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;”
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;”
John is speaking and writing to this representative of the church of the Laodiceans.
What’s interesting about this passage is that it says ‘Laodiceans’, not ‘Laodicea’.
If you look at the previous verses, notice it says Philadelphia, Sardis, Thyatira, Pergamus, Smyrna, Ephesus. All of these were city names but you’re going to notice that Laodiceans is not a city name, it’s a group of people.
Why is that? There are a few possibilities. One, you’ll notice that it’s more focused on people and that’s what Laodicea means. “Laos” means laity, common people. “Dicea” is referring to civil rights. Laodicea is 1900 up to the rapture.
Are we talking about today? Absolutely. We’re talking about the rights of the people, the homosexuals, the transgender, LGBT, those guys at CNN, NBC, MSNBC, FOX etc. Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about, rights, civil rights. The rights of the people, the African-American rights, Asian-American rights, Hispanic people rights, etc. Even the churches are the rights of the people. ‘The cushions aren’t soft enough’, ‘the music is boring, I want that electric guitar and those lights going off’, ‘I want that pretty looking Justin Bieber boy to sing and do the song leading for us’, ‘I want the preaching that makes me feel good’, ‘women has rights too, so we’re going to pastor a church’. That’s the problem, that’s why it’s Laodiceans because it’s focusing on people.
Here’s another guess why it says Laodiceans here is because there’s a possibility it’s not referring to us because we’re in the age of Laodicea but we’re not like the Laodiceans. This is encouraging. Didn’t you know that you can be a Philadelphian Christian in Laodicea? Christians have a self-defeating attitude where ‘the world is getting worse and worse so because of that our church is not going to get bigger, we’re not going to get more soul saved’, ‘No one’s coming to my church because no one’s listening’, ‘my channel got kicked out, a lot of people aren’t subscribed with me’. No, it’s because you’ve got the problem, not the people. You’re not being a Philadelphian Christian, that’s the problem. The world is going to get worse and worse but that doesn’t mean you have to be.
There are two factors here. One factor is that we do not believe in the self-defeating idea that we can never have revival in our church. No, we believe that our church can become better. We believe that Christian life can get better and better, God promised it will get better and better if you keep reading the Bible, if you keep praying, and if you stay away from sin. It’s a guarantee your spiritual life will improve and your fire will grow. We believe in revival. We believe things can get better and better, it depends on you.
But the second factor is that we also don’t believe in a worldwide revival. Why? Because it’s Laodicea. The Antichrist has to take over the world. If you think that we’re going to have a worldwide revival like the Great Awakenings back then, you’re on crack. That’s why we believe in an individual revival, a local revival. Maybe even go as far as a revival in the city but it won’t go nationwide or worldwide. There is no way that’s going to happen.
“These things saith the Amen,”
God’s title is Amen.
Notice that God’s name is Amen. So if you’re too shy to say ‘Amen’, then why are you shy to say the name of Jesus? That’s God’s name right here.
“the faithful and true witness,”
Correct, God will never lie to you. He is a true witness and He’s always faithful. He never lets you down.
“the beginning of the creation of God;”
He was always there. He has no beginning or end.
He’s known as the beginning of the creation of God. This is a favorite passage used by Jehovah Witnesses and a lot of people who do not believe Jesus is God, they think that Jesus Christ has a beginning, so He’s like a lesser god. Why? Cause He was a created being. In other words, Jesus Christ was a created being. His beginning started at God’s creation. That’s their idea.
No, that’s not what it means. The reason why He’s known as the beginning of the creation of God is that at the timeline of God’s creation, He is the beginning. It doesn’t mean that He was born/created once God did His 6 days of creation. That’s not what it means. It simply means that He always is. ‘I am what I am’ that no matter what time period you’re at, at the very beginning when God started to create things, He is always there.
Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
That’s the same speaker, Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:11 “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.“
Revelation 1:17 “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:“
What does it mean when Jesus repeatedly says that He is the first and the last? It simply means that God is A to Z, He is there from the beginning and the ending, He always is, He’s ‘I am that I am’. This is the same speaker who says ‘I am the beginning of the creation of God’. If you think that He started at God’s creation, that’s when He was born, then what are you going to do with all these verses in chapter 1? There is no doubt at chapter 1, it’s referring to the same idea, carrying the same thought at chapter 3 that I’m always there at the beginning.
If they’re still going to make a big deal about it, then ask them ‘When Jesus says right here at the beginning and the ending, does that mean that Jesus Christ has an end?’. They want to say that this is actually referring to He began at the creation of God. Then when He says that ‘I’m the ending’ does that mean Jesus has an end? No, it obviously means as a title, that no matter what alphabetical order you put Him in, He’s there. A to Z, first and last. He is everywhere. That’s obvious.