Revelation 3:14-22 (Part 1)

Sermon exegesis for November 14, 2010.
A spiritual case of the Emperor's New Clothes.

REVELATION 3:14

The Letter to Laodicea
14 Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ᾽Αμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ·

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.

Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: Laodicea was an ancient ruined city, once called Diospolis (“City of God”) and also Rhoas (“River City”), was rebuilt by a king during the Maccabean period and named for the king's wife, Laodice. Like other cities in western Asia Minor, it suffered from earthquakes and never grew very large.

Τάδε λέγει ὁ ᾽Αμήν, These are the words of the Amen, ᾽Αμήν means "truly," or "this is most certainly true."

ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, the faithful and true witness, or, "the witness: faithful and true." When God says that he is faithful, he means nothing less. When he says he is true, he means it absolutely. When he says he is a witness, he is proclaiming the law in it full terrifying fury and the gospel in its complete and saving sweetness. To sinners, God as a witness means death. To those who trust Jesus, God as a witness means that all of the charges have been laid on his Son, who saved us all.

ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ· the ruler of God's creation. Of course, in this case the ἀρχὴ can be taken in every sense with the fullest meaning: ἀρχὴ means "begin, rule or command." Jesus was given this authority in eternity. The UBS apparatus calls our attention to Proverbs 8:

22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. 24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, 29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind."

We also recall John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" and Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

REVELATION 3:15

15 Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι οὔτε ψυχρὸς εἶ οὔτε ζεστός. ὄϕελον ψυχρὸς ἦς ἢ ζεστός.

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι οὔτε ψυχρὸς εἶ οὔτε ζεστός. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Οἶδα is the perfect active 1st singular (dictionary form), "to know; to know by comprehending; to understand a report." ψυχρὸς is the word describing the water in Matthew 10:42 ("a cup of cold water to one of these little ones"), and ζεστός is its inverse (Rev. 3:15-16 is the only place where it is used).

ὄϕελον ψυχρὸς ἦς ἢ ζεστός. I wish you were either one or the other! ὄϕελον is a particle, a fixed form introducing an unattainable wish, as in "I wish you hadn't done that." Jesus wished either ψυχρὸς or ζεστός. If hot, they would be fine. If cold, at least the law would work on them, he could condemn their sins and set the gospel to work. But as it is, they are nothing at all.

REVELATION 3:16

16 οὕτως, ὅτι χλιαρὸς εἶ καὶ οὔτε ζεστὸς οὔτε ψυχρός, μέλλω σε ἐμέσαι ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου.

16 So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

οὕτως, ὅτι χλιαρὸς εἶ καὶ οὔτε ζεστὸς οὔτε ψυχρός, So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- χλιαρὸς in Latin is tepidus, "lukewarm."

μέλλω σε ἐμέσαι ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου. I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ἐμέσαι (aor inf ἐμέω "vomit") is the word that should have been used in the LXX for Jonah 2:13, but there the Greek has "expelled, threw out" instead, as if the whale heaved Jonah with its flukes rather than puking its guts and prophet out with all the half-digested krill and seawater.