The Ordinary Laodicean

We read in Jeremiah 6:16: "This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

Jesus' message to the Laodicean church is contained in nine verses of the third chapter of Revelation. If desired, they can be quickly memorized and briefly retold.

But if we look at the essence of this message and what the Faithful Witness offers us, it is easy to understand the following: If one does not accept Christ's counsel, all subsequent statements will not be for you.

Let's examine this message through the example of an ordinary Laodicean who is a member of God's church, law-abiding, believes in God, and reads the Bible. The Faithful Witness, meeting him on the pages of Revelation, declares that he is lukewarm and causes the Lord to feel nauseated. I listen to such an assessment and agree. What can I do, since this is proclaimed by the One who never makes mistakes! My recognition and agreement with Christ is a good beginning for repentance. I lower my eyes and head and say, "Amen." After this, I invite Jesus into my life and ask Him to put things in order.

The Lord enters one of the hidden rooms of my soul and begins to tell me how dirty it is, how much garbage there is, and how unpleasant it smells. I again agree with Him and declare, "Lord, You know that I love You and cannot imagine my life without You." And He says to me in response, "I know all your deeds, that you love Me, therefore I have come to you to put order in your house and remove what is not pleasing to Me."

I reply, "My dear Savior, I am so grateful for Your rebukes, but this dirt does not prevent me from loving You, and I do not consider cleaning my rooms important, nor does the smell bother me. I believe the main thing I have is love for You, and I am not indifferent to my neighbors either. But if You do not like my mess, then remove it Yourself. I do not mind, but I am not going to do anything. You can do this, I know, and will do it better than me."

Jesus listened to my sincere confession and, smiling, continued, "Friend, I always cooperate with people and perform that part of the work that people cannot do if they are capable. I allow many natural processes to purposefully participate in solving many of your tasks, but there are things that no one will do for you. You must make your bed, brush your teeth, dress appropriately, and do other things yourself. Although you can hire people for this and pay them for such services, regarding Heaven, you cannot find a replacement for what you must do yourself."

I listen and respond, "Lord, but I believe in You, isn't this enough? Can You not pay attention to my garbage and disorder in the house? After all, You Yourself said that You will not cast out the one who comes to You! And I have come to You to always be Yours. What does not suit You?"

Jesus continued, "I accept you as you are, but My plans have a goal — not to leave you this way forever, but to cleanse, wash, clothe, enrich, and teach. Are you not uncomfortable living in the dirt from which I want to extract you? You do not even know how miserable you are in this state, and how disgusting you smell. In such a naked and dirty state, you will not be admitted to Heaven. Nothing unclean will enter there."

I thought and asked, "Lord, do You not like how I sing psalms, with what blessing I come to worship, how I prepare for the Sabbath? Do You not pay attention to this but only see the dirt in my life? If I start evaluating others like this, I will become a critic and lose the right to Eternity!"

Jesus smiled and continued, "The requirements for first-grade students are not as high as those we recruit for the 144,000. This will be a special people, rich in heavenly gold, dressed in white garments, and anointed to serve neighbors. They not only listen to My counsel but follow it. They are not better than you, but are ready to remove everything from their lives and change what I point out to them. Although most of their dirt is dear to them, they find the strength to get rid of it forever. And where they cannot handle it themselves, I come to help and assist them."

I would not calm down: "Lord, do You not like that I come to You every morning and read and listen to Your revelations? Is all this in vain? So what if I do this while sitting up to my ears in dirt, but I do everything from a pure heart. Well, remove this dirt if it bothers You so much!"

Jesus replied, "My dear friend! I can remove this dirt only by cooperating with you, helping you. I really do not want to lose you. What I ask you to remove from your soul's house are not soulless things, but your essence, your habits, your tastes, your carnal nature, which is under your control. And you are free to do with this as you please. I can only rebuke you, but you must act."

I thought again: "My Lord, I tried to remove this by my own strength, but it returns again in greater quantity and influence. I prayed for You to remove it, but it remains. I do not know what to do? How else can I remove it?"

The Savior joyfully declared, "I give you a way out of this dirt through unquestioning adherence to My counsel and the proposal to enter into trading relationships with Me. I know the intentions for you are for good, not for evil, and I give you a future and hope. Will you accept this as a narrow path and want to continue walking on it?"

"Lord, do not speak in riddles. Tell me what I should do, and I will do it."

Jesus answered, "Understanding and accepting the symbols of this message requires all your attention and desire. I will reveal the essence and sell the proposed goods only to those who want to enter into this trade with Me and not depart from Me. In these goods, there is something that will help you clean your house and become a victor in every deed and every thought."

"Lord, it's all so complicated! Can't You write this on a dictaphone, and I would listen to it every day?" He sadly shook His head: "No, this is given only to the thirsty."

I said, "I am so thankful to You, Lord. Such a good rebuke I received today!"

When we finished our conversation, I ran to my phone to check messages from friends and immersed myself in thoughts about how to best respond to them. My wife asked me, "Who were you talking to in your room?" I answered that I was talking to Jesus. "And what did you talk about?" I paused, trying to remember, but there were so many other things to focus on that I decided to answer briefly: "I don't remember. It was very interesting and somehow complicated. And I postponed it for later." My wife persisted: "Well, remember, maybe it's something important!" "Leave me alone!" I said and plunged into searching for something interesting about what is happening in the world, understanding that soon everything will end. I wouldn't want to miss something important. After all, the Lord will definitely reveal to us what will help us prepare and boldly meet the enemy. I should probably compose a sermon about this and inspire friends to do good deeds.

Reflection Questions for this Chapter

1. Please read Revelation 3:14-22; James 1:8,22-25; Jeremiah 7:13-17; Hosea 4:6; Psalms 93:8-13; Romans 2:11-13; Revelation 7:13-14; 14:1; John 10:27-30; Isaiah 44:3 in light of this chapter.

2. What other Bible verses came to your mind?

3. What was this lesson about?

4. What did you understand from this chapter?

5. How important is the message to Laodicea in our time?

6. Do you understand the meaning of the symbols from Revelation 3:18?

7. How often do you hear sermons or instructions about the importance of the Laodicean message?

8. Do you understand that according to verse 22, the key to the last-time victory is embedded in the Message to Laodicea?

9. Why does Jesus speak in symbolic language in this message?

10. Will the Lord reveal the meaning of the symbols from the Message to Laodicea to those who will thirst and try to understand their meaning?

11. Why are such important truths so modestly presented to the Christian world?

12. Has this message come alive in your consciousness?

13. Should the importance of the Faithful Witness's Message be repeated to people who did not understand anything the first time?

14. Do you think this message will play an important role in the events of the last time?

15. Is it possible to come out of a lukewarm state without following the counsel of the Faithful Witness?