Revelation 3:17-18 –  ”…You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see…”

THE AFFIRMATION - In most of the Seven Letters, Jesus points out some things that the believers had right.  For Laodicea, however, Jesus has nothing good to say about the church!  Despite the triumphalist tone of many church services today, and the huge megachurches with thousands of members, this is the period of church history when Christianity is most displeasing to the Lord.

REBUKES & WARNINGS - Most of the Seven Letters include a rebuke or word of correction from the Lord Jesus, which correspond with the overall failures of Christianity in that period of history.  Jesus rebukes Ladociea twice.

Rebuke #1: ”…you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The church of Laodicea was lukewarm, that is, room temperature.  The image here is of a cup of water, which sits on the counter for so long that it takes on the temperature of the room around it.  Most people would prefer to drink either a refreshing chilled drink or a hot beverage like tea.  The church of Laodicea takes on the tone and attitudes of the world around it – the values of the society and culture in which it lives, rather than offering a genuine eternal alternative to the world’s ways.  The Christianity of this period adapts to the world.  The churches are so desperate for members that they will do anything to attract people – even trying to provide entertainment and social activities to compete with what the world offers.  As they try and try to become more appealing to unbelievers, they lose the Truth and can no longer offer people a transformed life.  In the process of appealing to the world, the church becomes disgusting to the Lord Jesus himself.  He rejects it, spitting it out of his mouth.

The relativisitic attitude that pervades Christianity today makes it lukewarm.  The members are halfhearted in their faith.  The pastors avoid saying anything controversial and tell the people what they want to hear, promising only inner peace and personal prosperity.  The missionaries stop converting unbelievers and start providing social services for them instead.  “Church growth consultants” advise the leadership about the latest tricks and techniques for gathering more members and making more money.

Rebuke # 2- “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’  But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Laodicea was a wealthy, prosperous city, and the believers there benefitted from their prosperous surrounding.  Financial prosperity, however, brings its own spiritual danger: complacency and self-sufficiency.  If poor Christians sometimes fall into focusing all their prayers on their material needs, Christians who obtain financial prosperity often forget about God because they do not feel they need Him.  The economic success of the Ladiceans blinded them to their own spiritual poverty; they were rich in the things of the world but poor in the things of eternity.  Prophetically, this points forward to the present age (the age of Laodicea), when Christians in the economically developed countries are often so complacent and self-sufficient that they have no prayer life whatsoever.

Wretched - The Greek word here means “afflicted by hard labor and calamities” (literally it comes from two root words meaning “to bear” and “calluses from manual labor”).   It occurs in only one other place in the New Testament, in Romans 7:24, where Paul expressions complete spiritual failure without Christ.  Greek dramas in the ancient world often used the phrase at the end when a tragic character would realize their own wickedness or failure and would exclaim, “How wretched I am!”  The Laodicean Christians were like those tragic characters in dramas who do not yet realize their own bad situation.  Spiritually, “wretched” points to those who suffer many spiritual afflictions.

Pitiful - This word refers to being so miserable that others pity you.  Instead of having something precious to offer the world (i.e., the Gospel), the Church of Laodicea seeks pity from others, and must ask others for help constantly.  This word also occurs in 1 Corinthians 15:19 (”If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”).Laodicean Christians have hope only in this world, in this life – they are not ready for eternity.

Poor - This is a common word in the New Testament for beggars.  Jesus is calling them spiritual beggars – instead of offering the Truth to the world, they go around looking for new ideas and techniques from any source possible.

Blind - they are lacking spiritual light or revelation.  Most preaching today is mere motivational messages, not the revealed Word of God.

Spiritually Naked - Lacking the garments of salvation.  Clothes in the Bible are a symbol of the  good testimony of a sanctified life (see, for example, Matthew 22:11-13; Zechariah 3:3-4; Deuteronomy 21:13; Revelation 3:4; Revelation 16:5).

Sadly, this describes the state of Christianity in most of the world today.  In the next lesson, we will study the remedies that Jesus offers to these problems.  Jesus wants to rescue us from this mire of worthless religion, so that we can fully participate in the final phase of his salvation project.