Chapter 3 gives us Christ’s word to the last three churches:
In verses 1-6, we have the message to Sardis. Sardis had been the capital city of the Greek Kingdom of Lydia prior to the Roman conquest. It was a great center for business and prosperity. It was a magnificent citadel, perched high above the area surrounding it. By design, it was practically impregnable to military assault. Yet, twice in its history, the city had been overtaken by stealth, because the leaders of the city presumed that the defenses were unconquerable (like the captain of the Titanic insisting the ship was unsinkable), but even more so because the guards/watchmen at the gates and towers of the city were overconfident and negligent, allowing the enemy to sneak in. Jesus condemns this same apathetic attitude in the church. Jesus commands them to wake up and finish the work He has started.
Verses 7-13 deals with the message to the church at Philadelphia. Of course, from our own American city of the same name, we know the name means “city of brotherly love.” The history of this particular city’s name stems from the legend of the devotion the founding King had for his own brother, when in the ancient world, the expectation was that royal siblings would be in competition.
The church at Philadelphia appears to be hanging on by a thread. The city was located at an important commercial crossroad between Asia Minor and the adjacent province of Asia. There was a large Jewish population in Sardis that was supported by an even larger Jewish population in the neighboring province. These were Jews who rejected the concept of Jesus being the Messiah and were actively persecuting the church because of it. There are no signs of the heresies that plagued Pergamum and Thyatira — but the hopelessness in the face of persecution seems to be overwhelming them. Jesus promises to protect those who “endure patiently.”
Finally, we have the message to the church at Laodicea (vv. 14-22). Laodecia is the furthest inland of the seven cities. While Ephesus was a larger city with more political influence and prestige within the Roman Empire, Laodecia had all the money. It was the wealthiest and most prosperous city in the region. It was widely known for its banking establishments, medical school and booming textile industry. But there was one major problem — the water supply was inadequate. Laodecia had to get most of its water from two nearby sources: Heiropolis was a city surrounded by hot springs, whose water was useful for medicinal purposes, and over the ridge of mountains on the other side of the city was Colossae (the location of the church Paul wrote to in his letter to the Colossians), which controlled the fresh cool waters that flowed from those mountains. Wealthy Laodecia was able to construct aqueducts that pumped water from both of these sources into the city. The result, of course is obvious (and still a problem to this day!): the water that was available to the Laodecians was tepid, tasted flat, and was often filled with harmful bacteria. “Lukewarm” is a perfect description.
The attitude and character of the church at Laodecia was exactly the same as the water. Like the prosperous city in which they lived, the church declared they were “rich” and needed nothing (verse 17). But just like the local water supply was an inadequate solution, the church was unable to supply the kind of warmth and healing required to assist the spiritually sick (like Heiropolis), or the cool refreshment to restore the spiritually weary (like Colossae). The result is a church that Jesus says he can’t use — “spit you out of my mouth” in v.16 literally means to vomit. The allusion here is the Laodecian church made Jesus sick to his stomach (which was probably the regular experience of consuming the water there).
The answer Jesus lays out is pretty radical. The remedy also directly aligns with the “worldly” strengths of the Laodecians. Their city was the richest in the province, verse 18 prescribes a costly refinement by fire which will produce authentic, spiritual wealth. The city prided itself on its massive textile industry, Jesus counsels them to put on white robes (an allusion to repentance) to cover their shame. Laodecia had one of the finest medical schools in the Empire, which purportedly produced an eye salve remedy that was famous worldwide. Of course, the church needed Christ’s “eye salve” to cure their spiritual blindness. God seems to always touch us in exactly the places where we need it most.
Jesus concludes with great hope and encouragement. Verses 19-20 say, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Verse 20 is often used to portray Jesus as knocking on the door of an unbeliever’s heart. But in context, he is knocking on OUR DOOR. The believing Christian’s door! The self-deluded, believing Christian’s door! A Christian who is, perhaps, so self-deluded that he or she is not really born-again. Or who has lost their first love. Or who has given in and compromised with the pagan world. Or who is hanging on by a thread in the face of persecution, frustration, or disappointment. This is a perfect tie-together of the message to all seven churches.
