Chapter 27—The Laodicean Church
The message to the church of the Laodiceans is a startling denun-
ciation, and is applicable to the people of God at the present time.
“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; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor
hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked.”
The Lord here shows us that the message to be borne to His people
by ministers whom He has called to warn the people is not a peace-
and-safety message. It is not merely theoretical, but practical in every
particular. The people of God are represented in the message to the
Laodiceans as in a position of carnal security. They are at ease, believ-
ing themselves to be in an exalted condition of spiritual attainments.
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked.”
What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confi-
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dence that they are right when they are all wrong! The message of the
True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest
in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable
in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves
that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True
Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their
true condition of spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness. The
testimony, so cutting and severe, cannot be a mistake, for it is the True
Witness who speaks, and His testimony must be correct.
It is difficult for those who feel secure in their attainments, and
who believe themselves to be rich in spiritual knowledge, to receive
the message which declares that they are deceived and in need of
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