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The Book of Revelation - Part 12

10 May 2026 · this lesson on the church site

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

Introduction (00:00)

Guess what, guys? We come to the seventh of the seven letters to the seven churches today, so we're making good progress. Turn back with me to Revelation 3, and we'll pick it up here, completing that section of the book. It is just getting going. The fun is about to begin. We jump into the deep end of the pool of this book and try to swim, and it will be awesome, wonderful, and stretching.

I was talking with some of the Bible professors at the commencement exercises about the joy of hard books and how they cause us to press into the things we know and apply things that are more challenging. So I hope you're not afraid of Revelation. I hope you have a humble confidence that the Word is clear, and that God is not playing games with us here. He's not trying to stump us. We just need to apply what we know consistently and let Him lead.

We've got a lot to do yet. For now we're in Revelation 3, looking at the message to Laodicea. Remember, we talked about the chiastic structure here. There's a mirroring between Laodicea and the letter to Ephesus back in Revelation 2, and you'll see some of those parallels today.

By way of review, here is our outline and overview. We're going to finish Laodicea and finish chapter 3. Next time we're together, we'll talk about chapter 4 and this new vision. It starts with a throne room, and then that introduces the scrolls. Those scrolls will occupy our attention for the next several chapters, and we get to the seventh seal, which leads to the seven trumpets*. All those things are to come, but that's how we're going to navigate through it, one little section at a time.

By way of reminder, these seven churches are literal, historic churches from the first century. You can go see their ruins today, and maybe that's the next trip we need to take, to the seven letter sites. We started at Ephesus, then went up north and down to the southeast, and today we conclude with Laodicea.

Notice also the proximity. You forget how close everything is over here. If you've ever driven through West Texas, you know half the drive to California is just getting out of Texas. When you go to Europe and the Middle East, you realize how close everything is. Colossae is just down the road from Laodicea, and some of the other churches we're familiar with from the New Testament, like Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe, are nearby. The proximity is quite close.

Reading the Letter (00:00)

Look with me at Revelation 3:14 and let's read the section to the Laodiceans:

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. And so I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

We know these are messages to individual churches. As we've seen, they're clearly addressed to these churches, and yet there are things we can learn. Just like the New Testament letters, we can apply those things to our own situation.

Laodicea Today (05:21)

So let's see what we can learn about Laodicea. First of all, some pretty pictures. I found some of the ruins here to be among the most significant. We have stadiums, gymnasiums, and theaters. There's a Hellenistic theater and a Roman theater, lots of artifacts, and lots of ruins to see. Those columns are beautiful. They make you picture what the original must have been like.

This is part of the hillside where the stadium would have been. You can see it there, built into the side of the hill. I think this is the Hellenistic stadium, if I remember right. This is part of one of the roads. Some pillars and columns have fallen onto the road, but you can still see the paved part. What's this? It's a curb and gutter. That's right. We don't really have curbs and gutters out here in North Texas, or out here in Granbury. You see the street, then the curb. Here's a better view of what I think they called Main Street. It was the main street, and it's absolutely beautiful. This, I believe, is the Roman temple, or the Roman stadium. Again, very significant. Back up. This is the ruin of one of the temples there as well. You see a lot preserved in Laodicea.

There's so much more. I should have put in more pictures. The aqueduct system there is something to see. We're going to talk about water and how they got it around. When we go to Israel, we'll go to Caesarea and talk about the aqueduct Herod put in, and we'll see parts of it. In the ancient day, you didn't always have water where you wanted it. Just like today, you piped it in, and aqueducts were how they did that. In a lot of the ruins you find remains of these aqueduct systems. You can even see calcium buildup where the water flowed through the clay pipes they made. It's interesting to think about how they did that. The engineering was archaic by today's standards in one respect, but in other respects it's quite impressive, considering the lack of craftsman tools and bulldozers.

Hopefully, Lord willing, we'll get over there sometime. It's really pretty. Bibleplaces.com has lots of pictures you can check out.

