Revelation 3:16 (DRB)

Passage

But because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.

Nearby Context

Revelation 3:14 And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God:

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 But because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold, fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich and mayest be clothed in white garments: and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. And anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "lukewarm", "neither", "cold", "begin", "vomit", "thee", and "mouth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "lukewarm", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "I know thy works that thou art..." into verse 17's "Because thou sayest I am rich and...", so "thou" and "lukewarm" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "lukewarm" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.