A Cocktail of Blessing and Judgment Part 2: Revisiting Laodicea

This side of eternity there are no absolute blessings or judgments. We are far from perfect and this life continues to be plagued by the realities of sin, suffering, and evil. God’s blessings and judgments fall both on believers in the church and unbelievers in the world but with different purposes. The Lord, who is ruling all things for the good of those “who love Him and are called according to His purpose” shakes up a perfect cocktail of encouragements and rebukes, designed to provoke unbelievers in to seeking Him and train Christians in preparation for heaven. We do not derive maximum benefit from the Lord’s rebukes and judgments by denying their reality with a gospel of “‘Peace! Peace!’ - when there is no peace”. Rather we grow spiritually when we “humble ourselves under the Lord’s mighty hand”, receiving the gracious blows of Providence as coming from the hand of a loving Father and praying that the Holy Spirit would use them to make us more like Jesus.

Read Part 1 here.

Let’s return to Laodicea and consider Christ’s letter to the Church keeping in mind this biblical teaching on the way Christ disciplines His people. In this blog I want to look at the Person who is speaking in the letters, focussing primarily on Revelation 1. In the next blog I hope to look at the cocktail of discipline He mixes for the church at Laodicea.

Who is this Person who disciplines the Church?

He is King of the Church. He is one who has power to speak authoritatively in relation to the Church. John was “in the Spirit” (1:10). The Holy Spirit was a personal reality in John’s life of faith and worship. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was given to the church as Christ’s Executive Agent in the ongoing work of salvation. The work of the Holy Spirit on earth is to bring to pass in time and space the sovereign will of King Jesus who ascended to the throne of heaven and is ruling and over-ruling all things for the good of His Church. The description in verses 12-16 drips will regal splendour and majesty. Jesus is a glorious King whose rule is established as permanent and legitimate beyond all question.

John was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” (1:10). It was the first day of the week when Christ rose from the grave in victory over sin, evil, hell, and death. It was the first day of the week when Christ met most frequently with His disciples between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Christians have, ever since, worshipped on the first day of the week as opposed to the Old Testament Jewish Sabbath. We do this in celebration of the fact that Jesus is alive, and anticipation of Him meeting with us, in the Holy Spirit. We also do it recognising that it is Jesus’ sole prerogative to order the affairs of His Church, the ‘dates in the diary’, and official ‘to do list’. The Holy Spirit’s ‘seal of approval’ on John’s Sunday worship is, implicitly, the confirmation of the Lord Jesus Christ’s authoritative command to worship in this way.

He is the Prophet of the Church. John, who was imprisoned and suffering because of his faithful commitment to the “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9) heard a voice which, in one sense, must have been very familiar. It was the voice of the Lord. His is a voice that only ever has, and only ever will, speak with absolute truthfulness. Jesus is unchangeably “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). He is the perfect outshining of the God who is light; there is no hidden deception here. He only ever spoke the words of God the Father and it is impossible for God to lie.

In another sense this voice must have sounded strange to John. It is the same voice which spoke with gentle authority to the sick, the sinful, the sea, and the spiritually oppressed but now it is “a loud voice like a trumpet” (1:10). This is the voice of Jesus glorified. God’s pre-eminent Prophet has taken the gloves off and means business. This is the voice of a Divine Herald. it is a Royal Proclamation. The letters which John scribes are not from the apocryphal book of ‘First and Second Opinions’. They are heaven’s official statements. What He says, goes. No argument. No contradiction.

In chapter 1 verse 16, as in other parts of Scripture, the words which Christ speaks are likened to “a sharp two-edged sword” (this includes the Words of Scripture). Jesus’ word makes precise cuts and incisions to divide one thing from another. This is because it is, down to the finest detail, absolute and accurate truth. The open statement of this word must separate what is true from what is false, that which ‘lines up’ with the reality of God from that which stands opposed to Him. There are many voices competing for our attention as Christians. The only voice that really matters is Jesus’ voice. The only assessment that really matters is Jesus’ assessment. There are many demands for us to conform but the only conformity that matters is conformity to the Word of God.

