Garments cover nakedness for the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:18). The only other place in the book where garments and nakedness are mentioned together is 16:15, where Jesus warns that He is coming like a thief and will surprise the sleeping and those who are found naked. The Laodiceans buy garments in . . . . Continue Reading »
The Laodiceans are invited to buy gold, garments, and ointment, preparations for a wedding. They are also invited to buy the equipment to rule. White raiment is worn by the elders who sit enthroned in heaven at the beginning of Revelation. They are also wearing gold crowns (Revelation 4:4). The . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus tells the church at Laodicea to go shopping (Revelation 3:18). They’re supposed to buy purified gold, white clothing to cover their nakedness, and eye salve to anoint their eyes. Why these particular items? Because they are the necessaries as Laodicea prepares to be the bride for the . . . . Continue Reading »
Revelation uses the word “soul” ( psuche ) seven times (6:9; 8:9; 12:11; 16:3; 18:13, 14; 20:4). (Two moose just walked past my library window . . . .) The “seven” is suggestive of Genesis 1, and the other sevens of Revelation. Whether or not we can match up the seven uses . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus threatens to vomit the lukewarm from His mouth (Revelation 3:16). That picks up on Old Testament descriptions of the land comiting out the inhabitants. But it also reminds us of the fish that vomited Jonah out onto dry land. That is a “return from exile” image: Jonah, the . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus threatens to come to the church at Sardis “like a thief” (Revelation 3:3), and later warns the unprepared in Babylon that He is coming liek a thief (16:15). The latter passage indicates what Jesus is coming for: “Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he . . . . Continue Reading »
The church in Laodicea is wretched without knowing it (Revelation 3:17). The only other use of the word “wretched” in the New Testament is in Romans 7, where Paul laments after describing his divided existence under the law, that he is a “wretched” man longing for release. . . . . Continue Reading »
Pity the radical. For every radical, there’s always someone more radical still, someone who plays “more radical than thou” with greater skill. Recent New Testament scholarship has highlighted the “counter-imperial” import of the gospel. In some ways, this is a healthy . . . . Continue Reading »
The church is the incubator of the new creation. It is the womb of a new world, where the new creation gestates. But it can also be an incubator of monsters and witches. That’s the message of the letters to the churches. As Austin Farrer and others point out, the letters anticipate later . . . . Continue Reading »
James Jordan notes the connection between Jesus’ warning to the church at Laodicea and Yahweh’s promise to Noah after the flood. Jesus warns the church that is “neither hot nor cold” that they will be spewed from His mouth (Revelation 3:15-16). In Genesis 8, Yahweh promises . . . . Continue Reading »
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