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Revelation 3 · a question people ask

"I wish you were cold or hot." (3:15). What does it mean?

In the text

Here are the verses as the WEB has them: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot." (3:15) "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth." (3:16). The verses don't say what cold, hot and lukewarm stand for, and these notes don't either (tap cold, hot and lukewarm for the Greek words behind them).

The verses

““I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Revelation 3

Revelation 3: I stand at the door and knock

To Philadelphia the speaker says, "I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut" (3:8), and to Laodicea, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" (3:20). One chapter holds both doors: one set open before them, and one he stands at and knocks.

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Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions