NOTES ON THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION: LESSONS FOR AMERICA’S SPIRITUAL CRISIS. – PART VII: LAODICIA

PART I: Ephesus – The Loveless Church

PART II: Smyrna – The Persecuted Church

PART III: Pergamos – The Compromising Church

PART IV: Thyatira – The Corrupt Church

PART V: Sardis – The Dead Church

PART VI: Philadelphia – The Faithful Church

PART VII: LAODICEA – THE LUKEWARM CHURCH

EPILOGUE: America’s Two Churches

SCRIPTURE. “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.

Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” – REVELATION 3:14-22, NKJV

Selah.

QUOTATIONS

KANT. “Laziness and Cowardice are the reasons why so great a portion of mankind, after nature has long since discharged them from external direction (‘Naturaliter Maiorennes’), nevertheless remains under lifelong tutelage, and why it is so easy for others to set themselves up as their Guardians.” – IMMANUEL KANT, ‘An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment,’ 1784; edited

WIESEL. “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s ‘Indifference.’ The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s Indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s Indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s Indifference.” – ELIE WIESEL, ‘Nobel Peace Prize Address,’ Oslo, December 10, 1986; edited

DAWKINS. “The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation … The Universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but ‘Pitiless Indifference.’” – RICHARD DAWKINS, ‘River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life,’ 1996; edited

INDIFFERENCE. “Equipoise or neutrality of mind between different persons or things; a state in which the mind is not inclined to one side more than the other; as when we see a contest of parties with Indifference; Unconcernedness.” – NOAH WEBSTER, ‘American Dictionary of the English Language,’ 1828; edited

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

As I was beginning to matriculate as a relatively new believer, I was absorbing a mountain of Biblically grounded information through the many books I was reading, and from being surrounded by some brilliant Christian scholars at Regent University in the 1980s and 90s. All had advanced degrees in such key fields as:

Law. Government. Economics. Science. History. Media. Education. The Arts.

DK’S DISCIPLESHIP. Impacting me like a second doctorate degree, I was like a kid in an intellectual candy store, as these men poured into me their many years of understanding, suggesting what great works to read as part of my Renewing of the Mind.

I recall one particular challenge from Dr. Gary Amos, author of ‘Defending the Declaration’ (1996), professor of law and government, who urged me to take my Sabbatical and read the various Founding Ideas and Charters that shaped Western Political Theory since the Magna Carta of 1215.

Which I did, studying original texts of such building blocks as:

Montesquieu, Sidney, Blackstone, Locke, Madison, Adams, Toqueville, along with such documents as the First Virginia Charter of 1606, the Mayflower Compact of 1620, and all founding charters of the 13 Colonies.

I would later continue to be shaped by the thinking of more contemporary figures such as C.S. Lewis, Charles Colson, Ravi Zacharias, Ronald Nash, Gene Edward Veith, Jr., Paul Johnson, Gertrude Himmelfarb, Samuel P. Huntington, Neil Postman, David Noebel, James Sire, Richard Weaver, Carl F. H. Henry, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Robert Bork, and others.

THE RENEWAL. All of this is a boast on The Holy Spirit who so led me to these works and men, as preparation for today, beloved. The Apostle Paul’s magnificent Letter to the Romans strikes this point like an anvil for those of us who would dare to teach what scholars would come to label: ‘The Christian Worldview.’

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” – ROMANS 12:1-2, AMP

THE GREAT EVANGELICAL DISASTER. But the one writer, theologian and philosopher that rocked my intellectual world more than any others was DR. FRANCIS SCHAEFFER. He was, for better and worse, uniquely formative of my Biblical Framework for an understanding of Western History and Christian Thought more than any other.

And the one, massive Pillar that he drove home to me more than any other Idea, was this: ‘God is not Neutral! Ever!’

In his last work, completed as he lay dying of cancer in 1984, he laid out in the most forceful of terms ‘The Great Evangelical Disaster’ that he saw taking place all around him in the American Church over thirty years ago.

