Revelation 3:16 (KJV)

Passage

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Nearby Context

Revelation 3:14 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;

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

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:17 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:

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "lukewarm", "neither", "cold", "spue", "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.