“The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” Revelation 3:14
The words the Lord uses to introduces Himself to Laodicea are stunning. He always uses the attributes they need to focus on. Because we live in this Laodicean church age, these traits speak to
what we see happening in our society and within the Lord’s church itself. As we read His words remember the Lord knows our situation and what tempts us to stray from Him. He selects these attributes so we keep ourselves true to Him in an age that desires to force us into its mold.
The words To each of the seven churches the Lord begins by
reminding the church these are His words. He does not share
feelings or opinions as the age we live in does. We are to listen, to heed to obey His words, words which the Lord holds in equal esteem to His name. “Bow down toward your holy temple and give
thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” The age we live in is in full attack mode to destroy God’s word. It is deemed archaic and old fashioned; it is considered racist and homophobic; it is considered the words of uneducated and
ancient sheepherders; it is considered to be full of errors, myths and deceptions. Artificial intelligence is being used to write a less offensive Bible and China is re-writing the Bible to substitute its leaderships’ “wisdom” for the truth of God. God knew His word would be under intense attack in our age so He focuses us on His words – words from God – truth, not opinion.
The Amen The Lord first tells the Laodiceans that He is the Amen. The Greek word for amen means “verily, truly or most assuredly”. Strong’s Concordance says the word is often used as an “emphasis marker,” which introduces a statement of pivotal importance – essential to interpreting the over-all passage. The Lord establishes with His words and His name that what He is about to say is the truest of true statements. The Laodiceans must stop focusing on the lies being passed on as truth by their culture and focus on the truth that is the very character of God. Thus the Lord puts the Amen at the beginning of His words, not the end. He wants the Laodiceans (and us) to know this is the only truth we can count on. This is not the opinion of a person, it is the verified and confirmed truth of God. Therefore we must be careful to heed and obey what He is about to say.
There is another aspect to the Lord’s use of the word Amen. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory”. All promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus, no one else.
What are the Laodiceans facing? They are told to keep the peace, they shouldn’t tell others that Christ is only one way to God.
Others’ beliefs are just as valid as theirs. The Lord states this is not true. The message the church is given is that there is one
way only for man to find peace with God and that is through Jesus Christ alone. One truth, not many.
There is a third aspect for the Laodiceans to remember. They are keeping quiet and compromising with the world out
of fear. 2 Corinthians reminds us that God always says yes to the Lord’s requests. This means God is in control. That truth keeps us from fearing men or circumstances for we realize there is nothing man can do to us, outside of God’s will. Christ prays for us – He is the amen to praying for God’s will in our lives. Fear not.
What can we learn? We see the omniscience of God to share these truths in a day when absolute truth, God’s truth, is demeaned and denied. The Lord said it, we can count on it.