The Danger of the Laodicean Age

• Paris Ragan
• Christian Living
• 0 comments
• November 17, 2017

“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; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Several months ago, the Lord began to deal with me about the great threat that would come against the body of Christ in the last days. Above is the particular passage that the Lord began to deal with me about this all-important subject. It is a threat that all Christians everywhere will encounter and experience in the last days: apathy.

This lack interest and concern for the things of God is a plague that is destroying the body of Christ, and it is consuming young people all around the world. In America, with all of the different forms of entertainment consuming our hearts and our minds, we are becoming far too cold toward the Lord Jesus Christ.

The passage above, taken from the third chapter of the book of Revelation, is where Christ addresses the seven churches. Scholars attribute the different churches listed in these three chapters to different church ages, and each age of the church follows the pattern outlined in these three chapters. Currently, we find ourselves in the middle of the Laodicean church age.

While this passage most certainly appears to represent church ages, it also seems to represent individual Christians. This means that, as a whole, the church defined by the Laodicean church age is characterized by that spirit—not every believer or every church in that age, but the majority.

The message in Revelation 3 was not given to us by Paul, John, Peter, or any other apostle. This message came directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus wrote to the Laodicean church because there was a severe state of apathy and indifference toward the things of God, and He challenged them to repent.
Just yesterday a good friend of mine sent me this quote: “Do not let your public passion exceed your private devotion.” We can become consumed with so many good things—things that can dampen the fire of passion that once burned in our hearts for the Lord Jesus Christ.

You may find this hard to believe, but ministry can become so consuming that it can take your eyes off of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the passion that once burned so bright can be quenched by the cares of the world.

In our passage of Scripture, Jesus said He was writing to them because they were neither cold nor hot. Many people take that to mean that He prefers them to be saved or unsaved, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. His next phrase clearly expresses the fact that one who is either cold or hot, when he becomes lukewarm, would be spewed from His mouth. This indicates that both—cold and hot—were in Him. This analogy would have been common to the Laodiceans because they didn’t have a natural water source in the city. In fact, they had to outsource their water supply through two aqueduct structures. Two springs—one cold and one hot—were located three miles outside of the city, on opposite ends. By the time that water traveled three miles—from its source to the city—it had become lukewarm.

So when Jesus made this statement to them, they would have readily understood Him. He wasn’t saying, “I wish you were saved or not saved,” He was saying, “I wish you would get closer to your source.”

We are so guilty of drifting away from the Lord and removing ourselves further and further away from our source—to a point where we think that we don’t need anything. But in reality, we are cold, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

However, we don’t have to stay in that condition. We need a wake-up call back to the first passion that we once had with the Lord. If we will repent and draw close to the Lord, He has promised to draw near to us. Romans 13:11 says, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

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