Babylon and Laodicea

You know, we are approaching Passover quickly. Sometimes time passes so quickly, and we get to the point where all of a sudden we turn around twice, and it's upon us. And I know that we are in the process of, I hope, examining ourselves, examining our walk with God, comparing ourselves to Jesus Christ as we go through the process of that. And today I want to talk about that, and give us a couple of self-examination questions, but maybe different than what we've done in the past.

And I want to use two ancient cities, two ancient cities, to help us look at some self-examination questions. Because God makes these cities prominent, not only in the past, but also in our lives now, and certainly in the future. And in those cities, their history, and in the future what happens on earth. We find some things that God tells us that maybe we need to look at our attitudes more closely, as well as our sins and faults, and see where we are.

The first city I want to talk about is ancient Babylon. Ancient Babylon. You know, I think we all know, if we went around the room, everyone could tell us something about Babylon. There's a lot of history of Babylon in the Bible. You all know King Nebuchadnezzar. You know what God did with him in the Bible. You know, Daniel had the dream in Daniel 2, or not Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had the dream in Daniel 2, and Nebuchadnezzar had the dream and Daniel interpreted it.

But Babylon, we know, was a wealthy, wealthy city. It was the place to be in ancient times. When Daniel and his comrades were taken from Jerusalem or Judah to Babylon, they were in the America of that day. Babylon had it all. When you thought of Babylon and when you leave the history books, it was a very wealthy place. It was a beautiful place. It was a fascinating place. One of the southern wonders of the world was there in Babylon, the hanging gardens that mesmerized people. Babylon had a rich history before it became a world-ruling kingdom.

It was God who gave Nebuchadnezzar that kingdom and the splendor and the glory. Let's turn back to Daniel Daniel 2. You know, Babylon is there in the past, and it's a literal city, and we'll spend a little time looking at the literal city, but it also is a symbol, a symbol of society, a symbol of how things are done. And God gives a strong warning about Babylon in the future.

Not a literal city of Babylon, but a system that is based on ancient Babylon. Daniel 2, beginning in verse 36, you'll remember Nebuchadnezzar was having this dream, and it troubled him. He saw this figure, you know, with a head of gold and the chest and the feet, and he didn't know what it was. And he told his wise men, I want you to interpret the dream for me, but I won't leave him more than that. I want you to tell me what my dream is.

Impossible for man, right? Impossible for us to, anyone to say what your dream is and then interpret it. But Daniel did, relying on God. And as Daniel came forward, he said, it's not me who's revealed this, it's God who's revealed it to you. And in verse 36 of Daniel 2, Daniel says, this is the dream. Now we'll tell the interpretation of it before the king.

You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory. It's God who gave you this Nebuchadnezzar. It's not by your own might and your own power. God has given you this. And wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, he has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold. You are a very wealthy king. You do have a lot going on for you, and Babylon was a very wealthy, a very wealthy empire.

It had a lot of things not right in it, but it had the wealth, and God gave it to him. You, Nebuchadnezzar, are this head of gold. But after you, you're not going to last forever, Daniel told him, after you will rise another kingdom inferior to yours, then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything. And like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Babylon was very wealthy. The succeeding kingdom with the Medes and Persians, not quite as wealthy. In fact, when Darius and the Medes took over and they conquered Babylon, Babylon was so beautiful, they moved in and made that their capital city. Much better than anything they had. And when Alexander the Great, with the Greco-Macedonian Empire, they made Babylon their city.

It was so beautiful and so to be desired on a physical level, they moved into it. It was that alluring. And Alexander the Great actually died there in Babylon.

Babylon has a rich history. They were, you know, we may think of ancient times. For ancient times where they were, if you walked into Babylon, you know, there's still things that we see today. If you've ever seen the pictures on, you know, the internet of the Ishtar wall, you know, with the blue tiles and everything, it's a fascinating and beautiful thing. And it's there, I believe it's in Berlin, you know, we've seen it on one of the peace trips.

It's a beautiful thing. And you imagine that back in the ancient world, how splendid that would be. And everywhere you walked and everywhere you looked, there were tremendous palaces, tremendous things. You know, the king had his palaces, and of course they had all the shrines to all the temples there. Babylon was a wealthy, wealthy place, and it was steeped in knowledge as well. Let me read, let me read, you know, from LiveScience.com that talks about the history of Babylon and what they did, because there's many things that happened in Babylon that stay with us even today.

It is one of those societies that, you know, was there back before Jesus Christ, a thousand years, but the remnants of it are still with us today. It says that in this website, it talks about that Babylon was renowned in astronomy and math. And you'll remember, we've talked about Abraham, you know, he was in Ur, which is a predecessor to Babylon. And astronomy is one of the things that he looked at, and he studied the stars. And they knew a lot about what was going on in the stars there in Babylon. It says, "...the ancient scientists who lived in the city made important discoveries in mathematics, physics, and astronomy.

