hotcoffee
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Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 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. 18 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.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 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. 18 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.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Laodicea is just a large flat mound now. It was once the home of huge stadium and aqueducts supplied rich water supplies. It was about 20 miles from Colosse.
In one of the commentaries, the author wrote, "If religion is worth anything, it is worth every thing." This same commentary says the problem with this church was that they thought they had salvation but the really didn't. In verse 17, notice the words "you say". The teachers thought they were on the way to Heaven but they were really on the way to hell.
Throughout the Gospels Jesus taught in parables. These verses are full of metaphors. As a matter of fact, the whole book of Revelation is rich in metaphors. Here we see The Spirit spitting [vomiting]lukewarm members of the church out of His mouth. In verse 21 Jesus says those who persevere will sit with Him on His Throne. Think about it. Just how big would the throne have to be for believers to sit on the throne with Him?
As The Spirit closes His words to the seven churches, He warns us not to just plod along. We can't be luke warm. We have to buy in totally. He actually says "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire" in verse 18. This doesn't mean tithe, as one preacher I heard tell the church. This doesn't mean buy some gold token so the church can build another wing, as I heard another preacher tell the TV church. It means give your whole heart and sole to Jesus.
