soon, soon, as it is written, You will all be taught of the Lord (John 6:45). How can there be signs of the Lord if they do not listen to the Lord, and pay attention to his voice? But if they listen, as David says, Let me hear what the God the Lord will speak inside of me (Psalm 85:8). When they listen, they will not fail to be taught by him. Because of this, the demon fights with all his might against prayer and loving attention paid to God. The demon inspires even shameful crimes done by those who call themselves people of prayer (like the Jews who called themselves Jews and were not) to persecute the people of God and to make the innocents look guilty. But after this tempest comes the lull, after the combat comes the victory. The Holy Spirit comes from God to fill all the creatures. This accomplishes the Word of the prophet Joel who says, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28). In the early church, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles and the general assembly. This Spirit though was not spread on all flesh, although it was spread on every soul there. There will come a time when the prophecy is fully accomplished with the Spirit spread on all flesh.
In another place, Jesus Christ says that he will give the victorious a new name. And in this scripture, he says he will write on them his new name. These two scriptures reveal two different experiences. In the first, the new name is given only when the soul has lost her self–centeredness through annihilation and she has passed into God. But here Jesus gives his name again, which is the name of Christ and Savior to use this person to save many souls. His name brings pure suffering that crucifies her with him. And these graces are reserved for very few.
“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 3:13)
It takes a profound intelligence to understand this. If there was only a natural sense hidden under these words, it would not be so often repeated. Who has ears, hear. But this has a high and profound mystical sense. Do not be surprised that this is so frequently repeated. O profound words, who will understand you!
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: 15 I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:14–16)
No matter how poor a pastor, he is the angel of his church and it his title. But sometimes instead of being a guardian angel, the pastor is a seductive angel who makes people fall into the abyss. Jesus Christ states here his character. “I am,” he says, “the Amen, the true being. There is nothing outside of me. It is I who am the essence. All other beings only subsist in me or by me. I am. And everything that is not me is nothing.” Why the Amen? He has nothing to add here because when Jesus Christ says, “I am the One who is,” this is all that may be said of him affirmatively.
Jesus Christ repeats that he is the faithful and true witness. He also testifies to reveal the bad. This is why, being as exact as God is, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). So that it is not terrible for us, we must put all our conduct into his hands and act only by his motions and follow his Spirit. Then all our works will be done in assurance. He will be the faithful and true witness and he will not reject any of our works that he has made. I say he will have made them, since, he adds, he is the Principle of God’s creatures. All creatures are created by the Word and all life emanates from God and so all works may be looked upon as God’s works. We see Jesus Christ as the agent in these works. We only operate by dependence on Jesus Christ’s Spirit. Jesus Christ only is the power.
The reproach that Jesus Christ makes through John to this pastor is appalling. These lukewarm people are opposed to receiving the true Spirit of God, the interior Spirit. Their nonchalance toward God is so strong that they have no heat left, yet it seems to them like a conflagration. They do not comprehend the magnitude of this situation. The love that they have for themselves makes them believe that they are good and they do not doubt this. Everything said to pull them out of this state offends them. They look with blindness at others. They do not want to know Jesus Christ or to confess him. It is an evil almost irremediable because it is nurtured and sustained by their self-love. They prefer themselves and look upon sinners with disdain and contempt. In order to raise themselves, they condemn other who are burning hot and cold. Certainly these people are more opposed to receiving the Spirit of God than the worst of sinners. Jesus Christ says concerning them, I wish that they were cold because they would be easier to convert and would receive with humility what he gives. Or if they were hot, they would do what he desires. But because You are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Ah, these are the most frightening words in the world! If you are vomited out, there is no hope, because we never take back what we vomited. A thing thrown out can be taken back, but a thing vomited can never be restored. O this is terrible! These words should cause us to tremble and fear for those living in this nonchalance. Even good souls can at times feel this tepid, but God only allows this for their purification. This is only an outside feeling while the heart still burns inside. Yet these lukewarm people think they are filled with heat, but instead are tepid.
“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev 3:17)
This is very strange that tepid people believe that they are richer in graces than others and believe they have prospered spiritually. They do not seem to need anyone, and they believe that everyone needs them. They would even force everyone to take their advice. The other good pastor mentioned before this one was poor in appearance, but infinitely rich. Yet this latter pastor thought himself rich and yet was poor in God and his graces. He is wretched because he only loves himself and can never be truly happy. The most essential elements of pure love, which include abandon to God, perfect surrender, submission to the will of God, and possession by God are missing. He is miserable because although he appears happy in his exterior, he is under cruel tyranny in his interior by the love of glory and the desire to be esteemed by others, although he is nothing. This is true that when people such as this pastor are shown the slightest contempt or have the slightest affliction, they are absolutely overwhelmed. They are poor and naked, entirely corrupted because not being clothed by Jesus Christ or animated by his Spirit, they are very poor and naked. They are blind, because being in the most wretched state possible, they believe they are doing well.
“Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” (Rev 3:18)
O Love, only you can communicate perfect love, which is the gold refined by the fire. Only you can put into our soul the spirit of faith, which is a very pure gold. Only you can place in us God’s principle for his creatures, which produces perfect works of love, which no fire can damage. Therefore, it is to you that we go to buy this gold. But what do you want us to give you for the price, since we are as poor and naked as this pastor? Come, he says, to me with or without money and without any price (Isaiah 55:1). He only asks that we give ourselves to him, that we abandon to him without reserving anything, so that he makes works full of value. It is he who gives us white robes of innocence and simplicity. He reveals this to the souls of his servants when he leads them to adoption as children. This dress of innocence repairs us and covers the shameful nudity of human nature, stripped of the original justice. Before the fall reduced the human being to this shameful nudity, people were clothed in the habit of innocence. With the fall, they knew they were naked. Therefore, we must go to Jesus Christ to be healed, so that he clothes us with himself. Without doubt, he repairs our simplicity and innocence which gives us advantages over even the first state before the fall. The grace of redemption surpasses the grace of creation, and repaired innocence must be more abundant than original innocence. If it were not, the church would not sing, Felix Culpa O happy sin! More can be read about this in Romans 5.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ invites us to go to him, so to speak, under the signs of wine and milk, of love and innocence. For love, he communicates advantages