Among their many accomplishments, they developed trigonometry, used mathematical models to track the planet Jupiter, and developed methods of tracking time that are still used today. Ancient Babylonian records are still used by modern-day astronomers to study how the rotation of the earth has changed." All those thousands of years ago, it started in Babylon. And we have the remnants of it today. It was a society, and it was a culture, and it was a kingdom on earth that was so, that was so influential.

In the physical, it made its impact, also in the spiritual. But let's pause, let's pause for a moment and keep it on the physical, because in the times ahead of us, God refers to Babylon again. Now we know, you know, Babylon today, the city is underwater. King, or not King, Sodom Hussein tried to rebuild it, was never able to do that in Iraq, because God said that city will never be inhabited again.

And indeed, it has not been inhabited again. But in Revelation 18, we see a time ahead of us where God refers to a society that isn't with us today, that has this tremendous wealth, this tremendous allure that fascinates the world, that the world marvels after, just like it did with ancient Babylon. Revelation 18 and verse 1 says, After these things I, this is John writing in the vision that God gave him, after these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, it was fallen once in ancient time, is fallen, it's going to fall again, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich, have become rich through the abundance of her luxury, a wealthy, a wealthy empire. Let's drop down to verse 9. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, they were willing to do whatever because look at the physical advantages of being with Babylon and aligned with them.

Look at the physical wealth and how nice these physical comforts are.

The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxurious with her will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, the great city Babylon, the mighty city!

Economic strength, military strength, for one hour your judgment has come, and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore. And look at the array of what Babylon in the future has, merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron and marble, and cinnamon and incense, frankerance oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, all things to be desired, all things that are alluring, all things that people want, but notice those last few words, and the bodies and souls of men.

Let's drop down to verse 17. In one hour such great riches came to nothing. Every shipmaster, all who traveled by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance, and they cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like this great city? What's going to happen? They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, Alas, that great city in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth. For in one hour she is made desolate. In one hour she is made desolate. Verse 21, A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon will be thrown down and will not be found anymore. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and brine shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. A coming time when out of the sea, it sells us in Revelation 13, the whole world marvels after this future society, this future system that's going to bring wealth, might, a whole lot of entertainment, all the things that allure, all the things that tempt, all the things that we could find, that people find so tempting that they will do anything to have that. And the world follows this system of Babylon. It's wealth, it's entertainment, it's might. Who is like that great city? Who is like that great city? You know, you read those words and you see a system of government, a system of economy, a system of entertainment that's coming on the earth, and you know, many would read those verses today, many in the world, and say, America. America is the Babylon that the Bible is talking about there. And when we look at America, America has a lot of wealth. The world does look to us. You know, we are the center of entertainment. We are the center of a lot of things. And because America has been great, the whole world kind of kowtows to us, right? They may not like us, but they want what we have, and it is alluring. Is America Babylon?

No. America is not Babylon. America is blessed by God, but the system of government in America and what the Bible foretells in the future is not America. America will lose its blessing because they've turned for God. This system is just like the system back in Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. It's spiritually faulty. It's spiritually corrupt. It's spiritually bankrupt. Of anything of God, it is in fact, it stands against God. If we read here in verse 40, 24, we see something that, you know, with the system of government in America today, wouldn't happen. In her was found the blood of prophets and saints and of all who were slain on the earth. A system coming that's so different than the government that we have today, a system of freedom. And America has fought and had a tremendous influence on the world. With democracy and the freedom that we've had, the whole world is different today than it was two and three hundred years ago when the history of the earth was always about kings who dominated and had dominion and tyranny and where you were in society dictated whether your life was good or miserable or whatever. That was the history of man from the time of the beginning until the last two or three hundred years when democracy filled the earth and had such an influence in it. And the Bible says the time of dominion and dominating forces is coming back again. When America falls, there will be a time when there will be a king that's living on earth that's going to go back to the times of all. If that was going to want to dominate life, going to want to dominate everything about us, going to want to dominate what we do, how we do it, have control over your finances, have control over your life, and have control over your religion. A society that denies God. Let's go back and look at Nebuchadnezzar because Nebuchadnezzar is an interesting study in what God did with Babylon because he came in contact with the people of God. Daniel was there, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were there, and Nebuchadnezzar saw this dream, the statue that he saw, and he knew. He knew that that had to be of God. There was no man that was going to be able to tell him what the dream was in detail. There was no man that was going to be able to interpret that. Nebuchadnezzar knew God. Let's go back to Daniel 2. Pick it up where we left off here. Daniel 2, verse 45, of course Daniel interprets it and tells us what world history is. Indeed, world history from the time of ancient Babylon until now, with the resurrections of the Roman Empire that will continue until the time of Jesus Christ, has validated every scripture in this Bible and this prophecy. But in verse 45 of Daniel 2, it says, Daniel here is talking, "...inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces..." He's talking about the stone at the end, broken pieces, "...the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." He was witness to. He was told exactly what God wanted him to hear.

