The Meaning of Revelation 3:15-16

3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.     
3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

Often, this passage is misunderstood. Jesus does not tell believers that He wishes for them to be completely evil (cold) or completely good (hot). The key to understanding these verses is to know about the geography of Laodicea, the city to which Jesus addressed this portion of the Book of Revelation.

Waters of Hierapolis

Waters of Colossae

Nearby Hierapolis had hot, medicinal waters that worked wonders on achy, ill bodies. Another border city, Colossae, was known for cold, refreshing water that people loved to drink. Hot water is useful. Cold water is useful. But lukewarm water is useful - - just try to swallow a mouthful of lukewarm water and you’ll see what I mean!

The point of Revelation 3:15-16 is that Jesus does not desire for people to follow Him half-heartedly. He desires a believer’s entire heart. May we serve Him with all of our heart, mind, and passion!

22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 22:37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’                               
22:38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

God's Unexpected Paths

On August 18, 1977, I was born to Elmer and Kathy Akers, residents of Potosi, Missouri. Both sides of my family have deep roots in the Midwestern soil of Missouri because they have resided in the state (and indeed the same county) for over two hundred years. God placed me in a family that also possesses deep spiritual roots. My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all are followers of Jesus Christ. One of the most influential people in my early life was my great-grandfather John Britton, who served as a missionary and pastor in the Ozark Mountains region of Missouri for over sixty years.

            Potosi serves as the county seat of Washington County, and boasts a population of almost 2,700. Although the town is roughly sixty miles southwest of the melting pot known as the Saint Louis metropolitan area, Potosi’s ethnic makeup is fairly uniform. In the 2000 census, 95.6 percent of the population was Caucasian, 2.14 percent was African American, 0.45% was Native American, and the remaining 1.81 percent originated from miscellaneous countries in Asia and Europe.

            Although only a handful of Potosi’s residents hail from an international background, two early experiences in my life left me with an appreciation for other cultures. At Breton Creek Baptist Church, my childhood congregation, I became acquainted with Doctor Rustico “Rusty” Simpelo, a physician from the Philippines. As a young child I was fascinated by the fact that Rusty’s home lay far across the ocean and that he spoke a language other than English.  As he slowly pronounced some basic Tagalog words so that I could get a feel for his native tongue, I considered how interesting it would be to possess the ability to communicate with non-English speakers.

            Sometime during my years in elementary school, a missionary who served in Honduras spoke in a church service at Breton Creek. David Dickson ministered to the Garifuna people, and he shared the difficulties of learning the language, as well as the blessing of sharing the Gospel with people who never had heard the message before. After all these years, I vividly remember him teaching us that the word ídabiñan is a typical Garifuna greeting. While Rusty had made me aware that there were distant lands peopled by individuals who spoke other languages, David caused me to realize that missionaries often learn other languages in order to tell those who do not speak English about Jesus Christ.

            My next exposure to other cultures came as a teenager. Potosi High School required students to learn either Spanish or French, so I arbitrarily signed up for Spanish because I hoped to visit Hawaii someday. For some reason, I believed that Spanish was the official language of the fiftieth state! I failed to see an everyday application for Spanish, however, so I barely passed the mandatory four semesters. I reasoned that because only one Hispanic lived in Potosi, and I assumed that I would live and die in the town as had many generations of my ancestors, I would never need Spanish. God has a way of directing the courses of our lives in ways that we would never expect! As you probably know, I have served as the pastor to Hispanics at Nueva Vida for the past 6 years.

            The point of the above autobiographical account is that we never know how God will lead us in the future, but we can be sure that He is preparing us in the present. For this reason, we should treat every occasion as a God-given opportunity in which we should  serve Him to the best of our ability, through His power, and for His glory!

He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. (Luke 16:10)

A Note on the Richness of the Hebrew Text of Genesis 1:1

The Book of Genesis begins with a simple, profound statement: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The name for God in this passage is Elohim, which means "power, strength, glory."[1] The idea is that He is the transcendent Creator. Interestingly, the name Elohim is plural, but the verb which accompanies it, "create," is singular. Genesis 1:1, therefore, is the earliest echo of both the Trinity and Unity of God. What God creates is the heavens and the earth, a way to refer to "all of creation."[2]

The word translated "created" is bārā'. There are two primary terms for "create" in the Hebrew language:

'āśāh: This verb in its base sense is translated "do, make."[3] In the context of creation, it carries the idea of the fashioning of an object[4] from materials that already exist. Cf. Gen. 8:6; 33:17; Ex. 25:10-11, 13, 17; Ps. 86:9; 95:5; 96:5 Within Genesis 1:1-3:1, the word appears in: 1:7, 11, 12, 16, 25, 26, 31; 2:2 (2x), 2:4, 18; 3:1, but not in 1:1.

bārā': This verb is employed in the Old Testament exclusively "for God's activity."[5] The word refers to ex nihilo, God's creation of all created matter from nothing. Within Genesis 1:1-2:25, the word appears in: 1:1, 21, 27 (3x); 2:3, 4, 22. Interestingly, bārā' is used in reference to the creation of: the universe (1:1; 2:3, 4), the great sea monsters (1:21), and mankind.

