This suffering was not the physical suffering on the cross of Calvary. Theres no time to waste. Time. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Hydrotherapy for the sick became accompanied by religious practices in the local temples. That would not be logical since the church at Laodicea has already accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. This messageas well as all of the othersis still important for Christians today. According to Expositors Bible Commentary, A six-mile-long aqueduct brought Laodicea its supply of water from the south. In terms of healing, the hot Christian will be bringing souls to Christ, healing them of their sinful condition. Jesus wants you to be hot. Before He left the earth, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who would guide them to the truth (John 14:16-17, 26; John 15:26). First of all, it begins with recognizing with a heart-rending awareness that we have defied God when we sin. The name is derived from two words: laos, meaning people and dike, meaning decision (Strongs Concordance). This theory deems the letter addressed to a human messenger rather than an angelic one. People came from all over the empire to purchase this medicine. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. The positive aspect is that if someone does hear his voice, and does open the door, Jesus will come in. At the foot of Mount Cadmus, it benefited from an endless supply of cold, freshwater coming down from the snow caps. As a man, Jesus also had this self-will and was tempted, but His firm resolve from the very start was, Not My will, but Yours! For us to overcome as He overcame, we need to make that same decision and faithfully stick to it, no matter what happens or how we feel. It was a medicine used for treating eye diseases. Laodicea was so conscious of its medical skill in the care of the eyes that it never realized that it was spiritually blind. The therapeutic virtues of the waters became the calling card of the town. It is very important to understand that this verse is NOT saying that Jesus was the first thing created; rather, it is stating that Jesus was the source of creation. Actions, behaviors, motives, and the heart are all intertwined; they cannot be separated. When they heard this letter for the first time, what did they hear? More than likely, the members of the church in Laodicea were carnal Christians. We can get so busy doing things for God that at some point, we stop doing them Him and begin doing them for ourselves. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. If you are living a self-reliant, self-sufficient life; relying on your strength rather than Christs, then you are lukewarm. Gratitude Vision Optometry offers premier primary eye care, specialty contact lenses & more. What images came into their minds? Those terms are imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness. Laodicea was known for it's black wool. Good deeds (Ephesians 2:10), godliness (1 Peter 1:15), Christ-likeness (1 Peter 2:21), and fulfilling the demands of the Law (Rom 8:4) are all part of the cost in purchasing white garments from Christ.). A change in behavior will follow true repentance. What does it mean to purchase something? Spiritual discernment fends off temptation and allows us to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. He would vomit them out of His mouth because their works were so distasteful to Him. According to Romans 12:3, God has given everyone a measure of faith (gold) with which we receive salvation and use our varying gifts. The Bible speaks of eye-salve. 17 Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Isaiah 55:1-3 (NASB). His motivation is His Sovereign rule over the Church He built and bought, as well as by His unfailing fierce love for those He has redeemed and called. The verse is not talking about salvation; it is talking about usefulness or purpose. Hierapolis had a hot spring that was considered to be medicinal. Additionally, it was the home of a medical school known for the treatment of eye problems, where it produced a famous eye salve. A change of heart will follow honest confession. David Treybig is a husband, father and grandfather. Here we see Christ speaking as a merchant, advising the church to buy his merchandise. Moses was rebuking the rebellious Israelites by saying, But to this day, the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. He was not referring to physical hearing, but to those who may hear the commands of the Lord but who lacked comprehension and desire to act upon those words (Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2). Laodicea built an aqueduct that ran from the mountains above Colossae to the city center. The Corinthian believers were engaged in some seriously messed up things. Laodicea also produced a special eye salve that was made by powdering a special Phrygian stone. The city of Laodicea, currently located in modern Turkey, was situated in the Lycus valley, about 45 miles southeast of Philadelphia and about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Print subscriptions available in U.S., Canada and Europe. Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. The same logic applies to hot or cold. As we will see, this was clearly a characteristic of the self-reliant people of this city. Kris Udd In Revelation 3:18, God advises the church in Laodicea to purchase eye salve from him, "so that you may see." In the context this is clearly a metaphor for gaining spiritual sight and avoiding spiritual blindness, but the metaphor is based off of a well-known Roman practice. 18band white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed. The focus of sanctification is the healing of the dysfunctionality of sin (it is imparted). Uniquely situated on a large flat-topped hill, the town was protected from the flooding in the spring when the snow melted off the nearby mountains. 1. Industry Laodicea is the seventh of the seven churches listed in the Book of Revelation. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. A third lesson is that we need to vigilantly maintain our spiritual eyesightour ability to see things from a spiritual perspective. The word amen conveys the idea of something faithful, reliable, and believable, and is typically used this way in the Old Testament. Ho! Other sources suggest that the water came from a hot spring with mineralized water containing sulfur, giving it an unpleasant taste and smell. Justification is God's declaration of righteousness (it is imputed). They had somehow taken off the white clothing they received during salvation and stood naked before God. For a faster response, please call us directly at 888-666-8135. If you think back to the Garden of Eden, clothing was the first thing which Adam felt the need of, after he had sinned. Have you ever been locked out of your own house? In the times of late antiquity, it had a large Jewish community and a significant congregation of Christians. After he sinned, he felt his nakedness and shame. 14a To the angel of the church in Laodicea. Along with Colosse and Hierapolis, it was one of the cities in the fertile Lyous [sic.] We now come back to the question of how do you buy from Jesus' refined gold? There was still hope for the church at Laodicea. The red dye was added to white wool and then spun into a brilliant red colored yarn. 3. It costs our life. Before considering the significance of this term and the rest of the message from Christ, lets note a few things about Laodiceas history. Call (626) 587-0033! The letter starts as if being written to an angel, but there is no doubt that it is the congregation itself who is the focus of the letter. The city's reputation was for its money transactions and the good quality of raven-black wool grown in the area.1 The black wool, spun into dark yarn, was added to yarn dyed in other colors and made some very intricately patterned colored clothing, which sold for a high price in Rome. (22) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.. The act of hearing implied obedience. In ancient Greek culture, the evening meal was a social event. Thank you! Among them nothing from before the Roman period has appeared. This process causes the gold to coagulate and form nuggets and clumps of gold. It is interesting to note that verse 15 starts with Jesus telling the church that he knows their deeds. Unfortunately, Colossae did not have the wealth that Hierapolis or Laodicea possessed, and the city did not completely rebound from the earthquake in 60 A.D. as well as they did. Jesus knew how to use God's grace. Christs threefold prescription to cure their condition paralleled the physical circumstances that had apparently deceived them. 2. Gold mined from rock always has impurities. Instead of being victorious over temptation, temptation had been victorious over them. One of these is what the Bible calls the deceitfulness of riches (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19). The ancient Greeks liked their wine hot or cold. I wish you were either cold or hot! 19btherefore be zealous and repent. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door. He wants to hear about how our day went and share in our victories and sorrows. It covers a myriad of areas, including pride, impatience, selfishness, unrighteousness, irritation, laziness, vanity, complaining, sexual impurity, unbelief, discouragement, envy, greed, ingratitude, etc. Zeus, the supreme god, was also worshiped in the city (Expositors). 4. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16. This letter was not written by a weary shepherd, hoping to be let in for some comfort and a bite to eat. They probably think they are just like any other church. It is a process where God makes us holy. It was important for ancient Greeks to eat with company. It is to have a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Its another way of saying, Listen up! Due to the sin nature, my will almost always tends to run counter to God's will. The phrase ears to hear is used throughout the Bible, starting with Deuteronomy 29:4. Jesus knows what it is like to be human. The first thing we need to look at is what it means to be cold. You, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Jesus wants you to be cold. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. They may have lost their focus and strayed in their Christianity, but they are still a body of believers that Christ wanted to straighten out. For all its wealth, the city had poor water (comments on Revelation 3:14-22). In our world filled with technology, material prosperity and modern conveniences, many mistakenly assume that they do not need God. Incline your ear and come to Me. We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). For the Laodiceans, this meant forsaking whatever might perpetuate the lack of spirituality and unwarranted self-sufficiency in which they languished. Suffer in the flesh, cease from sin. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? But hot water also had another use. The eye salve must be purchased, and it is expensive. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Please understand that Christ is not referring to saving faith in this passage. Perhaps the most famous ones they produced were an ointment for the ears (for a time produced only in Laodicea), and an eye salve made from Phrygian powder and oil. The time of need is when temptation comes when we see and feel the sin in our flesh when we struggle to keep ourselves from sinning. What did they think it meant to be cold? The major idea behind this word is constancy and reliability.8 Isaiah referred to God as the God of amen, due to his truthfulness and trustworthiness (Isaiah 65:16). God expects His people to maintain zeal for His way of life. It almost always represents purity, righteousness, or wisdom. The ancient Greeks thought that only a barbarian would drink undiluted wine. Serving wine lukewarm would be considered an insult. Christ told the church at Laodicea to buy___from Him so they could see. I dont think so. He wants to be a friend with whom we enjoy spending time. And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. , a six-mile-long aqueduct brought Laodicea its supply of water from the snow caps Bible,... The Corinthian believers were engaged in some seriously messed up things one of these is what the says. 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