King Nebuchadnezzar responded this way. It says, "...King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel and said, truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal the secrets." And then he promoted Daniel, and the people of God were held in high esteem at that point. Nebuchadnezzar knew. Nebuchadnezzar had an opportunity to hear the word of God, and he saw firsthand God's work.

What did he do? Did he grab onto it and run with it and say, this is the God I should follow?

No, he quickly forgot. He quickly forgot and went back to his old ways. He forgot what he had seen. He knew, but he went back. Let's look in Daniel 3 here. Daniel 3. Verse 1 tells us he set up this image of gold. An image of gold. He just knew who God the Father was. He said it. Your God is the God of gods, and yet he goes out and he sets up an idol and went back to his old ways. And he commanded that everyone would bow down to that idol. Everyone, including Daniel and his comrades, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedgog. And of course, they refused to do it because they obeyed God first. They respected God first. They put him first. And Nebuchadnezzar, who should have known better, thought, of course these men would put God first. Look what he did for him. But he was so mad when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to an idol that he threw him into a fiery furnace and said, he was so mad, he did seven times over. These people make me so mad because they won't do what I say. And even though they're the men of God, and even though I've had that proven to me, I want them dead because I want people bowing down to me. I want them doing what I say. And if they won't do what I say, then they can die. And that's what he sentenced them to. Over here in chapter 3, down in verse 26, after he threw them into the fire, in verse 25, it says, look, I'm watching. But I should have said begin verse 25. Look, he answered, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the son of God. That's what the Bible says he said. And Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire. And the staff-crafts, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. And Nebuchadnezzar was reminded, who is the God of gods, who is the Lord of lords. Verse 28, he spoke, saying, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and they have frustrated the king's word, stronger than me. I have to acknowledge their God is stronger than me. I want to believe there's no one on earth like me, no one more powerful. I'm the king of kings. I'm the head of gold. I'm the one who made all this happen. As Nebuchadnezzar would learn, again, it wasn't him. They have frustrated the king's word, and they have yielded their bodies, and that they should not serve nor worship any God, except their own God. Therefore, I make it to agree that any people, nation, or language that speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made in ash-heap, because there is no other God who can deliver like this.

He was reminded again, but he went back to his old ways. He let pride and he let his position get to his head. And you remember, as you read on in Daniel, God had to humble him, and he lived as a beast for seven years. Nebuchadnezzar was a dominating king, not like presidents that we've been used to, not like other world leaders that we've become used to as we've lived in our lives, but a king who was unlike anything that you and I have lived under. He knew, but he never could control his own pride. And time and time again, he went back to his old way of life, and God had to humble him, but he never did yield to God. And his legacy is he wanted the people of God dead, even though he knew better. So when we go back to Revelation and read about the king at the end of time, we see this system of Babylon being repeated again in the system that will be on earth at the time before Jesus Christ returns. Revelation 13.

There's a king coming in verse 1 with the beast that's rising out of the sea, and in verse 4 it says, "...so they, the world, who marvels after this beast." It's a beast that looks so good, it's so alluring, it's got all this wealth, it's got all this entertainment, it promises so many things, it looks so good on the outside and appeals to the senses. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast saying, who's like him? Let's follow him. He's got what we want. Who's able to make war with him? And he, the beast, was given a mouth to speak great things and blasphemies, blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. America's continued for a lot longer than 42 months. His coming power continues for 42 months and speaks great things and blasphemies against God. Looks good on the outside, the inside is not good at all. Verse 6, "...then he opened his mouth and blasphemed against God, so blasphemed his name, his tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven." Wow! I'm going to make war with God. I'm going to speak against him. I'm going to discredit everything that Bible has to say. I'm going to discredit everything that any religion would say, that they look at God. Nebuchadnezzar kind of did the same thing he knew, but then he did things to discredit God and say, I would rather have those people dead because they don't worship me. They don't do what I say. And above all and beyond all in his life, I want them to bow down to me, the ultimate pride. Verse 7, "...it was granted to him to make war with the saints." Who are the saints? That's you and me and the people who keep the commands of God and follow God, just like Daniel did, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. Who even in the face of death, a horrible death, still obey God, didn't compromise.

"...It was granted him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. He was a world-ruling empire. The world who found itself in such a mess now looks to this future system and says, there's our Savior. Now we've got the physical that we are looking for. And him is all the things that we want. All who dwell on the earth will worship him." Wow! "...whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." That better not be you and me. We better have our names written in the book of life. We better not bow down to that kingdom and be allured by the fascination, the entertainment, the wealth, and everything that it has, because it will be a very alluring kingdom. It'll be a very alluring subsystem. It'll look like the way to go, and people who resist it are going to have a lot, a hard price to pay. If anyone has an ear, God says, let him hear. Let's drop down to verse 11. This beast wants to be worshiped. This world-ruler wants to be worshiped, but there's another beast that rides this beast. I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had few horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. Hey, you know what? You know what, little beast? You worship me, and you're talking about people worshiping me? I'll give you all the authority on earth to make that happen. And he causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed, a future resurrection of the Roman Empire, the fourth beast that God says will continue until the time that Jesus Christ returns. He performs great signs so that even he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth and the sight of men. We got the fascination with wealth, and wow, we've got this religious figure who can do great miracles. There's the whole package, right? The world will be deceived.

