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Rev 3:14-18 What The Spirit Says to The Church of Laodicea – Part 1

Updated December 8, 2023

Rev 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;
Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 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:
Rev 3:18  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.

Introduction

Laodicea is the seventh of the seven churches within those who have been “given ears to hear.” It is the capstone of our spiritual condition as we look behind ourselves to see the voice speaking to us and giving us this revelation of Jesus Christ. What we see in “what the spirit says to the church” of Laodicea within us is a “lukewarm” spirit which is totally unaware of its lackadaisical attitude and is completely self-satisfied. Until we face this angel of the church of Laodicea within us and give an accounting of the fact that its self-satisfied attitude is in us, we will never be given the “open heavens” of chapters 4 and 5 and all the revelations that follow. When we do “look behind us to see the voice that speaks with us”, we begin to be given the sum of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. [That would include Antipas who was martyred “where Satan dwells” in the church at Pergamos (Rev 2:13)],

Rev 2:13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Here now is what the spirit has to say to “he that hath an ear to hear” what the spirit says to the angel of the church of Laodicea within us all.

Rev 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;

Here Christ calls Himself three things. He is the Amen, the faithful and true witness and the beginning of the creation of God. As the ‘Amen’ we know Christ as the Truth. The Greek word is pronounced about the same as is the English ‘amen’ except that the ‘e’ is pronounced as a long ‘a’ and is defined by Dr. Strong as “Properly firm, figuratively trustworthy.” It is by far most often translated in the King James as ‘verily,’ meaning ‘truly,’ and is often seen repeated as “Verily, verily,” especially in the gospel of John. For example:

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

G281
αμην
ame n
am- ane’
Of Hebrew origin [ H543]; properly firm, that is, (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially surely (often as interjection so be it): – amen, verily.

So Christ and His Words are definitely firm, true and trustworthy. But he also wants to be known as “the faithful and true witness,” and it is always instructive to note that the Greek word for ‘witness’ is ‘martus,’ from which we derive our English word martyr. While it is generally used simply in the sense of being a faithful witness, the example of Antipas, along with Christ’s own example, demonstrates that the willingness to remain a faithful witness until death is the deepest application of this Greek word:

Rev 2:13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan’s seat [is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr [same Greek word, ‘martus’], who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

We find it hard to understand how the Lord can tell us that we have not denied His name nor His faith and yet find us guilty of the blood of Antipas among us where Satan dwells. Yet that is exactly what Isaiah said would happen in this prophecy:

Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Christ is God’s ultimate “faithful martyr” at our hands, and so He introduces Himself to us as being martyred by the angel of the church in Laodicea. Christ’s final revelation of Himself to the angel of the church of Laodicea within us is as “the beginning of the creation of God.” There is really nothing new in Christ’s claim to being “the beginning.” We have already covered this in chapter 1 where we were told Christ is “the beginning and the end.”

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty

The Greek word translated ‘beginning’ here and in Revelation 3:14 is ‘arche,’ and it literally means “a commencement.” Here is Strong’s definition:

G746
αρχη
arche
ar- khay’
From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): – beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.

So it is also properly translated as ‘chief,’ and ‘principalities.’

Eph 1:20  Which he [the Father] wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places],
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Col 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

In telling us that He is the beginning of the creation of God, Christ is telling us that He is the head of all principality and power. The God head is understood by the things that are made, and just as the man is the head of the woman, and the woman came out of the man, so also, the Father is the head of Christ, and Christ came out of the Father:

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

As “the head of all principality and power” there is nothing the Adversary can do that he is not commissioned by Christ to accomplish. In other words, there is no uncertain struggle going on between Christ and Satan. The outcome of the “war in heaven” includes a necessary struggle, which struggle and its outcome were “predestined… and written in his book… before the world began.” (Eph 1:11, Psa 139:16, 2Ti 1:9)

