“Forsaken First Love”

Distinctive Features
About the Seven Churches

Before actually beginning the exposition of the message to Ephesus, it would be helpful to consider a few of the distinctive and common features that can be observed in each of the messages to the churches of Asia Minor as we find them in Revelation 2 and 3.

The Selection of These Particular Churches

Why seven and why these? These were letters to seven historical churches at the time of John’s writing. The letters each dealt with actual conditions of church life in John’s day. But as God’s Word is written to the whole body of Christ for all history, they are also representative of all churches both in John’s day and at any time in the history of the church. Just as the letters to the Corinthians concern not only the church at Corinth, but all churches past, present, and future, so do these letters. Reasons:

(1) The fact there are seven, but only seven listed. Though many other churches existed and many were larger and better known, only these seven were selected. Seven is the number of completion and it is suggested that these seven perfectly represent conditions that would be characteristic of various churches throughout history.

(2) Though each letter is written to a specific church, all the letters close with the words “let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (pl.).” Each message is pertinent to all the churches, not only of John’s day, but of ours as well.

The Sufficiency of Christ

It should be noted that each message with its warning or counsel or comfort begins by calling attention to some aspect of the majesty and glory of Christ as to His person and work as it is revealed in the vision of chapter one. But, significantly, this is always in some way related to the needs, problems, and conditions within the local assembly. This serves to stress how Jesus Christ perfectly meets our need, and is the source of our strength. All the problems and needs of the church are met in Jesus Christ. He and He alone is the ANSWER to our needs and the SOLUTION to our problems. Please note:

(1) Christ is the Author of each message: it is a special word from Him.

(2) Christ is the Answer for our every problem: He is our need and solution.

(3) Christ is the Authority for our lives: we are all answerable to Him.

The Omniscience of Christ

Each letter begins with a statement of the Lord’s omniscience like “I know your works or deeds” (cf. 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, and 15). How awesome this is and how careful this should make us. This should make us careful to walk by the Spirit for it is Christ Himself, whose searching eyes, like a flame of fire, tries our works. Yet, how comforting for there is no problem and no condition that we face that He does not know or care about.

Our Susceptibility to Local Conditions

In each letter to the churches, there is a unique relationship between the problems they faced and the particular nature and character of the environment in which they lived. It is these conditions that presented particular temptations, testings, and problems.

Chapters 2 and 3 contain seven messages that are extremely practical for us today both on a personal and a corporate level. For the most part, each letter contains six divisions:

1. A reference to the City or Assembly, the destination of the letter

2. A description of Christ, the Author and Answer

3. A Commendation or Approval

4. A Condemnation or the Ailment

5. A Counsel or Admonition

6. A Challenge and an Assurance

Now let’s look at the church at Ephesus and the problem of forsaken first love in verses 1-7.

The City and the Assembly
(2:1a)

Ephesus was located near the mouth of the Cayster River only three miles from the coast. It became the capitol of Asia Minor, was connected by highways with the interior of Asia and all her chief cities, and became a great commercial center. The emperor had made Ephesus a free city and it was given the title “Supreme Metropolis of Asia.” It also contained one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Diana, and was a center of mystical cult worship. “The temple was 425 feet long, 220 feet wide, and 60 feet high, with great folding doors and 127 marble pillars, some of them covered with gold. The worship of Diana was ‘religious immorality’ at its worst.”³⁶

The church of Ephesus was established by Paul on his third missionary journey (read Acts 19-20), and it was from this church that Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus when he was on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20:16f). After that, Ephesus became the residence of the Apostle John before and after his exile, but no church stands there today. Many believe this church may well represent the apostolic age in its moral and doctrinal purity.

The Author and the Answer
(2:1b)

“The One who holds the seven stars.” This is a note of warning and comfort. It stresses Christ’s authority, control, possession, and provision for the messengers of the local churches who have the responsibility to lead and teach God’s Word. They are in the hand of the risen Savior to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given (Matt. 28:18). As the one who holds them, He will provide for, protect and enable them for their ministry. But this also stresses the messenger’s need to be both submissive to and dependent upon his Lord for all that is needed for his ministry.

“The One who walks among the seven lampstands.” “Who walks.” In the vision of chapter one, He is evidently standing, but here we see not only Christ’s constant presence in our midst, but His active ministry. In that ministry, He examines us for the quality of our production, He provides for our needs, and He is always available to us seeking to minister and to have fellowship. Our need is to be available to Him! This is also a note of warning and comfort.

The Commendation or Approval
(2:2-3)

The Lord’s Knowledge

The opening words of verse 2, “I know,” serve to stress Christ’s omniscience, interest, and evaluation of the works, life, and activity of the church. Nothing escapes Him, nothing! Compare 1 Corinthians 3:12f; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Psalm 139:1-12.

Their Works

“Deeds” is the noun, erga, the plural of ergon, and refers to “a deed or action or task (this was an active church), to occupational or official activity or service (shows Christ was aware of their official ministries and service, i.e., elder, deacon, teacher, helps, etc.), and of achievements, accomplishments (Christ knew what they had done on His behalf). Compare 1 Corinthians 15:51.

“Toil” is kopos, and referred to a toil or labor to the point of weariness. It stresses the depth and degree of their labor for the Lord. Compare Colossians 1:29-2:1.

“Perseverance” is Jupomenw, from Jupo meaning “under” and menw meaning “to abide.” It refers to the capacity or ability to endure, to remain under pressure or pain over the long haul. It looks at staying power. Compare James 1:2-4. This word stressed the extent of their labor whereas “toil,” kopos, stressed the degree. Verse 3 will expand on this.

Their Moral and Doctrinal Purity

“That you cannot endure evil men.” “Endure” is the Greek bastazw, “to bear, carry as a burden,” and then, “to endure,” “tolerate.” Now compare Galatians 6:1-5. However, when men refuse to respond to the Word and personal rebuke, there comes a time when believers should no longer tolerate their actions and must take the necessary steps as outlined in the Word. Point: The Ephesian church had refused to allow apostasy and immorality to go on in the church. They exercised church discipline when men refused to respond to God’s Word (Matt. 18:15-18; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Thess. 3:6-15; 1 Tim. 5:19-20; Titus 3:10-11).

Their Spiritual Discernment

“And have put to test …” peirazw, “to make proof of, to test, try, prove.” They remembered the word of the apostles regarding false teachers (Acts 20:20-31; Jude 17-18). There are three major areas to test: (1) the message and doctrinal belief (1 John 4:1-2); (2) the manner of life (1 John 3:10; 4:8; Jude; Matt. 7:15f); (3) the audience, to whom do they appeal? (1 John 4:5-6).

Verse 3 summarizes their perseverance. They endured. They had not grown weary but things were not as they should be. Ephesus was orthodox in theology, practice, and service, yet something was missing which, if not corrected, would ruin their light-bearing capacity. This is followed, then, by condemnation. A key to their problem can be observed by comparing the deeds, labor and perseverance here with that of the church at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:3) where the same Greek words are used, only we should note the accompanying phrases—work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope. Faith, love and hope were the sources of the work, the labor, and the endurance. This stressed production from a vital spiritual life.

The Condemnation or Ailment
(2:4)

“Forsaken first love.” The word “left” is the Greek word afihmi, “to leave, forsake, depart.” It stresses an act for which one is personally responsible. This is not LOST LOVE, but LEFT LOVE and suggest three particular problems: (a) they had moved away from their original position of devotion and fervor for the Savior by a gradual departure (Heb. 3:7f); (b) they came to put service for the Lord ahead of love, devotion, and fellowship with Him (remember 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and compare Proverbs 4:23); (c) their labor gradually came to be merely mechanical, the thing they were responsible to do, but the Savior wants it to be the result of the abiding life, the result of an intimate walk with Him through the Spirit of God (John 15:1-7; Gal. 5:1-5, 16-26; Eph. 5:18).

But the Man in the midst of the churches saw what was missing: they had left (not “lost”) their first love (Jer. 2:2). The local church is espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), but there is always the danger of that love growing cold. Like Martha, we can be so busy working for Christ that we have no time to love Him (Luke 10:38–42). Christ is more concerned about what we do with Him than for Him. Labor is no substitute for love. To the public, the Ephesian church was successful; to Christ, it had fallen.³⁷

When the Lord first appointed the twelve disciples, it is significant that Mark tells us that Jesus appointed them for two main purposes marked off by two Jina purpose clauses in the Greek text: (a) to be with Him and (b) to send them forth to preach and to cast out demons, and the order here is very significant. The first order of His appointment was their fellowship, being with the Lord Jesus, with their ministry in the world being the product of that fellowship as root to fruit or enablement to activity.

With this in mind, we come to the Lord’s loving counsel and admonition.

The Counsel or Admonition
(2:5a, b)

The church as Ephesus from all outward appearances was a very spiritual church for it was certainly a church that was very active in the work of God. They toiled for the Lord, endured much, were doctrinally sound, and took a strong stand against the deeds of the Nicolaitans (vss. 2-3, 6). Nevertheless, something was wrong. They were guilty of a sin that is sometimes hard to detect. But the Lord, who knows our hearts as well as our outward deeds, counsels Ephesus to do three things that were desperately needed to reestablish their closeness and walk with the Savior, or they would lose their witness. There is a very important lesson in this message for God’s people in any period of history, but the message here is particularly important for our performance oriented society. It is the warning that, if we are not ever so careful, we can lose our spiritual vitality, the abiding life principle where we live and serve out of our awareness of Him, and slip into mere orthodox routine. Someone has rightly said that a routine can become like a rut which can be nothing more that a grave with the ends knocked out.

The three things they needed:

(1) Remember. This is a call to reflect, to go back and recall the past. The Savior is saying, “remember the way it used to be in your relationship with Me.” Undoubtedly, the process of looking back is also a call to recognize one’s true condition. We can’t very well confess sin if we don’t clearly see it for what it is. Has our Christian life lost some of its excitement and joy? Are we finding our Christian work rather boring and dull, even to the point of drudgery? Have we lost the joy of the Lord, if so, it is because we have left the position of devotion and occupation with Christ.

