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; LAODICEANS - in the southwest of Phrygia, on the river Lycus, not far from Colosse, lying between it and Philadelphia: destroyed by an earthquake, 62 AD; rebuilt by its wealthy citizens without the help of the state (Tacitus, Annals, 14:, 27). This wealth (arising from the excellence of its wools) led to a self-satisfied, lukewarm state in spiritual things, as Revelation 3:17 describes. Note on Colossians 4:16, on the letter thought to have been written to the Laodiceans by Paul. The church in later times was flourishing; for one of the councils at which the canon...

14-22 Laodicea was the last and worst of the seven churches of Asia. Here our Lord Jesus styles himself, "The Amen;" one steady and unchangeable in all his purposes and promises. If religion is worth anything, it is worth every thing. Christ expects men should be in earnest. How many professors of gospel doctrine are neither hot nor cold; except as they are indifferent in needful matters, and hot and fiery in disputes about things of lesser moment! A severe punishment is threatened. They would give a false opinion of Christianity, as if it were an unholy religion; while others would conclude it could afford no real satisfaction, otherwise its professors would not have been heartless in it, or so ready to seek pleasure or happiness from the world. One cause of this indifference and inconsistency in religion is, self-conceit and self-delusion; "Because thou sayest." What a difference betw...

_Epistle to the Church of the Laodiceans._ Verse Revelation 3:14. _THESE THINGS SAITH THE AMEN_] That is, He who is true or faithful; from אמן _aman_, he was tree; immediately interpreted, _The faithful and true witness_. See Revelation 1:5. _THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF GOD_] That is, the head and governor of all creatures: the king of the creation. See on Colossians 1:15. By his _titles_, here, he prepares them for the humiliating and awful truths which he was about to declare, and the _authority_ on which the declaration was founded....

AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS WRITE - See the notes on Revelation 1:20. THESE THINGS SAITH THE AMEN - Referring, as is the case in every epistle, to some attribute of the speaker adapted to impress their minds, or to give special force to what he was about to say to that particular church. Laodicea was characterized by lukewarmness, and the reference to the fact that he who was about to address them was the “Amen” - that is, was characterized by the simple earnestness and sincerity denoted by that word - was eminently suited to make an impression on the minds of such a people. The word “Amen” means “true,” “certain,” “faithful”; and, as used here, it means that he to whom it is applied is eminently true and faithful. What he affirms is true; what he promises or threatens is certain. Himself ch

EXPOSITION REVELATION 3:1 _The epistle to the Church at Sardis. _This Church is one of the two which receives unmixed reproof. Smyrna and Philadelphia receive no blame; Sardis and Laodicea receive no praise. Sardis lies almost due south of Thyatira, on the road to Philadelphia, between the river Hermus and Mount Tmolus. It had been in turn Lydian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, and, like its last Lydian king, Croesus, had been celebrated for its wealth. The auriferous stream Pactolus, in summer almost dry, flowed through its marketplace; but its chief source of wealth was its trade. In A.D. 17 "twelve famous cities of Asia fell by an earthquake in the night … The calamity fell most heavily on the people of Sardis, and it attracted to them the largest share of sympathy. The emperor [Tiberius] promised ten million sesterces (£85,000), and remitted

AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS WRITE,.... Of the city of Laodicea, Revelation 1:11; there was a church here in the times of the Apostle Paul; by whom it was founded is not known; mention is made of it in 1 Thessalonians 2:1, who was now the angel, or pastor of it, whether Epaphras, who is there named, or another, is not certain. According to the Apostolical Constitutions t, Archippus was ordained bishop of it by the apostles; see 1 Thessalonians 4:16. There was a church here in the second century, for Sagaris, bishop of it, suffered martyrdom in the times of Antoninus Verus u; and in the "fourth" century, this church was famous for two eminent bishops, Theodorus and Grego

CHAPTER 3 Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea _ 1. Sardis: The reformation period (Revelation 3:1)_ 2. Philadelphia: The faithful remnant (Revelation 3:7) 3. Laodicea: The indifferent and apostate Church (Revelation 3:14) Revelation 3:1 . We have traced briefly the decline during the 1450-1500 years of Church history. The climax is reached in Thyatira, prophetically the Roman abomination and apostasy. In Sardis we see the progress of evil stayed. Roman Catholicism, as already mentioned, is a fixed and unchanging religious system. Rome will yet have for a brief season a startling rev

REVELATION 2:1 TO REVELATION 3:22. THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES. These letters are addressed to individual churches, but their messages are intended for the Church as a whole. In every letter there occurs the phrase, He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches....

_LAODICEA_ IS LAST NAMED. THE CITY WAS SITUATED ABOUT TWENTY MILES FROM EPHESUS, AND NEAR COLOSSE. THE CHURCH WAS HONORED WITH AN EPISTLE FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL. SEE COLOSSIANS 4:17. STILL, IT HAD FALLEN INTO THE BESETTING SIN OF CHURCHES AND HAD BECOME _LUKEWARM._ THIS SIN IS REBUKED IN THE SEVEREST LANGUAGE, AND THE CONSEQUENCES ARE INDICATED BY. MOST VIGOROUS FIGURE. THE ANCIENT CITY AND CHURCH HAVE PASSED AWAY, AND THE RUINS ARE ENTIRELY DESERTED. IT HAS BEEN _SPEWED OUT OF THE MOUTH_ OF THE LORD. THE SEVEN CHURCHES.--At the time when John wrote there were hundreds of churches in existence. On the Asiatic Continent many had been founded in Judea, Syria, and elsewhere, and in the district of which Ephesus was the commercial metropolis, and which was especially designated as _Asia,_ we know that in the last quarter of the first century there were not on

THE LETTER TO SARDIS (Revelation 3:1-6)...