FBC Daily Devotions

Thinking back over Sunday’s message, what things did God impress on you? How can it make a difference in your life this week?

Read Revelation 3:20-22.

With the strong advisement to repent from their lukewarm ways, Jesus comes with a gracious, open invitation to dine with Him. What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ desire to be with us and us with Him. He will not force His way upon us. He gently knocks on the door and waits for us to let Him in. And He’s no stranger at the door either since He says we must hear His voice at the door. To which I ask simply: Can you hear His voice? Has your life gotten so busy and so engrossed in the physical world that you have become hard of hearing? Take some time out your busy schedule and listen for the voice of Jesus calling you to dine with Him. We’re not talking fast food here, but a quiet evening with Jesus. And if you will do that, one day you will sit not at your dining table, but on His throne with Him. So go ahead, open the door and let Him in.

Read Revelation 3:18-19.

“The Laodiceans are typical of the modern world, which revels in that which the natural eye can see but is untouched by the gospel and does not see beyond the veil of the material to the unseen and real eternal spiritual riches.” -John Walvoord

It is not in the physical or material things that are most pleasing to God, but in the spiritual and in the heart. Jesus strongly advises in ironic fashion that they buy what cannot be bought, namely:

• The riches of Christ attained through the purification of fire or hardships. This was a church that probably rarely suffered need. Without the heat of trials, one is left to spoil in a lukewarm climate.
• The white garments of righteousness – in contrast to the black wool garments they produced and sold. They needed to be clothed in the righteousness only Christ could provide to cover the shame of their real condition.
• The ointment or salve to open spiritual eyes. Here they lacked spiritual insight and needed to seek after Christ to heal their blindness.

The Laodiceans had become accustomed to living almost entirely in the physical world. In the process, they missed the heart of God. He loved them and therefore would not allow them to continue on this path. He desired inner purity, righteousness, and eyes that would see the world through His eyes.

There is no getting away from living in the physical world. But it is not the only world, and if we confine ourselves to this realm, we will altogether miss what God had in mind for us. The physical world is merely a shell in which we live a spiritual life. Failure to stay connected to the spiritual through the Holy Spirit and Christ is a Laodicean recipe for disaster. As you go about your day (in the physical world), be sure to stay connected to spiritual. Pray throughout the day, ponder His Word in your heart, consider what God would have you do in given situations. In short, take Christ with you wherever you go. In so doing, it will keep you from falling into the error of the Laodicean church.

Last Sunday, I spoke on Revelation 3:7-13 which included these words from Christ referring to the church at Philadelphia and by extension to all churches throughout history (Rev. 3:13):

¹⁰‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

From this passage (and others), there is coming a period of testing or tribulation that will come upon the whole world, to everyone dwelling on the earth. The promise Jesus gives here is that those who are His will be kept either from that time (i.e. “removed”) or kept through that time (i.e. “protected”). Either interpretation from a Greek standpoint are workable, though, in my opinion, some arguments are stronger than others. For our purposes here, I won’t argue the Greek because there are far too many of us who don’t understand Greek well enough (or at all) to recognize a good argument if it hit us in the face. My purpose here is to provide reasonable biblical support for why I believe we (God’s children) will not go through the tribulation period, but instead will be kept out of it by being raptured prior to this period.

Reasons for a Pretribulational Rapture:

1. Rev. 3:10 – I have already noted that perhaps the most natural understanding of this verse is to be kept out of this period of tribulation. Remember, this is a word of encouragement to the church. To be told they would be protected through a time much worse than the one they were currently experience would not be much of an encouragement. Jesus is saying in this message to the church that because of their faithfulness to persevere, He would reward them. What kind of reward would it be for them to go through the tribulation period protected? He would in effect would have to be saying, “Because of your current perseverance, I am going to give you even more to persevere. You think it’s bad now, just wait till you see what’s coming. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you during that time.” That is not so much an encouragement as it is a heads up. No, I believe a more natural understanding of this verse is that because of their current perseverance, Jesus will reward them by removing them before this period of tribulation begins.
2. Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-14 – if the church will be protected within this period of tribulation, then how does one explain the multitude of saints that are martyred during this period? If the church is present in this time, clearly some aren’t protected. Conversely, if the church is kept out of this time, those being martyred are saints who turned to Christ during this period of tribulation for whom the promise did not apply.
3. It is true that Jesus promises protection from the devil (i.e. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.” – John 17:15). But in John’s gospel, protection is from the devil; in Revelation, protection is from a period of time – the hour of testing.
4. Jesus follows up His promise of protection with the words, “I am coming quickly.” (v. 11) That is to say He is coming without warning. His return is imminent, and certainly that was the expectation of the New Testament writers (cf. Luke 12:40; James 5:7-9; 1Cor. 15:51; 1Thes. 4:17; 5:2; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Col 3:4; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet 5:4). Therefore, if the rapture of the church didn’t occur until after the tribulation period, it would mean Christ’s return wouldn’t be imminent at all (since the timing of the tribulation period in the revelation is very specific among other things). Only a pretribulational rapture could account for Christ’s imminent return.

Read Revelation 3:17.

There are without question those who are wealthy and resourceful, and without even realizing it, have come to depend solely on themselves. Unknowingly, they never express a need of help from anyone. They accomplish much through their own means. They possess much in the way of material goods. They are successful in the eyes of the world. They are talented; some might say “gifted.” These aren’t bad qualities. Most people are encouraged to realize their potential and make the most of it. (In fact, we even encourage it in the church.) This isn’t a bad thing, but of course it can turn into a bad thing when it leads to pride, self-reliance, and an utter independence from Christ. As said earlier, there are those who have come to this place without even realizing it.  All that said, this was not the case with the Laodicean church – that is, they knew they were self-sufficient even to the point of boasting. I know a lot of people who are successful and self-sufficient, but they certainly don’t boast about it. Apparently, the church had gotten a little ahead of itself.

But whether or not one boasts of successes, there is a terrible consequence of self-sufficiency – one revealed in the Laodicean church. The Laodicean church had become blind to its real condition. They were “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Wealth and self-sufficiency has a way of blinding us to reality. It has a way of making us delusional. While we are striving for wealth and success and accomplishment, we can all the while dig for ourselves a hole. We may think we are getting better and better, reaching our potential, but in reality we are getting further and further from God, and we are becoming more and more wretched and miserable. Like Rehoboam who became king of Israel, he turned his power into a whip thinking he would become even greater. His attempted climb became the source of his fall (1 Kings 12).   

Many of you who are reading this may be striving to fulfill your potential. That is a good thing. We are called to live our fullest for our God of all creation. However, we must be careful not to go the way of the Laodiceans, whose wealth and success blinded them to their spiritual poverty. As we excel in the eyes of the world, we must not forget that it is God who gives and takes away. Remember to give Him thanks continually in a humble, Christ-dependent walk. What does the Lord require of us: but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). If we will keep that in mind, perhaps the way of the Laodiceans won’t become inevitable.