“Are fallen” is the perfect tense in the Greek. It looks at a completed act with existing results, a state, and not a process. We are in a fallen condition (are out of fellowship) and working in the energy of the flesh whenever we move away or cease to operate out of condition of love and devotion that stems from personal fellowship or a walk of faith with the Lord Jesus.

(2) Repent. Repent is the Greek word, metanoew. This word means to change the mind or purpose, to change one’s decision. It means to recognize one’s previous decision, opinion, or condition as wrong, and to accept and move toward a new and right path in its place. The verb is in the aorist tense in the Greek which may look at a single, decisive act. Repentance includes confession of sin with a view to stopping the bad behavior so it can be replaced with what was right.

(3) Repeat. “Do the deeds you did at first.” This is not a call to more Christian service or to renewed Christian activity. They had plenty of that. Then what does the Lord mean and how does this apply to us?

“First” is prwtos which means “first in time, place, or rank.” It clearly looks back to the beginning of a Christian’s life, but could it not include those deeds which should be first in a believer’s life and are the most important because of what they mean to us, to God, and our fellowship with Him?

So, what are the first deeds? John does not say, but in the light of the above mentioned passages they include the basic techniques and disciplines of fellowship and abiding in the Lord. It would include such things as honest confession of sin, prayer, Bible study, reading, meditation, memorization, fellowship with believers, being occupied with Christ and refocusing all of our life on Him, the faith rest life, reckoning on our position in Christ, etc. (cf. Mark 3:14; 6:30-32; John 15:4-8; Ps. 119).

The Alternative—Removal
(2:5c)

Removal of their lampstand or witness is the alternative. Our Lord was and is saying, either do the above three or else you will lose your light-bearing capacity. Left love means lost light. The church of Ephesus does not stand today. Its light has been not just dimmed, but completely snuffed out.

A Second Commendation or Approval
(2:6)

They hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Scholars differ on their understanding of this group. Some think they were the followers of Nicolas according to early church Fathers (cf. Acts 6:5). Since their heresy seems to be associated with the doctrine of Balaam in 2:14-15, some believe this was an antinomian sect that advocated license in matters of Christian conduct, including free love. Others believe, based on the etymology of the word which can mean, “one who rules the laity” or “laity-conqueror,” that it was an error that exalted the clergy over the laity. Regardless, the church at Ephesus took a strong stand against the heresy and is commended by the Lord for doing so. Note that what was merely a matter of deeds in Ephesus, became an accepted doctrine in Pergamum because it was tolerated. An important lesson. If we do not correct our practices by the Word, they will become traditions that become the doctrines of men who nullify the Word of God.

The Call or Appeal
(2:7a)

A final exhortation (2:7a). “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This is a loving call to hear what the Holy Spirit is teaching in these seven messages. Note the change from an appeal to the individual, “he who has an ear,” to the plural, “what the Spirit says to the churches.” This change broadens the appeal of each message to all the churches because the messages are representative and applicable to all of us. Here the Spirit of God who is the Spirit of truth and the author and teacher of Scripture is calling on us to evaluate our openness to respond to the things that need to be learned and applied in these messages.

The Certainty or Assurance
(2:7b)

Each message of Revelation 2 and 3 concludes with a promise to the overcomer, but there is a great deal of disagreement over the meaning of the overcomer promises. “Overcome” is the nikaw, “to conquer, prevail, triumph, overcome.” But the question is how exactly are we to understand these promises to those who overcome? This is where the disagreement exists. There are four primary views of these passages:

(1) The loss of salvation view: The promises are written to believers to encourage them to overcome lest they lose their salvation. To fail to overcome is to lose salvation.

(2) The ultimate triumph of faith or the perseverance of the saints view: According to this view all genuine believers persevere and overcome the world by living godly and obedient lives. Overcoming equals faithfulness or obedience which proves the genuineness of salvation.

(3) The all believers view: According to this view, all believers become overcomers the moment they believe in Jesus Christ. The very act of believing overcomes the world: “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Faith, not faithfulness is the primary focus in this position.

(4) The rewards view: According to this view, the overcomer passages are promises of rewards given to believers to encourage them to be faithful by overcoming the trials and temptations of life through faith in their new life in Christ.

For a discussion of the various views and some of the issues involved, see Appendix 3. For reasons discussed in Appendix 3, the fourth view is the position that is presented in this study.

The promise regarding the tree of life: “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7b).

“Paradise,” paradeisos, is a Persian word meaning, “a pleasure park, or garden.” The Septuagint uses it to translate the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:8-10. To the oriental mind it meant the sum of blessedness. Christ, as the “last Adam,” is the restorer of paradise lost as is seen clearly in Revelation 22:1-4, and 14.

But what about “the tree of Life”? First, the tree of life is literal. It is not just a symbol for eternal life or for the person of Christ. In Revelation 21:1-22:5, John is describing the eternal state which includes the new heaven and the new earth with the new Jerusalem, a literal place with some 25 verses devoted to its description. It is not a symbol.

Second, it is probably not just one tree, but a collective term referring to a whole row of trees that exist between the river and the avenue described in Revelation 22. This is all a part of the beautiful park or paradise of God.

Third, having a right to the tree of life is not equivalent to salvation, nor is it necessary for the maintenance of life. Why? Because possession of eternal life and the maintenance of eternal life comes from possession of Jesus Christ who is our eternal life. All believers possess eternal life at the point of believing in Christ (John 3:16). Furthermore, eternal life, as God’s gift to those who believe, is never maintained by what we do. Compare 1 John 5:11-12; John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25, 26; 20:31; 17:3.

Fourth, the tree of life, then, must offer some kind of superlative experience and blessing though the details are simply not explained to us. It is left with a certain vagueness, but in 2 Corinthians 12:4 we read that Paul, when he was caught up to Paradise, heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak. Hodges writes, “The vagueness surrounding the promise of the tree of life is an example of the deliberate inexplicitness of the rewards which are mentioned. Almost all of the other promises have something of the same undefined, but numinous, character.”³⁸

It is simply a special reward for those who overcome through a walk of faith that results in faithfulness; it is a special reward of special blessing that will somehow enrich the blessings of paradise. I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:58 which promise:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

36 Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament, Victor Books, electronic publishing.

37 Wiersbe.

38 Zane C. Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege, Redencion Viva, Dallas, TX, 1982, p. 118.

“A Church Married to the World”

The City and the Assembly
(2:12a)

Pergamum, a city of the Roman province of Asia, in the west of what is now Asiatic Turkey, occupied a commanding position near the seaward end of the broad valley of the Caicus. It was probably the site of a settlement from a very early date. Pergamum was one of the most prominent cities of Asia, located in the western part of Asia-Minor, about 45 miles north of Smyrna and about 20 miles from the Aegean Sea. The modern village of Bergama, Turkey, now covers part of the ancient site.

The first temple of the imperial cult was built in Pergamum (c. 29 B.C.) in honor of Rome and Augustus. The city thus boasted a religious primacy in the province, though Ephesus became its main commercial center. Pergamum is listed third of the ‘seven churches of Asia’ (Rev. 1:11) and forms the third letter, an order which suits its position in geographical sequence.

Pergamum was very wealthy, the center of emperor worship with many temples devoted to idolatry. This was the place ‘where Satan’s throne is’ (Rev. 2:13). The phrase has been applied to the complex of pagan cults, of Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and Asclepius (Esculapius), established by the Attalid kings, that of Asclepius Soter (the ‘saviour,’ ‘healer’) being of special importance. These cults are illustrative of the religious history of Pergamum, but “Satan’s throne” could be an allusion to emperor worship. This was where the worship of the divine emperor had been made the touchstone of civic loyalty under Domitian.

Here was the magnificent temple of Esculapius, a pagan god whose idol was in the form of a serpent. The inhabitants were known as the chief temple keepers of Asia. When the Babylonian cult of the Magians was driven out of Babylon, they found a haven in Pergamum.

It marked a crisis for the church in Asia. Antipas who is called, “My witness, My faithful one” (v. 13), is probably cited as a representative (probably the first to be put to death by the Roman state) of those who were brought to judgment and executed there for their faith.

Pergamum was a university town with a large library of 200,000 volumes given as a gift from Anthony to Cleopatra.

The title of the Magian high priest was “Chief Bridge Builder” meaning the one who spans the gap between mortals and Satan and his hosts. In Latin this title was written “Pontifex Maximus,” the title now used by the Pope. This title goes all the way back to Babylon and the beginnings of the mother-child cult under Nimrod of Genesis 10 and his wife Sumerimus. Later, Julius Caesar was elected Pontifex Maximus and when he became Emperor, he became the supreme civil and religious ruler and head of Rome politically and religiously with all the power and functions of the Babylonian pontiff.

Today a small village called Bergama is located here with a Christian testimony which continued into modern times. This church may depict the history of the church from the time of Constantine until the rise of the papacy from the time of Constantine forward.

The Christ, the Author
(2:12b)

Again, as in each of the seven messages, the message is related to the picture of the glorified Savior in chapter one. This serves to stress His sufficiency and our need to live in the light of His person and work, past, present, and future.

“Sword” is r%omfaia, a long spear-like sword, but here it is seen with two edges to emphasize the double-edged, sharp, penetrating character of the Word of God or God’s truth as it is found in the person and work of Christ and God’s holy Word as it reveals Him.

The word “sword” is mentioned a total of nine times in Revelation. R%omfaia is mentioned five times and makaira, the short Roman two edged sword, is mentioned four times. The r%omfaia was the long and heavy, broad sword used by the Thracians and other barbarous nations who often marched irresistibly over one country after another as God’s instruments of judgment. First of all, then, it symbolizes the irresistible authority and devastating force of our Lord’s judgment (cf. 19:15).

In Revelation 1:16 and 19:15 the r%omfaia is described as proceeding out of the mouth of Christ. The mouth, an instrument of speech, portrays this as the Word of Christ. In Revelation 19:13 Christ is called the Word of God and then, in verse 15, we have the statement about the sword that proceeds out of His mouth and by which He will slay the wicked.