Thus, several points may be made from the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1:


1) The Omnipotence of God
2) The Trinity/Unity of God
3) God's Creation of the Universe Out of Nothing

What an amazing verse, and what an amazing language!

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[1] John J. Davis, Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis (Salem, WI: Sheffield, 1998), 42.

[2] David W. Cotter, Genesis, in Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, ed. David W. Cotter, Jerome T. Walsh, and Chris Franke (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2003), 15.

[3] F. Brown, S. Driver, and C. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005), 793.

[4] R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Chicago: Moody, 1980), s.v. " עָשָׂה," by Thomas E. McComiskey.

[5] Davis, Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis, 40.

Joshua's Long Day

10:12 Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
         "O sun, stand still at Gibeon,
         And O moon in the valley of Aijalon."
 10:13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.        
10:14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:12-14)

This passage is one of the most famous and intriguing texts in the Old Testament. Some scholars treat the passage as a literal event, while others insist that it must be figurative. Three observations must be made:

1) Verse 14 explains that there was no day like that before it or after it. This statement demonstrates that the occurrence was            unique, and this is strengthened by the fact that the account also is written in the now lost Book of Jashar (v. 13).

2) The text itself indicates that the sun stood still: So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies (v. 13b).

3) Intriguingly, "research has brought to light reports from Egyptian, Chinese, and Hindu sources of a long day."[1] Conversely, there are Native American legends of a very long night. If light continued to shine over Canaan for an extended period of time, it stands to reason that darkness would persist on the other side of the world.

Joshua 10, therefore, unequivocally declares that God miraculously lengthened the day so that Joshua’s armies could defeat the Amorites. Nothing in the chapter would suggest that we should read the events recorded in verses 12-14 in a figurative way. Since God is the Creator of every atom in the entire universe, He is able to do whatever He desires. Miracles are no problem for Him. If God orders the sun and moon that He created to stand still, they stand still!

Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You (Jeremiah 32:17)

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)

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[1] Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 278.

A Chronology of the Old Testament Prophets

 As you may know, the prophetical books in the English Old Testament are not arranged in chronological order. If you would like to read these books in the order that they were written, you may find the following outline useful:

Saul's Reign (1050-1010 B.C.)

David's Reign (1010-970 B.C.)

Solomon's Reign (970-930 B.C.)

The Division of Israel under King Rehoboam (ca. 922 B.C.)

            Jonah: 785-770 B.C.

            Amos: 760-755 B.C.

The Conquest of Israel by Assyria (722 B.C.)

            Hosea: 755-715 B.C.

            Micah: 740-700 B.C.

            Isaiah: 740-680 B.C.

            Nahum: 630-620 B.C.

            Jeremiah: 626-580 B.C.

            Zephaniah: Before 621 B.C.

            Habakkuk: 607-606 B.C.

The Conquest of Judah by Babylon (586 B.C.)

            Daniel: 605-530 B.C.

            Ezekiel: July 31, 593 B.C.-April 28, 573 B.C.

            Haggai: August-December 520 B.C.

            Zechariah: 520-518 B.C.

            Malachi: 435 B.C.

            Joel: Unknown

            Obadiah: Unknown

Book Recommendation: The Triune God

Allan Coppedge. The God Who is Triune: Revisioning the Christian Doctrine of God. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic 2007.

            The God Who is Triune is the result of an intensive, long-term project which examines the doctrine of the Trinity in the light of Old and New Testament data. At the time of publication the author, Allan Coppedge, served as Ralph Waldo Beeson Professor of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Additionally, he was serving as Affiliate Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Coppedge graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

            Coppedge began his study with a well-researched examination of the New Testament foundations for the Trinity. In this section, He verified that the concept of the Trinity was not a new doctrine that the New Testament writers invented, but an integral part of the Old Testament. Next, the author focused on the biblical frame for the Trinity, highlighting how God progressively revealed more about His nature as He added to the Old Testament corpus. Coppedge then described how a clear articulation of the Trinity (the Nicene Creed) became necessary as Christological heresies began to spread. These segments provide the foundation for all subsequent chapters.

            The remainder of the book concentrates on how the concept of the Trinity permeates–as well as illuminates–other Bible doctrines. Topics include the Triune God in relation to creation, the Triune God within Himself, the nature of the Triune God, the attributes of the Triune God, the roles of the Triune God, the Triune God's relationship to His creation, and the Triune God's work of providence and human freedom.

            Recognizing that his study proposed nothing new about the Trinity (p. 329), Coppedge's aim was to educate readers as to just how prolific the doctrine is. Many scholars and laypeople alike assume that Trinitarian passages in the Bible are few are far between, but the author unequivocally exposed this fallacy. The sentiment is no longer sustainable when one considers the biblical evidence. In fact, every act of God (such as creation, redemption, and sanctification) is trinitarian (p. 126).

