Now we have taken a look at the mystery of God being finished, and how that relates to the proclamation of the gospel, “[prophesying] again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings,” Revelation 10:11, KJV, and the sealing of the 144,000, and how that relates to carrying the gospel to “every nation, ... all tribes and peoples and languages.” Now we will take a look at the final piece of the key to understanding this pause on the brink of eternity.
The two series of seven trumpets and seven seals contain an obvious interlude, or pause, between the sixth and seventh of the series. In each case, the telling of the sequence is interrupted while a chapter or more of Scripture is inserted, making it fairly obvious that John wants to tell us about something that needs to take place before the seventh seal can be opened or the seventh trumpet blown.
The sequence of the seven churches runs parallel to the seven seals and seven trumpets, covering the same time, from Jesus here to Jesus here again, from the first coming to the second coming. Unlike the two parallel series, the seven churches do not contain an interlude in Scripture, however. It seems that a parenthesis is missing here. If the churches represent a period of time concurrent to the seven seals and seven trumpets, why isn’t there a similar pause on the brink of eternity in them?
Perhaps there isn’t such a pause, for the very reason that God wants us to take a look at the messages to the churches themselves, to see if they contain some clue. There is no apparent time gap in the text of Revelation 3 between the message to the sixth church, Philadelphia, and the message to the seventh church, Laodicea, but there is a dramatic gap in the tone of the two messages themselves.
The message to Philadelphia is full of commendation and encouragement to keep going as they are doing, while the message to Laodicea is the least-flattering of all the messages to the seven churches. Philadelphia is told, “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it,” while Jesus finds Himself outside of the door in the message to Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him....” Revelation 3:8, 21. Interestingly, the two unrebuked churches, Smyrna, and Philadelphia, are lacking in riches and strength, respectively, which is also true of Laodicea, but Laodicea is ignorant of the fact! “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....” Verse 17.
While Jesus tells Laodicea, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten,” He doesn’t rebuke Philadelphia, but He instead tells them, “I have loved thee.” Verses 19, 9. Do you see the huge gap in the condition of Laodicea, as compared to the church period immediately proceeding it, represented by Philadelphia? In both the letter to Smyrna and the letter to Philadelphia, Jesus speaks of a group “which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” Revelation 2:9 (see also 3:9.) When the church is poor, and weak, yet faithful and unrebuked, hypocrisy in others becomes most apparent. When the church is rich only in faith and strong only in the grace of God, it becomes clear what true Christianity looks like, and false believers are unmasked for the pretenders that they are. When weak people are strong to hold on to the Word of God and poor people carry themselves like they are heirs to all the riches of the universe, those whose religion is superficial and legalistic are exposed, and they begin to persecute the true children of God.
Laodicea, on the other hand, seems to be rich and in need of nothing, but God sees things otherwise. To Him, Laodicea deserves no commendation, but is instead nauseatingly lukewarm, in danger of losing their place in heaven. Jesus threatens them of the inevitable consequence of their condition: “I will spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16. The Gospel of John, written by the same author as Revelation, has a very different tone in the 16th verse of the third chapter. There, in the most well-known verse of the Bible, we are told that salvation is offered to all who believe in Jesus, but here, the same speaker tells His church that they are going to lose all connection with him.
The message to the church in Laodicea is a painful message, a graphic description of the condition of the church of God in the end of time. As much as we might like these words to apply to somebody else, they best fit the conditions found within the Seventh-day Adventist church. Our prophet told us as much on many occasions. “The message to the Laodicean church is applicable to our condition. How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the Word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. The fervor of the love of God is wanting in their hearts, but it is this very fervor of love that makes God’s people the light of the world.” Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, July 23, 1889.
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