Christ being “the head of all principality and power” means that Christ is Satan’s overseer and his boss, and Satan cannot as much as raise his little finger without being told to do so. However, the most controversial part of this verse is the fact that Christ tells us He is “the beginning of the creation of God.” So whether you apply this Greek word ‘arche‘ in either “an abstract sense as a commencement or concretely as chief in order, time, place or rank,” this verse of God’s Word, these words of the revelation of Jesus Christ from His own mouth, have the Father as Christ’s predecessor and as His Superior, and that is exactly as Christ would have us to understand it:

Joh 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come [again] unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

The trinitarian answer to that verse is that this was only true of Christ as long as He was in the flesh, but here in Revelation 3:14, Christ tells us He is “the beginning of the creation of God.” This true doctrine of Christ fits perfectly with all the rest of scripture which declares to those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear:

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and [besides the “one God of whom are all things” there is also] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Col 1:15  Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

It was long after Christ had died and was risen from the dead and was no longer ‘in the flesh’ that Paul made that statement in:

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

It is clear that He of whom are all things is much greater than He by whom are all things. For more on this subject see our paper entitled Is God a Trinity? on iswasandwillbe.com.

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

This is an incredible statement. Christ prefers that we be completely cold over being lukewarm. Why would that be? The answer to that question is very clear. A person who is “lukewarm” is a fence sitter who is “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine” because he is not really excited or hot about his relationship with the Man who is supposed to be his Head. He is not dedicated, and lack of dedication within any of us leads to infidelity. We are not just unreliable, but we can actually be relied on to bring a reproach upon the name of God. God demands “whole-hearted” service or we will not be His servants:

Psa 119:2  Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Jer 3:10  And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

It will always be easier to just go along to get along with all the faults within ‘the seven churches of Asia’ than it is to remain faithful to our Lord and master who is supposed to be our head. For example, how do verses like these affect a person who is “neither hot nor cold.”

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Here is how such a person is affected by these verses:

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

The truths of God sovereignty, His love for all men and His definition of love, and equating that love with obedience to His commandments, has “offended” us all at some time in our lives. Then being “neither hot nor cold… being lukewarm” is very closely akin to “receiving the seed into stony places, having no root in himself, but during for a while and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, becoming offended,” and denying our Lord and His Word.

It is at this point that Christ spews us out of His mouth, because Christ’s mouth is a clean mouth which speaks nothing but the words of His Father:

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

That is a white-hot desire to please the Father, and that is what Christ must see in us. It is not in the flesh to be that dedicated, and so it is first spewed out of God’s mouth and made to experience the bitterness of repentance before we are brought to being “on fire” in Christ’s service. The story of the apostle Peter demonstrates the spirit of the angel of the church in Laodicea within us all at its appointed time. Peter, just like this “angel of the church in Laodicea,” thought that he was in very good spiritual condition, when in reality he was neither hot nor cold but was lukewarm. Just like Peter we, too, must come to see this in ourselves. Here is how Peter conceived himself:

Mat 26:33  Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Mat 26:34  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mat 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

“All the disciples” means you and me, and “because you are neither hot nor cold” also means you and me. We simply must “keep the things which are written therein.” We cannot do as Peter and try to side-step the admonitions of Christ and think we can somehow avoid denying our Lord. Yet that is exactly what we do when we think we can somehow avoid all the admonitions of our Lord to all the churches except Smyrna and Philadelphia. It simply cannot be avoided. “All the disciples” is each of us, and we all are lukewarm to the extent that we all deny Him at our appointed time.

When any of us think that there is any part of “the things written therein” which have no personal application, we will soon enough find ourselves looking our Lord in the eye and being reminded that we must “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Anything less is to deny our Lord and His words, where we find ourselves with Peter and “all the disciples, … weeping bitterly ” as we realize that we do indeed “keep [all] the things written therein.”

