Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

3:14-16
sons disinherited and cast out, while they through
Christ received the blessings of their father Abraham,
and inherited the world (Rom. 4:13; Gal. 3:29).
Laodicea: Judgment on the Lukewarm (3:14-22)
14 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:
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I
would that you were cold or hot.
16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I
will spit you out of my mouth.
17 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.
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you
may become rich, and white garments, that you may
clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness
may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes,
that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous
therefore, and repent.
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
will dine with him, and he with Me.
21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with
Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with
My Father on His throne.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.
14 The wealthiest city in the region, Laodicea was
another important center of emperor-worship. In His
message to the elders of this church, Christ identifies
Himself in three ways. First, Jesus says, He is the Amen.
This is a familiar word to all Christians: We repeat it at
the close of our creeds, hymns, and prayers. 12 It is
generally understood to mean So be it; but its actual
force, in terms of the theology of the Bible, is much
stronger. It is really an oath: to say Amen means to call
down upon oneself the curses of the Covenant (cf.
Num. 5:21-22; Deut. 27:15-26; Neh. 5:12-13). As our
“Yes and Amen” Jesus Christ is the guarantee of the
covenantal promises, by His perfect obedience, atoning
sacrifice, and continuing intercession in the court of
heaven (2 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 7:22-28; 9:24-28;
10:10-14). Thus, our Amen in liturgical response to
God’s Word is both an oath and a recognition that our
salvation is wholly dependent not upon our keeping of
the Covenant but upon the perfect covenantkeeping of
Jesus Christ, who placed Himself under the Covenant
stipulations and curses in our place.
Second, this means that Jesus is also the faithful and
true Witness, on whose Word we may eternally
depend. “He is a faithful Witness because his witness is
true; and he is a true Witness because in him is the
complete realization of all the qualifications which
constitute any one really and truly a witness.” 13 And it
is as this infallible and fully authoritative Witness that
Christ bears convicting testimony against the church of
Laodicea.
Third, Jesus says, He is the Beginning of the creation
of God: He is the arche – , both the Origin and the Ruler
of all creation, as Paul also wrote in a letter he
specifically intended the Laodicean church to read (see
Col. 4:16):
And He is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn
of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the
heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been
created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and
in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the
Body, the Church; and He is the Beginning, the Firstborn
from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first
place in everything. (Col 1:15-18)
Thus the One who speaks to Laodicea is the Amen, the
great Guarantor of the Covenant, the infallible
Witness who is Truth Himself, with all the authority
possessed by the Creator and King of the universe. And
He has come to bear testimony against His church.
15-16 Laodicea was lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold. This has often been interpreted as if hot meant
godly enthusiasm and cold meant ungodly antagonism; but
there is another explanation which suits the historical
and geographical context better. Laodicea was situated
between two other important cities, Colossae and
Hieropolis. Colossae, wedged into a narrow valley in
the shadow of towering mountains, was watered by icy
streams which tumbled down from the heights. In
contrast, Hieropolis was famous for its hot mineral
springs which flowed out of the city and across a high
plain until it cascaded down a cliff which faced
Laodicea. By the time the water reached the valley
floor, it was lukewarm, putrid, and nauseating. At
Colossae, therefore, one could be refreshed with clear,
cold, invigorating drinking water; at Hieropolis, one
could be healed by bathing in its hot, mineral-laden
pools. But at Laodicea, the waters were neither hot (for
health) nor cold (for drinking). 14
In other words, the basic accusation against Laodicea is
that it is ineffectual, good for nothing. The Laodicean
church brings neither a cure for illness nor a drink to
soothe dry lips and parched throats. The sort of
Christianity represented by Laodicea is worthless. The
church provided “neither refreshment for the
spiritually weary, nor healing for the spiritually sick. It
was totally ineffective, and thus distasteful to its
Lord.” 15 Thus, says Mounce, “the church is not being
called to task for its spiritual temperature but for the
barrenness of its works.” 16 This explains Christ’s
statement: I would that you were cold or hot. He is
12. Unfortunately, many fundamentalists and evangelical use the term nowadays
to mean I feel good. Such usage, implicitly (though certainly not
intentionally) bordering on blasphemy, is only one symptom of the
subjective, man-centered attitude toward life which has become common
during the past two centuries.
13. A. Plummer in The Pu[pit Commentary: The Revelation of St. John the Divine
(London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, n.d.), p. 115.
14. C. J. Hemer, “Seven Cities of Asia Minor”; in R. K. Harrison, ed., Major Cities
of the Biblical World (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985), pp. 246ff.
15. M. J. S. Rudwick and E. M. B. Green, “The Laodicean Lukewarmness”: in
Expository Times, Vol. 69 (1957-58), p. 178; cited in Mounce, p. 125.
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