First, if they have truly put their faith in Christ, and they understand that he alone can save them from their sins, then of course they are saved. The problem is that many people cling to the symbol but never understand the reality it is intended to represent. Then, they go on their merry way, living their lives as they did before. But if you probe, there is nothing beneath the shallowness of that reply. They did what someone told them to do, but never really embraced the Savior.
Revelation is the last book of the Bible to be written.
But if I read the book of Acts correctly, they had a measure of success in sharing the gospel even in spite of this handicap. But when filevw , the rarer word, is used, and when it is used apart from ajgapavw , we would expect it bear its normal nuance. This, by the way, may have some implications for the perseverance of the saints, for it is impossible that God could have this kind of love for a person unless, in some sense, God could enjoy him. The implication, then, may be that the Laodiceans, even in their backslidden state, were still growing in some way. But neither passage addresses this.