by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
We continue with the rebuke/condemnation given to the messenger of the church in Laodicea.
In Revelation 3:16 the Lord Jesus rebukes the messenger for being lukewarm or tepid and because of his being neither hot nor cold, he was about to be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth.
The picture of having hot, cold and lukewarm water even played out during the 2nd century AD when archaeologists say a Central Bath Complex was built in the Central Agora. They say the Roman building featured a cascading structure of a “caldarium,” a hot hall and pool at the top; a “tepidarium,” a lukewarm hall and pool in the middle; 2 “frigidaria,” pools with cold water; aside from changing rooms and exercise halls. It is easy enough for us to discern from the Latin, the words for hot, tepid and cold. While this was built in the 2nd Century (perhaps during the reconstruction after the deadly earthquakes), it may be plausible that earlier versions or prototypes of these halls and pools already existed during the Apostle John’s time of writing the Book of Revelation. There is even an account written by Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Chapter 28) quoting Irenaeus (Against Heresies, Book 3) who told of a tradition coming from Polycarp that the Apostle John abruptly ran out of a bathhouse when he heard that the heretic, Cerinthus was also inside. Eusebius notes that apparently, the Apostle John “could not endure to be even under the same roof with him.” Whether the story is authentic or not, it does give an indication that Roman bathhouses were quite popular back then.
The Greek verb ἐμέω (“emeo” meaning “to vomit”) is a hapax legomenon in the NT, occurring only in this verse. The various English translations this verse are almost evenly divided; half render it as “to vomit” while the other half say “to spit.” Either translation evokes something disagreeable, or even disgusting in one’s mouth that there is no other recourse but to immediately get it out! That something is utterly rejected and disgorged. This is a pretty stark rebuke any way one looks at it.
This “vomiting” or “spitting” out probably reminded the Apostle John of Leviticus 18:25, 18:28 and 20:22. In these verses, the majority of the Bible versions, in translating the Hebrew word קִיא (“qi”), use “to vomit” with only a few using “to spit” or “to spew” (Note: The Septuagint (LXX) seems to reflect a different tradition for these verses and do not include the phrase regarding being vomited out of the land). The context of these Leviticus verses in the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) is the warning of the LORD God for the Israelites not to follow the ways of the people/nations living in Canaan. God warned his people that if they do not follow his statutes (the Torah) and consequently defile the land they were being given, they too would be “vomited” or “spit” out. The Lord seems to warn his messenger that being lukewarm or tepid to the faith is as undesirable as being an apostate.
The parallel imagery is quite ominous. If the messenger continues to be lukewarm to the faith, the Lord Jesus as King-Judge would reject him and he would have no place in the fellowship of believers; not be a part of the Body of the Messiah! Another parallel here is found in other letters we took up earlier. Recall the letter to the messenger of the church in Ephesus. He was warned that if he does not repent, his lampstand (church) will be removed (or not be a part of the Body of Christ). Another one is the letter to the messenger of the church in Sardis where the Lord Jesus warns that he will come unexpectedly to judge his pastor-leader if he does not repent of his slack.
In Ephesus, the pastor-leader abandoned his first or foremost love. In Sardis, the work of the messenger has not been found to be complete. Here, in Laodicea, the situation seems similar but the pastor-leader now is so tepid, lukewarm that it seems he just doesn’t care at all. It seems this messenger does not realize he has “lost” something or in need of something.
Thus this unnamed messenger is condemned in Revelation 3:17. The Lord says that his messenger says to himself that he has become rich and needs nothing. Hosea 12:8 where the prophet rebukes the Northern Kingdom of Israel is a parallel: “And Ephraim said, ‘surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; in all my work they will find in me no iniquity, which (is) sin.’”
Then the Lord Jesus tells him that he does not realize (Greek οὐκ οἶδας, meaning “do not know”) his true condition: truly wretched/miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked!
The Condemnation strings together the 3 foremost things that made Laodicea rich and famous and put it into its enviable position: its trading and banking wealth, its eye salve and its luxurious, soft black wool. The rebuke of the Lord Jesus speaks about the opposites of these 3 things. Laodicea was known to be wealthy, and the messenger believes he is rich and needs nothing but the Lord Jesus emphatically called his messenger wretched/miserable and pitiful and poor. Laodicea was famous for its eye salve that help people see better and heal eye afflictions, yet the Lord called this pastor-leader blind. Laodicea was also known for producing its fine black wool but the Lord called his messenger naked.
Exhortation – Revelation 3:18-20, 22. The pastor-leader is advised to buy from the Lord gold refined from fire; white garments to clothe himself and hide his nakedness; and eye salve to rub in his eyes so that he may see!
In Revelation 3:18 the messenger is asked to get true riches from Jesus Christ, represented by gold refined from fire. Refining gold in fire takes out its impurities and makes it more valuable. This is a reminder of Psalm 119:127 which says, “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above pure/refined gold.” The Psalm admonishes believers to love God and follow his commandments more than the wealth and riches of this world. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 teaches that it is the LORD that gives one the ability to produce wealth, not one’s own power and strength. And Psalm 112:1-3 teaches that blessed is the man who fears the LORD and delights in his commands; wealth and riches are in his house.
In the Parable of the Sower (Four Soils) and the seed that was sown among the thorns as explained in Matthew 13:22 (and its parallels in Mark 4:18-19 and Luke 8:14), the Lord says that the deceitfulness (or deception or delusion) of wealth/riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. These reminders are still very much needed today even as the messenger is seen to have apparently fallen into spiritual poverty.
The lure of the material wealth of Laodicea must have also made this pastor-leader “blind” to his true condition. He believes he is a Christ-follower, even a church leader; in reality his mind and heart were not to the faith but probably to the pursuit of money. This preoccupation with material wealth makes this leader “blind” so the Lord advises him to get the better eye salve to rub in his eyes so that he can see again. The Greek word for eye salve here, κολλούριον, “kollurion” is another hapax legomenon in the NT, used only in this verse. Still another hapax legomenon is the Greek verb ἐγχρίω, “egchrio” meaning to rub, smear or anoint, used in conjunction with the eye salve. It is only this κολλούριον, the “eye salve” from the Lord Jesus that can heal this pastor-leader-messenger of his spiritual blindness.
The Lord advises his messenger to buy white garments. This is in direct contrast to the black wool that Laodicea produces and sells. In the letter to the messenger of the church in Sardis, white garments are promised to the Lord’s true believers, the remnant of that church (Revelation 3:4-5). It is now clear that the color of the robes of the righteous is white as stated also in Revelation 7:9 and Revelation 19:8.
When the Lord Jesus admonishes his messenger to clothe himself so as not to display the shame of his nakedness; a parallel from Genesis 3:7 comes into mind. This is familiar to most Christians: after eating the forbidden fruit, the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and they saw their nakedness; they were ashamed and covered themselves up. Nakedness here becomes a symbol of one’s disobedience and hence, unrighteousness. For this messenger, as wealth took the place of God, his idolatry revealed his unrighteousness and unfaithfulness to God. This was his spiritual nakedness.
We will continue next week.
God bless us all.