REVELATION 3:17
17 ὅτι λέγεις ὅτι Πλούσιός εἰμι καὶ πεπλούτηκα καὶ οὐδὲν χρείαν ἔχω, καὶ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ταλαίπωρος καὶ ἐλεεινὸς καὶ πτωχὸς καὶ τυϕλὸς καὶ γυμνός,
17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
An earthquake in 60 AD heavily damaged the city, but unlike Philadelphia, the people refused help from the Roman Emperor (notice what Jesus says in verse 17). Hosea prophesied about this temptation: "Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin." (Hosea 12:8)
REVELATION 3:18
18 συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ' ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ ἵνα περιβάλῃ καὶ μὴ ϕανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου, καὶ κολλούριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀϕθαλμούς σου ἵνα βλέπῃς.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ' ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; The banking trade of Laodicea were renowned throughout the Empire, which may have been behind the remarks of verse 18.
καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ ἵνα περιβάλῃ καὶ μὴ ϕανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; But the region was even more famous for a breed of sheep (now extinct) that produced an exquisite black wool, glossy and soft, that needed no dying -- and notice what Jesus says about "white clothes."
καὶ κολλούριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀϕθαλμούς σου ἵνα βλέπῃς. and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Also produced in the area was a famous medicine for the eyes called “Phrygian Powder.” The medical school of Men Karou made the medicine in amazingly modern-looking cylindrical tablets. Jesus also talks about salve for the eyes, so that the people can truly see, and see the truth of the Gospel.
REVELATION 3:19
19 ἐγὼ ὅσους ἐὰν ϕιλῶ ἐλέγχω καὶ παιδεύω· ζήλευε οὖν καὶ μετανόησον.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
ἐγὼ ὅσους ἐὰν ϕιλῶ ἐλέγχω καὶ παιδεύω· Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. This is common theme throughout the Bible. Proverbs 3:12, "Because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." 1 Corinthians 11:32, "When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. " And Hebrews 12:5-6 "You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
ζήλευε οὖν καὶ μετανόησον. So be earnest, and repent. Be "zealous," of course is the inelegant translation of ζήλευε, to strive after something. Change your heart; change your mind; change your life. Do a 180. Get back to Jesus, because only in Jesus is there forgiveness, and that forgiveness is already there for you. It's already finished and done.
REVELATION 3:20
20 ἰδοὺ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν καὶ κρούω· ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ τῆς ϕωνῆς μου καὶ ἀνοίξῃ τὴν θύραν, εἰσελεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ δειπνήσω μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς μετ' ἐμοῦ.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
ἰδοὺ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν καὶ κρούω· Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. In the Gospels, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). But now it isn't us knocking, it's Jesus. He opened for us; will we open the door of our hearts to him? The knocking is the knock of the law, the rebuke of the Lord who is shut out of the sinner's life. "Adam," he calls, "Eve? Where are you? Why are you hiding?" "Cain," he calls to us, "Where is your brother?" "Friend," he sighs, "Are you betraying me with a kiss?" All of these words open the door to confession; he knocks, and we know that the Gospel is there on the other side in person. Will we open, or will we lie to him, pass the buck, or go right on sinning, as they did who heard these words first and in person?
ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ τῆς ϕωνῆς μου καὶ ἀνοίξῃ τὴν θύραν, εἰσελεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ δειπνήσω μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς μετ' ἐμοῦ. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Here's that promise of the Gospel, in person. "Eat with me! Have fellowship with me! Be my dear friend, invited to the feast! Here's your robe of righteousness! Let me slip it on you, my dear one!" Will we shove him away?
REVELATION 3:21
21 ὁ νικῶν δώσω αὐτῷ καθίσαι μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ μου, ὡς κἀγὼ ἐνίκησα καὶ ἐκάθισα μετὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
ὁ νικῶν δώσω αὐτῷ καθίσαι μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ μου, To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, ὁ νικῶν is a present active participle (νικάω, "conquer, overcome"). It would be tempting to pull out more comfortable theology to say, "to the one who is victorious (through Christ)," as Becker does in "Revelation: Distant Triumph Song" (this is only his translation; he does not actually comment on verse 21). We overcome through Jesus; we are not active in our own salvation. But in our sanctified lives we are active; we are able to resist the devil's temptations although we do it imperfectly. We belong to God and serve him; we are saved and are passive in our salvation, but we also serve and are active in that service.
ὡς κἀγὼ ἐνίκησα καὶ ἐκάθισα μετὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ. just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. ἐνίκησα aorist indicative; as is ἐκάθισα. Jesus claims complete equality with God the Father, sharing his throne. He overcame, and we overcome through him.
REVELATION 3:22
22 ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (NIV)
ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This is just like the other similar verse in this book.
Today in Europe, once the center and stronghold of the Gospel, magnificent cathedrals stand empty and cold. The gospel of Jesus was long ago abandoned in the so-called Enlightenment -- but when the Enlightenment turned out to be little more than a fad, the Gospel was already forgotten.
Today in Africa, searing heat cripples the people of Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria and Cameroon -- and yet the people of these nations are on fire with the Gospel. Tens of thousands of converts to Christianity are made every year. In the 1950s and 1960s, just as the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod was struggling (or not struggling enough) with false doctrine permitted to be taught in its seminary, the Lutheran Church of Central Africa was opening its own solid, Bible-believing seminary in Lusaka, Zambia. The Gospel is alive and thriving in this part of the world.
What about here in America? Are we, like Laodicea, in danger of becoming merely lukewarm -- neither stone dead (like so much of Europe -- although a remnant survives) nor white-hot like Africa? For us, this final letter in Revelation is a warning, and a very serious one, at that.
When Jesus talks about refining gold in the fire, he is referring to the way gold is purified. It is heated to melting, and then impure metals and other things are either burned away or come churning to the surface, where they are skimmed away. What is left after this intense heating is pure gold.
Let's test ourselves -- constantly. Does what I do conform to the will of God my Savior? Am I being faithful to him and to his word? Would he taste my life and spit me out like room-temperature coffee or room-temperature ice cream?
May God forgive our sins, our lethargy, our lukewarm tepidness. May he give us faith, strength, patience and courage to pass through his tests and be refined in his fire. Lord, set us on fire with your Gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment