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God has a unique and powerful message for the Laodicean church, described in Revelation 3 as the church of the end time. What does this message mean and how vital is it?
“The only hope for the Laodiceans is a clear view of their standing before God, and a knowledge of the nature of their disease” (4T 87).
In this series, Pastor Bohr compares the religious condition of Israel at Christ’s first coming to the similar condition of the church today just before His second coming. A “fig tree” profession of godliness, trying to cover its spiritual nakedness with leaves that look good on the outside, but which hide an inside that is unkind, unloving, world-focused and formal, is a pretentious type of religion that God despises. Self glory can sometimes be the driving motive for Sabbath-keeping, prayer ministries, preaching, music and singing, money giving, fast baptisms, large church growth and other religious activities. But love-filled, others-centered, practical Christianity is the overflow of a heart right with God and clothed in His righteousness. This message calls us to examine our lives to see what changes need to be made in order to produce the kind of fruit that Christ is looking for, as He waits outside the door of our hearts for us to let Him come in to “eat with us” the fruit of righteousness.
Pastor Bohr looks at the prodigal son parable and describes how both sons had strayed from God in different ways. Both types are in a prideful, self-centered and lost condition, but it is often easier for a “cold”, overtly wayward soul to come back to the Father, than it is for a Pharisaical and judgmental “lukewarm” soul to see their need of grace and reform. Laodicea is deceptively blinded to its own deep needs and failures.
The Laodicean message, given by the “True Witness”, will cause the shaking out of the church of both the hypocritical and the world-loving among us. It is a life-or-death matter how we respond to its teaching. Pastor Bohr explores the meaning of the three remedies of “gold, white raiment, and eyesalve” that Christ offers us to revive our dangerous and lost condition. He makes a fascinating connecting link of our need for “eyesalve” with God sending us a “seer” to give “the testimony of Jesus” in this prophecy-fulfilling time of the investigative judgment, in order to dispel errors that have darkened the Bible over the centuries and to wake us up to our special needs in this period of Laodicea, which means “judging the people”. Those who neglect or criticize this gift are refusing the special end-time remedy of eyesalve needed to dispel the darkness that keeps them from seeing their Laodicean condition and to “detect sin under any guise” (4T 89) so they can stand through the increasing perils of the last day.
When we are finally cured of our disease we will no longer be found dabbling with the closely-related, yet seemingly opposite spectrums of those who presumptuously claim grace without producing high lifestyle standards, correct worship and works, or those who presumptuously rely on their own good works and feel no need of grace and power outside of themselves, as represented by the two prodigal sons, but will balance grace, law, faith, true doctrines, humility, love and good works in heartfelt, living examples of Christians who serve God and reach out to others in need. This is a life-changing series and a wake-up call for us to open the door of our hearts and welcome Jesus to truly and fully come in to sweep out and replace our self-filled souls with His life and Spirit.
