Apocalyptic Literature
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Revelation 3:14-22
#1 – The Genre
The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature because it foretells of the end of the world and was delivered by Jesus Christ through John. But it is also prophecy, and self-identifiably so (1:3 says “Blessed is he who reads […] the words of the prophecy”). As if two genres were not enough, the book is addressed in the form of a letter, or epistle, to “the seven churches that are in Asia” (1:4). Our section is written to the church in Laodicea, one of the seven to whom the entire letter/book is addressed.
#2 – Generic Conception (“Big Idea”)
Christ reproves the Laodicean church for their uselessness, encourages them to “buy” from Him what they lack, promises them that He will be with them if they receive Him, and assures them that they will be rewarded if they overcome.
#3 – Observations about the Passage
Contextual – Jesus’ messages to the seven churches contain parallels with each other. These can be used to illuminate certain aspects of His message to Laodicea. To Smyrna, He says He knows their poverty, and then says “but you are rich” (2:9), whereas Laodicea thinks they are rich, but He calls them poor. In 3:7-8, Jesus put an open door before the Philadelphian church, whereas He knocked on the door of the Laodiceans (3:20). Jesus tells five of the seven churches, “I know your deeds,” but His reaction to each one is drastically different. For instance, He tells Laodicea He will spit them out, whereas He tells Thyatira that their “deeds of late are greater than at first,” and that He knows of their “love and faith and service and perseverance” (2:19).
Historical – Jesus’ preference that the Laodiceans be either cold or hot is not related to being cold-hearted versus warm-hearted toward Jesus, but rather has to do with the temperature of water in Laodicea. Warm water was good for taking baths, and cold water was great for a cool drink, but lukewarm water was good for neither.
Literary – In 3:17a, the Laodicean church inaccurately assesses their spiritual condition. Two Old Testament passages offer strikingly similar accounts. In Hosea 12:8, Ephraim says: “Surely I have become rich, / I have found wealth for myself; / In all my labors they will find in me / No iniquity, which would be sin.” Then, in Zechariah 11:5, those who are in leadership over Israel benefit by taking advantage of the people and claim they are receiving God’s blessing: “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.” Jesus’ use of the phrase “I am rich” in 3:17 not only captures the Laodiceans’ self-exalting attitude, it also shows their foolishness in light of these Old Testament passages.
Another literary observation: Those who are rightly called poor in v 17 are told to “buy from Me” in v 18. Naturally, we wonder how those without money can make purchases. But in Isaiah 55, God invites the thirsty and hungry to “Come, buy wine and milk / Without money and without cost” (55:1), and explains that this bread and wine is that which satisfies. It is obtained when people “Seek the LORD while He may be found” (55:6). God’s people are exhorted to turn back to Him, because He is compassionate and “will abundantly pardon” (55:7). The poor make purchases because God is merciful and will supply what they lack.
#4 – Interpretation of the Passage
In the context of an exhortation to the churches of Asia, our passage is addressed to the congregation at Laodicea. They have grown complacent in their faith and a self-satisfied. They have lost their conviction that Christ is their everything. Jesus condemns their uselessness, their lukewarmness, and threatens to spit them out, to discard them. He also brings to their attention their incorrect vision of themselves. They believe they are in “need of nothing,” but He calls them “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. His exhortation in v 18 is that they buy gold, white garments, and eye salve. These are symbolic of what they lack. They are materially wealthy, but they lack true wealth (see Luke 16:11) that will last beyond this world. They have nice wardrobes, but He calls them naked because their shame is exposed, their deeds do not reflect Jesus as Lord of their lives. They think they can see, but Jesus calls them blind because they need healing salve so that they can see their condition clearly, including recognizing their true poverty and nakedness.
The Lord does not leave them with rebuke and admonition. He explains that His actions of reproof and discipline are because He loves them (3:19), and then invites them to repent. They need what Philadelphia has: an open door with Jesus. He wants to dine with them, to be invited into their homes, which means to be welcomed into their lives as the Lord that He is.
Part of the point of this passage is its urgency. He is not inviting Laodicea to invite Jesus in when they get around to it. This book is about the end of the world. It’s time to get serious. In another passage about the end, Matthew 24, Jesus also talks of signs that the second coming is drawing near, saying that He will be “near, right at the door” (24:33). The intent of that passage is to teach diligence and readiness. He explicitly says, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (24:42). Likewise, this passage must be read with 3:21 in mind, as the whole point of exhortation is to build up the Laodicean church into those who will overcome. Otherwise, they are good for nothing, and the glorified Christ will cast them out. But to those who overcome, whose faith does not crumble and whose work remains through the fire of judgment, He promises to let them sit on His throne (i.e., that they would rule with Him).
#5 – Application
Though Revelation is about the end of the world and was addressed to specific church congregations, like the other epistles it was meant to be read by Christians through the ages. From this passage we can: (1) derive encouragement (or warning) that Christ is as aware of our deeds as He was of all of the churches of Revelation; (2) accept as cautionary the Laodiceans’ false understanding of themselves, and be aware that we must take great care to examine ourselves so that we do not think we are rich when we are poor; (3) observe the generosity of our God in His gracious outstretched hand to provide what the Laodicean church lacked and not demand any kind of recompense for His abundance, and to know that we too have benefited greatly from His generosity in salvation, life, and many blessings; and (4) receive Jesus’ exhortation to invite Him in as one offered to all people, not only to the Laodiceans, as taught elsewhere in the Scriptures.