Rev 3:14-22
Key
Verse 18
1.
[14] Please find the history of the city, and
the church in Laodicea, (Cf. Col 2:1;4:13-17). How did Jesus introduce himself
to this church? What does each of these designations imply to them?
a.
Antiochus II (261–246 B.C.) fortified the earlier city of Diospolis
as a Seleucid outpost between 261 and 253 B.C., naming
it after his wife or sister, Laodice. The city was called “Laodicea on the Lycus” and “Laodicea of Asia” to
distinguish it from at least four other cities of the same name. It was
situated on a plateau in the fertile valley of
the Lycus river on a prominent trade route. It was six miles south
of Hierapolis (Col 4:13), important
for its wool industry, eleven miles west of
Colossae, and a hundred miles east of Ephesus on a major road
(Strabo 14.2.29). Laodicea came under the control of the Romans in 133 B.C. The annual contribution of ca. twenty pounds in gold of
the Jewish community of Laodicea to Jerusalem, along with the
contributions of Jewish communities from three other cities, was seized in 62
B.C. (WBC)
[Dan 11:6
Ptolemy II (king of the south) attempted to mend relationships with the
Seleucid Empire (king of the north), whose capital was now at Antioch, by
marrying his daughter Berenice to Antiochus II,
who divorced his first wife, Laodice, and excluded their sons Seleucus and Antiochus from succeeding him. “But she will not be able to
hold onto her power.…” After two years, Antiochus
II apparently went back to Laodice,
who then had him killed, along with his son by Berenice (thus clearing the way for her own son Seleucus), Berenice
herself, and a number of her Egyptian attendants. Berenice’s father also died
in the same year.]
b.
Col 2:1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea,
and for all who have not met me personally.
Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends
greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in
all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for
those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke,
the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers
and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 After
this letter has been read to you, see that it
is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you, in
turn, read the letter from Laodicea. 17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you
complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
c.
14b These are the words of the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.
i.
Jesus described himself in four different ways: what
these four represent are the antithetical themes of what this church lacks.
ii.
The Amen:
this is what we see in the first line of the Lord’s prayer—hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom comes and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When these
things are accomplished, the utmost will of God is fulfilled; then Amen is
called upon; This must be the primary purpose and source of our lives. When all
men failed to do so, Jesus came and did accomplish by his obedience even to the
point of his death, fulfilling God’s will and upholding the Father’s glory,
giving full glory to the Father that He was worthy of. Jesus’ worthiness was
afforded to him because he upheld the Father’s glory by his life (Rev 5:2).
When do we say ‘amen’? It is not when we achieved what we prayed for or strived
for but when God the Father is glorified in and through us.
The faithful: faithfulness cannot be
defined by any other ways that we find within the perimeters of successes that
came through our efforts. The central
theme of the faithful is in Jesus who gave his life on the cross even to the point
of his death in obedience to the Father’s will and in order to uphold the glory
of the Father. So Paul said, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does
not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the
flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in
you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to
Christ. (Rom 8:9 NIV)
true witness: a witness stands
against a common misunderstanding of what happened or what is true. If Laodicean’s
life is devoid of ‘Christ-like’ living, the only one that embodied the truth,
and yet consider themselves to be the holder of genuine truth, then it is problematic.
Complacent life or problem-free life does
not serve as a ‘witness’ for the truth. Instead, suffering and overcoming that
suffering is the bedrock of the witness for the truth. Truth is always pointing
to the life that transcends to eternity. The life of Bill Gate is not and cannot
serve as the witness for the truth. Only the one who overcame the power of death
can serve as the true witness of life. Jesus is the one and became the first so
that many might follow him (Gal 2:20).
the ruler of God’s creation: A ruler calls all to submit to him for he is the
ultimate decision-maker for or ultimate controller of those who are under his
authority. When Jesus calls himself the
ruler of God’s creation, he claims that God entrusted all of His creation under
his authority (Mat 28:17) If the church of Laodicea counted any authority other
than Jesus as the ultimate ‘determining the authority of their lives on earth’
then, it would be a big mistake. Whether we live well or sick or die is not in
the hands of the authorities of the world; it is in Jesus’ hand. We can evade
or deflect or get by the authorities of the world, but we can never escape from
Jesus’ authority. It is more so because he bought us by his own blood. Furthermore,
even all ungodly are under his authority. I feel so sad that many who call themselves
believers in Christ conformed themselves to the platform of the Democratic party
that defies God’s authority for life. Yet none of them can get off the authority
of Jesus. All must give their account before him in time.
2.
[15-17] What was his primary concern for this
church (15a)? What’s wrong with it (15b)? What does it mean that they were
neither cold nor hot (17)? What’s his threat if they do not change (16)?
a.
His primary concern was their deed; not their lack of understanding. Our
actions unveil what is in the depth of our hearts. This was well revealed in
the story of Shimei (2 Sam 16:5-14; 19:18; 1 Kings 2:40-42).
b.
