Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31192/np.21.2.11
Lukewarm Christianity: Revisiting the Letter to the Church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)
Stipo Kljajić
; University of Zagreb, Catholic Faculty of Theology, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The last in the series of seven Letters to the Churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3) is the letter to the Church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22). It is peculiar in many ways. It marks the end of the first part of the Book of Revelation and serves as the bridge between its first and second part. It is important to notice that this is the only letter completely void of Christ’s praise for good deeds. Rightly or wrongly, it is widely considered to be the harshest of all the seven Letters to the Churches in Asia Minor. To fathom the contents of the Letter to the Church in Laodicea, this paper combines synchronic and diachronic approaches – i.e. several exegetical methods. It seeks to answer some of the fundamental questions arising out of the Letter, such as these given below. What are the (mis)deeds of the Laodicean Christians that only invite Christ’s rebukes (going so far as to say that he will spit them out of his mouth)? What kind of degradation has the Church in Laodicea sunk to that warrant only reproach? Is there any hope for earnestness and repentance in the Laodicean Christian community because Christ admonishes them the most out of all the Churches of Asia Minor? What are the similarities between the Church in Laodicea and the modern Church – i.e. today’s Christians?
Keywords
spit out of the mouth; lukewarm Christianity; the Letter to the Church in Laodicea; Seven Letters
Hrčak ID:
306178
URI
Publication date:
17.7.2023.
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