Interestingly, John 5:24f and 12:48 teaches us that Christ’s acts of judgment will be carried out on the basis of His Word. It seems clear the sword coming out of Christ’s mouth is a reference to the Word and is a symbol of its truth, penetrating power and authority, severity, and the fact that Christ judges men on the basis of the Word.

The sword is the symbol of the Word of Christ which separates believers from condemnation and from conformity with the world (Rom. 12:2; 8:1; 1 Pet. 1:23; Heb. 4:12). But this same sword, the Word of Christ, also guarantees judgment to the world on the basis of its absolute truth.

Here again we see the sufficiency of Christ in His capacity to meet our needs and deal with our failures. Pergamum was a church that was married to the world. They were in compromise with the world, but it is the Word of Christ which transforms us from the world.

Romans 12:1-2. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The Commendation and Approval
(2:13)

Again, as in each of the letters, we have the statement made about our Lord’s knowledge of our affairs. This repetition is not without significance. Here the Lord assures them He knows of their steadfastness in the midst of Satan’s headquarters or dominion. Satanic activity was rampant here spreading to all parts of the world because of the extreme amount of pagan idolatry and emperor worship carried on in this city.

“Where you dwell” is the Greek katoikew from kata, “down,” and oikew “to dwell.” It means, “to settle down, dwell permanently, be at home.” Another word group used of believers is the paroikos group (paroikia, paroikew) “to be a stranger, sojourner in a place, or a visitor,” (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11; Heb. 11:9; [cf. Luke 24:18; Acts 13:17; 7:6, 29; Eph. 2:19]). Similarly, we might also compare parepidhmos, “stranger, resident in a strange place, alien” (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 1:1; 2:11).

First, there may be here a note of warning regarding their attitude toward this life and the world. This is especially true for the book of Revelation because of the use of what practically becomes a technical term for those who have settled down in the world as “earth dwellers” (cf. Rev. 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 14; and 17:8). Believers are to view themselves and live: (a) as sojourners, (b) as aliens, and (c) as ambassadors with their citizenship in heaven. We are never to be at home in the world in the same way that unbelievers are (cf. Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:19-20 with Rev. 3:10). The story of Abraham and Lot provide us with a good illustration of this truth. Abraham dwelt in tents by faith (Heb. 11:8-10), but Lot lived by sight, he became wedded to the world and wanted to settle down there (Gen. 13:9-13).

Second, there is also a note of exhortation here as well as comfort. It reminds us that God not only knows our pressures, our temptations, and the problems we face, but that He is always there to help us if we want it. He noted they had remained steadfast regardless of the Satanic depths and atrocities of their environment and was there for them to enable them to overcome if they would only continue to walk by faith in dependence on Him.

The principle of the Christian life is not escape, but endurance and conquest by faith. It may be much easier to live somewhere else in easier circumstances, but our duty is generally to stay and become a testimony for the Lord and overcome the world in which we live. We should always remember that the grass usually looks greener somewhere else, but until we are with the Lord or in the millennium, life will be full of trials of some sort and to some degree. The call is for strength with all power, according to His glorious might, for attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks … (cf. Col. 1:11-12a).

The mention of the fact they had held fast to Christ’s name, and the death of Antipas would suggest persecution and attack by Satan to destroy this church. Since this was unsuccessful, Satan turned to other methods as we will see in what follows.

“Where Satan’s throne is,” not simply seat. This statement stems from the fact of the extreme idolatry and demonic nature of the religious activity connected with the worship of the serpent god of Esculapius, the worship of the Emperor of Rome, and the persecution these Christians faced as a result.

The situation at Pergamum reminds us of the reality of the angelic conflict or the spiritual warfare of this present form of the world (Eph. 6:10). In the past, because of its godly heritage, America has been sheltered from some of the more obvious forms of demonic conflict that we have only read and heard about from missionaries. But Satan, though a defeated foe, is still alive and well and, as a roaring lion, is carrying on his havoc in the world which is now rampant in America. We are now facing Satan’s activities as never before and many believe this is in part preparing the world for the Tribulation. Satanism, devil worship, ritual murders, sacrifices to Satan, and gross immorality are no longer unheard of, but are occurring in our cities all across America. The New Age movement with its mysticism, channeling, belief in mystical forces, etc. is rampant in book stores, in schools, in our government, on TV, in the movies, in politics; it is literally everywhere. For an excellent resource regarding our present world scene as it pertains to culture, current issues, cults, and the occult, see Probe Ministries web site at http://www.probe.org.

As mentioned above, the reference here in verse 13 is a reference to Satanic power manifested in the particular religious, political, and idolatrous character of Pergamum. It became the seat of emperor worship and, according to Hyslop who wrote The Two Babylons, it also became the new home of the mother-child cult of Babylon which was moved from Babylon after the death of Belshazzar. It was later moved to Rome.

One of the prominent features we find in Revelation is a prophetic picture of the revival of ancient Babylonianism (Rev. 17-18). This means that one of the things that will occur in preparation for the events of the coming Tribulation will be a rise, not only in Satanic activity, but of his activity in the various forms of ancient eastern mysticism and occult activity that was so much a part of this cult. We are seeing it today in the New Age Movement.

The Condemnation and Admonition
(2:14-15)

After approving what He could, the Lord proceeded to admonish. Like them, most believers have things in their lives that are good, but there is always room for improvement. There are things that are wrong! Do we have ears to hear?

The Doctrine of Balaam (14)

Balaamism, as we might call it, was a compromise in the realm of morals. For people in this city to eat things sacrificed to idols meant to engage in the feasting and orgies of the various idolatrous temples. It meant to commit fornication. The teaching or doctrine of Balaam was a perversion of the Christian doctrine of liberty (see 1 Cor. 8-10; Rom. 14-15:3; Gal. 5:13). Let’s compare the following three ways we can look at the subject of Balaam.

The Way of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15)

The way of Balaam is really the way of covetousness and refers to one who hires himself out to do religious work merely for personal gain; it’s the merchandising of one’s spiritual gifts for personal gain out of covetousness.

The Error of Balaam (Jude 11)

This refers to Balaam’s error in thinking that he could get God to curse His covenant people and bypass His covenant promises because of their evil. Seeing their evil, Balaam supposed that a righteous God must curse Israel. But he was blind to God’s faithfulness to His promises which was based on the higher morality of the cross and God’s grace though the sacrifices that pointed to the cross.

The Doctrine of Balaam (Revelation 2:14)

Since Balaam found out he could not curse Israel, he realized he would be able corrupt them by getting them to marry the beautiful women of Moab. So he taught or advised Balak to tempt Israel in marrying the daughters of Moab. This would defile their separation and cause them to abandon their pilgrim character. It was a teaching that promoted a breakdown in separation from the world. Note that Pergamum comes from two words, per, which has the idea of “completely, thoroughly,” and gamos, “marriage.” The church at Pergamum began to lose their pilgrim character and was becoming thoroughly married to the world (cf. Jam 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:18; 2:11).

The Teaching of the Nicolaitans (15)

The reference to the Nicolaitans identifies the group who were teaching Balaamism. Note the words “thus … in the same way” of verse 15. As mentioned earlier, some think this refers to the followers of Nicolas (so say some of the church fathers), while others believe the word comes from nikaw, “to rule,” plus laos meaning “people.” Scholars are divided on the precise problem here, but it seems clear that they were subjugating the people to Satan’s authority by teaching compromise with the world which always neutralizes the church by compromise. The church loses its pilgrim perspective and adopts the viewpoint, values, priorities, and pursuits of the world.

Christians often reject the overt acts of what they think of as worldliness defined by a list of prohibitions or obligations both negative and positive, while retaining the viewpoint or attitude of worldliness. But worldliness is found more in attitudes and values than in acts because what we do is really the product of our thinking or belief system. Millions of people go through all the motions of worship each week but maintain a heart that is completely out of touch with God and end up, in reality, worshiping themselves. We can meticulously avoid all overt acts of worldliness as we might define them, and still have a heart full of hypocrisy, criticism of others, jealousy, bitterness, envy, and preoccupation with the details of life rather than eternal treasures. There are many examples we might mention of worldliness, but one example that comes to mind is the Madison Avenue gimmickry which so often goes on in the name of evangelism or church growth. See Appendix 4, on the subtle snares of worldliness.

Whoever the Nicolaitans were, they were conquering the people by bringing them under Satan’s authority through influential teachers who were tolerating or even promoting evil or license. In our study of the messages to the seven churches, we have gone, then, from “murder” to “mixture.” Martyrdom tends to purify the church, but mixture, a breakdown in biblical separation into worldliness, putrefies the church.

The Counsel and Appeal
(2:16)

In verse 16, the Lord called this church to repentance with a sharp warning of judgment with the sword out of His mouth, suggesting that the judgment is based on the truth of His Word. Remember, the sword symbolically represents the two-fold ability of the Word of God to separate believers from the world while at the same time to condemn the world for its sin. It was the sword of salvation and deliverance as well as the sword of death.

Worldly thinking must be dealt with positively and quickly or it eats into our lives individually and corporately (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7-9). Like cancer, worldliness eats deeply into our viewpoint of life and what we expect from it. This impacts our values, and then our priorities and pursuits. And while we may begin to recognize much of its presence and seek to root it out, some of its remnants often remain below the surface, hidden like barnacles below the waterline on a ship.

The Lord counsels the church to repent. The verb “repent” is here an aorist imperative in the Greek text which carries with it an element of urgency. It calls for an immediate response, one designed to arrest the direction in which the church was going. “Repent” is metanoew, “to change the mind.” Here is one of those generic terms that must be understood within the context in which it is found just as with the word salvation (cf. in Phil. 1:19 the Greek swthria, “salvation, deliverance, preservation”). “In both the New and Old Testaments, repentance means ‘to change one’s mind.’ But the question must be asked, about what do you change your mind? Answering that question will focus the basic meaning on the particular change involved… . Biblical repentance also involves changing one’s mind in a way that affects some change in the person. Repentance is not merely an intellectual assent to something; it also includes a resultant change, usually in actions.”⁴⁵ Repentance is used in Scripture in at least three ways:

(1) A repentance that is merely a change of mind about something in a context that does not deal with salvation (Matt. 21:28-32). It is a real repentance, a change of mind, with a real result, but it has nothing to do with salvation.

