Message
to Laodicea The last
of the seven cities, Laodicea (modern Eski-hisar, "the old
fortress"), lay about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia, and 90 miles
east of Ephesus. It was "one of the wealthiest cities in the world” that
specialized in banking, producing black woolen cloth, and health care.
*Pattern
Description
of Christ
Commendation
Condemnation/Criticism
Exhortation
Promise to
Overcomers
*This church received no commendation; a fact that makes this
letter unique compared to the other six.
This passage contrasts wealth and
poverty to help the church at Laodicea understand their true situation.
*How could people whose major achievements to
date included the wheel and the nail (Maybe a few other comforts) consider
themselves rich?
As of
September 30, 2015 there are 545 billionaires in the U.S. How are their lives different from the people who lived in Laodicea?
Is there a danger that those of us
who have something less than a billion dollars could say “I am rich and have
need of nothing”?
Christ
advises the Laodiceans to get these white garments eye salve to anoint their
eyes so that they can see. What is he
talking about here?
V19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline;
therefore be zealous and repent.
How
does God reprove and discipline those He loves? Does it feel like love when God
disciplines you?
No comments:
Post a Comment