You and I should not be deceived. We shouldn't be allured. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do and the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image, just like Nebuchadnezzar did, to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Just like Nebuchadnezzar in the ancient kingdom of Babylon, that's the future. The literal city is past and gone, but the spirit of Babylon lives on. The spirit of Babylon will be there at the end of time. God has a warning for you and me in a society that is very wealthy now and that has a lot going on now that is alluring to the senses. A time of wealth, a time when there's plenty, a time when things can happen to us where we just kind of may find ourselves relaxing a little bit. Let's go a few chapters over here to chapter 18, verse 7. We've seen the religious deception of this empire. We've seen the religious deception that was in ancient Babylon and the one that's coming upon the earth in the future. In verse 7 of chapter 18 of Revelation, it says, "...in the measure that she glorified herself." There's that pride, that pride that'll ruin kingdoms, that'll ruin people every time. "...in the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow. For she says in her heart, I sit as queen. I'm the Almighty. I'm the one who's preeminent. And I am no widow, and I will not see sorrow. Nothing will conquer me. I won't suffer." Very prideful statements when you look at them. That'll be the mark of that kingdom. A time of religious allure to the world, a time of economic and military might, a time when the world apparently will be in chaos and out of the sea will come this great power that will fascinate the world and marvel, and they will marvel after it. God says to you and me in verse 4 of Revelation 18, "...I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. Come out of her." God says the same thing in Jeremiah 51, fascinating end-time prophecy of Babylon. In verses, I think it's 6 and verse 45 of Jeremiah 51, he says the same thing, Come out of her, my people. You don't become fascinated with her. You don't tie yourself to her. You don't look to her. You don't become enamored with the wealth. You don't become enamored with the entertainment. You don't become enamored with the military might. You don't become enamored with the power and the pride of what that system is. Come out of her, my people.

And as you look at the history of God's people, many had to come out of the society that they were in. We look at Abraham. What was one of the things where God saw Abraham's faith? Abraham was in Ur, a wealthy city, a predecessor of the kingdom of Babylon.

God told him, Get out of there. Get out of there and go to a place that I show you. Come out of her, Abraham. Leave her behind. Trust me. Trust me. Follow me. Do what I say to do. Noah lived in a time that was wealthy, corrupt, religious deception, but they were marrying and giving a marriage. You think it was good times on earth at that time, but there was Noah all alone in his family building the ark faithfully. God told him, You build this ark. You follow me. You resist the world around you, and you follow the directions that I give you. Noah did it faithfully. The rest of the earth died in the flood. Noah and his family survived. They followed God.

You look at Israel. Israel was there in Egypt. Yes, they were slaves, but Egypt was the cream of the world at that time, or they were the wealthy country on earth at that time. And even though the Israelites were living as slaves, they did have advantages. As you recall, when you read through Exodus, and they were in the desert saying, Oh, if we could just go back to Egypt, we could have this, and we could have that. And even though we were slaves, we would like to have all these physical things that we used to have when we were just living in Egypt. But God said, No, Israel, if you're going to follow me, you leave Egypt. Come out. Come out of her.

Lot had to leave. Lot, who became so enamored with Sodom, even though it was a sinful, sinful city, God had to drag him out of there. But he said, You've got to come out of her. You cannot have yourself aligned with her. And well, God would have us live in Babylon today, live in a society that's alluring and that has all the trappings of wealth and everything that could appeal to our senses. He says, I don't want you to come out physically yet. You live there. You make your living there. You raise your families there. But spiritually and mentally, you'd separate from that society. Their mores, their standards of living aren't yours. Yours, you find in the Bible. You live there. You make your way there. And I will prosper you there as you follow me, if that's what God's will is. But you come out of her. You are not part of that system. You are part of His system. So as we examine ourselves going forward toward Passover, maybe a question we can ask ourselves. Have I really come out of Babylon? Have I really come out of Babylon? Am I more out of Babylon today than I was a year ago?

Do I rely more on God today than the things of Babylon? The things of wealth? The things that this society has to offer? Do I trust Him more? Do I rely on Him more? Or am I still in Babylon? Trusting and relying on it? And maybe deceiving myself into thinking that I'm doing what God wants?

Yes, we examine ourselves for the sins in our lives, but the attitudes in our lives, too, are very, very important. That's one city, Babylon. Let's look at another city, a city that you'll all have an instant recognition of and a thought going to your mind. Let's look at the city of Laodicea.

