Revelation 3:14-20

Revelation 3:14: “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;”

And now, at last, we come to modern times. The church of Laodicea represents the modern church (1900 to present). This, sadly, is the state of the church at the end of the Church Age, just before the Rapture. It is not a glorious, powerful church; it is a dead one. Unlike all of the other churches, God has nothing positive to say about it. It disgusts Him. Jesus is described as “the faithful and true witness”, which is appropriate given that the church He is writing to is neither faithful nor true. In fact, the modern church no longer believes that Jesus’ words are faithful or true. It believes that the Bible is corrupt, full of myths and errors, untrustworthy, and a product of cultural bias. Jesus is not at all pleased about this. He is the faithful and true witness, not a liar! There is nothing at all commendable about this church.

Revelation 3:15: “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.”

Those who are cold are unbelievers, who make no claim to be saved. Those who are hot are believers. This church, however, is full of lukewarm people: those who claim to be saved, but really aren’t. They may go the motions but they don’t actually care about God. They don’t honor His Word and they aren’t concerned about their sins. What is God’s response to this? Basically, they make Him want to vomit.

Revelation 3:17: “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.”

This is an apt description of the modern church! It’s quite wealthy and it thinks it knows everything. It has no idea that it’s spiritually bankrupt, morally blind, and ignorant of God’s Word. Since clothing is symbolic of righteousness, a naked person would be someone who has no righteousness at all. This church thinks that they’re covered, but they are not. God urges them to repent before it’s too late:

Revelation 3:19: “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.”

Things have become so desperate that Jesus is actually standing outside this church, knocking on its door! He isn’t a part of it and He isn’t in their midst. He is actually outside, looking in. Things have become so bad that Jesus says if any one opens the door, He will dine with them. The relationship is no longer between Jesus and the church as a whole, because the church is lost. Instead Jesus fellowships with the individual. The church is lost; all that is left is Jesus and the one person who would listen. This paints a picture of a church that is overwhelmingly lost, with few members who are truly saved.

Yet the promise of God is still true. If any individuals repent and believe, Jesus will save them and have a relationship with them. We do not have to join the church in its headlong flight to destruction.

It does make me wonder, though, how many people will be caught up in the Rapture. It may be a very small percentage indeed, as this polling data suggests.