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THE DEADLY SPIRIT OF LAODICEA "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Rev. 3:14-17)I'm not going post my entire message on Laodicea at this time, but I would like to address one particular point from that message: the poisonous, lukewarm spirit of Laodicea that quenches the Holy Spirit while still allowing the believer, or professed believer, to wear the name of Christ and feel good about himself by passing off as a Christian, even a serious Christian. This is due to the paralyzing poison that Laodiceans have willfully consumed and are now spiritually handicapped from being their best for the Lord. They go to church, they sing, they read their Bibles, and they give, but not with the same zeal and spiritual power of their Philadelphia brethren up the street or across town. They've been cleverly poisoned and paralyzed by the world.The city of Laodicea is named after Laodike, the wife of the Syrian king Antiochius II (261-246 B.C.). Laodike was a very ambitious woman who was obsessed with having her sons inherit the throne of her husband Antiochus II. All looked well until 252 B.C. when he divorced her and married a wealthy Eqyptian named Berenike, who bore him an heir to the throne. This enraged Laodike, and she set out to win back her husband. By 246 B.C. she had won him back, but within a year he was dead. Though it was never proven, many historians believe Laodike won him back solely for the purpose of the throne and then poisoned him. Berenike and her son were also soon killed by Laodike’s agents.Christian, when you received Christ you divorced this world (Romans 7:1-4), which is presently a Laodicean world. In essence, you divorced Laodicea. Now, she’s trying to poison you and handicap you as a believer. She says that you can be a good Christian without bearing a cross and the reproaches of Jesus Christ. She says that you can have people like you and even praise you, instead of viewing you as a Jesus freak and fanatic. She says that you can worship God at Community Worship Center just as well as you can at Bible Believers Baptist Church, and she even welcomes you with a new Bible and a new hymnal so you can be hip and with the times. Just drink the poison and all can be yours!When you do, you will die spiritually, just as Eve died when she took the forbidden fruit. Sure, she continued to live, but not at her full potential. She died spiritually, due to her decision, and YOU will die when you swallow Laodicea's lukewarm potion. You will THINK that you "have need of nothing," but you will really be "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17).