Laodicea. Well mentioned in the Bible, every Church of God members knows the city of Laodicea and the prophecies about it in Revelation 3. Let me first go back and give you the history of Laodicea, the physical city that no longer exists. Now this comes from a secular source. It comes from Turkish archaeological news, independently verified. This doesn't come from any Church website. But let me give you a history and listen to the things that the city of Laodicea had. Because it was a city that was a good city to live in. If you were alive at that time, Laodicea would be a nice place to live. It says Laodicea was found into the mid-3rd century BC as a Hellenistic city by the ruler from the Seleucid dynasty, Antiochus II. We've all heard of Antiochus, you know, the abomination of desolation, Antiochus, you know, that was him. The name Laodicea was given by Antiochus to honor his wife, Laodicea, who was also his cousin. The marriage was a turbulent one. It turns out, just to give you a little bit of history there, as kings did in those days, they wanted to marry people that they wanted alliances with that would make them stronger. So he repudiated Laodicea. He married Ptolemy's daughter, Bernice. In four years, Ptolemy died. He decided to leave Bernice, go back to Laodice. They remarried. He died within a year. So the history books will tell you that there's many who believe that Laodice poisoned Antiochus, because later, within the next year, she murdered Bernice, the wife he went to, and the son that they had together. So she wasn't the nice woman either, and, you know, that kind of the history where it was. It goes on. It says, initially Laodicea was not a major city, but of note is that Antiochus III brought to the area 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon. From this moment, Laodicea had a significant Jewish community. The wealth of the community was legendary, as it sent significant gold reserves to the temple in Jerusalem every year. So the people in Jerusalem were aware of what Laodicea was, a wealthy city. Over the course of history, the city became part of the Roman Empire. Rome granted Laodicea the status of a free city. The golden era of Laodicea's prosperity was between the first and fifth centuries AD. So when Christ was on earth, and by the time the Bible was written, Laodicea had become a major, wealthy city. Trade was the primary source of income for Laodicea because of the city's location on a crucial merchant route. The most important export commodities were textiles and the famous black wool of Laodicea. Two of its manufactured in Laodicea, called Tramada, were so well known that the city was sometimes referred to as Trimateria. Laodiceans also traded marble, cattle, and grain. Now listen to some of the things that they had going on in their society that set them apart. Since the first century AD, Laodicea functioned a leading center of medicine at a medical school. Its most famous graduate was the Mosthenes Philatholes, the author of the most influential work in the field of ophthalmology of the ancient period. His work, discussed the diseases of the eyes, was even used in the Middle Ages. Moreover, the production of the famous Phrygian powder is related to Laodicea. It was a medicine used for treating eye diseases. Local resources of zinc and alum became the basis for the production of eye ointments, known as cholera, also sold by merchants from Laodicea. Of notice, people flocked to Laodicea. Medical treatments, for eye treatments, were the things that didn't happen. It became a leading center of health care, if you will, in that environment of that time. The Bible even references that in Laodicea, and when it talks about the eye salve that's there.

The city was wealthy because of its location. One of the things when they've done the archaeological dibs, they've unearthed a stadium there that they said is larger than the one in Athens. The size of stadiums then kind of indicated the wealth of the city, just like today. You know, you read about these multi-billion dollar stadiums that cities build for their football teams, indicates the wealth of the city back then it was too, the largest stadium that has been unearthed. Of course, it had major temples. The wealth of the inhabitants of Laodicea was widely known, it says, in the ancient world. Laodicea minted its coins that bore the images of Zeus, Asclepius, Apollo, and later the Roman empires. The city became famous for its banking. It was so wealthy that it became a banking center, the economic center of its time.

So it had three major industries, this black wool that was unique to them, along with some other things. It had a medical center, a medical school that was very well known that people flocked to for the various things that they came there for. And it became a banking center as well, because of the wealth that that city was able to derive. Now you look at Laodicea, you look at Laodicea, and we can compare that to America today. The people living in Laodicea at that time lived in a society much like us. An economic giant, leading health care center, the world flocked to it and looked us for everything, had its famous exports, and all those things. If you were living at that time in Laodicea, or you're living at that time, Laodicea would be a good place to live physically, just like America today is a good place to live physically. But living in that city, people became not spiritually strong. There was an attitude that was in Laodicea that the Bible talks about us and warns us about today, that God warned the Israelites back when they were being led into a land of plenty. Let's go back to Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8 and verse 10, Israel was coming out of slavery in Egypt. They wandered in the desert for 40 years. God was leading them to a land of plenty. Their life was going to be good. He said he would prosper then, if you will just obey me, if you will just follow me. Israel did have a tremendous history of wealth when the kings would follow God. Deuteronomy 8 verse 10. When you have eaten and you're full, then you shall bless the eternal your God for the good land which He has given you.

Don't forget it's Him who gives you these things. Beware that you don't forget the eternal your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today. Lest, when you've eaten and are full and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold are multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up and you forget the eternal your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, who led you through that great and terrible wilderness in which were fiery servants and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers didn't know that He might humble you and that He might test you to do you good in the end than you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. What a dangerous thing to have happen, but it's happened to people over and over and over.

Look what I've done! Look at the wealth I've amassed!

Happened to Israel, happens in many, many societies, and God judges them all.

You know, the city of Laodicea was in an area prone to earthquakes in the fifth century D.C., B.C., not B.C., A.D. It was leveled by an earthquake and never was inhabited again, never was rebuilt. It had other earthquakes during the time, but a final one that leveled that city, and no one lives in it today. Still people live around it, but no Laodicea today.

Verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers as it is this day. And it will be if you by any means forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them. I testify against you this day that you will surely perish.

As the nations which the eternal destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you wouldn't be obedient to the voice of the eternal your God. It applies to nations, it applies to us individually, if we forget, if we put too much faith in the society around us, if we look at things differently.

You know, Laodicea was a physical place, had a spiritual aspect as well. And in the future, when God says in Revelation 3, and he warns his people about what an end-time attitude will be, he mirrors what went on in that city of Laodicea, and the people of that time knew well what the city of Laodicea was like, the wealth. And all the attributes of that city. Chapter 3 of Revelation, verse 15. Verse 14 addresses this to the church of the Laodiceans.

Verse 15, it says, I know your works. The church had works. They were doing things.

They were holding Sabbath services. The Laodiceans would go to Sabbath services.

They might serve in their local congregations. They were keeping the Holy Days.

They weren't the people who just departed from God. They were doing. They were going through the motions that he said. But there was an attitude in the Laodiceans that God didn't like. He says, I know your works. I see what you're doing, that you are neither cold nor hot.

I wish you were cold or hot. I wish you were really alive from me, that whole mind, body, and soul were alive and zealous for me. And that's not the outward appearance of what you're doing.

That you just think it's enough to show up at Sabbath services, if we even do that every week.

That it's enough just to show up on the Holy Days, if we even do that in this day and age.

If it's enough that you pay tithes, that you pray or have a semblance of a prayer to me, I want it to be your whole heart. I want you hot with love for me. I want you hot with desire for me. I want you hot with zeal. I want you working hard because you want to do what I want and not just going through the motions. And he says, I wish you were hot. That's what I want for you. I want you to be zealous for what you know and what you've been called to and what I've opened your mind to and what I promised you. I don't want you just going through the motions. I don't want you just doing it thinking, okay, good, Sabbath, I'll go to church and I'm done with it. Oh, I did my two minutes or ten minutes of prayer. I did my 15 minutes of study and get on with it. I want you zealous and hot for me. And if it's not, you're not hot. I just assume you were cold. Make a decision. Make a decision because lukewarm water is ineffective. Lukewarm water is confusing. Who are you? Is the water hot or is it cold? I might take lukewarm water and say, well, it's a little tool. You may take the lukewarm water and say, it's a little warm. Lukewarm Christians are confusing. They look like they should be refreshing. They look like they should be, but when you see below it and when you look from God's standpoint, it's not at all satisfying. It's not at all what He has called us to. It's not at all what He wants us to be.

It looks good. It looks satisfying, but when you taste it, it's like, ah, I wish it was hot or I wish it was cold. But it's just so unsatisfying that God says, you know, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. I don't even want to taste it. Let's go back to Amos. Amos 5. Amos was a prophet to the ancient nation of Israel, and he who sounded a warning to them, to the nation, and to the individual people in there. And certainly Revelation 3 and those churches of the latest see, it's a warning message to you and me in Amos 5 and verse 21. God says this to a people that were keeping the holy days, going to church. Verse 21, I hate, I despise your feast days. Now, why would God say that? I despise your feast days. I don't savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I won't accept them, nor will I regard your fattened feast offerings. Take away from me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments, but let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. I don't even want to hear it. Why? Because they were lukewarm. They were going through the motions, but their heart wasn't with God. They had the lay of the sea in attitude. They had the lay of the sea in attitude. They looked good on the outside, but the inside was just so unsatisfying to God. When he looked at them, he goes, you know, it just irritates me that you're going through the motions, but you aren't giving me your heart and your soul. You aren't coming out of society. You're giving into society. You have a look that you are a Christian, a true Christian, but below the surface, I see you're not. In chapter 6, he says something that we could write. I could write this in a letter and send it to America today, to all of us. Chapter 6, verse 1, woe to you who are at ease in Zion, who trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. Woe to us that live in a house of ease, who look to all the trappings of society, and that's who we look to. Go over to Calumet and see. Go from there to Hamith, the great. Go down to Gath, of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? Woe to you who put afar off the day of doom, who cause the seed of violence to come near, who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who have plenty. That's a great society to live in physically. It's got plenty there. Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David. The entertainment is full and it's rich. It's there. Who drink wine from bowls and anoint yourselves for the best ointments. But you're not grieved. You're not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. You don't see what's going on at all spiritually. You don't mourn. You don't sigh and cry like it says in Ezekiel. You're just very comfortable in society.

