Rev 3:14 - Laodicea the Materialistic ChurchChrist the Only True Witness from Eternity(Loading for Bear!)

Rev 3:14 - Christ the Only True Witness from Eternity - (Loading for Bear!)

Rev 3:14 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Finally we come to the deluded, self-satisfied church of Laodicea. In order that the contrast might be that much more convicting, the Lord is described as the "faithful and true witness" when, as we shall see, that is the very last thing that Laodicea can be called.

By comparison with Christ, of course, we all fall short in faithfulness and truth. Compare the statement in Re 19:11 where He is called faithful and true or the declarations of John 1:17,14:6 where He is identified as truth personified. Compare the statement in Lu 4:18-21 or Heb 10:5-7 where he is seen as the willing fulfillment of the (eternal) purposes of God and Php 2:5-8 where His faithfulness to the will of the Father was expressed in the putting off of glory for the ignominy of a criminal’s death.

He is also the last Word on everything - the "Amen." What has been freed or bound in heaven by Him shall be freed or bound on earth by Him, through His people. {Mt 16:19} He has dominion and authority over all things, and He was before all things. He is the beginning of God’s creation - not meaning that He Himself was created first, because He is the Eternal Son (remember Miguel Servetus’ error), but that He is the Creator Who was in the beginning. {John 1:1,Col 1:15-18}

These Names of Christ not only describe He who is about to pronounce upon the faithless, but reflect His supreme authority, His right to judge and the absolute finality of His judgments. It is as if Christ is "loading for bear" here in a moment of final call to the deadened consciences of the Laodiceans. All warnings are potential blessings. All threats are the appeal of love to repent before it is too late. But there will come a moment when repentance is no longer possible. Remember the words of that little poem by Dr. J. Addison Alexander ...

There is a time, we know not when,
A point we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men
To glory or despair.

There is a line by us unseen,
That crosses every path;
The hidden boundary between
God’s patience and His wrath.

How long may we go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?

An answer from the skies is sent;
"Ye that from God depart,
While it is called today, repent,
And harden not your heart."