In the book of Revelation we have an account of seven different churches, all of which Jesus sent a message to, by way of the Apostle John. Most of these had a mixture of good and bad reports, with affirmation for the good and a call to repentance for the bad. A few had only affirmation or only a call to repentance. 

Laodicea was one that received only rebuke and no commendation. Why do I focus on Laodicea, though, when there are seven churches to choose from? The short answer is, I believe we, in the modern western church bear a strong resemblance to the Laodicean church. 

Ages Of The Church

Some theologians say the seven churches, though literal churches, also represent seven periods of church history—in which each period would bear the stamp of the characteristics of its respective type. Whether this is entirely true or not, it certainly seems it fits with the last two eras—with the current one corroborating with Laodicea and the one before with Philadelphia. 

The western church was strong and zealous at one time, but gradually as we became increasingly wealthy, we lost much of our zeal. Perhaps like the Laodicean Church, we feel we are in need of nothing. Let’s look at what the Lord had to say to such a church:

What The Bible Says

Revelation 3:15-19  “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. – ESV 

Not a pretty picture. It’s sobering to me as a person who is in the midst of such a church. Not necessarily the one I attend, but the church as a whole in this time. It is definitely cause to pause and reflect. How much am I blinded by the extravagant wealth of our time? Has it caused me to become lukewarm? 

Not that riches are wrong in and of themselves, but they can be very deceitful if we let them go to our heart. So much so, that we can convince ourselves that we are doing very well when surrounded by riches while in reality, we are poor, blind, and naked. 

The Remedy

But the Lord has a remedy for each wretched condition described above. First, if we want real riches, we need to buy gold refined by fire. In other words, we need to let the Fire of God come and purify us and refine us if we want to be delivered from our spiritual poverty. What is the price? Endurance. The fire will hurt. 

The white garments are robes of righteousness, obtained by the grace of Jesus—not our own ability. He will even give us a spiritual salve to open our eyes to see with sobriety. The latter two will also come at a price of endurance and pain even though they are essentially given.

Verse 19 provides the ultimate key to it all, though. When the Lord tries to wake us up with reproval and discipline, let’s take it as His immense love for us. Let’s be zealous and repent.