(2) A repentance that is unto salvation. In a context dealing with salvation or eternal life, etc., it has to do with changing one’s mind about one’s condition in sin and need of the saving work of God in Christ. It is equivalent to faith or a part of faith like two sides of a coin (cf. Acts 2:38 with 11:17; Acts 5:31 with Eph. 1:7, and Acts 19:14). First, we acknowledge our sinfulness and inability to save ourselves, and then (the other side of the coin) we turn to Christ in faith as the only means of salvation.

(3) Then there is a repentance that deals with some spiritual issue in the Christian life in which repentance is a change of mind concerning the path we are following and is equivalent to confession of specific sins with a view to spiritual change, pursuing the path of godliness. This is the usage in these letters.

The Issue: Either we repent of our worldliness, acknowledge its presence and evil and commit to moving in a godly direction, or we face divine discipline and the loss of our light bearing capacity—our very purpose for existence as a church. It appears they did. A Christian church has continued into modern times in the modern city of Bergama.

The Solution: The Christian needs to live in the Word, the two-edged sword, which penetrates and transforms us by the renewing of the mind with the mind of Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 2:16). This includes keeping our focus on eternal treasures (Matt. 6:19f; 1 Pet. 1:12f). The alternative is divine discipline on the basis of that same Word, which, if neglected, results in our discipline according to the warnings and principles of Scripture (John 15:1f; Heb. 12:5f).

This warning is immediately followed by a special exhortation and assurance.

The Challenge and Assurance
(2:17)

The Challenge

“He who has an ear …” is again an appeal to the individual for spiritual change. Spiritual change in a church has to begin with the individual.

“To him who overcomes …” Here is God’s challenge to believers to overcome by faith in the Savior’s victory and provision. Specifically, overcoming in this context meant to refuse to eat of things sacrificed to idols and to remain sexually pure, to avoid fornication, and remain distinct and separate from the world. While initial faith that is genuine brings one into union with Christ, it is the continuation of an active faith from living in the Word, feeding on the things of Christ, that overcomes and leads us into the abundance and sufficiency of Christ’s life with great reward both now and in the future.

The Assurance

The Hidden Manna

“The hidden manna” is literally, “of the manna, the hidden.” It is a restrictive attributive which defines the distinctive identity of the manna. With this construction, there is some emphasis on the hidden character of the manna. In the Old Testament, the manna stood for God’s faithfulness to provide and sustain His people through the wilderness wanderings in place of the leeks, melons, garlic, and onions of their old life in Egypt, an apt picture for the world system. As a memorial to God’s faithfulness, a portion of the manna was placed and thus hidden in the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4). Trench calls our attention to the fact that it was after this manna was laid up in the Ark that it obtained the name, “hidden.”⁴⁶

Manna was also called, “food from heaven” (Ps. 78:24). In John 6:48-51, the Lord spoke of Himself as the true bread from heaven that gives eternal life in contrast with the manna in the Old Testament. He said, “your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died” (John 6:49). While the manna sustained their physical life for a time, it was only a picture of the one who would come and who would give life and life abundant (John 10:10).

From the use of manna in Scripture and from the nature of the promises to the overcomer, I would suggest there is a two-fold meaning and application here:

(1) It has a present meaning or application. It refers to the sufficiency of the person and work of Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Word which the world does not know or see since the natural man does not see or discern the things of Christ (1 Cor. 2:14). Therefore, believers need to daily feed upon His life in the Word for daily sustenance and blessing (cf. Heb. 3:7f). This and this alone can make us fruitful believers, and provide true happiness and stability of life, something which the allurements of the world simply cannot give.

(2) It has a future meaning. The promise of manna looked forward to a greater capacity to enjoy all the manifold blessings and glories of the kingdom in the presence of Christ that would come to the overcomer who refused to eat of the things sacrificed to idols.

A White Stone

By repeating “I will give,” there is an emphasis on the grace of the Savior and the second gift is highlighted as distinct from the first. Though rewards are promised for faithfulness, they are still a matter of the grace of God for it is by His grace and strength that we experience the capacity for faithfulness.

“A white stone.” This is perhaps the most difficult to interpret of all the rewards mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 because of the various uses of white stones and because no other passage tells us anything about white stones.

Stones were used in the secret societies as amulets of protection and by judges who determined a verdict by placing a white and black stone in an urn. If the white one came out it meant acquittal of all charges. But, since there will be no need of protection in eternity and because I believe these are rewards to believers who already stand acquitted, justified in Christ, neither of these seem to fit with what John had in mind.

“Stone” is pshfos and may be used to designate a precious stone, like a diamond. This idea is supported in this verse by the word leukos which may mean more than just white, and can be equivalent to “splendid, shining,” or even, “glistening.” Compare the following verses which support this interpretation (Matt. 17:2; Rev. 3:4, 5; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 19:14). Some seek to connect it in some way to the promise of the hidden manna, the Ark of the Covenant, and the priesthood. They see it as a diamond which corresponds to the Urim and Thummim worn by the high priest and would speak of special priestly prerogatives and access into the very presence of God. Others see an analogy to the stone awarded to victorious gladiators or warriors when they returned from battle. It would be much like a ‘well done’ for service rendered.

There was also a custom in John’s day in which special stones were given which entitled the bearer to special hospitality and friendship. As you can see, there were many customs and several possibilities for the meaning of the stone. Whatever, it clearly symbolized special blessing and privilege that will be given to those believers who overcomer the influx of the world on their lives.

A New Name

“A new name which no one knows …” Here the Lord promises us a special name. Why? It could show intimacy and God’s personal love and concern for each one of us, but as a special reward for believers who overcome, it probably has a different significance.

It undoubtedly demonstrates something of the character of the overcomer or something of his new responsibilities or both. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham to portray the fact that he was to become the father of a multitude. Jacob, which means supplanter, was changed to Israel, the one over whom God would henceforth rule. Unstable Simon became Peter the little rock. Similarly, the overcoming believer is promised a new name which may show something of what God has accomplished in his or her life through a walk of faith in faithfulness.

The custom of giving a new name to mark a new status was known in the heathen world as well. The name of the first of the Roman Emperors was Octavius; but when he became the first of the Emperors he was given the name Augustus. This very name marked his new status; he was now unique and superhuman and more than man.⁴⁷

The significance of a new name, then, would not be lost on readers living in John’s day since only recently the title of the Roman emperor had been changed. Thus, the new name to be awarded faithful believers was an assurance that they would one day be elevated to a position superior even to that of Augustus. The gift of this new name marks the believer’s entrance to a new and higher stage of responsibility symbolizing new and greater authority. Regardless of the meaning, for our day when we are often identified by an impersonal number, it highlights the fact we are not just impersonal numbers, but those who are personally known and loved by God.

45 Charles C. Ryrie, So Great Salvation, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1989, p. 92.

46 Trench, Epistles to the Seven Churches.

47 William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Vol. 1, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, p. 122.

“Deadness in the Church”

The City and the Assembly
(3:1a)

The City of Sardis

Sardis was a city exceedingly fabled for its past wealth and splendor, but it had deteriorated greatly. Its greatness lay in the past. Sardis had, at one time, been considered to be impregnable because of its ideal physical arrangement and topography for defense. It sat on a hill or mountain surrounded by steep cliffs almost impossible to scale with only one narrow way of approach. Yet Sardis had been attacked and conquered twice because of its arrogance manifested in its lack of watchfulness (3:2-3). The city was also famous for its woolen, textile, and jewelry industry.

Sardis was devoted to the worship of the mother-goddess Cybele and no temple worshipper was allowed to approach the temple of the gods with soiled or unclean garments. A white and clean robe was required to approach its so-called gods. Yet note the following account of the actual moral conditions of this idolatry. Andrew Tate writes,

Her worship was of the most debasing character and orgies like those of Dionysos were practiced at the festivals held in her honour. Sins of the foulest and darkest impurity were committed on those occasions; and when we think of a small community of Christians rescued from such abominable idolatry, living in the midst of scenes of the grossest depravity, with early associations, and companionships, and connections, all exerting a force in the direction of heathenism, it may be wondered that the few members of the church in Sardis were not drawn away altogether, and swallowed up in the great vortex.⁵²

From this, you can see the obvious allusions to the historical setting in the Lord’s words in 3:4-5.

The Church of Sardis

Though filled with external works and activity, this church is known as the sleeping church. As Paul put it in 2 Timothy 3:5, they had a form of godliness, but, because of their failure to walk with the Lord, they were denying the real power of God through their hypocrisy. They were out of touch with elements of true spirituality. Some may have been only professing Christians engaged in religious activities who had never truly trusted in Jesus Christ. More than likely, however, they were carnal believers who had made a good start, but had failed to move on, to grow and experience true spirituality. They were active, engaged in works, but temporally dead, out of fellowship with Christ (Eph. 5:14-18).

The Christ, the Author and Answer
(3:1b)

The answer, as always, is centered in Who Christ is—The Savior who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. These two aspects of Christ’s ministry to the church are brought immediately to the forefront because they give us the key to both the problem of this church and its solution.

The Seven Spirits of God

“The seven Spirits of God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son to the believer (John 7:37-39; 15:16, 26). He is the Son’s gift to enable believers to experience genuine spirituality through the multiple ministries and work of the Spirit symbolized here in the number seven which is a clear allusion to the seven-fold ministries of the Spirit mentioned in Isaiah 11:2-5. But believers have a responsibility to walk by the Spirit who indwells them. The responsibility is to walk by faith in His enabling power and to deal with the sin in their lives through honest confession or they will hinder (grieve and quench) the work of the Spirit. So part of the problem was the believers in the church at Sardis were grieving and quenching the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).

