The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 7: Laodicea

The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 7: Laodicea

(Revelation 3:14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

This description of Jesus is so powerful, I don't even know what to write about it.  I just keep reading it over and feeling a sense of awe.  The word amen is basically an agreement and means, "So be it."  You can even say that referring to Jesus as "the Amen" is like saying He is the ultimate confirmation to God's plan for salvation.  By becoming a human and dying for our sins so that those who follow His ways can live with Him in Heaven, Jesus became the perfect amen that completed God's plan for us.  When He said, "It is Finished" on the cross, He was saying His plan to save the souls of humanity had been accomplished.  So be it, Jesus fulfilled God's will for His and our lives.

(Matthew 26:38-39) Then saith He [Jesus] unto them, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death..." And He went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

(John 19:2-30) Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.  

Jesus is the most faithful and truest witness of all God is.  He is the beginning of the creation of God!  Wow! Along with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is a part of God as well God's creation. I cannot add to that; it is just too profoundly beautiful!   

(Revelation 3:15-20) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

I would venture to say that this message to the church of Laodicea is the most well-known. Songs have been sung about it, and probably thousands of sermons have been preached about it (including one much better than my teaching that I will post at the end). I truly believe we all need to take the warning to the Laodicean church very seriously.  Jesus will vomit the indifferent believers not just out of His mouth, but out of His Kingdom as well. I really pray you will watch the late great preacher Leonard Ravenhill's message below, so I am not going to say more on the lukewarm church in this writing. 

Both my husband and I have written on this subject quite a bit, but to put every link to each writing would be a bit ridiculous, so here are just 2: 1 by me: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/10/now-is-time-to-choose-fire-over-ice.html and 1 by my husband: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/08/backsliding-unto-perdition-written-by.html 

Now I will jump to verse 19.  Please take note that Jesus says His rebukes and chastisements are because He loves us. 

(Hebrews 12:5-6) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

If God let us run and ruin our lives in rebellion it would not be an act of love.  I know I use this verse a lot, but I really want you to know how much Jesus loves us:

 (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is... longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

Jesus truly does not want any of us to go to Hell; He is patient and forgiving.  He gave us His Holy Word so we could read and study it.  He wants us to obey His words so we can live with Him in paradise.   Because of His great love for us, He has even created a heavenly realm where we cannot even fully fathom its beauty! 

(1 Corinthians 2:9) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

If you want to explore more on the subject of the love of Jesus, you can read my blog here: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/05/jesus-said-he-is-series-part-10-love-he.html

Verse 20 here is so beautiful.  Again, Jesus is calling for us.  He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks for us.  He is a gentleman and will not beat the door down.  Jesus so loves us He laid down His life for us (see John 3:16), and, as mentioned above, does not want anyone to go to Hell.  It is why He will stand at each and every one of the doors to our heart until we let Him in, and then stay grounded in His Word, as well as obey His Word (see James 1:22).  If we evict Him from our heart, He will still knock to be let back in.  He will seek out each and every lost sheep! (see Matthew 18:11-13)

But wait, didn't Revelation just state that Jesus would spit us out of His mouth if we were lukewarm?  Yes, because a holy God cannot tolerate sin.  That does not mean He will cease wooing you back to Him through the above-mentioned chastening as he longs for all of us to pay attention to the tug the Holy Spirit places on our conscience, and then obey His rules so we can sup at His bountiful table of eternal peace and joy. Sounds like a fair and just ruler to me!

(Revelation 3:21-22) To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

As I end this seven-part series I pray the number one message that gets through is that Jesus loves you and wants you in His eternal kingdom. 

That leads us to understanding that there are conditions that must be met to enter His holy city, and when we read and study the Bible, all these things will be made clear.  It is not legalism or greasy grace that will make it possible, but the blood of Jesus Christ and making an intentional choice to walk down paths of righteousness.

Yes, every single message to the churches reminds us that our works are always being watched and recorded; we will be judged by our works. You can see all verses listed in part 1 if you need a refresher: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-seven-churches-of-revelation-part-1.html

Jesus also wants every church back then and every person now to know that we can overcome the temptations of the flesh to sin.  And when we do, we will be greatly rewarded.  In this case, Jesus tells us that one of those rewards will be sit with Jesus at His throne.  Can you imagine? I sort of can, but tears blur my spiritual and literal vision when I think of seeing my Lord and Savior face to face! Allowing the Holy Spirit to take control and help me conquer my sins will always be worth my complete surrender.  Not for the new name, the crown, a mansion, or a robe, but to see my sweet Lord!  Nothing on this world is worth holding to that could be better than spending all eternity with the Holy Trinity! 

For everyone with ears, hear what the Spirit saith unto all seven of the churches.

Here is that sermon I mentioned above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ht7RhnK9Vs