            Further, Coppedge emphasized the need for a balanced approach to the doctrine of the Trinity. On the one hand, one must avoid the danger of "tritheism," which treats the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three gods rather than one. On the other hand, it is also erroneous to disregard the three Persons of the Godhead as modalism does. Echoing the Athanasian Creed, Coppedge declared that the statement "trinity in unity, unity in trinity" best reflects the biblical model (p. 132).

            The God Who is Triune is useful in at least five ways. First, Coppedge successfully demonstrated that the Old and New Testaments are consistent in their presentation of God as Triune. The author cited literally hundreds of biblical verses that substantiate the claim that the New Testament writers more clearly expressed–rather than invented–the concept of the Trinity, which is prevalent throughout the entire Old Testament.

            Second, the author provided a powerful apologetic for the concept of the Trinity. Numerous modern-day groups challenge the classical understanding of the Triune God

(e.g., Oneness Pentecostalism, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses), and this text provides a strong defense of Trinitarianism that is not readily dismissed.

            Third, The God Who is Triune contains a number of helpful charts which make a significant contribution. Although it is true that mankind never will have complete mastery of the mystery of the Trinity, Coppedge through his diagrams clearly explained what God has revealed about Himself in the Bible.

            Coppedge, fourth, handled his investigation from the proper perspective. Rather than viewing his work as solely an academic exercise, Coppedge explained that a better grasp of the Trinity produces a richer, more intimate relationship with the Lord, which should be the goal of all believers.

            Finally, the author wrote  in such a way that one need not be a seminary student or a professor to benefit from it. The God Who is Triune is readable, edifying, and even enjoyable. If one is interested in learning what the Bible teaches concerning the interrelationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, this volume will be an asset.

            In the final analysis, Coppedge has produced one of the most thorough and thoughtful studies of the Triune God to date. Since the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most important, misunderstood, and debated Christian tenants, Coppedge's offering is timely. I highly and whole-heartedly recommend The God Who is Triune.

The LORD's Mighty Arm

Depiction of Pharaoh Narmer's "mighty arm"

The Egyptians were fond of imagery that derived from the concept of the human arm. Because of the powerful bicep and forearm muscles, they came to equate the arm with strength. For this reason, the arm served as “one of the first recognizable icons of kingship,”^[1] the most familiar of the concepts of “Egyptian royal typology.”^[2] Amenophis II, the pharaoh of the Exodus, celebrated his “weight[iness] of arm.”^[3] The record of the battle of Shemesh-Edom envisions the Pharaoh “like a fierce-eyed lion, smiting the countries of Lebanon.”^[4] Both the Amada and the Elephantine Stelae reference the prowess of Amenophis II, designating his battles as “the day of smiting.”^[5]

Exodus 6 records God’s promise to free the sons of Israel from their cruel enslavement to the Egyptians:

6:5 "Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.                                                    

6:6 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (Exodus 6:5-6)

When the sons of Israel heard the message recorded in Exodus 6, they understood the reference to be a declaration of the supremacy of the LORD over the gods of Egypt as well as the pharaoh who paraded himself as deity. The Egyptians would perceive the message as a military challenge that must not go unanswered.

Symbolically, on one side of the battlefield stood the warrior Pharaoh, imbued with the power ofhis deities, the very incarnation of the sun god. When he challenged the LORD to a battle of military might, Pharaoh stretched forth his mighty arm as he had done so often in the past when threatened by enemies or taken with the fancy of subduing foreign lands. The king of Egypt prepared to strike at the God of the Hebrews, counting Him as weak due to the servitude of His people.         

But Pharaoh underestimated the power of the LORD; after facing the God of the sons of Israel he learned the error of his ways. When the LORD smote Egypt with ten divine blows dispatched by His mighty, outstretched arm, He struck at the very root of everything that the Egyptians held near and dear, revealing the emptiness of their religious system. Pharaoh proved to be powerless to impede the departure of Moses as he led the people to the land promised to their patriarchal ancestors. The height of the humiliation occurred when the sons of Israel sang of the defeat of Pharaoh after crossing the Red Sea (Ex. 15), a victory hymn similar to the ones previously sung in honor of the conquered king.^[6]

The lesson of Exodus 6 is that God is the all-powerful LORD who knows no equal! Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me (Isaiah 46:9)

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^[1]Ian Shaw, ed., The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (Oxford: Oxford University, 2000), 316. “The earliest known instance [is] a sketchy depiction painted on the wall of the late predynastic Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis in the late fourth millennium B.C.”

^[2]Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1-11, vol. 5 in The Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1991), 212.

^[3]Ibid., 310.

^[4]Breasted, Ancient Egyptian Records, vol. 2, 306.

^[5]Ibid., 311.

James K. Hoffmeier, “The Arm of God Versus the Arm of Pharaoh in the Exodus              Narratives,” Biblica 67, no. 3 (1986): 387.