“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.” The character of Christ given here is remarkable. We find a new, special revelation of Himself according to the circumstances of the church addressed. It is not the same traits of His character as those John had seen in the vision; a fresh revelation of Christ is made for the need of the church. When that which bears the name of the church of God is going to be spewed out, then a double measure and peculiar character of grace is needed to sustain the faithful ones in the narrow and often lonely path in which they will be called to walk.
The Lord is here going to judge the professing church which takes the place of the church of God, as the testimony for God in the world. If the church as a vessel of testimony for God is set aside by the Lord in disgust, then the Lord comes in Himself as the “Amen, the faithful and true witness,” not so much in the dignity of His Person, as shown in chapter 1, but as the One who is going to take the place of that which had so entirely failed as God’s witness on the earth.
The professing church is not yet fully ripened up into the final condition of Laodicea; if it were, there would be no use in warning it. God is holding the bridle and does not yet allow the evil to be so fully developed. It started in Ephesus, the moment the church departed from her first love, but we do not find it developed till the Laodicean state. Let us remember that it is the professing church that is thus spewed out, and not the church of the living God, the body and bride of Christ.
“the Amen”
The moment Laodicea is spewed out, God is done with the church as a testimony. Then Christ replaces it as the “faithful and true witness” of God. Christ is the Great Amen of all God’s promises; the church should have shown how all the promises of God were Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus, but it has failed to put its amen to God’s promises.
Amen means “firm verity and truth” — see Isaiah 7:99And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (Isaiah 7:9). “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established,” that is, “if you will not believe [or amen, for it is the same word], ye shall not be established [amened].” The meaning is, if you will not confirm My promises, you shall not be confirmed. Of course, there is not a thought of the possibility of God’s failing in His purposes in Christ, and therefore the church, the body of Christ, will be in glory with its Head, but if it is a question of testimony on the earth, then truly the church has not practically put its amen to the promises of God in Christ. The church was called to manifest the power of its heavenly calling on the earth, but it has not in its walk given the answer to that which God has affirmed. Therefore Christ immediately presents Himself as the Person who is going to seal up all the promises and prophecies, the One who puts the great amen to everything as the “faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” As is often said, “the corruption of the best thing is the worst of corruptions”; so there is nothing on the earth so diametrically opposed to God, as professing Christianity.
“the Beginning
of the Creation of God”
Christ comes in here as the blessed witness that God will yet set up creation according to His own will, Christ Himself being the chief and center of it all — see Proverbs 8. In this character, Christ replaces the church in the manifestation of the purposes and promises of God, which cannot fail. If the church be irrevocably gone, Christ as the witness remains, and that will be the stay of the faithful. Here it is that faith is sustained; here is solid ground that nothing can touch, the strength on which the soul can stay, for the stay of every soul is trusting in Him.
It is indeed most fearful to think of apostasy bearing a religious character as it does! How soon did the spirit of it come in! How very soon was there cause to say that “all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ”! May the Lord graciously open the eyes of His saints to see the real character of these last days! Though He has had long patience while He is gathering out souls for salvation, His judgment, though delayed, is not changed. The only remedy for the present evil is judgment.
Pretension to Spiritual Riches
From the very beginning we see the principles of corruption coming in. The tares were sown, and the mystery of iniquity was working. As a result, we find there are two points of special importance as characterizing this church of Laodicea — great pretension to spiritual riches in itself, and neither hot nor cold as regards Christ. It is not positive hatred to Christ, but it is not positive zeal for Christ. It is the church going on in worldliness and, at the same time, making great pretensions to spiritual riches, which is a sure sign of poverty. And why? Because those riches can only be found in Christ. When the church boasts of riches within itself, it neither puts its “amen” to the promises of God in Christ Jesus, nor is it the true and faithful witness for God, for the moment the church is what I am looking at and not Christ, I am looking to IT instead of to Him, however much I may pretend to honor Him.
In Philadelphia they had but a little strength, and the Lord could say that they had kept His Word and had not denied His name. While there was felt poverty in the church, Christ was delighting in them. But when there is the pretension to riches in itself, there is an expression of positive disgust — “I will spew thee out of My mouth.” The church of Laodicea, having the thought of fullness and riches within herself, was perfectly ignorant of her state before God. Therefore, says the Lord, “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see” (Rev. 3:1818I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (Revelation 3:18)).
The church was not looking to the Lord for these and therefore was wanting in every one of them. Gold is divine righteousness — that which characterizes the standing and foundation of the saints. “The white raiment” is the works of the saints, which are consequent upon the possession of divine righteousness. Those at Laodicea were lacking even the righteousness of saints, for, being without divine righteousness, they could have no practical, spiritual righteousness, no saintly works, for the “fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (Rev. 19:88And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:8) JND).
They were also wanting in “eye salve,” for they were blind as to the things of God and without spiritual discernment in anything. Thus, having neither divine righteousness nor the consequent fruits of the Spirit, and still remaining in the blindness of nature, Laodicea lacked everything.
The Lord Outside
There was abundance of pretension, but the Lord does not yet give up all dealing with them. Here in Laodicea the Lord takes an outside character, for when the nominal church has got practically into a Jewish position, then the Lord takes His stand outside and calls to individual souls that are within: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear My voice.” The Lord desires to gain attention; He wants to be admitted. He warns the church of positive judgment, but until that judgment is executed, He goes on necessarily in the exercise of His own blessed grace. But its objects are individual, for the church is given up. “If any man . . . open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me”; he will have his portion at My table.
The Promise
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me [on] My throne.” This is apparently a great promise, but to me it seems the very least, as it is merely a place in the heavenly glory. They are told of no special association with Christ, such as we find in the promise to Pergamos, or even to the faithful in Sardis or in Thyatira, nor is any thought of individual nearness, exclusively the portion of the bride, revealed as a motive. Reigning with Christ is merely the public display of reward and glory, which is a very different thing from the secret intimacy of the “hidden manna” and the “white stone.” The knock was heard and through grace obeyed, and they go up to heavenly glory. They have overcome, and, therefore, surely they must have their reward, “to sit with Me on My throne.” But there is not the same intimacy, there is not the special delight, there is not the Philadelphian joy of Christ having the church for the sake of herself, and the church having Christ for the sake of Himself. Still they get their place in the glory.
The Professing Church
Spewed Out
The solemn testimony of the Lord is that the professing church is to be spewed out of His mouth, and this ought to come home with more sorrow in our hearts than the judgment of the world, having a much more terrible character to the heart than the judgment of Antichrist himself. It is something that disgusts Christ —that is nauseous to Him — from its having had a kind of outward connection with Himself. The professing church in the day in which we live, commonly called Christendom, bears the name of Christ, but in works denies Him. The professing church may now be the pride and boast of man, but at the end it will as such be spewed out of Christ’s mouth. It has every pretension, but nothing that gives Christ His value, but attributes all the value to itself, accrediting itself with it.
May the Lord keep us in the Philadelphian condition — it may be with but very little strength — yet keeping the word of His patience and in the sensible enjoyment of perfect association with Himself, who has set before us an open door and will keep it open until He comes and takes us to Himself.
J. N. Darby, selected