What Does It Mean in Rev 3:16 Where the Lord Talks About Spewing Out of His Mouth?
1) Direct Answer
It means the Lord rejects the lukewarm church condition and removes it from being His mouthpiece. He will not speak through, endorse, or own that mixed, complacent state. He casts it out of His fellowship as a body, while still calling individuals to repent and overcome.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- “Because thou art lukewarm… I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Lukewarm is neither hot (on fire of the Spirit) nor cold (openly unbelieving), but a safe, self-satisfied mixture.
- He describes them as saying, “I am rich… and have need of nothing,” yet He says they are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).
- He counsels, “buy of me gold tried in the fire… white raiment… and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve” (Revelation 3:18)—true faith, His righteousness, and spiritual sight.
- He stands outside, knocking: “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20). The system is rejected, but individuals are invited.
- Overcomers are promised to sit with Him in His throne (Revelation 3:21).
The “mouth” in Scripture is the place of His Word and confession (Revelation 1:16; 2:16; Jeremiah 1:9; Romans 10:9-10). Being in His “mouth” pictures being the instrument He uses to speak and testify.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- The church is to be His Body on earth; the “mouth” is the part that speaks His Word.
- When a church becomes lukewarm—mixing truth with worldliness, boasting in wealth and programs while lacking the fire of the Spirit—He cannot let that represent Him. Like lukewarm water, it is nauseating, so He spews it out—He separates from it.
- Yet He loves and rebukes: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19). Those who hear His voice and open to Him personally will dine with Him now and reign with Him as overcomers.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, He rejects the lukewarm system, but He is calling out a people who will be hot with His life, clothed in His righteousness, and fit to speak His Word. Be zealous, repent, and let Him back inside.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The Queen of Sheba
60-0401E §1
[Pastor introduces Brother Lamsa.] ... he speaks the language and can read the language and read the original documents in which the New Testament was written. So with him, it is so wonderful that he can read directly from the original script the very words that Jesus and the disciples spoke and wrote. He felt that these translations that we have are not always correct and true. And that's where the criticism comes in, because he criticizes the King James version, and some people think that St. Paul preached from t...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-121
You will recall that I brought out in the Ephesian Age that the word, Nicolaitane, comes from two Greek words: Nikao which means to conquer, and Lao which means the laity. Nicolaitane means, "to conquer the laity". Now why is this such a terrible thing? It is terrible because God has never placed His church in the hands of an elected leadership which moves with political mindedness. He has placed His church in the care of God-ordained, Spirit-filled, Word-living men who lead the people through feeding them the Word...
The Spoken Word is the original seed
62-0318 §281
Christ's bride did the same---mixed her denominational seed and put Christ, her espoused husband, away. You dry-washed bunch of Pentecostals; what's the matter with you? Revelation the 3rd chapter and the 20th verse, we find in prophecy, Jesus Christ outside of His own church in this Laodicean age, knocking on the door trying to get back---the most pathetic picture in the Bible. What did she do? She took on whoredom. When Jesus comes, what's He knocking for? Jesus come back to receive His bride; and when He come to...
Revelation, Chapter 4c Throne of mercy and judgement
61-0108 §57
All right. Here was voices. Oh, how we need in Jeffersonville thousands of lived voices, the thunder of God thundering out in sweetness and holiness, purity, undefiled lives, walking around in the earth today, without a blemish. Yes, sir. Real Christians, that's thunder against the enemy. The devil don't care how loud you can holler. The devil don't care how much you can jump, how much you can do this or shout. But what hurts the devil is to see that sanctified, holy life consecrated to God. Say anything to him, ca...
Paradox
64-0206B §66
So then, the one---the high priest, or the ecumenical council leader---come up and smacked him in the mouth, and said, "Where did the Spirit of God go when it left me?" He said, "You'll see, that day when you're sitting inside." Said, "Where did it go?"And he said, "I saw God sitting upon a throne. I saw the host of heaven gathered around Him." And there... God's prophet---the Word always comes to the prophet. No matter how unpopular it seems to be, it's always there. And the reason they know it is, it makes it so...