“Here is the Great Evangelical Disaster – the Failure of the Evangelical world to stand for Truth as Truth. There is only one word for this – namely ‘Accommodation:’ the Evangelical Church has accommodated to the World Spirit of the Age. First, there has been Accommodation on Scripture, so that many who call themselves Evangelicals hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer affirm the Truth of all the Bible teaches – Truth not only in religious matters but in the areas of science and history and morality. As part of this, many Evangelicals are now accepting the Higher Critical Methods in the study of the Bible. Remember, it was these same Methods which destroyed the authority of the Bible for the Protestant Church in Germany in the last century, and which have destroyed the Bible for the Liberal in our own country from the beginning of this century. And second, there has been Accommodation on the Issues, with no clear stand being taken even on matters of life and death.”

With that as Early Rebuke of the Modern American Church, we now launch into a detailed study of possibly the Worst Offender of the Schaeffer Doctrine: ‘The Church at Laodicia.’

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

I will conduct our Historical Review of Laodicea based on the excellent, recent work of MEGAN SAUTER, writing for the respected journal, ‘Biblical Archeology,’ on May 22, 2021; edited.

So let’s to it then.

ORIGINS. “The Church of Laodicea is the last of Seven Churches addressed in Revelation. This harsh pronouncement [of ‘Lukewarmness’] suggests that the Christians at Laodicea—located in modern Turkey—WAVERED in their commitments to the Christian Faith. The historical and archaeological context of this situation is worth investigating …

We are not told who founded the Church of Laodicea in the Bible, yet from textual evidence in the New Testament, we can infer that EPAPHRAS, one the apostle Paul’s disciples, likely planted it. We know that Epaphras founded the Church at Colossae (Colossians 1:6–7), one of Laodicea’s close neighbors. Therefore, it seems plausible that he would also be responsible for planting the Church at Laodicea.

Laodicea was ‘a wealthy City’ during the Roman Period. Not only was Laodicea located on major trade routes that connected it to important cities like Ephesus, Smyrna and Sardis, but also it was a Center of textile production and banking. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Church of Laodicea is noted as being ‘wealthy’ in the Bible (see Revelation 3:17).

The Book of Revelation was penned during the reign of Roman Emperor DOMITIAN (81–96 AD). Domitian was notorious for being the first Roman emperor who declared himself a god while still alive. This affronted Christians, Jews and the Roman Senate alike. Other emperors were deified only after their death.

Domitian persecuted those who would not participate in the Imperial Cult (the worship of emperors and dynastic families). Although Jews were exempt from participating, Christians were not. [DR. MARK] FAIRCHILD explains, ‘As part of the Pax Romana, the staunchly monotheistic Jews in the cities of the Mediterranean world were exempt from the requirements of emperor worship. As long as Christianity was considered a sect within Judaism, the Christians in these cities were likewise exempt from emperor worship.’

At first, the Christian Church was composed almost entirely of Jews. However, as more Gentiles (non-Jews) converted to Christianity, the percentage of Jewish people in the Christian Church decreased, and, therefore, Christians’ special status as Jewish monotheists, which permitted them to refrain from emperor worship, was removed.”

DK’S TAKE. What is of such terrible importance and relevance in this superb Review to our current condition in the American Church, is the ease with which this wealthy congregation ‘collapsed’ under the weight of threatened persecution. As I have often said it, derisively:

They wanted to ‘Keep their stuff!’

 And thereby, their lives and lifestyles. Neither lose sight of the other parallel that today’s American Church has its own ‘Emperor,’ whose nakedness they apparently cannot or will not see. Selah.

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.

Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” – REVELATION 3:14-22, NKJV

So we get straight to the KEY TERMS that begin to get us down into the very heart of this ‘Church of Treachery,’ as I prefer to call it, defined by NOAH WEBSTER (1828) as:

TREACHERY. “Violation of allegiance or of faith and confidence. The man who betrays his country in any manner, violates his allegiance, and is guilty of Treachery. This is Treason. The man who violates his faith pledged to his friend, or betrays a trust in which a promise of fidelity is implied, is guilty of Treachery The disclosure of a secret committed to one in confidence, is Treachery This is perfidy.” – WEBSTER, 1828; edited

DEFINTIONS. With this clearly in mind as Moral Context, we now take the Deep Dive into the Foundations of this passage and Church.

• LUKEWARM. The central defining characteristic of this body of Christian believers is taken from the Greek, ‘Chliaros’ [χλιαρός]: “Warm, tepid; of persons: lukewarm; to liquify or melt [under pressure]; metaphorically, of the condition of a soul ‘wretchedly fluctuating’ between a torpor and a fervor of love; Not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent; as lukewarm obedience [as with ‘the sunshine patriots’ of Thomas Paine].

• WRETCHED. What follows is Christ’s View of their ‘Spiritual Condition.’ From the Greek, ‘Talaipóros’ [ταλαίπωρος]: “Distressed, afflicted, miserable;  derived from talaō, ‘to bear, undergo’ and pōros, ‘a callous’ – properly, wretched (beaten-down) from continued strain, leaving a person literally full of callouses (deep misery) – describing a person with severe side-effects from great, ongoing strain (significant hardships); suffering enduring trial;  sunk into deep affliction or distress, either from want, anxiety or grief; calamitous, worthless, paltry; espicable; hatefully vile and contemptible; i.e., deplorable.”

• MISERABLE. From the term, ‘Eleeinos’ [ἐλεεινός]: “Pitiable, wretched; in great need of mercy (because desperate); full of misery; very unhappy from grief, pain, calamity, poverty, apprehension of evil, or other cause. It however expresses somewhat less than wretched; very poor or barren; low or despicable.”

• POOR. From the Greek word, ‘Ptóchos’ [πτωχός]: “Descriptive of one who crouches and cowers, hence) beggarly; poor, destitute, spiritually poor, either in a good sense (humble devout persons) or bad; completely lacking resources (earthly wealth) – i.e. helpless as a beggar; relates to ‘the pauper rather than the mere peasant, the extreme opposite of the rich;’ one who in his abjectness needs lifting; fallen from a former, better estate; has nothing at all.”

• BLIND. This term is, in the Greek, ‘Tuphlos’ [τυφλός]: “Sightless, either physically or mentally; derives from, ‘to raise a smoke; hence, properly, ‘darkened by smoke;’ opaque; destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect, or by deprivation; not having sight; not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable to understand or judge; ignorant; as authors are blind to their own defects.”

• NAKED. Finally, the defining Judgment by the Lord Jesus is found in the term, ‘Gumnos’ [γυμνός]: “Poorly clothed; rarely: stark-naked; generally: wearing only the under-garment; bare, open, manifest; mere; unclad; not suitably dressed for an occasion; stripped of the body, without a body; uncovered, laid bare [imp., in public]; naked of spiritual clothing, the imputed righteousness of true faith; unarmed; defenseless; open; exposed; having no means of defense or protection against an enemy’s attack, or against other injury.”

DK’S TAKE. As we begin to apply these ideas to the American Church – which is the point of this entire series – we must consider to what extent we are in any ways ‘similar’ to the Laodiceans. Our answer shall prove decisive on what we may expect in the days just ahead, for both Church and State.

1. APPLICATION

THE KEY QUESTION. Last week I posed a Central Question that today’s Church must address in order to move off the Foundation of Quicksand she has constructed for herself. To put it straight out:

‘WHO is Jesus Christ’ to the American Church today, beloved?

The Messiah Himself posed this electrifying Question to his disciples 2,000 years ago, that now visits our current Spiritual Crisis like a thunderclap.

“Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they answered, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do YOU say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.’”