You say you do, but do you? That's what God says. Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives and those who recline at banquet shall be removed. God is looking for more than just lip service. He's looking for more than lukewarm Christians. He's looking for us to be our whole heart, mind, and soul. Not just playing at it. Not just looking at this as a physical calling, that we do this and we do that. And as long as we do this and do that, God is okay with us.

He's looking for more. He's looking for mind, body, heart, and soul. Let's go back to Revelation. Revelation 3. You can mark down Isaiah 1 verses 11 through 16. You can read that later. Isaiah says the same thing to the nation about God. You know, I don't accept what you're doing because your heart isn't in it. You're just punching the clock or you're just checking off the box. Did it? Therefore God is happy. Revelation 3. We were in verse 16 talking about lukewarm. If we go on it, if we go on in verse 17, we can see the attitude of Laodicea. Laodicea was a rich city because you say, I'm rich. Laodicea thought they had it all. I've become wealthy. Notice the word I. I'm rich.

I've become wealthy. And I have need of nothing.

Now today, that's a spiritual attitude that we can develop. I've been in the church for 50 years.

I know all I need to know. I've been keeping the Sabbath for 50 years. I've been keeping the Holy Days for 50 years. I've done this for 50 years. I know all I need to know. I'm rich. I become wealthy. I have need of nothing. I don't need any more education. I don't need any more knowledge. I don't need to do any more of these things anymore. I've done it all.

And Laodicea, they kind of became complacent. They kind of took their ease. They kind of thought, I've done it all. Don't need to do any more. As long as I just do this and do that, that's enough.

That's the attitude of complacent society. That's a part of the Laodicean attitude.

It's a self-centered attitude. I'm there. I've got it all. I'm rich. I become wealthy.

I have need of nothing. And as we examine ourselves and as we look at our attitudes and as we look at how we behave and operate in our lives today, it might be good to go back and ask God, as David did in Psalm 139, verse 23, examine the motives of my heart. Where am I?

Could I be a Laodicean? Could it just snuck in? Could I have become too complacent? Did I just think I have it all and I don't need to do any more? I'll just do the bare minimum and I'll just sort of sit back and recline and wait for Christ to come because I'm there. I've done it all. I don't need anything else. I don't need to do these things anymore.

Because if we examine ourselves in the light of the Bible and understand the Laodicean attitude, it's a very self-deceptive attitude. If we judge ourselves and say, no, I have done enough, no, I am pretty good, then we might want to look a little deeper. Because God says, if we have that attitude, that we're there, that we've arrived, that we've done it all, look what he says. You don't know that you're wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. You don't know that you've left things scrap into your life. That allows you to become complacent. That you're more interested in the things of the world and the things that you can do and where you can be and how you can do it than the things of God. You've somehow allowed the wealth of society, the wealth that God has given us to Trump. The important things of life, and that is the spiritual development that God wants us to have. That we truly are rich. That we truly are becoming wealthy, but we're not there yet. As long as we have breath, God is still working with us and still growing us and still developing us. If we relax, we become this Laodicean attitude.

They became complacent. They were living a life of ease. They became self-centered, and it was all about them. They became more concerned about the physical, and what was good for them, than what God wanted them to have, or wanted them to be.

And they deceived themselves, because, look, I've had it all. But God says, no, you don't have it all. You're not looking at yourselves clearly. You're not looking at yourselves through the eyes of His Holy Spirit. You're not looking at yourself through the eyes of His Word. And He says in verse 18, I counsel you, buy from Me gold, refine in the fire. I've called you to a purpose. I want to develop you. I want you to succeed. I want you to be in the kingdom. I want to give you everything I promised I would give you. I counsel you, buy of Me from Me gold, refine in the fire. And then, look at the opposites that He gives here in verse 18 to a people that understood well what Laodicea was, and everything that it stood for in that day and age, that you may be rich. You're not rich. You're rich physically, but you're not rich spiritually. Go through the trials. Get back closer to God. Develop that zeal. Develop that patience. Develop that closeness to Him, that you may be rich. Forget the black wool. That was the trademark of Laodicea. You put on white garments. You desire not the black wool of the economy of that time. You put on the white garments of righteousness. You do the things that God said. You give Him your heart. You give Him your mind. And you look at yourselves honestly, and you repent when you see the attitudes in you and me that we have. You may be rich with white garments. That you may be clothed, because now you're clothing yourselves with the physical.

Close yourself with white garments. That the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. You think you're clothed, but God sees well the shame that we have. And then He addresses the medical force, and anoint your eyes with Isab. The true Isab, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit. Don't look. Don't look to all the trappings of the world. Anoint your eyes with Isab. Look at God. Trust Him. Seek Him. Do His well. Learn what it is. Anoint your eyes with Isab that you may see, because you think you're looking at it and helping it with the things of the world, but you'll see it clearly. If you anoint your eyes, your spiritual eyes, with His Word, with His Spirit. Verse 19. Something that none of us really want to be rebuked ever, right? Verse 19. As many as I love, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.

