Here the Lord speaks of Himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14). The Lord is Amen. Amen means all right; it means “so let it be.” Thus, He will fulfill everything, and nothing will be in vain. The Lord Jesus testified of the work of God on the earth. Among the many beings and things created by God, the Lord is the Head.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth” (vv. 15-16). Sardis is living in name, but dead in reality; Laodicea is neither hot nor cold. To Ephesus the Lord said, “I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place” (2:5). To Laodicea He said, “I am about to spew you out of My mouth.” The Lord will not use them again; they are no longer the amen. The problem is that they are neither cold nor hot. They are filled with knowledge, yet lacking in power. When they were hot, they were Philadelphia; but now they are colder than before. Once Philadelphia falls, she becomes Laodicea. Only the people of Philadelphia can fall to such an extent.

“Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing” (3:17). I have mentioned already that the movement of the brothers is far more significant than the Reformation. The Reformation was but a reformation in quantity, while the movement of the brothers was a reformation in quality, recovering the original substance of the church. This power is really great. But because these brothers were stronger than others in conduct and in truth to the point that even a cook among them knew more than a missionary in the Protestant churches, they became proud. “You are all incompetent; only we are competent,” was their attitude. No one was competent in the Protestant churches. The famous Scofield went to the brothers to be taught. Gypsy Smith, so widely known, went into their midst to obtain profit, taking their doctrines to preach. All workers, students, preachers, and believers received help and light from them. We do not know how many more received help from their books. Many must acknowledge in their hearts that in the entire world, no one can teach the Bible as well as the brothers. As a result some of them became proud. “Our students are the teachers of others,” they say. Although they are greatly opposed, some are self-declared heroes. The most evident result is that some became self-satisfied. Some brothers do have brotherly love and seek the good of others, while others have nothing but knowledge. Therefore, it was inevitable that they become self-exalted and conceited. The Lord shows us that a proud Philadelphia is Laodicea, and Laodicea is a fallen Philadelphia. Consequently, in many places the meetings in their midst have trouble with their behavior and teaching. The special feature of Laodicea is spiritual pride. As far as the historical side is concerned, the Lord has fulfilled this for us.

We can meet Philadelphia today, and we can also meet Laodicea. Both are quite alike in their position as the church. The difference is that Philadelphia has love while Laodicea has pride. There is no difference in outward appearance; the only difference is that Laodicea is a proud Philadelphia. I do not wish to relate many things concerning them. I will just give you some illustrations. A brother among them once said, “Is there anything spiritual that cannot be found among us?” A certain brother, after seeing a new magazine, said, “What new thing can it give us? Is there anything that we do not have?” He returned the magazine without reading it any further. Another brother said, “Since the Lord has given us the greatest light, we should be satisfied; if we read what others have written it is a waste of time.” Another said, “What do others have that we do not have?” And still another said, “What others have, we have, but what we have, others may not have.” When we hear this kind of talk, we should immediately recall what the Lord says regarding those who say, “I am rich.” Oh, how careful we must be that we may not become Laodicea!

On an island in the Atlantic Ocean, there was a hurricane which destroyed many houses, including the homes and meeting halls of the brothers. Within a few hours brothers from all over the world sent them more than two hundred thousand pounds sterling, the relief reaching them more swiftly than that of the government. In their midst there is really brotherly love, but there are also those who have become proud. The Protestant churches are not qualified to become Laodicea. Sardis herself acknowledges that she has nothing. I have been working for more than twenty years, yet I have never met a missionary or pastor in the denominations who claims that they have the spiritual things. They always say they are inadequate. The failing and weak Protestant churches are Sardis, not Laodicea. Only Laodicea has the special feature of spiritual pride. The Protestant churches have many sins, but spiritual pride is not their outstanding sin. Only the fallen brothers would say, “I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing.” Only fallen Philadelphia can become Laodicea. As to wealth of spirituality, Sardis knows quite well that she has nothing. They often say, “We are not zealous enough; our zealous members have run away.” Richness is the condition of Philadelphia, while boasting of their richness is the distinguishing mark of Laodicea. Only Laodicea can boast. A person who departs from the position of Philadelphia cannot go back to Sardis. Asking a brother to go back to Sardis is an impossibility; he can only go on to be Laodicea. Laodicea also does not continue the line of the orthodoxy of the apostles. She goes beyond the line of the apostles. They are those who have vain knowledge; they have no life and are self-satisfied, self-exalted, and conceited.