Just as Philadelphia is supposed to reflect the period of the mighty missionary and evangelical church movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to the historical view of the Church, beginning with the revivals in America and England, with men such as George Whitefield, John Wesley, Charles G. Finney and Dwight L. Moody and continuing until today with the revival movements and the emergence of missionary organisations and Bible societies, the period of Laodicea is considered to be that of the end-time Church. This Church is lukewarm and conformed to the world. The weeds and the tares grow together until the harvest.1 The weeds, the tares, look like the true grain as similar as two peas in a pod but they bear no fruit. The roots of the tares cover a large area and strangle and entangle the roots of the good grain under the ground. Anyone trying to pull them up invariably pulls the good grain up as well.
Only the angels will be able to separate the good grain—the true wheat—from the weeds—the tares—at harvest time. The formation of a ‘true’ Church has already been attempted many times during the course of Church history, but has always turned out to be a fruitless enterprise. Separations, the formation of separate groups of Reformed, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox and all kinds of other groups has caused much sadness. And the Church should be deeply sorrowful about the tearing apart of the body of Christ. The Church should confess this sin and to her Lord.2
The word ‘Laodicea’ signifies the same as ‘democracy’: ‘power to the people, the people decide about what is right or wrong’. Laos dikè and dèmos kratein, in Greek. The people decide, the people rule. The voice of the people is the voice of God—so the Romans said. In this political system, it is no longer what God and His Word say that counts, but our opinions. The laws in our countries should be made in a democratic manner, they say. Whatever motion the majority of the votes supports should become law, they say. Guidelines for the Christian faith and Statements of faith, for Christian Creeds and for the governing and ruling of the Church should also be decided upon in a democratic way, they say. It should happen by a majority of votes in the Church, they say. “There has to be a sufficient ‘support base’, advocates of such ‘democratic developments’ explain. We must be and function just like the world around us, they say. The agenda of the world should be our agenda as well, they say.
Gone are the days of obedient submission to the authority of God and His Word. No respect for divine institutions like marriage and goverment. We should respect His divine Authority in relationships and laws, also in society. Paul says in Romans 13:1-2 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” But we think: democracy is the answer. For instance in the relationship between government and citizen, between parents and children, management and staff, teacher and pupil, employer and employee. Everyone does as he thinks best.3 It sounds just like the days of the Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Proponents of the new sexual morality are for freedom to do what one likes. Life itself is not sacred anymore. There is no longer any concern to protect life at all costs. Man now believes that life and death are his prerogative to decide e.g. to abort and to legalise euthanasia. He thinks it is his right to choose the type of marriage arrangements he likes – heterosexual, same sex or other variants. The prevailing preference is for separation between Church and State so that religious convictions don’t get into the way of governance. The Ten Commandments are no longer taught in schools. The current mores are just like what Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”
The mystery of lawlessness4 has been active since Christ’s first coming, just like yeast leavens the whole loaf.5 The Jews had to and still have to remove all leaven, all yeast from their homes when celebrating Passover. This is also true of our lives.
• Laodicea lay at the crossroads of three important highways. Commerce and industry—in particular, banking—flourished. The city was so rich that it was even able to be rebuilt with its own means, without needing to call upon the imperial treasury, after an earthquake in 60–61 AD.
• Democracy has never been a safeguard against dictatorship. Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany through democratic processes. Of course, democracy may be considered the best possible way – or the least bad way – of moving forward as society, but it is not perfect and should never go against the will of God and His principles laid down in the Bible and in the Judeo-Christian ethics. That should be the guiding light upon which we base our national laws.
Bible References:
1.Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 2.John 17:20–23 3.Judges 17:6, 21:25 4.2 Thessalonians 2:3 and 7; 1 John 3:4 5.Matthew 13:33; 1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9; Matthew 16:6, 11–12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1