I know
your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or
the other! –When God delivers his final judgment, he is always patient and waits
to see if one’s sin is mature for his judgment; we may call it the “threshold” of his judgment (Gen 15;16). God
is willing to wait and wait. But the time will surely come to deliver his final
judgment. When he judges, there are only two, one for thorough punishment in eternity
and the other for an abundance of his blessing with him. There is no one in between
these two. When this church lingers in between these two, Jesus quickens them to
make a decision, to stand with him or to stand with the world. Faith is never standing in between the two choices in indecision. Jesus is calling them to
choose one and give all to their choice. Certainly, only one choice is right; that
is Jesus, the truth, and the life and the way.
c.
V17 speaks of their way of understanding life. They felt sufficient within themselves—most likely grounded on the riches
of the world-- their current life, the life on earth. But in Jesus’
perspective, they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. This implies
that they did not know or ignored the true ‘riches’ in the spiritual realm that
Jesus alluded in the sermon on the mount (Matt 6-7). Paul rebuked such a mindset in Corinth (1 Cor
4:8).
3.
[18-19] What three things does he counsel them
to buy (18)? Discuss each on its meaning and significance in respect to the
warning (v15) To do so, what will be necessary for them (19)? In what respect
were they not “earnest (be zealous -ESV)”? Discuss this with respect to buying three things
from Jesus and its cost that they have to pay.
a.
First, they were told to buy these items from
Jesus. They might think that they could buy these items from other places, other
people, or other system or field;
b.
Second, there are three items: gold, clothes,
and salve to put on their eyes. Gold has to do with riches, clothes have to do
with one’s pride or dignity or honor, and salve for eyes is for their wisdom, understanding,
and knowledge. In essence, these three are the things men pursue throughout
their lives. The world constantly presents
itself as the source of these three things for us. They come to us through
what we see, and what we hear, and what we enjoy.
c.
Third, Jesus has all these; Gold that is the
most valuable item while living on earth. But the true gold, that is most
valuable, comes through the process of ‘refining’ in a furnace. If gold has
not gone through the refining process, that gold is of little value. The true
gold comes to us as we go through the refining process either from ‘persecutions’ or
from the hardship in life. (1 Pet 1:1-8) Suffering leads us to the faith that
is precious as gold. This is related to ‘rebuke, discipline’ (v19) and ‘victory’
in v21.
a.
Fourth, a salve for the eyes: When our eyes are
bad, we cannot see things clearly. When our views are tainted by or opaqued
from ‘desires’ of the world, we live by illusions of the world. As long as we
keep the views of the world like ours, what we see and understand are totally detached
from reality, the reality of our lives in the eyes of the Lord. In order to see
properly, we must apply the salve of the love of God given in Christ. Practically this may make the beginning of the opening of our ears to hear and of willingness to accept the true spiritual
reality, a bankrupt life before the Lord.
4.
[20-21] What is Jesus ready to do or call on
(20)? Why? Who can or may become able to ‘share’ his or her life with Jesus?
Discuss the significance of sharing food with Jesus in respect to our life now
(John 21:4-19). To whom, will Jesus give the right to sit with Jesus (21)? What was the fight that this church not
engaged with and yet Jesus was calling for (Ref. 1 Cor 15:32; 2 Tim 4:7; Cf.
Rev 12:7)?
a.
Jesus is standing at the door knocking. This is
the spiritual status of this church; that is to say that their belief, more specifically,
their life in the Lord is totally disconnected from the Lord Jesus. They are making
many efforts in Jesus’ name. Yet something crucial is missing; that is a
personal relationship with the Lord; how did this come to be? The obvious
reasons may be lack of prayer, lack of knowledge of the word, and, unwillingness
to obey or to conform to the will of God. How can this fractured
communication/relationship be remedied? How can we keep our channel of
communication with the Lord? John 16:24
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
(Joh 16:24 NIV). As long as we are living in this world, we are in want; we are
to ask him and plead with him so that God may be honored in our personal lives
and in the lives of many who are around us.
b.
And then, fellowship in and with him is not a
sporadic event or once-in-a-while event but an on-going event; out of this relationship comes an abundance of God’s love in and through us. Jesus told his
disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood; out of this eating fellowship, flows
the richness of all blessings.
5.
[22] Summarize all the recommendations of Jesus
given to the angels for the seven churches and meditate on each of them in respect
to your personal life and to your church.
Discuss how we can have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
a.
The phrase ‘one who is victorious’ is repeated 8
times in Jesus' address to the seven churches. This tells us that he considers
his followers as fighters engaging in warfare, spiritual fight. In a war, no
one should be complacent and no one should be fearful; for there is only one
way to go, that is victory. Losing a war is not an option; Also we are called by
Jesus to win the war; the war that is inevitable to attain the glory of the
Lord. His last word for his disciples the night before his arrest was this:
33 “I have told you these
things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16)
Simply the entire address of Jesus
to the church was aimed at one goal; for us to fight the battle and we may win
the battle. As Jesus won, we can surely win the battle no matter how hard and
how unformidable look an obstacle might be.
b.
What are the key themes that Jesus pointed out
to watch for the church as a whole?
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