycus valley. Its waters were impregnated with chalky deposits. Now, although these chalk formations rendered parts of the soil barren, the chalky waters were, nevertheless, just right for the purpose of dyeing cloth. Hence, the garment industry flourished here.

(6) Such rich country naturally attracted many Jews. Many years before this, Antiochus the Great had transported two thousand Jewish families from Babylonia and Mesopotamia to this general region. These Jews had prospered and had informed their relatives, with the result that many other Jews had come to this valley of their own accord. And the Jews understood the art of making a prosperous valley even more prosperous. Hence, the Laodiceans—including the church-members—were rich, and they knew it! They were boasters.

Now, in the light of all that has been said so far, please read verses 17 and 18.

(7) In a volcanic area you will not be surprised to find many chasms in the ground. Out of these chasms arise vapors and springs. These springs supposedly had healing power. Hence, neighboring Hierapolis became a famous spa. People gathered by the thousands to the springs of this valley in order to bathe in them and drink their water. A school of medicine was, for the same reason, established in Laodicea. Pagan gods of healing were worshipped. The school, moreover, provided a medicine for the ears, and another for the eyes, a kind of salve or, according to others, powder. Read verse 18: “and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes that thou mayest see.”

(8) Some of the springs produced water that was hot. Others produced cold water. The heat of the sun would warm this until it became lukewarm, not very pleasant to the taste. Now read verses 15 and 16.

(9) In course of time, due to various circumstances, two of these three neighboring cities began to lose some of their greatness. This was particularly true of Colossae. But Laodicea remained for a long time a very important center of trade and commerce, also a political metropolis. It left the other cities far behind. Yes, Laorucea was rich…that is, in earthly goods, but desperately poor in heavenly realities. Hence, this letter, so full of rebuke…and tender admonition!

Questions

1. Why does Christ describe himself as he does in verse 14?

2. Why is lukewarmness such a terrible sin?

3. Are some churches lukewarm? If so, what can be done about that deplorable situation?

4. In verse 18 what is meant by “gold,” “white garments,” and “eye-salve”?

5. Read verse 16, “I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Then verse 19, “As many as I love I reprove and chasten.” Did Christ hate these people or did he love them?

6. In verse 20 who opens the door: God or man?

7. Explain the meaning of the promise in verse 21.