Jesus did not commend this church for anything. Like the rich and self-obsessed city of Laodicea, the church was a convenient and lukewarm religious club (Revelation 3:15-17), but Jesus was excluded. That is why He was standing at the door knocking and calling. He was on the outside and wanted to be welcomed, and received inside. Despite their nominal allegiance to Jesus they did not know Him.
It may seem strange to consider repentance as a victory. Surely, repentance cannot be a triumph as it is the admission of a failed lifestyle and a defeated ego and of being rebellious against God - which is the essence of sin. Jesus' message to the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:14-18) was condemnation of the so-called believers being religious but having no relationship with Him: Jesus was left outside and ignored.
Following the individualised letters to the seven churches (but intended to be read to all of them, and to us too), John is immersed in a new vision. His eyes are taken upwards to a doorway into heaven. Unlike Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven at the top of which God stood, commanding His promise of earthly territory to Jacob and his descendants so that they would be a blessing to the world (Genesis 28:10-15) - this vision showed heaven to come.
God's throne occupies centre stage in this vision. He rules over everything and everybody. He is the Creator God (Revelation 4:11) who shares His throne with the Lamb, God the Son (Revelation 5:6, 13).
God's throne room in heaven is not only for God but also His chosen people represented by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4:1-4). God has never been isolated: He has always been in the community of Father, Son and Spirit. In this chapter He is also seen as the God of His redeemed people. However, God's mighty power seen in Revelation 4:5 is uncontained, and is continually being expressed.
What is the essence of worship? It is to recognise the infinitely superior value (or worth) of the one we adore. The original word for worship comes from the idea of a dog kissing its master's hand.
John's vision continued in the throne room of heaven, as his attention is drawn to a scroll lying in God's open hand, the hand of power and authority, ready to release to whoever was holy. Nothing further could be added to the scroll because it was already covered by writing on both sides (Ezekiel 2:9-10). It was complete and secured by seven seals.
John saw a Lamb. The scene is still in the throne room of heaven. A completed scroll is resting on the open palm of God the Father as He sits on the throne. The scroll is full of writing on both sides, bulging with divine content, but it cannot be read because it is sealed up. This document, detailing God's plans for the future and the inheritance of the saints, is so sacred that only a person as holy as Father God could be authorised to open it. Nobody was found except a Person described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.
The lamb was standing at the centre of the throne of God in heaven (Revelation 5:6). In his vision John saw the seraphs, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders surrounding the throne in worship.
John saw that the throne room of God, where the Lamb stood (Revelation 5:6) was filled with many angels. So many that it was impossible to count them, as in Daniel 7:10 and Hebrews 12:22.