Then Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” – MATTHEW 16:13-17, AMP

SILENT BLASPHEMY & SOFT MAGIC. I have quoted LEWIS B. CARROL before, but this time in Spanish, to shamelessly hang out a Teaser before I get into the meat of my final conclusions.

• THE ADAGE. “Lo he dicho tres veces: Lo que les digo tres veces es verdad”. –  “The Hunting of the Snark,” 1874; edited

• THE TRANSLATION. “I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.” Meaning: What I have told you over and over and over again you can count on as being Reliable.

• THE SCRIPTURE. “This is the third time that I am visiting you. Every fact shall be sustained and confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 13:1, Amplified

• THE POINT. Paul the Apostle was visiting the troublesome Corinthian Church for a third time to once more Reprove them for allowing False Doctrines and the Illicit Practices that follow. To be blunt: He was frustrated with them, since they had either not heard him the first two times, or vastly worse – they had heard Him, but decided to ‘ignore’ him. And, gravely, the One who sent Paul to them.

• THE LESSON. ‘Lukewarmness leads to Deafness and Disobedience.’ The terrifying reality here is that Today’s Church cannot answer Christ’s Question. I argue that they have either forgotten who He is, or, they have dared to seditiously ‘Redefine Him’ in their own image.

Or, God help them, in the image of Donald John Trump. Such crass Idolatry would qualify at every level as ‘Soft Magic,’ or the attribution of Divine Ability to a rank criminal. This last line, is the most horrendous idea that I may have ever write as a Christian.

NOTE. With that in mind, it seems fitting that Christ’s harshest criticisms were for The Laodiceans. Nearly brutal. So much so that He threatened this.  

• THE SIN. “So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust].” – REVELATION 3:16, AMP

• THE COMMENTARY. “‘So then because thou art lukewarm’ … I will spue thee out of My mouth – Referring, perhaps, to the well-known fact that tepid water tends to produce sickness at the stomach, and an inclination to vomit. The image is intensely strong, and denotes deep disgust and loathing at ‘the Indifference’ which prevailed in the Church at Laodicea. The idea is, that they would be ‘utterly rejected and cast off as a Church’ – a Threatening of which there has been an abundant fulfillment in subsequent times. It may be remarked, also, that what was Threatened to that Church may be expected to occur to ‘all churches,’ if they are in the same condition; and that all professing Christians, and Christian Churches, that are Lukewarm, have special reason to dread ‘the Indignation of the Saviour.’” – ALBERT BARNES, ‘Notes on the Old and New Testaments,’ 1884; edited

Personal Note. Beloved, if you wonder why I am so furious in recent days, it is found precisely here, if I am hearing the King at all. HE is furious with what I shall heretofore label, ‘The American Church of Laodicea,’ and therefore I can hardly contain my own, admittedly imperfect but ever so sincere, similar anger at the Church’s Betrayal of The Christ.

THE AMERICAN LAODICEANS. I quote now from a hard-hitting piece by Christian writer, DAVID LEACH, with whom I collaborated until 2020, when he turned Anti-Vax and we parted ways. Still, this was good journalism when he published it in his online journal, ‘The Strident Conservative,’ on May 16, 2019, entitled, to my present point:

“Church of Laodicea Endorses Trump for President in 2020.”

What follows is some of the boldest political and spiritual Truth I have ever read concerning our present condition. And yes, I love Bold, and I am fully convinced, so does our Sovereign.

“With the 2020 campaign season about to heat up, the Fellowship of the Pharisees and so-called Evangelicals are desperate to find an excuse to support Donald Trump after his unethical and immoral behavior exposed them as the charlatans they are.

‘Mulligans’ aside, one of the most egregious displays of Moral Relativism by today’s Evangelical is how they have tried to squeeze Trump’s immorality into a ‘Christian’ mold and how frauds like ROBERT JEFFRESS judged ‘Never Trump Evangelicals’ — apparently, judging Trump is bad, but judging people who don’t support him is OK — calling them ‘spineless morons’ …

When Evangelicals compromise their values for Mammon under the mistaken belief that money covers a multitude of sins, they have officially turned Washington into The City of Laodicea and the Church of Jesus Christ into the Laodicean Church. In the Book of Revelation 3:15-17, we see why this is the case (‘The Message’):

‘I know you inside and out, and find little to My liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, “I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,” oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.’