It's not fun to be rebuked, but because God loves us, He does rebuke us. And He does say, I want you there. I want you in the Kingdom. I want you to wake up.

Listen. How many times does it say in Revelation, He who has ears, let him hear. And so He'll rebuke us because He loves us because He isn't willing that any should perish.

Not you and me who have been around forever, in some cases. Not you and me who have been here maybe a short time. He wants all to come to repentance, all to have eternal life. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. And what does He say? Therefore, be zealous. Be zealous and repent. And as we head toward Passover, as we examine ourselves, we can ask ourselves, have I really come out of Babylon? Am I coming out of Babylon? Do I have a Laodicean attitude?

Could I have developed a Laodicean attitude? Could it have creeped in over the years when I examine what I do now and measure it against the stature of Jesus Christ, the stature of the picture that's painted for us in the Bible of who we should be?

Honestly, am I living up to that? Am I aspiring to that? Or have I become lukewarm?

Could I have these attitudes? Because in the mark of a very wealthy society where it is so alluring, what goes on around us and so comfortable, we can have ourselves deceived if we're not watching out. We can send confusing messages.

We might look the part. Are we the part when God looks at us?

Verse 20, a very sad verse when you look at it. Behold, Christ says, I stand at the door and knock. I'm right there where you are. I'm knocking at your door. I'm trying to get your attention.

Sometimes you go to someone's door and you're knocking, knocking, knocking. You think, are they there or not? God knows we're there. I'm knocking. I want to come in. I want to give you what you need. I stand at the door and knock. But no one is answering. And so he stands there and he knocks and he knocks and he knocks.

And he says, if anyone hears my voice, that opens the door. If you would just open the door. If you would just let me in. If you would get out of the lackadaisical attitude that you're in.

If you would just do that, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.

You know, it probably harkens you back to the Matthew 25 and the 10 virgins.

They all slept. They all kind of got the laity-see-in attitude. They kind of slumbered for a while and whatever. But five of them were a little more zealous. Five of them kept some oil in their lamps. So when the bridegroom came, they were aware of the other five. You know, they were just kind of gone to sleep. They might have been there every single week at Sabbath services. Worse if they weren't there every single week at Sabbath services or the Holy Days. Worse if they weren't doing so even the basics of what God asks us to do. And when he came, it was like there, you know, he was knocking on their door all that time. But then he comes. They didn't pay any attention during that time. And when he came, all of a sudden they're knocking on his door. Hey, what about us? What about us? And he goes, I didn't know you. You never listened to me. You were lukewarm.

You were an unsatisfying Christian. You weren't giving me your heart and soul.

And believe me, there was weeping or there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And a large group of people who will have to put on the white garments through the Great Tribulation.

God says, it doesn't have to be that way for you. It doesn't have to be that way for you. Isaiah 1.

Isaiah 1 verse 16.

I told you earlier that you could read verses 11 through 15. Let's pick it up in verse 16.

What God wants for us, it says, wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Rebuke the oppressor. Defend the powerless. Plead for the widow. Do the things of true religion. Let it be from your heart. Develop what God wants us to all have, those fruits of the Spirit that we talk about so often. First, let the income come now. And let's reason together, says the Eternal. Though your sins are like scarlet, when you look at yourself and think, you know what, yeah, there's a lot that I need to repent of. There's a lot that I need to pay attention to in my life. There's a lot of things where I can look at it and say, I'm not measuring up to what the Bible says. Though your sins are like scarlet, they'll be as white as snow. God will repent. God will grant forgiveness when we repent, truly. They'll be as white as snow. Though they're red like crimson, they'll be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse, if I keep knocking and you keep ignoring, but if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

You know, God's message is a message of encouragement. And some might look at what I've said today and say, it's a discouraging message. It's encouraging. It should be encouraging to us because we all are prone to these things, me included. And many times, most of the time when I speak to you, I'm speaking to myself. There are things that we need to examine. There are things that we need to do as we approach Passover. There are things we need to do throughout our lives because God has called us to a purpose. Not just one day a week Christians, or two day a week Christians, or whatever. But He's called us to give all of our hearts, minds, and soul to Him. And as we approach this Passover season, I hope we will look at it and take it seriously. We will examine ourselves. Yes, God will show us where our sins are. And as we study the Bible, as we read the Bible, we'll see pictures of ourselves. I hope we just don't ignore it and say, eh, that's okay. I'm good enough. I'm good enough and I'm better than I was when I was returned, when I was called. But look at the attitudes. The two questions we can start with today are, have we come out of Babylon? Are we still in Babylon?

And by chance, could I have become a Laodicean? Could I be a Laodicean in the way that God says?

If we look at ourselves openly and honestly with God's Spirit, we may have, we will have, an opportunity to grow in the way that He wants us to and please Him and be an encouragement that and inspiration for each other.