Background (08:25)

Laodicea was situated 40 miles east of Ephesus, 60 miles southeast of Philadelphia, and just 10 miles northwest of Colossae. You can see that on the map. There's actually a reference to the church at Laodicea in the Colossian letter, in Colossians 4:16.

They were known for two things that set them apart: a fine black wool and a powder for the eyes. Ladies, I have no idea what that is, so you'll have to help us with that. You'll see that Jesus says two things that contrast with, or perhaps reflect, these two things. Fine black wool was very expensive and very beautiful, and He contrasts that with the white garments they needed. He also talks about salve for the eyes so they can see spiritually, perhaps contrasting with the Phrygian powder for the eyes that they manufactured.

Laodicea was also a very wealthy city with several notable features:

Christ Introduces Himself (10:31)

Those are some of the highlights. Let's jump into the text. Jesus introduces Himself as He does with the other letters, but this one is interesting, and they're all a little different. He starts off by saying, "the Amen." You're thinking, "I thought we were supposed to say amen at the end, right? Not at the beginning." I know, I know. Just remember, the word amen means something like "may it be so," or "you're agreeing," "truly, this is true." When we get to the end of a prayer, we say amen, and what are we saying? "So be it," or "let it be so," or "I agree with that."

If we go back to Isaiah 65:16, we find phraseology very similar to this, referring to God as the "Amen." The Isaiah 65 reference shows that with this title, Amen, being ascribed to Jesus, it is an affirmation of His deity. Isaiah 65 speaks of God in general, and here we hear about Jesus in particular. So this allusion to Isaiah 65 is a reference to the deity of Christ.

But more than that, what Jesus is getting at with this title is that He is the ultimate and final affirmation. He is the one who fully assures us that what He is saying and doing is absolutely reliable and true. And just as He has done in different ways with some of these other letters,

The Faithful and True Witness (12:39)

He's basically saying, "I'm about to tell you what I think, and just know that what I'm going to say is fully and absolutely reliable." It's the ultimate affirmation, so to speak. That goes right along with the second thing he says there, "the faithful and true witness." We've seen language like this before, in Revelation 1:5. We'll also see it later on, in chapters 19, 21, and 22, a reference to Jesus' faithfulness, his reliability, his consistency, and the fact that he is a true witness.

What do you think Jesus means when he says he's the true witness? Any ideas?

Sure, yeah. In contrast, maybe, to the false prophets circulating through the churches.

Yeah, that's exactly it. A witness is somebody who gives testimony or testifies about something. So the fact that he's a true witness reinforces the title of "Amen" and the title of "Faithful," saying Jesus is about to give testimony and we can rely on that. We can count on that.

Now, just be real with me for a minute. When someone says, "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" and they've got that tone, and they don't tell you what it is, you're going, "Oh, what did I do?" You start thinking, "Did I offend them?" And if we're honest, sometimes we get put on the defensive when we know something is about to be said. We think about what the proverb says, right? "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." Meaning, I'm more likely to listen to my friend even if they give me wounding news, maybe some hard things I need to hear, because they love me and they're trying to help me. I'm more likely to take that to heart if I view that person as a trusted friend. Would you agree with that? When we get hard or critical news, we're less inclined to dismiss it if we know the person loves us and is trustworthy.

I think that's what's happening here. Jesus is using these titles to say, "Hey, I'm about to tell you something that's going to be hard to hear, but I want you to know that you can trust me. I'm reliable." And we're going to see his love mentioned later on in the letter. We'll get there.

The Beginning of the Creation of God (14:46)

Then he says, "the beginning of the creation of God." There's all sorts of disagreement on what this means. It's the same word used in Colossians 1:18, and I think it's used in the same sense here. It's not the beginning in the sense that Jesus was created. Those of you who know about the Arian controversy know they wax eloquent on this, but that's not the sense of the word being used here. It's not that Jesus was created or was part of the creation. In fact, he is the founder, the initiator of creation. Like Paul says in Colossians 1, all things were created through him. He is Lord and Master over his creation. So again, Jesus is emphasizing his lordship over creation, his founding of it, and his authority over it.