The Seven Stars

In the introduction I shared my reasons why I, along with many others, have believed the seven stars referred to the spiritual leadership which is primarily responsible to hold forth the light of the Word to the local flock of believers. Here, it appears, was another key area of weakness; the failure to communicate and receive the Word in a consistent and an in-depth way with personal application and response of the mind, heart and will. Therefore, the two life-giving provisions of God for man—the Holy Spirit and the Word—were being neglected. The result was spiritual deadness (Zech. 4:6; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 3:16-19; 1 Thess. 2:13).

The Church and its Affairs
(3:1c-6)

The Condemnation Declared (1c)

As with all the churches, the Lord declares, “I know your deeds.” That which is invisible to men is perfectly clear to the Lord who is in the business of revealing our true condition regardless of how spiritual we may think we are. He uses His Word, the convicting work of the Spirit, and other agents (trials and members of the body of Christ) as mirrors of reproof to show us our need and draw us to Himself. The question is, as He will challenge us in verse 6, do we have eyes to see and ears to hear?

So, in the very next words, we see a rude awakening and reality:

• We see that they had a name, a reputation—what men thought.
• We see they were alive, that is, they were an active church full of programs and church activity—what men see.
• But, regardless, they were dead, without true spiritual vitality—what the Lord saw and knew.

The point is they had a reputation, they were known far and wide, and they were active, filled with activity, action, and programs, just like a great deal of the church today all across America. By the world’s standards they were successful and they were probably proud of their church, but our Lord says not so, “you are dead.” So what does He mean by “dead?”

In Scripture, death stands for the concept of separation as well as the absence of life.

• For the unbeliever, death means without spiritual life, unregenerate, and without God—separated from relationship with God.
• But for the believer, death, like sleep, is sometimes used as a symbol for carnality, for being out of fellowship with God, separated from Christ as the source of the abundant life (Eph. 5:14).

Some could have been only professing believers, and so they were spiritually dead, just professing believers involved in an active church. But I don’t think that is the emphasis here. He was talking to true believers who were spiritually carnal and working from the energy of their own resources rather than from His (the Word and the Holy Spirit).

This is a warning. A church is in danger of death:

• when it begins to worship its own past or history, its reputation or name, or the names in the church,
• when it is more concerned with forms than with function and life,
• when it is more concerned with numbers and noses, than with the spiritual quality of life it is producing in its people,
• when it is more involved with management than with ministry or with the physical over the spiritual.

This illustrates the problem of institutionalism in the church, but today, we also have a new scenario that can be a part of this picture, the megachurch which has become a part of American jargon with megabucks, megatrends, and the megamall. Our megamalls have been styled as “cathedrals of consumption” because they are designed to feed the consumer appetites of our lifestyle today. But if we are not careful, churches can become “cathedrals of consumption” as well.

The Counsel Advised (2-3)

“Be watchful.” We could translate this, “become and stay awake” or “get awake.” By the analogy of Scripture this was a command for believers to get back into fellowship, i.e., to repent or confess their sin and start walking in the Spirit and in the light of the Word (Eph. 5:14-18).

For the unbeliever or the merely apparent believer, this becomes a call to become genuine with Christ, to put one’s faith in the Savior (cf. 1 Thess. 5:4-8).

“And strengthen the things that remain.” Strengthen is an aorist imperative of the verb sthrizw which means “to strengthen, make stable, firm.” The aspect of the verb (an aorist imperative in the Greek) carries the idea of urgency like, do it now, before it is too late. This is basically a command to get with God’s plan for spiritual stabilization and strength. And what is that? A life in the Word. If you have any doubt about that, spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 119.

Note the following verses where sthrizw is used:

(1) Romans 1:11, compare this with Luke 22:32 (Christ’s warning and command to Peter) and John 21:15-17. Here is the principle of pastors and teachers strengthening believers by feeding the lambs and the sheep with the Word.

(2) Romans 16:25-26. Here we have the principle of believers receiving the Word in the assembly as well as from personal study.

“The things which remain.” When people stop operating from the base of God’s Word and from the power of His Spirit, spiritual decline always begins. It’s a kind of law of spiritual degeneration. But even in such a state there is at first some semblance of what is right in a man’s life—good habits, traditions and actions, a remembrance of morality, even though people forget the source. Remember, the church of Ephesus had good works (Rev. 2:2), even though it appears they too lacked the right spiritual source when we compare them with 1 Thess. 1:4, but eventually even this was lost because Ephesus failed to go back to do the first works.

Even human good is better than evil and God uses such morality to benefit society and even His own church. This is one of the purposes of good government, to restrain evil and promote good. Morality in parents helps to produce the same in their children. But the point is, without the proper spiritual base and the absolute guide of Bible doctrine even this will be finally lost. So, He quickly warns, “which were about to die.”

“For I have not found your deeds completed …” “Perfect” is the verb plhrow which may mean “to fill, make full,” or “complete.” The verb is in the perfect tense which means its aspect (how the writer perceives its verbal action or state) is stative, resultative, or completed. It conceives the verbal idea as completed, or as completed with continuing results and looks at an existing condition. The word “complete” refers to “the deeds” done. This is what was incomplete or not completed. But does this mean they need more works, or that there was something incomplete about the works accomplished, or both? The context suggests both, but perhaps the focus is on the second, a missing element in their deeds. Their works were incomplete in that they lacked the proper source and motive. They had not measured up to God’s standards. They were not Spirit produced and could not stand the test of His examination. At the judgment seat of Christ they would fall under the category of wood, hay and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15). They were imperfect either in quality (works of the flesh) or they were imperfect in content.

“Remember therefore what you have received (perfect aspect) and heard (aorist)” (3:3). This represents faith and the truth they had received as a trust and the perfect aspect of the verb “received” calls attention to the abiding responsibility incumbent upon the receiver.

“And keep it, and repent.” Compare this verse with Colossians 2:6 and 1 Thessalonians 2:13. They were to remember the early days of their life in the Word, when the Word was received by faith and was their source of strength and wisdom for all of life. This former life of faith they were to keep, to hold fast to continually, but it was also vital that they repent carefully because a true change of mind and heart is necessary for a genuine and consistent walk with the Lord (Prov. 4:23, 26).

The Commendation Stated (4a)

They are comforted and commended because there were a few who had not fallen into the above condemnation.

“Soiled garments” speaks of the contamination of the life and witness by accommodation to the standards of the world prevalent in any society. More precisely, it refers to the unrighteousness of men in immorality, apostasy, idolatry, or of their own religious works of righteousness in mere external religion and legalism (Isa. 64:6; John 6:63).

The Certainties Promised (4b-5)

They are next comforted and assured by calling their attention to certain verities or certainties that the Lord promises to every believer in Christ. The certainties come in three distinct parts: (a) arrayed in white garments, (b) name not to be blotted out, and (c) their name confessed before His Father.

The White Garments (5a)

“Walking with Christ in white” is a reward for faithfulness. Note that the reason given in 3:4 is stated in the words, “for (the causal use of %oti, “because”) they are worthy.” The worthiness here is linked to the fact that these were believers “who have not defiled their garments.” This shows us that walking with Him in white is a reward for personal righteousness or deeds of righteousness. Note also how this fits with Revelation 19:8. Walking in white must refer to the white garment of fine linen mentioned in Revelation 19:8. There we are told the bride of Christ (the church) is “… to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean.” This is then declared to be the righteous acts of the saints, a reference to deeds or acts of righteousness produced in the life of the believer by the Holy Spirit because only these deeds will stand the test of the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:13).

No person is ever worthy of salvation righteousness. Justification, or salvation righteousness, is a gift given through faith in the finished work of Christ. It is based on His worthiness and record, not ours (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:4-7), but the white garment mentioned in 3:5 is related to the garment of 3:4 and is given as a reward for a worthy walk. While some writers assume that all Christians will wear these white garments in the kingdom, this verse teaches us that only overcoming believers, those who haven’t defiled their garments (verse 4), will wear these particular garments representative of the righteous acts of the saints in the kingdom.

His Name Never to be Erased (5b)

In verse 5, the overcomer is also promised he can never have his name erased from the Book of life. Could this suggest the possibility of the loss of salvation? Such a concept is totally contrary to the analogy of the faith in the New Testament which teaches us all believers are kept secure by the power of God and the finished work of Christ (cf. John 10:28-29; Rom. 8:38-39). As Charles Stanley so aptly put it, “Does it make any sense to say that salvation is offered as a solution for our sin and then to turn around and teach that salvation can be taken away because of our sin as well?”⁵³

Because so many do not understand the nature of salvation as a finished work of God in Christ and are insecure in their faith, verses such as this are misunderstood as suggesting the possibility of the loss of salvation, or as a proof for the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. This results in a fixation on what the verse does not say rather than on what it is saying in the context biblically, historically, and culturally. This verse was never intended as a warning. Instead, it is a promise of encouragement in view of the historical setting of John’s day. To say that verse 5 suggests the possibility of losing salvation is at best, an argument from silence.

If we understand the promise of 3:5 in its historical and contextual context, we will find that it is not dealing with the issue of losing or proving salvation at all. By the use of a figure of speech known as litotes (an affirmation expressed in negative terms), we have an emphatic declaration that stresses the certainty of the promise. In other words, a positive point is made by denying its opposite. This not only stresses the security of the believer—for every believer’s name is written in the book of life—but is a way of promising something special to the overcomer in the kingdom and eternal future. Bob Wilkin, who agrees with this view, quotes William Fuller and writes:

William Fuller, who defends this understanding of Rev 3:5, writes, “A command that everyone keeps is superfluous, and a reward that everyone receives for a virtue that everyone has is nonsense.” The eternal-rewards interpretation takes the command seriously, views the reward as a powerful motivation to obedience, and doesn’t distort the Gospel!⁵⁴

Tatford also interprets Revelation 3:5 in a similar way when he writes,

Practically every city of that day kept a role or register of its citizens … one who had performed some great exploit, deserving of special distinction, was honoured by having his name inscribed in golden letters in the citizens’ roll. Our Lord’s emphatic statement, therefore, implies not merely that the name of the overcomer shall not be expunged, but per contra that it shall be inscribed in golden letters in the heavenly roll.⁵⁵

There is even evidence that a person’s name was sometimes removed from the city register before death if he had been convicted of a crime.⁵⁶ When these messages were written, Christians were under the constant threat of being branded as social rebels and stripped of their citizenship if they refused to recant or denounce their faith in Christ. So here, as a source of motivation and encouragement, the Lord personally reminds the overcomer not only of the safety of his heavenly citizenship, but of the special acknowledgment the Lord Himself will give before the Father and before His angels.

