by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
We continue with the exhortation and promise given to the messenger of the church in Laodicea.
In Revelation 3:19 the Lord holds out his hand to his messenger to help him get out of his spiritual poverty, blindness and nakedness. The Lord Jesus emphatically reminds his messenger: “As many as whoever I (!) might love, I reprove/rebuke and discipline; be earnest therefore and repent.”
The first part of the statement tells the messenger that he should expect disciplinary action. In fact, the verbs used have a continuous aspect, as in the Lord continually or constantly reproves/rebukes and disciplines. The assurance that God as a Father, and the Lord Jesus as Messiah-Priest-Judge-King constantly corrects waywardness, resonates with the reality of loving parental care of children. Deuteronomy 8:5 states that as a man will discipline his son, the LORD God disciplines his people. 2 Samuel 7:14 says that the LORD God promised King David and his descendants that the LORD will be their father and they will be his sons. If they commit iniquity, God will judge/correct him with the rod. Hebrews 12:6 quotes Proverbs 3:12 and reminds everyone if the LORD loves and cares for you, as he genuinely does, he will discipline you and one should not misinterpret it or take it lightly. As in what the different letters to the 7 messengers of the 7 churches in Asia has shown, the Lord will truly rebuke, condemn, chasten, admonish, correct and discipline those who he truly/really loves and are his.
The second part of Revelation 3:19 commands this pastor-leader to be zealous and repent. Most translations order it the way I have translated. But let us indulge ourselves in a bit of Greek grammar using Thayer’s Greek Lexicon to aid exegesis. The verb for being earnest or zealous (ζηλόω, “zeloo” meaning to have warmth of feeling for or against; to be jealous) has a Present (continuous) Imperative aspect while the verb for repent (μετανοέω, “metanoeo” meaning to change one’s mind or purpose; to repent) has an Aorist (undefined past) Imperative aspect. Taking into account the difference in the aspects of these 2 verbs, and the conjunction οὖν, “oun” (meaning therefore; then; so) the clause actually gives the sense of “(you) repent, therefore/then (you) continually be (or keep on being) earnest/zealous.” Hence, the Greek is a bit more nuanced. The Lord commands his pastor-leader to quickly/immediately repent; and having repented, then to continuously be earnest or zealous (or on fire) with the faith. In context: repent; don’t be lukewarm or tepid; but keep on having fervor for the faith and always remember that the Lord (constantly) rebukes and disciplines those he loves. And from the earlier verses this admonition has a sense of urgency as the messenger is about to be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth.
Even if there is no Commendation part in this letter to the messenger of the church in Laodicea, there is hope, because the Lord Jesus loves his pastor-leader and his flock. But this unnamed pastor-leader needs to immediately turn around, repent his idolatry and unfaithfulness; cease being lukewarm or tepid but be zealous or earnest in the faith.
Revelation 3:20 gives another declaration of hope from the Lord Jesus: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone might hear my voice and opened the door, then I will enter towards him and I will dine with him and he with me(!).”
A similar exhortation can be found from James 5:9 although its immediate context is different. The acknowledged head of the Jerusalem church, the brother of our Lord Jesus, asks his brethren not to complain against each other and says the Judge (the Lord Jesus) is standing right at the door to remind them of the Lord’s imminent return. Luke 12:36 gives warning in his Gospel and emphasizes being ready and prepared for the Lord’s coming so that men may open the door without delay when the master comes and knocks. While John 18:37 narrates the Lord’s response to Pontius Pilate that everyone who is of the truth hears the Lord’s voice. From the foregoing, it would seem impossible for one who truly is faithful not to prepare, not to anticipate, not to hear the Lord’s voice and not open the door when he comes and knocks.
The Lord Jesus promises to enter and dine with his followers. This meal can rightly be called a meal of reconciliation for the messenger of the church in Laodicea. His repentance is all that the Lord seems to be waiting for and holds out this hope of reconciliation for his pastor-leader. In the ancient world, a meal signified fellowship, acceptance and closeness with the ones sharing the meal. In modern pre-pandemic business deals, meals would invariably be featured. In Revelation 19:7-9 the marriage of the Lamb with his bride (the church) has a built-in invitation to a celebratory supper.
While the Last Supper in the Upper Room foreshadowed the coming suffering and death of the Lord then, it also symbolized the sealing of the New Covenant with his disciples and believers. It was also a meal of fellowship. After the Lord’s resurrection, it is notable that he revealed himself to his disciples at Emmaus in a meal and also had several meals with the apostles and disciples in the same Upper Room and even on a shore after fishing. These were not only meals of fellowship but more importantly, meals of reconciliation. Remember that almost all his disciples deserted him. Simon Peter denied him 3 times even earlier. Relationships were broken but the amazing grace of the Lord Jesus enabled reconciliation and restoration of these relationships and their celebration. It is a way of starting over and getting back on track. It is also a very Jewish custom. They even have a quip that goes this way: “Our enemies wanted to kill us; but God saved us; so let’s eat!”
Promise – Revelation 3:21. The verse again refers to “the (one) conquering/overcoming,” as with all the other letters to the other messengers. While the Lord speaks directly to each messenger, he addresses all the members of the different churches with this phrase. This time the Lord Jesus says “I will give to him to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.” This clause combines several fulfilling elements in Revelation 19:4; 20:4, 11; 21:3-7; and 22:1-3.
Revelation 19:4 mentions 24 elders and 4 “living creatures” worshipping God who sits on the throne in heaven. This is actually an echo repetition of what the Apostle John saw in his vision in Revelation 4:1-11. It is the LORD God Almighty, the Father, who sits on the throne. Revelation 20:4 says that there were other thrones in heaven but Revelation 20:11 reiterates that for the “great white throne” it is God who apparently sits there. Revelation 21:3-5 again supports the idea that it is the LORD God who sits on the throne. But then, in Revelation 22:1-3, it is very clear that the throne is occupied by God and the Lamb. Revelation 22:1 in the Greek says “του θρόνου του θεού και του αρνιου,” almost the same as in Revelation 22:3, which says “ο θρόνος του θεού και του αρνιου.” The literal meaning of both Greek phrases is “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Note that the word for “Lamb” used here in Revelation (αρνιον) is a special eschatological, apocalyptic term, different from the usual “αμνος” used as in “the Lamb of God.” It is used 30 times in the NT and only by the Apostle John; all in Revelation except for one instance in his Gospel (John 21:15).
Here now, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus sits on the same throne as the LORD God. Because the Lord Jesus has conquered. He has overcome. And now sits with his Father on his throne. And as stated in Revelation 21:7, “ὁ νικῶν,” (exactly the same Greek words in Revelation 3:21, “the (one) conquering/overcoming”) will have this heritage of sitting with the Lord Jesus Christ on his throne and the LORD will be his God and he will be God’s son.
Exhortation – Revelation 3:22. The letters to the 7 messengers of the 7 churches of the Apocalypse of John ends, not with the promise but with an admonition, that the (one) having an ear should hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Ezekiel 3:27 comes to mind here. This is restated in the prophet’s warning that people come to hear what he says but do not do what it says or practice them (Ezekiel 33:30-33). And in parallel, Ezekiel 40:4 in his vision of the man with the appearance of bronze who had a cord/line and a measuring rod, quotes the man as saying: “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention… .” The Lord Jesus advises his messenger-leaders and the members of the churches to truly take heed of the prophetic (spiritual) words contained in his letters.
This marks the end of our exegetical study of the 7 letters to the messengers of the 7 churches in Asia as found in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
God bless us all.