He is present among the Churches. In the image which John saw, the voice comes from one standing in the midst of seven churches, which are pictured as seven ‘lamp-stands’. The lamp-stands are the object of Christ’s deliberate and devoted attention. They are golden lamp-stands: objects of beauty and value which are set aside for a sacred purpose. As will become even more apparent in the letters, He has perfect first-hand knowledge of the specific circumstances of Churches regardless of where they are (1:11).

The presence of Christ in the Church is a Christians fundamental source of encouragement and strength over against the difficulties presented by the world. But it also underlies the sense of reverence or fear which we ought to feel towards God. He searches the hearts and not just the outward appearance. He brings sin into the light and destroys the hidden works of evil. He does not expect perfection of us but He does demand honesty so that we “...walk in the light as He is in the light... we confess our sins...” (1 John 1:7,9). In this way we experience regular renewal and cleansing from sin. The counterpart to this is a life of continuous repentance:

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness... when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:11-14).

His eyes, says Revelation 1:14 “are like a flame of fire”. Nothing can escape His penetrating and illuminating vision. He is too pure to look upon sin. Everything contrary to Him must be consumed by this holy fire. After an introductory statement, each of the letters in Revelation 2-3 begins with the words “I know”.

He sustains the Churches. In a unique way Christ is “the light of the world”. By way of special delegation and granted privilege, Christians are also little “lights” in the world. Here in Revelation 1-3, distinct congregations meeting in specific geographical locations are “lamp-stands” - lights in the respective locations where they gather. The light of each lamp-stand is associated with one of seven ‘stars’ which Christ holds in His hand. These are, literally, the ‘messengers’ of each church. This need not have reference to angelic beings, although the original Greek uses the same word for all kinds of messengers, both humans and spirits. The most likely reference is too the ‘minister’ of each congregation, the lead elder who carries the main responsibility for the (small ‘p’) prophetic preaching ministry. The “stars” which light each lamp-stand are in Christ’s hand; they are His gifts to send and recall, to supply and withhold as he sees fit. The worst sanction which can be imposed on an unrepentant church - and a sure sign of judgment on the world around them - is the removal of the lamp-stand (2:5). It is a historical fact that, after a strong start, some of these seven Churches ceased to exist and the localities were over-run by other religions. Implicitly, they did not heed the warnings but continued to resist the claims of Christ’s Lordship and He withdrew the light. What hope is there for a people living in a locality when the King and Judge of the universe recalls His ambassadors because the offered terms of peace were being constantly rejected and ignored?! A Church without the manifest light of Christ is a very sad tale.

He is the High Priest and Sacrificial Offering of the Church. John was clearly terrified by this vision but Jesus’ first words directly to him were “Fear not” (1:17). Whilst Christ’s presence within the Church is a cause of reverential fear, for the Christian it is not a cause of abject terror. Becoming a Christian does not alter the fact that we are entirely dependent on this infinitely glorious God as Creator, Sustainer, King, and Saviour. It’s does however remove the fear of final judgment - the fear of execution of those on death row. Jesus has satisfied the demands of God’s law on our behalf. There remains some sort of ‘assessment’ of our Christian lives at ‘the Judgment Seat of Christ” and this should not be downplayed. Nevertheless, we are assured by the living and certain Word of God that there is and will be no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The One who rules, speaks authoritatively, and exposes sin with the holy light of His presence is also the One who, for loves sake, gave Himself up to die as a sacrificial offering, to pay the debt of sin and satisfy God’s righteous anger.

“I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died and behold I am forever more, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (1:17-18).

The next verse continues:

“Therefore write the things that you have seen...” (1:19)

Therefore. In other words, these letters should be written to and read by the Churches because they come from the One who died to bring the Church into existence, One who is set on the unshakeable goal of advancing the cause of life and light, and has already paid the ultimate price in order to defeat the cause of death and darkness. We are to be assured that even His strongest rebukes are designed and essential to the advance of the Kingdom rule of God on earth, in the Church, and in our lives. If we will hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches we will find that Jesus’ words are the ‘keys’ which lock the gates of Death and Hades and open the way to eternal life.