As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten The Laodicean church could take comfort in the fact that Christ had written a letter of rebuke to them for it was an indication of his ongoing love for them. They were not so far gone that He would leave them silently to their own devices. Like a loving Father, God chastens those who would be His sons (Deu.
Deu. 8:5; 2S.
2S. 7:14; Heb.
Heb. 12:5-8).
be zealous ζήλευε [
zēleue] ,
be continually full of zeal (present-tense). The same root word as hot in Revelation
Rev. 3:15+. Although God said
I could wish you were cold or hot (either state being preferable to lukewarm hypocrisy), He still prefers that they be
hot. The Laodicean church-goer was to
earnestly desire,
pursue, and
strive after God.
1 He could no longer remain a
church-goer, but would need to become a
God-chaser.
repent See commentary on
μετανοια [
metanoia] at
Revelation 2:5.
Notes
1 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1996), G2206.