Mat 26:69  Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
Mat 26:70  But he denied before [them] all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
Mat 26:71  And when he was gone out into the porch, another [maid] saw him, and said unto them that were there, This [fellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
Mat 26:72  And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Mat 26:73  And after a while came unto [him] they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art [one] of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, [saying], I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

The self-confidence of Peter and “all of His disciples”, who had said they would never forsake their Lord is really nothing more than being lukewarm, and it reflects an attitude that places the strength of the flesh above the power of God’s Word and His spirit. Here is the result of this spiritually “lukewarm”  attitude of a Laodicean spirit within us:

Rev 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:
Rev 3:18  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 exactly how Peter and all the disciples felt just before they all forsook and denied Him. All of Christ’s disciples felt that they were prepared to “drink the cup” that Jesus drank and be baptized with His baptism, but the Truth was that nothing could have been further from the Truth. The fact that they forsook Him at His time of trial demonstrated that all His disciples thought that they “were rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;” when in reality they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” One of the disciples was literally naked, which is just a type of the spiritual condition of us all at that time in our own walk.

Mar 14:50  And they all [the disciples] forsook him, and fled.
Mar 14:51  And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
Mar 14:52  And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

Another scriptural example of this phase of our walk with our Lord, is the example given us in the church at Corinth. Notice what the apostle reveals to us of this church and of its spiritual standing at the time of the writing of this epistle:

1Co 1:1  Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
1Co 1:2  Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

This congregation was well aware that they were being called, and they realized that they were being sanctified in Christ Jesus. Verses 6 and 7 reveal that “the testimony of Christ was confirmed in these Corinthian disciples, and they were even blessed with every gift of the spirit:

1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Now comes a revelation that few have ever even heard and which even fewer are given to receive. It is a revelation of what happens to you and to me when we say “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” and we don’t even know that we are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked: Here is our true spiritual standing while we are yet in the Babylonian phase of our walk.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Whoever heard of a “carnal babe in Christ?” How does such a verse of scripture fit into the false doctrine of a ten-second sinner’s prayer? These Corinthians are just like “the Jews that believed on Christ” and were also “of their father the devil in John 8:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Now look at how these same believing Jews, who are “Abraham’s children,” are also “of their father the devil” and want Christ killed.

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 

The angel of the church in Laodicea, cannot receive the Truth, because at this point we are “Yet carnal,” even thought we are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, [and] come behind in no gift.” These are the very words of scripture, and yet they are completely foreign to the angel of the church in Laodicea.

Conclusion

This is the first part of what the spirit has to say to the angel of the church in Laodicea. We have come to see that these seven angels are actually one spirit within one church.

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

In our study today we have seen that Christ identifies Himself to the angel of the church in Laodecia as the firm and trustworthy Word of God. We also saw that He considers Himself to be the actual beginning of, and the commencement of, God’s creation. It was through Christ that God then went on to create all the rest of His creation.

Col 1:15  Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

We have seen Christ’s disdain for all halfheartedness and being “lukewarm” in His service. Christ wants us all to be either hot or cold, either on fire in His service, or not in His service. Christ would actually prefer us to be cold rather than “lukewarm.”

We also saw that we will not be found “in His mouth,” meaning we will not be His mouth piece, speaking His words, if we are just lukewarm. We saw that being lukewarm was akin to receiving the word in stony places and that the apostles all forsaking Christ demonstrated that they were nowhere near as “on fire” for Him as they thought they were. Of course “all the disciples” means what it says and includes all of us who must “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and keep the things written therein.”

We have seen that keeping every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God includes all the qualifying words which tell us that we are not hurt of the second death because we are the first to trust in Christ and are the first to be baptized into His death.

We have seen that God’s Word, His “gold,” is not really a part of us until it is “tried in the fire” with the many trials which we all fail for many years before we are granted the strength to endure and rejoice in the fiery trials that mature us and grant us that gold bought of God, gold tried in the fire of His words. The very words of which we are told we “must live by every word…”

Finally, we also saw that when the all the disciples forsook Christ, they demonstrated how they thought of themselves as “rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing”, when in reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. Peter ends up denying Christ three times that very night, and doing so with an oath and while swearing, that he did not know Christ.

We also saw this same phenomenon demonstrated by “the Jews that believed on Christ,” but wanted to kill Him in John 8, and in 1 Corinthians 1 and 3, by the church at Corinth, which was called, sanctified, and came behind in no gift, and were yet “carnal babes in Christ.”

So these are all types of us, as the angel of the church in Laodicea.

Next week, Lord willing, we will see more of what the spirit says to the angel of the church in Laodicea.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  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.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.