Jesus had strong words for the church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation:
"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." Rev. 3:15-18
Laodicea had a tremendous spiritual calling. Its name means "Justice of the People". "Justice" here means more than right, justice, or a judicial decision. It has to do with causing something to be seen. Its root means "to show, to expose to the eyes, to give evidence or proof of a thing, to teach or exhibit, something presented to one in a vision, to bring to pass, of miracles performed in the presence of others to be seen, spoken of God as the author of Christ's visible return".
What an awesome purpose this church had been given. They were to be signposts for the return of Christ, and vessels to bring the invisible miraculous into manifestation, or visibility. However, their "lukewarmness" prevented the zeal for the "justice" of their name.
Jesus told them to buy from Him "gold tried in the fire". This gold is something that we can only get from Him. It is the everlasting victory over all things (Rev. 3:21) that He won for us, because He went through the "fire" on our behalf.
Why does Jesus say that this church must "buy" it from Him? Why doesn't He just give it to them? We are said to be buying this gold tried by fire from Him, because it costs us something. Following Christ as His disciple must come at a cost, with trials and testing of our faith:
"Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Lk. 9:23-24 (Mt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34, 10:21)
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it- ...
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
Lk. 14:27-28, 33
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you....If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you..." Jn. 15:19-20 (excerpt)
"Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." 1 Jn. 3:13
To buy that gold tried in the fire from Christ, is to our advantage. It costs us something, but we gain so much more:
"I will bring the one-third through the fire,
will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, "This is My people";
and each one will say, "The LORD is My God." Zech. 13:9
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of you faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love." 1 Peter 1:6-8a
"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings...If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part, He is blasphemed, but on your part, He is glorified." 1 Pet. 4:12-14
At the same time that the trial condemns those who are blaspheming, the Spirit of glory is resting upon us, and glorifying both us, and God, because we also share in Christ's sufferings. This glory (gold) comes at a cost-the sharing of His suffering. The resurrected Christ says to buy this gold from Him.
Laodicea was known as "the seat of the Christian church", yet this church was very self-satisfied and complacent, according to Christ in His prophetic word to John. Their purpose, revealed by the meaning of their name, was to show and exhibit to others the miracles and the blessings of the salvation, and the return of Christ, but they were more concerned with enjoying those blessings themselves. They took more pleasure with their riches and comfort, their success, than with their purpose in Christ.
They enjoyed the blessings of Christ, but they had not been tried. When we experience Christ, we also experience or share a portion of His sufferings. When we live and believe the Word of God, that Word in us is tested and tried. This testing produces that gold tried by fire, the pure gold that does not perish that Jesus mentioned. Without attaining that gold tried by fire, we are really "poor" in the Spirit (reduced to begging, destitute, powerless to accomplish an end), as was Laodicea.
The experiencing of Christ in the testing fire, is valuable to ourselves, and for our testimony to others. In the ultimate challenge to come, because we have joined Christ in that fire of experience, and we have been tried, even if our trials in no way compare to His, and have been delivered out of all (Ps. 34:19, Isa. 43:2), we are able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and the fact that we love not our lives unto the death (Rev. 12:11). Our overcoming faith, which is the faith of the Son of God, has been purified and sealed in the fire of testing.
Instead of leading others to spiritually "see" Christ and His return, the church of Laodicea was call "blind" by Christ. This word means to be wrapped in a cloud of smoke or a mist that prevents sight, and as a result, to be puffed up with pride and haughtiness. He urged them to anoint their eyes with eye salve, to clear their spiritual vision.
Jesus also described them as "wretched". This refers to a pair of balancing scales, as in our symbol for justice, but by this definition, these scales are weighted down with a burden, instead of weighing out liberating justice.
He said they were "naked". Instead of exposing others to the truth in Christ, their own nakedness was revealed. They were showing and exposing their own flesh and shame, and not His glory, nor the clothing of glory, which is righteousness, the white raiment, that He had attained for those who believe. He urged them to attain this spiritual raiment.
However, Jesus did not leave them with only these harsh words. He told them that He was correcting them because He loved them. He was knocking at their spiritual door because He wanted them to intimately experience and fellowship with Him (Rev. 3:19-20). You cannot stay lukewarm after you experience Jesus. You cannot stay lukewarm when you have seen the wounds of His suffering, and have been delivered from your own trials by His victory.
Jesus said that if they would heed His words to them, and repent, they would sit with Him on His throne, which is the throne He shares with His Father (Rev. 3:21). They would be overcomers, as He is. What an incredible promise and blessing to a church that was missing its calling so completely. It was still possible for them to walk in their calling and purpose.
This was a very timely word to the comfortable, complacent, lukewarm church of Laodicea. We can only hope that they received that prophetic warning, and heeded it. Shortly after they would have received this word, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake in 66 A.D., and was not re-built until almost 100 years later by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was a persecutor of Christians. Not only this church, but many other lives had been hanging in the balance when this prophetic warning from Christ was issued to them.
Christ is also warning the modern church, because many of us have become very much like the Laodiceans of Revelation. It is very tempting to compromise, or remain silent with the truth we know, in order to keep our comfort and wealth, to be accepted by the world and its views, and to avoid the trials that come with the truth of Jesus, and the Word of God. Again, as in the time of Laodicea, there are many lives in the balance, not just our own. We also have a vital End-Time calling and purpose. We also are called to bring the miraculous salvation and soon return of Christ into visibility for all around us. It is time to repent of our lukewarmness, and to become "hot" again, and to buy from Jesus that gold tried in the fire.
Our Father is a refiner's fire Fire.
"Have You Been Tried in the Fire?" by Macedonia Youth Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J6Ry0b_E6s