His Name Confessed Before the Father and His Angels (5c)

As just indicated, this promise is related to the previous promise and may really be a part of that promise. It is likewise not dealing with salvation, but with reward by way of an accolade, a special acknowledgment or public recognition for faithfulness. Again we need to keep in mind the historical background mentioned above. Though the overcomer may experience blame and ridicule and loss of citizenship before the world because he or she refuses to follow after the world or bow to its threats, the overcomer will experience special reward in the form of public recognition. Undoubtedly, special accolades like, “well done, you good and faithful servant,” is in mind.

The Challenge Needed (6)

See the preceding studies for the nature of this challenge to have ears to hear.

Some final lessons:

(1) The means for living the Christian life so vital for spiritual reality is a knowledge and a careful application of the Word through the various ministries of the Spirit (vs. 1).

(2) The signs of a successful church, one truly in touch with God is not names, noses, and numbers, but Christlikeness. How much do the people of the church demonstrate the Savior in their personal lives, in their families, in their values, priorities, ministry, etc.? It is never just activity or works or size or reputation. Activities and reputations by themselves are never a proof of true spirituality.

(3) Genuine godliness is the foundation of moral goodness. Moral goodness is always incomplete and on the verge of degeneration without godliness through the Spirit and the Word with its absolute truth.

(4) God is always faithful to reward His people for their faithfulness to Him. Salvation is by faith alone, sola fide, in Christ alone, but rewards are the product of overcoming faith in the life of Christ appropriated in the Christian’s life.

52 Andrew Tate, The Messages to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, p. 299, quoted by Walvoord in The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Press, Chicago, 1966, p. 79.

53 Charles Stanley, Eternal Security, Can You Be Sure? Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 1990, p. 181.

54 J. William Fuller, “I Will Not Erase His Name from the Book of Life (Rev 3:5),” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (Sept. 1983), p. 299, quoted by Bob Wilkin, Grace Evangelical News, March, 1995.

55 Fredk. A. Tatford, Prophecy’s Last Word, p. 63.

56 Alan Johnson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12, Frank E. Gaebelein, general editor, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1981, p. 450.

“Lukewarmness in the Church”

Introduction

All of the messages to the churches of Asia are extremely practical, but perhaps none fits the conditions in both Europe and in North America as does the message to Laodicea, the church that had become so lukewarm in its deceptive self-sufficiency. Regarding this condition, MacArthur has given us an accurate picture. He writes:

One of the remarkable sidelights in the staggering political changes in Eastern Europe is the fact of a vibrant Christianity that has emerged in the midst of the suffering, persecution, and atheism of these Communist dominated countries.

By contrast, in free Europe where there has been prosperity and democracy, the church is almost completely dead. The church has ceased to have any impact on the society. Atheism and humanism have taken over. Government and public policy is governed almost totally by philosophies that are antibiblical and even intolerant of the truth of Scripture.

If you look at the U.S., you find much the same thing. Government and the media, which affects the thinking of so much of America, are, for the most part, liberal and intolerant of Christianity. Leadership in both Europe and the U.S. are working for a one world government while the populace is preoccupied with their comfort and pleasure or the good life. The moral climate or condition of both free Europe and the U.S. is rotten to the core. According to a number of polls, if you compare the values, priorities, practices, and pursuits of professing Christians and non-Christians alike, you find very little difference on the whole.

Yet, much of free Europe and all of America owe their freedom, their prosperity, and blessings to the preaching of the Word of God, to the reformation in Europe, and to the ministries of men like the Wesleys, George Whitfield, and Jonathan Edwards in America.

What then is the problem? Is it freedom? Is it prosperity? No! But there are inherent dangers in both freedom and prosperity, subtle dangers.

It is more than a curiosity that the church has flourished behind the Iron Curtain while dying in the West. The reasons are clear. Lacking any visible external threat to our faith, many in the free world have lost any sense of the subtlety of the enemy and how he attacks. We have grown careless and apathetic. We have become concerned more with our own comfort and well-being than with the command of Christ that we should follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21).⁶³

So, what’s the problem? People simply can’t stand prosperity. With freedom and prosperity come the temptation to trust in our blessings rather than in the Blessor. We become fat, comfortable, and self-sufficient. If we have plenty, we tend to think we have need of nothing. If we do not have enough, looking at the wealth around us, we tend to think that what we need is what others have—material blessings.

The problem is that men are putting their faith in the wrong thing, in their material world, in treasures on earth. Christ told us in no uncertain terms to do the opposite, to lay up treasures in heaven. Paul instructs us in 1 Tim 6:17-19:

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. {Instruct them} to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

In other words, in the words of the Savior, we need to lay up heavenly treasures (Matt. 6:19f). Scripture warns us of this very problem over and over again.

God warned Israel in Deuteronomy 6:10f against forgetting the Lord as the source of their freedom and salvation. Nine times in Deuteronomy He tells them not to forget what the Lord had done for them and 15 times He tells them to remember the Lord and His deliverance.

The Lord Himself in the letter to the church at Laodicea warns and instructs us against the deadening and lukewarm effects of trusting in material wealth (the details of life) rather than pursuing a vital faith relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Laodicean church was a church that had lost its impact on the world because it had become occupied with the world and because it had left the Lord standing outside. Whether one believes in the idea that the seven churches of Asia portray seven historical stages the church would go through or not, certainly this church illustrates conditions of the church in the 20th century in a large portion of the world.

The City and the Assembly
(3:14a)

Laodicea was the chief city of Phrygia in the Lycus valley, strategically located where three highways converged. It was thereby a highly commercial and wealthy city. It was a city of wealthy bankers and financiers. The many millionaires combined to build theaters, a huge stadium, lavish public baths, and fabulous shopping centers. Sound familiar?

It should be obvious, but clearly, the American Mall, the big discount stores, and shopping centers define American culture in the ’80s and ’90s. The ‘80s has gone on record as the decade of consumerism and the ’90s has certainly continued the trend, even adding Internet shopping to the list. Consumerism is completely out of control.

I was in the north part of Dallas not long ago and was amazed at the number of shopping centers, restaurants, strip malls, and huge enclosed malls. But it’s like this all over America, especially in the big cities. There is a concentration of buyers, sellers, and products; jammed parking lots and crushing crowds with millions of dollars being spent by people buying things they don’t need with money most of them don’t have.

Americans spend more than 30 percent of their income on luxury items, compared to less than 10 percent just forty years ago. Statistics on personal consumption published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reveal that Americans’ spending on recreation rose from 42.7 billion in 1970 to 246.8 billion in 1988—a 477 percent increase!

Consumer Credit outstanding in America went from 167 billion in 1975 to nearly 660 billion in 1988. That’s a whopping 295 percent increase!⁶⁴

In 60 A.D. Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake. Being highly resourceful and self-sufficient, the people restored their own city rather than receive a government loan from Rome. That was very commendable and a far cry from what we find today in America. It demonstrated a self-sufficient attitude that would have detrimental spiritual results if carried over into their relationship with the Lord.

In addition to being a banking center, it was a manufacturing center for woolen garments and medicinal eye salve, powders and tabloids (3:17-18).

They did have one inadequacy, however—their water supply. Laodicea received its water through an aqueduct coming from a spring four miles to the south. The waters of neighboring Hierapolis, however, were famous as hot springs and would have provided a contrast with the tepid aqueduct water in Laodicea. By contrast also there was Colossae which had ice cold springs, but nothing like this was known in Laodicea.

Certainly, this church illustrates and speaks to the church in our time, our modern period of materialism, consumerism, self-sufficiency, do-your-own-thing kind of independence and individualism, religiosity, and apostasy.

The Christ, the Author and Answer
(3:14b)

Again, as with the previous letters, this one begins with a part of the description of the Savior as given in chapter one. So our attention is focused on the person of the risen Lord Jesus and how He alone is the answer and solution.

“The Amen.” Amen is the Greek amhn from the Hebrew A^m^n. A^m^n is from a root meaning “to be firm, stable, sure, established, and trustworthy.” It is used in Isaiah 65:16 of God as “the God of truth,” literally, “the God of Amen.”

The word was used to acknowledge and emphasize what was valid, sure and true, or important and significant. It is used in the Old Testament as a liturgical formula in which a congregation or individual accepts both the validity of an oath or curse and its consequences (Num. 5:22; Deut. 27:15ff.; Neh. 5:13; Jer. 11:5). Twenty five times, always in the gospel of John, John records the Lord’s use of this word, amhn, translated as, “truly truly, I say to you.” Here in Revelation 3:14, the “amen” is explained with the words, “the Faithful and True Witness.”

“Amen” also connoted the idea of finality or the last word; is used of our Lord as the True One, the last word and final authority in each individual’s life as well as for the entire world. As used of Christ, it points to Him as the end, the finality and certainty of all things. With Him one needs no substitutes, no subtractions or additions. With Jesus Christ there is no further search needed for truth for in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). Thus, every promise He makes is true and every woe He pronounces shall come to pass.