Then we get to verses you know well, Revelation 3:15–16: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." Literally.

Some of your Bibles say "literally I will vomit," and the NASB cleaned it up here. That's kind of graphic. We'll call it spit, but guys, it's not the word spit. It is vomit. That adds to the effect we are supposed to feel in reading this. Whatever this means, Jesus is saying, "I'm gagging and getting rid of you." And so now you see why he opens with "faithful and true witness" and "Amen." That's his opening line. Unlike many of the other letters, there's no commendation here, is there? There's no "You're doing great here, you're doing great here." He launches right in: "If you don't figure this out, I'm vomiting you out of my mouth." We go, "Okay, we're listening."

What Does "Lukewarm" Mean? (16:52)

So the question is, what on earth does he mean by hot, cold, and lukewarm? I don't usually do this in your notes, but I put more in your notes on this because you've probably heard a sermon on it, read a commentary, and seen some debate about what exactly this means. Sometimes we just read, "I know your works, you're neither hot nor cold, I wish you were cold or hot," and we move on without asking what that means.

Here are the main interpretations.

  1. Lukewarm as not fully committed. I think this is the way a lot of people take it. Hot would be zealous and committed, "I'm all in, me and Jesus, serving full throttle." Cold would be indifferent: "Jesus is important, but my life is about other things." So Jesus is saying they're somewhere in the middle. They're not fully committed, and they're not fully distant from God necessarily, so lukewarm is somewhere in between.

What's the challenge with that interpretation? Just look at the text. Let's do a little exegetical work together. What's the challenge of taking lukewarm as "not fully committed"?

Okay, so the context? For sure. There's not really any context for that.

Yeah, so they're very comfortable, and that makes them harder to turn in the right direction because they're neither hot nor cold. The real interpretive issue, guys, look back at the text. Jesus says in verse 15, "I wish that you were cold or hot." So if cold is distant and hot is zealous, why would Jesus say, "I'd rather you be distant from God"? That's the rub. There may be an answer to that, but right now just understand that's the weakness of this interpretation.

  1. The hot springs and the aqueduct. I'm curious how many of you have heard this one. The hot reference is to the hot water from the hot springs at Hierapolis. You can see I put a map here. There are actual hot springs there, and you can still go and see them in that region. Their aqueduct system brought some of that water down into Laodicea. Colosse, in contrast, was known for its cool water, and its aqueduct system would likewise bring water in. Some sophisticated commentators have suggested that maybe that's what's being referenced. It's all about the different types of water and their sources. The hot water from Hierapolis and the cold water from Colosse are both useful in themselves, but when they mix in the aqueduct, the result becomes warm, and that water isn't as useful. Cold water is invigorating and refreshing. Hot water is good for cleansing and other uses. But once it's lukewarm, you lose the benefit of being cold and the benefit of being hot.

How many of you have heard this before? It's in MacArthur's commentary and some other places. I was really excited about this when I first heard it. You've got archaeological evidence, this makes sense. There's just one problem. There's nothing unique about it. Everyone in that region who used aqueducts and pipes and what not would have had the same issue. Everybody had lukewarm water, is the point. Further archaeological evidence also raises doubts that this actually applied to Laodicea in that situation. So it's an intriguing interpretation, but both the archaeology and the reality of what the culture was doing, even in other cities, doesn't make it fit. Possible, but not supported. A guy did a study published in 1998, relatively recent, where he went back and looked at all the archaeological evidence, including some newer evidence earlier commentators didn't have. He said, in essence, it's intriguing, but the data just doesn't really support this interpretation, as interesting as it might be.

  1. Hot and cold as useful, warm as useless. A third option is kind of the same idea, but not so much focused on the aqueduct and the two sources of water. It's just saying in general that hot water is useful for cleansing, and cold water is refreshing and invigorating. Water is useful when it's hot or cold, but when it becomes warm, it's like, who wants a warm bottle of water? Who wants a room-temperature latte? You want it either hot or cold. That could be it as well.