Lukewarm Evangelicals are dangerously and eternally wrong to think money and a healthy economy are all we need to consider when voting in 2020, because America needs more than wealth to be great again.

America needs Revival and a ‘Return to moral character,’ beginning with Evangelicals themselves and reaching to the Leaders that they vote for.”

DK’S TAKE. Leach is correct, of course, when he proposes that any ‘Revival’ must begin with “Evangelicals themselves.” To his credit, he saw The Church transforming into Laodicea before many of the rest of us did. Hats off, therefore, to Mr. Leach on this issue at least.

• LAST THOUGHTS

One of our very own in this fellowship, Christian writer SUSAN (WRIGHT) BAGWELL also addressed what she calls, “The Silence of the Lambs,” in a piece she wrote for ‘Patheos’ titled, “The Silence of the American Church is Deafening,” published that same year, on August 5, 2019.

Bravely warning against the rise of White Christian Nationalism, she opened with another Question on all our hearts today: “Where are the strong Christian voices, standing on what is Biblically right, rather than politically expedient?”

LUKEWARMNESS & COWARDICE. Indeed, beloved: Where are they? I submit, holding forth The Cudgel given me once again, they are ‘In Hiding!’ Not from the threats of the Neo-Fascist infection metastasizing all around, but from the Godhead! As if such a thing could be done.

• PRECEDENT. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.’” – GENESIS 3:8, Amplified

• COWARDICE. “A person who wants of the courage to meet danger; a poltroon; a timid or pusillanimous man; In heraldry, a term given to a lion borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs; a coward does not always escape with disgrace, but sometimes loses his life.” – NOAH WEBSTER, 1828; edited

• SCRIPTURE. “He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. BUT AS FOR THE COWARDS and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – REVELATION 21:7-8, Amplified; emphasis my own

• COMMENTARY. “‘But the fearful’ – Not the timorous sheep and lambs of Christ, the dear children of God, who are sometimes of a fearful heart, on account of sin, temptation, and unbelief; but such who are of ‘cowardly spirits,’ and are not valiant for the Truth, but who, through fear of men, either make no profession of Christ and his Gospel, or having made it, drop it, lest they should be exposed to tribulation and persecution; these are they that are ‘afraid of the Beast,’ and live in servile bondage to him.” – JOHN GILL, ‘An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 1746-1763; edited

• INDICTMENT. “Do you really speak what is right when silent? Do you judge fairly the children of humankind? No, in your heart you plan injustices; in the land you weigh out the violence of your hands.” – PSALM 58:1-2, Lexham English Bible

CODA. My growing, gravest of concerns, is that The American Church is ‘evolving’ even as I write these worlds. Or perhaps I should say, ‘Devolving’ into something hideous, unspeakable, yet prophetic. Something so dark and malevolent, that only the Prophets dared to speak of it. I shall take this up in the Final Installment of this series.

But to close, I believe The Messiah would leave us with these Words, set on fire by His Spirit for us all to deeply ponder for the days ahead.

“Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it [heeding them and taking them to heart]; for the time [of fulfillment] is near …

I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.” – JOHN THE APOSTLE, REVELATION 1:3, 22:18-19, AMP

These are sayings of the soon coming King: Yeshua ben David, Creator, Redeemer, and Savior of the Cosmos, the Holy One of Israel, the Alpha and the Omega, the Chief Cornerstone, the Dayspring, Bright and Morning Star, the I Am at Sinai, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, the High Priest, only Begotten Son of the Living God, the Bread of Life, Immanuel, God with us now and forever and ever and forever. Amen.

Ever your servant, DK

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