“The Faithful and True Witness.” As mentioned, this clause defines the word “amen.” But it is especially designed to contrast Christ’s statement of verses 15 and 16 with the statement of the Laodiceans about themselves in verse 17. As the “Faithful and True Witness,” He stripped them and so also us of all our false appearances and pretentiousness, rationalizations and excuses. It stresses the need in each of us for honest examination followed by an honest to God confession that demonstrates a genuine desire for a change of life. It would further teach us the need to be in His Word which reveals our true condition (Heb. 4:12). The Lord said, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“The beginning and the creation of God.” The word “beginning” is the Greek word arch meaning (a) first in time or (b) first in place, cause, or origin. The point is Jesus Christ is the origin, the cause, the Creator of all things (John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17; Rev. 1:8; 21:6). He is the Creator of this earth, now fallen under the curse of sin through rebellion to Him. But He is also the Creator of the coming kingdom and the eternal state of a new heavens and earth in which dwells perfect righteousness (cf. Isa. 65:17f).

As with the world today and many, many believers, Laodicea was occupied with and trusting in the things of this fallen creation that is now passing away and slated for destruction. They were trusting in the details of this life rather than in the Creator and in heavenly treasures.

Their priorities and security lay in temporal things rather than in the eternal and in the Creator Himself (Matt. 6:19f; 1 Tim. 6:17-19). Perhaps, like much of Christianity today, their hope and faith was in a responsive Christ who is supposed to satisfy His people by quickly granting them ease and comfort. It is a Christianity that wants heaven or millennial conditions now in this present fallen world under Satan’s control. But that is not the message of the Bible and certainly not the message of Revelation.

The message of Revelation is about a continuing struggle with evil both in the church age (Rev. 2-3) and in the Tribulation to come (Rev. 6-19). It’s a struggle that will only get worse and worse and will not end until it is brought to an end by the personal return of the Lord.

The hope of the church and the biblical message that enables people to weather life’s storms and grow through them is gratitude for what happened at the cross of Christ combined with a passionate confidence in what will yet take place at His blessed coming. Surely, the only source of real stability in this present (a kind of stability that does not require the character-weakening mechanism of denial nor the demand for comfort) is a deep thankfulness for the past work of the Savior combined with a confident expectation for the future glories promised by Christ.

The Church and its Affairs
(3:15-22)

The Condemnation and Admonition (15-17)

Please note that in this church there was no commendation. This church is condemned because it is neither hot nor cold, but simply lukewarm. What does this teach us?

“I know your deeds.” As before, the Lord begins with a solemn reminder of His knowledge of the true condition of our lives. Since His witness is true and He is the Amen (the final word) it is as foolish for us to run and hide, as it was for Adam and Eve. We should never run or hide from his witness to us through the Word, or from the disciplines He brings into our lives. Why? Well, not only does denial dishonor the Lord and bring with it serious consequences to our fellowship with Him (see vs. 20) and our ability to grow up spiritually, but sooner or later we are going to have to face the Lord for the way we have lived and used or abused His grace.

Rom. 14:11-12 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every Tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

“Hot” is zestos, a word which means “boiling hot.” It is found in Rom. 12:11 where we are first warned against “lagging behind in diligence,” but also exhorted to be “fervent (zestos) in spirit, serving the Lord,” an obvious cause and effect relationship. It refers to spiritual fervor, zest, zealousness for the things of Jesus Christ. Our word zest comes from this word.

“Cold.” Christ says “I would that you were either cold or hot.” Why cold? Why is cold preferred to lukewarm?

First, there may be an allusion to Colossae which had cold springs. The point is that cold water is refreshing, it provides refreshment for the weary, and hot water has a healing or soothing effect upon the sick or on aching and sore joints and muscles. But Laodicea had neither; in fact, it was nauseating.

Note our Savior’s comment at the end of verse 16. “I will spit you out of My mouth.” The translation “spit” of the NASB or NIV, or “spue” of the KJV, are not really strong enough. The Greek word here is emew which means, “to vomit.” There is another word, ptuw that means “to spit” that John could have used if that is what he meant.⁶⁵ From the standpoint of their ministry they provided neither refreshment nor healing, they could only cause nausea. In other words, they were useless to the Lord and His purposes for the church in the world. Remember Matthew 10:42 and the cup of cold water given in the name of Christ. They were even useless for that.

Second, when a person is cold and feels its bitterness, he is more apt to seek warmth or refuge from the cold and flee to Jesus Christ for his needs. But if one is lukewarm he becomes more difficult to reach because he feels comfortable and self-sufficient (3:17b).

“I would.” This is the Greek ofelon, a fixed form used to express an unattainable wish. It’s equivalent to “would that, I wish.” It assumes the nature of an interjection where one wishes that a thing had happened, but has not and probably will not. They had become thoroughly hardened and indifferent to Christ through the deceitful riches of the world and their sin (cf. Heb. 3:7f).

What does it mean to be lukewarm? Verse 17 expresses what Christ means by lukewarmness. It refers to Christians who are indifferent or apathetic because they are self-sufficient and self-satisfied. Christians who are trusting in themselves and their wealth or what they thought their wealth could buy them. Note their threefold claim:

(1) “I am rich”—they had an over abundance of material blessings, but by this statement, it shows they were proud and trusting in that richness as though wealth had the power to give them security and happiness.

(2) “… and have become wealthy”—they continued to add to their wealth. Not only was wealth a sign of security, happiness, and success, but the truth is, it never really satisfies and people want more. I can’t remember who it was that said this, though I know he was a very famous wealthy man, but when asked how much is enough, the millionaire replied with one word, “more.”

(3) “… and have need of nothing”—They were so well off they thought they needed help from neither man nor God. They had bought into the satanic delusion that money can buy anything. They didn’t need to trust God. They could simply go out and buy whatever they needed or desired. There was no need to wait on the Lord, no need to put Him first.

They sought their security in their talents, abilities, human resources, and financial wealth. They thought they were protected from all dangers, were insulated from all problems, and immune to every kind of tragedy.

These are the kind of people who thought they deserved special treatment: first class accommodations, the finest clothes, the best of everything. Their real God was comfort and pleasure.

The problem was that they sought their happiness in things and their security in their wealth. As a result they neglected the Lord and biblical values. They neglected real service or ministry to others.

America has more churches per capita than any other country. Our currency reads, “In God We Trust.” But according to recent statistics, there is very little difference between the lifestyles of Christians and non-Christians. The moral degeneracy of our nation in its attitudes, values, and beliefs is everywhere obvious. The crime rate, substance abuse, the divorce rate, abuse of women and children, the secularism, rise of the occult, the new age movement, and many other signs make it clear this country is in critical condition regardless of its Christian heritage and its many churches.

We are the wealthiest nation in the world with more churches, more Bibles, Christian literature, and Christian schools than any other nation in the world, yet, we are losing the battle.

Why isn’t the church more effective in the world today? Is the problem simply with the world? Is it too stubborn and too blind to listen? Or could part of the problem be with us? Have we, because of our materialism and in spite of our religiosity, excluded the Savior? Have we literally shut Him out of our lives so He can no longer flesh out His life in ours to impart His vision, His character and values into ours?

What’s the cure for the American church? What do we need to do? In the verses that follow, we have the Lord’s counsel and advice along with His promises and rewards.

The saddest thing about the Laodicean church (and that which characterizes America today) is not just the Lord’s statement about their condition as “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,” but the words that preceded this indictment, “and you do not know that you are …” How sad to be this numb and blind! Let’s note the description:

“Wretched” is the Greek word (talaipwros) which comes from the word talai meaning “to bear, undergo” and another word (pwros) which means “hard, callous.” I don’t want to make too much of this because etymology (the derivation of words) is the not the primary basis for understanding words, usage is. But perhaps the use of this word suggests that they were wretched in the sense that they were bearing severe calluses on their soul, hardened against the truth.

“Miserable” means “pitiable.” It describes one in such a state that he becomes the object of extreme pity, like a beggar. The real pity is that they were like a drunk in the cold, they could not feel their condition.

“Poor” is “beggarly.” This word referred to one who begs for crumbs trying to fill his hunger or craving. Those who try to find happiness and security in the details of life are like beggars trying to exist on crumbs while, as we see in verse 20, Christ stands at the door inviting us to come in out of the cold and dine with Him in fellowship.

“Blind” They were without spiritual insight or discernment. They were walking in darkness. Their eyes were bad and so their whole body was full of darkness (Matt. 6:23). Here was the crux of their problem; it was spiritual blindness, poor spiritual insight or a lack of biblical perspective or vision. Here is something we must not ignore. The problem of seeking happiness in the treasures of the world is at heart, an eyesight problem, a problem of blindness or poor spiritual eyesight (Matt. 6:19-23).

Compare Psalm 119:11-14, 99-105; 19:10; Proverbs 16:16 and note there the results of good eyesight or spiritual illumination.

In Revelation 3:17, Christ, as the True and Faithful Witness, describes the condition to which they were blind and totally insensitive because of their lukewarmness, a condition caused in part by their failure to desire (1 Pet. 2:2), know and respond to the Word (1 Thess. 2:13).

Further, the Lord says they were:

“Naked” is the Greek word gumnos from which we get our word gymnasium. It meant (a) to be totally without clothes, or (b) to be poorly clothed, dressed in rags. Though they were rich, and manufactured and wore expensive clothing, and though they made eye salve, they were, spiritually speaking, in pitiful condition.

Application:

For the unbeliever, or the mere professing Christian, this means to be without the righteousness of Christ. All our religious or moral good works, if we are without Christ, are but filthy rags (Isa. 64:6).

For the believer, this means to be without the fruit of the Spirit, the genuine character of Christ. It means hypocritical Christianity.

Satan and the world wants us to think that the good life is what we all want and need. People watch shows like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” and game shows where people win large amounts of money. They follow the lotteries and think, “Wow, if only I could have that kind of luck.” The implication is that money buys the good life, but not so. There is no “good life” to be purchased for any amount of money.

Materialism is a destructive pathology. Statistics indicate the more money you have the more likely you are to commit suicide. Actuarial figures reveal life expectancy decreases as income increases. Money adds to stress and that in turn takes years off one’s life. One study shows that money also intensifies moral decline and family disintegration. Marital infidelity and divorce rates rise with income levels. Money cannot buy happiness.⁶⁶

The Counsel or Advice (18-19)

“I advise you.” This word, sumbouleuw, means “to give counsel” or “to take counsel together.” This reminds us (or should) that the whole of the Word is the counsel of God setting forth the will of God. So He calls us to come and take counsel together with Him (Isa. 1:18). What is the Lord’s counsel or advice?