So which one is it, Pastor Keith? I don't know. I hate not landing on something, but I'm not sure. I do think the context helps. Look down at verse 19, where he's calling them to repent: "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." So maybe there is some contextual evidence that these folks are not all in. They're not being zealous, they're not fully committed, and they were kind of fence-sitters, lukewarm.

Self-Deception (22:17)

When Jesus says, "I'd rather you be cold or hot," he's not saying, "I'd rather you be distant from God." What he's saying, I think, is that it is in a sense easier to know where you stand when you're fully committed to God or openly distant from him, rather than saying, "Oh yeah, Jesus is important, but my whole life is not really committed to that." Maybe that's what he's getting at. He's not commending being cold toward God. He's saying it's better not to deceive yourself. What's interesting is that his whole

The language of the Israelites' disobedience is here, and God uses that vocabulary of vomiting them out because of their disobedience. Another word ties in as well, the word detestable, which we have here too. So perhaps Jesus is expecting us to pick up some imagery from the book of Leviticus.

So what do you think it means that he will vomit them out of his mouth? If Jesus says, "I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth," we know that's not good. What is that likely a reference to? Rejection. Yes. They're claiming to be believers, they're probably not, and it's a very dangerous place to be. Jesus is basically saying that if this commitment is not solidified, if you don't fully commit, and he's going to talk about repentance here in a minute, then in the end you'll be rejected.

In some of these other letters, there are a lot of people who claim Christ, but in the end the evidence of their lives shows they're not truly converted. We see that same warning here, I think.

A friend might ask, "Can you lose your salvation here?" I think you can read it in a way that leaves you with that impression, and of course we lean on the whole of Scripture to know that it's not possible. If we read it in isolation, we might walk away with that misunderstanding. So we have to let the broader context of Scripture help us. That's a very good reminder.

Misplaced Confidence (26:26)

"You say, I am rich and have become wealthy, and I am in need of nothing." Again, he's talking spiritually here, not just physically. "Yet you do not know that you are wretched." That word is also used in Romans 7:24: "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" Remember that verse. Then "miserable," which literally means pitiable, "poor, blind, and naked."

The point is that they're confident and self-deceived. Can I tell you that the hardest person in the world to reach is someone who is boldly wrong, someone who is confidently deceived? That is a difficult person to reach. I think that's why Jesus is emphasizing this. They're walking around thinking everything is great, they're not threatened by anything, and Jesus says, "Actually, I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth because of the situation."

What are they placing their confidence in? That's a good question. We talked about the wealth in this city. There was an earthquake in AD 60, and we talked about the earthquake at the other city as well. I think the city funded the rebuilding of its own city. So it tells us they had a lot of cash in the bank, and perhaps they were trusting in that.

We can relate to that, right? When gas is $2.19 a gallon, and the 401(k) is looking good, and the economy is strong, we say, "Yeah, things are good," and we say we trust Jesus, but we're really leaning on some of those economic things. Then gas prices go up, the stock market goes down, and all of a sudden, where's my confidence? Jesus is saying, "You're acting very secure, but in reality you're in big trouble spiritually." It raises the question: where is their confidence?

The Counsel to Buy (27:32)

Here comes the exhortation: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may become rich." We have imagery here from Isaiah 55, where God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, calls people to come and buy without cost. What is he saying there? God is saying, "You need to come to me for true help. You need to come to me for what you really need." They're content and satisfied, thinking they're rich and well-to-do, when they're actually poor, naked, and shameful, so they need to come to him for those things.

Just as in Isaiah 55, the reference to buying is not saying that we come and somehow earn our salvation. It's just language the Bible uses. Isaiah is actually explicit: he says, "Come buy from me something without cost." We remember that we go to God looking for the things we need, and Jesus says to this church that has deceived itself that it needs to come to him and get the goods it really needs, so that it may become rich in a spiritual sense. He'll connect that back to being zealous and repenting in a minute.

White Garments and Spiritual Blindness (29:34)

The church needs three things:

  1. Gold refined by fire, so that they may become rich.
  2. White garments, so that they may clothe themselves and the shame of their nakedness will not be revealed.
  3. Eye salve, so that they may see.

We've seen white garments in other letters, back in Revelation 3:4 and 3:5, and we'll see them again in Revelation 4:4. According to the book of Revelation, true believers are those clothed in white garments. So what is he saying if these folks need white garments? Yes, they need conversion. Some of these people have deceived themselves about their spiritual condition, and they need the transaction of conversion. They need to become believers for the first time, though they are self-deceived about that.

Notice, "the shame of your nakedness will be revealed." Jesus is using a contrast. You think you're wealthy, you think you're well-clothed, but you're actually detestable, miserable, and naked. This spiritual contrast between who they think they are and who they actually are is quite great. In Scripture, shame and nakedness regularly reference dishonor, unrighteousness, and sin. By using those images, Jesus is using a metaphor they would have understood well, about the poverty of their spiritual condition. They think they have spiritual money in the bank, and they're actually broke. And the reference to shame and nakedness says it is a dishonorable thing to think you are in a wonderful spiritual condition, to be prideful and confident about it, when in fact you're far from God.

Even though we're not totally sure about some of the imagery, the danger being warned against is similar to the other letters. What level of commitment to Jesus do we actually have? This is a warning to those who are familiar with Christianity but fall short of being Christians. Further, if we press into the language, it's a warning about people who are confident they are spiritually healthy when in fact they are spiritually dead.

That's a sobering warning. You might be thinking of family members and friends who fall into that. It's Thanksgiving dinner, and you're talking to an aunt, an uncle, a parent, whoever, and they are confident that they and God are close, but they don't believe the gospel. You don't see evidence of fruit in their lives. You don't see someone who has taken up a cross and follows him. You've seen somebody who is lukewarm. That's a warning for us to look in the mirror and say, "I don't want to be deceived." Paul tells the Corinthians to test themselves. The writer to the Hebrews says there is a reality that we could be deceived. So we need the community of faith, and we need to examine ourselves. Can you think of anything more shameful than thinking you represent God when you're actually his enemy? The language here is strong for a reason: this is a dangerous situation.

The reference to eye salve, to anoint your eyes so that you may see, points to spiritual blindness. Again, he's borrowing imagery from Isaiah and other prophets. A very common metaphor for people who are not believers but think they're okay is spiritual blindness. Perhaps Laodicea's eye powder is in the background here. Ladies, you can help us with that. Whatever it was, there may be a reference to it: you produce this physical substance, but what you really need is a spiritual intervention to open your blind eyes.

Rebuke Motivated by Love (33:45)

Verse 18 again: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich; and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."

Now look at verse 19: "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." Wait a minute. He just called them miserable. He just called them blind. He just called them naked and shameful. Then he clarifies: "I'm telling you this because I love you." Do you remember that, when you were younger and did something deserving of punishment, and your mom or dad said, "I'm doing this because I love you"? And you thought, "Yeah, right." Someday you'll be a parent and you'll understand what it means when they say that.

It really is true that the discipline, the strong words, the consequence, is motivated by love. What does Hebrews say? That we may share in his holiness. A father who truly loves his son disciplines him diligently, because he desires to see Christlikeness built in that son or daughter. We see language here looking back to Proverbs 3:12, "whom the Lord loves he disciplines," and similar language in Proverbs 13:24 and Hebrews 12:10. Remember that discipline in Scripture means training. It doesn't always carry a punitive sense, and even when it does, that punishment always serves a broader goal of training and righteousness. Jesus says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." That's what he is doing right now.

Be Zealous and Repent (35:54)

He says, "Therefore be zealous and repent." I put a note in your notes: the word zealous means intensely serious. Does this underscore the complacency or lack of full commitment that was the problem with the Laodiceans? It seems to fit. Even if we're not right about the hot or cold imagery, we can be clear that Jesus is saying, "You're not as serious as you need to be."