“Buy from Me.” How can you buy from Christ what is only given through faith? (cf. Rev. 21:6; 22:17). The answer is given for us in Isaiah 55:1-3.

1 Ho. Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

“Buy” stands for the concept of acquire or gain. No one can actually buy these things from Christ. He only uses these words as a medium to carry their thoughts from the material world and material wealth to the spiritual world and the need of spiritual wealth that can only be received by faith. Also note the concept of the source. They can be bought only from Christ.

Note what it is that can be bought or acquired. “Gold.” Here the Lord counsels the church to turn to Him for true riches. Gold here is a picture of faith produced by God’s own Word by which men bring the spiritual riches of Christ into their lives (cf. 1 Pet. 1:7; Rom. 10:17; 5:1).

“White raiment.” Again we would divide this into two categories: (a) For the unbeliever, this refers to the righteousness of Christ which is imputed to the believer at the point of faith in Christ (Rev. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9f). (b) For the believer it would refer to the experiential righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit. Acts of righteousness from living in the Word and walking in fellowship by abiding in Christ (John 15; Rev. 3:4; 19:8; Gal. 5:22-23).

“Eye salve.” Since this obviously has to do with spiritual sight, this most likely refers to the person and work of the Holy Spirit as God’s anointing who anoints our eyes to discern His Word (John 14:26; 1 Cor. 2:14-16).

We need to remember that these letters are written to the church, to believers in Christ. There could have been unbelievers in their midst, but unbelievers are really not a part of the church. Christ is addressing believers here and says, “those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” He loves them and promises to reprove and discipline them to bring them out of their self sufficiency and into the sufficiency of His life. This could require severe testing, pain and heartache to bring them (or any believer in this state) to a point of personal need and dependency upon the Lord (Heb. 12:5-15).

In view of this, they are warned to become zealous and to repent of their ways. In other words, repent in order to stop the discipline before it begins.

“Be zealous” is a present imperative which commands a continual state. This is maintained by using our divine operating assets, the Word, the filling of the Holy Spirit, prayer, etc.

“Repent” is an aorist imperative which means don’t delay, do it now, but it also looks at action designed to arrest a condition, the condition of lukewarm self-sufficiency.

The verb is metanoew, “to change the mind.” It is equivalent to confession of the past or the present with a view to a change in the future.

The Call and Invitation (20)

Christ is represented in relation to the church locally and universally in that these letters have application locally and universally. But this appeal has special application to the individual for the church is made up of individuals. Note the words “if anyone hears.” A condition can exist in the life of a believer which necessitates inviting Christ to come in for personal fellowship. But this is not the way this passage is often used and understood.

This passage is often used in presenting the gospel and in offering salvation to a lost sinner. Such a view is based on two assumptions: (a) that the Laodiceans, or at least some of them, were indeed lost, and (b) that the Greek text eiseleusomai pros means “come into.” Both of these assumptions have little evidence to support them.

Wallace writes:

With reference to the first assumption, that those in the Laodicean church were not believers, note that in the preceding verse, the resurrected Lord declares, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Here filevw is used for “love”—a term that is never used of God/Jesus loving unbelievers in the NT. (Indeed, it would be impossible for God to have this kind of love for an unbeliever, for it routinely speaks of enjoyment and fellowship. ajgapavw, rather, is the verb used of God’s love for unbelievers [cf. John 3:16], for it frequently, if not normally, speaks of commitment and, when used with God/Jesus as the subject, the idea is often of an unconditional love.) This filevw must be applied to the Laodiceans here, for the verse concludes, “Be zealous, therefore, and repent.” The inferential ou (“therefore”) connects the two parts of the verse, indicating that the Laodiceans are to repent because Christ loves (filevw) them!

The second assumption is that eijseleuvsomai pros means “come into.” Such an assumption is based on a less than careful reading of the English text. The ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, for example, all correctly renders it “come in to.” (Note the space between the prepositions.) The idea of “come into” would be expressed with eijs as the independent preposition and would suggest a penetration into the person (thus, spawning the idea of entering into one’s heart). However, spatially pros means toward, not into. In all eight instances of eijsevrcomai pros in the NT, the meaning is “come in toward/before a person” (i.e., enter a building, house, etc., so as to be in the presence of someone), never penetration into the person himself/herself. In some instances, such a view would not only be absurd, but inappropriate (cf. Mark 6:25; 15:43; Luke 1:28; Acts 10:3; 11:3; 16:40; 17:2; 28:8).⁶⁷

“I stand” is in the perfect tense which points to action completed with continuing results and marks out the loving patience of the Lord and His desire for our fellowship.

“Knock” is in the present tense which looks at continuous action. What gracious condescension that the Creator—God—Savior would seek our fellowship. The Lord stands, knocks and speaks. His speech is an invitation for men to open up the doors of their hearts and to invite Christ in for fellowship.

“I will dine with him and he with Me.” Dine is a Greek word which referred to the main meal of the day—a real feast. This Greek word, deipnew, was used not only of the chief meal of the day—a full course dinner—but of the meal which was the occasion for hospitality and fellowship. At this meal, however, He is the host. It is He who sets the table and we are His guests dining on that which He has provided.

We can perhaps make application for the lost, for those without Christ, but we must be ever so careful in how we do this. Unbelievers are not saved by asking Jesus to come into their lives. Unbelievers can only invite Christ into their lives as personal Savior by faith in the person and work of Christ (John 1:12; 3:16, 36). Christ comes in through the ministry of the Spirit of God by believing in Jesus Christ as to both His person and work as the only means of salvation, not by simply asking Christ to come in. This means believing in Christ as the Son of God, the God-man who died on the cross as God’s substitute and payment for one’s own sin, and believing that God raised Him from the dead, the proof of His person and work (Rom. 10:9).

Actually, this passage is addressed to the church—to believers. This is a call to fellowship with the Savior. As an invitation to Christians, it’s a call to repent, as commanded in verse 19. It is a call for confession of one’s sins with a renewal of mind and heart to continue to draw upon the glorious life of Christ daily through walking by the Spirit and living in the Word. It means abiding in Christ, the vine (John 15:1-7; 1 John 1:7-10; Eph. 4:20-24; 5:14-18; Rom. 8:1-16).

The Comfort and Assurance (21)

Not only does He promise to come into the life of the one who invites Him (vs. 21), but again special blessing is promised to the believer who overcomes. He is promised the privilege of sitting with Christ on His throne. This means the privilege and right to share in Christ’s authority and rule in the millennium and eternal future.

But note the basis of this: “as I also overcame and sat down.” The real victory over death, sin and Satan was accomplished by Christ in His life, death and resurrection. Because of His sinless life and perfect obedience to the Father’s plan—even the death of the cross—He overcame sin, Satan and death and was granted the right and authority as the God-man to sit with the Father until operation footstool, until he makes His enemies the footstool for His feet (Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 1:3, 13).

But by our union and identification with Him in His person and work, and through our faithfulness in the conflict as we draw upon His life as the source of ours, we get to share in His reign as a reward for faithful service. This is truly amazing because, whenever we do overcome in the battles of life, it is always through Him.

The Challenge or Appeal (22)

Verse 22 ends the letter to Laodicea and also concludes these two chapters and the letters to the seven churches by the appeal to hear. It is an appeal which each time is made to all the churches because all seven letters are vital to us all.

The great lesson concerns a church that is religious, but basically useless. It is a church that has excluded Christ from their fellowship in selfish, materialistic, self-dependence. It is a church where Christ stands on the outside, excluded by the church’s apathy to His Word, a Word which convicts, enlightens, warms and softens hearts, and makes people productive. Thus, the call is to hear, to open our ears.

Like Laodicea, the church today is lukewarm. Am I? Are you? We have seen what it means to be lukewarm and how we are to deal with lukewarmness. We have also seen its causes and cure. Do we have ears to hear this message as the Lord challenges us in this passage? Are we blind to the effects of our own forms of greed?

Conclusion

Think for a moment about Madison Avenue with all its advertising techniques. They are designed for the financial gain of the advertisers, not that of the buyer. Regardless of their claims such as, “you need a break today,” or whatever the alleged benefit of the product, it is really without much concern for the welfare of people other than they want to keep our business. It is exploitative, manipulative, and designed by greed to play on the weaknesses of the public. The goal is to get us to buy what we can’t afford, what we do not need, with money we often don’t have. And many times it is either harmful or wrong according to biblical standards. Advertisers often seeks to reach the most vulnerable in society and intentionally market products that are both addictive and destructive.

But this greed-driven behavior is not exclusive to the world. We find it in the church among God’s people too, but often we are too blind to see it. Think of how often greed, laying treasures on the earth, and desires for the good life negatively affect the body of Christ:

(1) Think of how it tarnishes the testimony of Christ when business professionals compromise integrity and biblical values to cut a less than honorable deal.

(2) Think of how greed shreds families when parents devote their best energies to dreams of the “good life” leaving little strength or time for caring for the spiritual well being of their family.

(3) Think of how greed injures the church and ministry for the same reasons because people are so engulfed in the pursuit of position, power, praise, prestige, and pleasure that there is neither time nor energy to devote themselves to the Word, to ministry, or to liberal giving.

We are not exempt from the consequences of our own forms of greed. It litters the landscape around us with victims of our self-centered drives.⁶⁸

63 John MacArthur, “Masterpiece,” May/June, p. 2.

64 MacArthur, p. 2.

65 Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, translated by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, University of Chicago Press, electronic version (under emew).

66 MacArthur, p. 2.

67 Daniel B. Wallace, Th.M, Ph.D., Associate Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Scripture Twisting, The Biblical Studies Foundation web site at www.bible.org. (Note: for our non-Greek readers, I have transliterated the Greek words used by Wallace in the article on the BSF site.)

68 J. M. Stowell, “Moody Monthly,” May, 1990, p. 4.