This is the time to pull up the spiritual mirror and ask, "Lord, do I have an intensely serious commitment in my walk with you?" We talked a couple of weeks ago about how, sometimes, the longer we walk with God, a kind of weird spiritual pride can develop that says, "I don't need to try as hard. I can pull back a little. I can relax some in my pursuit of Christ." That's a good reminder for a healthy church like ours: we don't pull back. We stay the course, we keep the faith, and we persevere.

Intensely Serious (37:02)

All those commands in the New Testament are to complete the work that we've started. And that too, that's right. So we want to be zealous, intensely serious. Can we look in the mirror of God's Word today and say, I am intensely serious? That doesn't mean you're grumpy. It doesn't mean you don't know joy. In fact, we've seen some of those same things here. What it means is that when it comes to my walk with God, I am:

And as for me in my house, Joshua said what? "We will serve the Lord." And then these famous words: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me." Again, we see language from Isaiah, language from Romans even, used here: the idea of reception, of responding.

Repentance Demands a Response (38:08)

When Jesus says, "Repent," we don't go, "Oh, that's nice." Repentance demands a response. Repentance and faith in Jesus demand a response. When someone says we repent, we don't say, "Okay, you know, repentance is like in track and field when someone is running up and they hand you the baton." What do you do? You take off and you run. Or you catch that pass. You don't stop on the field and say, "Hey, I got the ball." No, you run with all your might to the end zone and try to get around the defenders on the way. That's what repentance demands: a response.

And he says here, it's like I'm standing at the door and knocking, and if you hear my voice and you open the door, opening the door is what? You repent. You say, "Jesus, you're right. I am complacent. I am lukewarm. I'm half committed. I'm playing games, whatever it is."

Fellowship and Reigning with Christ (39:09)

Repentance means I'm going to respond. I'm going to respond with change, with faith. And Jesus says, if you will repent, imagine this: "I will come into him and dine with him and he with me." This emphasizes that repentance will bring both current fellowship with Jesus. The meal reference there also points forward to Revelation 19, the marriage supper of the Lamb. So it's fellowship with Jesus now, but it looks forward to that future fellowship, the marriage supper of the Lamb that we'll see in future verses.

And to the one who overcomes, he says, "I will grant him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." We looked at this just a couple of weeks ago back in Daniel chapter seven and in Revelation 21, so I won't repeat that here. Suffice it to say that there are multiple passages that point forward to this fact: if we are united to Christ and become a part of his family, that involves coreigning with Christ in the future.

You see, if you're a lukewarm Christian, there's hope for you. If you're half committed, there's hope. But that hope only comes when we repent and we say, "You know what? I'm ready to be all in. I'm ready to follow you fully, Lord Jesus." Consider the benefits here, the blessings, the love that he shows us in inviting us to that privileged position.

"He Who Has an Ear" (41:15)

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this final conclusion that we've seen at the end of each of the seven letters: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." I love that refrain. We've seen it, but let's not write it off even as we move away from these seven letters. We don't ever want to hear the words of God and walk away like nothing happened.

What Jesus is emphasizing here is what should happen at the end of every time you read your Bible privately. It's what should happen every time you hear a sermon, every time you hear a good biblical podcast, every time you listen to John MacArthur and Grace to You, whatever it is. There needs to be a response of hearing. In the old Hebrew sense of hearing, it's not just, "Oh, I have information." The act of hearing means: how am I going to change in light of what I've heard? So let's ask ourselves that question. How do we need to change in light of what we've heard today?

Closing Prayer (42:18)

Let's pray. Father, thanks for these reminders. Like the Laodiceans, we can see an indifference, a lukewarmness, a lack of zeal, and that we're not always intensely serious in our walk with you. Thank you that you love us enough to call us out, and you give us the opportunity to repent. Why might we be a church that hears and responds, a church that is zealous for you, a people that are intensely serious? Not that we're grumpy for Jesus or difficult to be around, but that we have a singular focus, a fiery love, a passion for you, and that we will not let up until we complete the mission you've given us. Would you do that in our hearts? We pray, and make us a church that's effective, that we would be unified even more around this common theme of being serious and zealous for your purposes. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

* = the audio was unclear here and the words were reconstructed from context. Scripture read aloud is in red.

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

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