New Clothes, Gold, Healing And The Throne!

I am finally able to get back to the theme I started thinking about back on Wed. evening when I was reading from Revelation 3:17-22 NIV:

[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. [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.

[19] Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. [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 that person, and they with me.

[21] To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. [22] Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Talk about loaded verses, these each could take a few days to unpack.  I was drawn to the statement Jesus makes that He counsels them to "buy from me gold refined in the fire".  That is such an unusual verse that it got me wondering exactly what Jesus was referring to with this imagery.  The first mention of refined gold is from 1 Chron. 28:18, where David is giving Solomon the instructions for the temple, and everything is listed as gold, or pure gold, but the altar of incense is to be made of refined gold.  The idea appears to be that the refined gold has no impurities, so nothing can taint the burning incense.  The burning of incense is mentioned in Revelations , as well, and there it is considered the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8).

In Psalm 12, the psalmist mentions refined gold - Psalm 12:6 NIV: "And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times."  Here the refined gold is compared to the Word of the Lord, and its perfect perfection.  I think that makes more sense concerning what we should purchase from the Lord.  We need His word in our lives, we need His direction.

Reading it more closely He counsels us to buy from Him - gold refined in the fire, white clothes, and salve for our eyes!  Each of these images is so very interesting.  The white clothes, I believe refers to His righteousness which we receive from Him as we join ourselves to Him, through faith, receiving forgiveness for our sins and His perfect righteousness instead. The salve for our eyes is interesting, as this is the only time in scripture that phrase is used.  It is clear that it is related to their spiritual blindness, and supposed to help them see (spiritually).

As I think more about the salve, the Greek word used means a cake of various materials that is used to sooth sore eyes.  Jesus made such a mix of materials with His own spit and dirt, applying this to the eyes of a man born blind, and He was healed (John 9:1-7).  Scientifically speaking, saliva actually contains chemicals that enable us to start to digest that which we eat.  In this case is comes from Jesus, the very Word of God, and is mixed with dirt, a sign of our humanity, or one could say humility, and brings healing.  Saying it another way - as we begin to digest the word of God in our lives and allow it to nourish us, and combine that with humility, we start to rightly see.  We see ourselves from His perspective and gain insight into our own lives.  That may not be exactly what Jesus meant in this verse in Revelations, but it works for me today!  I certainly need more of His word in my life.  I need to digest it and be nourished by it, and I need to see myself through His eyes.  Oh Lord, heal me and open my eyes.

The other thing I think about is when the Lord opened the eyes of Elisha's servant. Here are the verses - 2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV:

[15] When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. [16] “Don't be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [17] And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."

I am reminded by these verses that there is a spiritual reality that exists all around us and most of us are completely unawares.  Our western mindset tends to trivialize the spiritual realm, but it arguably more real than the natural realm, for it exists in eternity.  Anyway, there are spiritual realities all around us and Jesus calls us to have our eyes opened that we might see.  That is one thing I definitely want to start seeing, the spiritual realities in which I live and am surrounded.

Finally, probably the most significant of all the verses is verse 21.  This is one of the most audacious statements I believe that Jesus makes in all of scripture.  He says that those who are victorious (overcomers) will get to sit on His Throne, with Him!  This is definitely something we need to stop and think about.  Let that thought permeate your heart and soul.  We are called or invited to sit on Jesus Throne with Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are no words available to express the absolute awesomeness of that statement.

I am sure that we all immediately want to disqualify ourselves from that statement.  Jesus couldn't possibly be talking about me.  He doesn't really mean that.  It is not possible....etc.

First let me quote the Apostle John, from his first letter - 1 John 5:4-5 NIV: ..."for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. [5] Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

So, WE are those that overcome, those who are victorious if we are born of God, if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  That is true for all of us who have accepted salvation from Jesus.  The Greek word used by John in his first letter is the exact same word used by him here in Revelations.

Secondly, a few other scriptures of interest -

Colossians 3:1-4 NIV:
[1] "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Look at these verses logically, in light of Rev. 3:21 - set your mind on things above (spiritual), where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and we are hidden in Him, while He is seated on the throne.  In other words, we are all in Him, with Him, on His throne!  The throne is the seat of power and authority, where He rules the whole world.  Jesus wrested control of the world away from the enemy into whose hand's Adam had handed it.  We are invited to  share this throne with Him.

Talk about extreme favor!  We go from being sinners, condemned to death and eternal punishment, to sitting on Jesus' throne with Him.  Like Graham Cooke says, the Good News is too good to be true, but it is!  This is absolutely astounding!  This is way beyond the story of Cinderella, rags to riches,  "The Princess Diaries", and story where some one of low rank is suddenly elevated to the throne of some imaginary or even real kingdom.  We are talking about an eternal Heavenly reality that is present here on earth, for that is exactly what Jesus came proclaiming,  the Kingdom of God has come upon us (Matt 12:28)!

Another couple verses -

Romans 8:37-39 NIV:
[37] "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Paul is writing about the future glory that will be revealed to us, after writing about the fact that we have been given a spirit of adoption and invited into the family of God, ad we are His sons and daughters.  The enemy tries to convince us otherwise, by saying the struggles of this world are proof that God does not love us, or that we have not been chosen by Him as His son or daughter.  Paul draws us back to foundation of everything.  It is not because of us, but because of God's love for us that we will be conquerors, not because of our human effort, but because of the supreme effort of Jesus, the one who died to set us all free!

If nothing can separate us from His love for us, and we are now hidden in Him even as He sits on His throne, then His prophecy in Revelations 3:21 will indeed be true and even is true now.

Wow, just wow!

Lord, help me to grasp, and more importantly, experience this reality in my life!  I want to purchase gold refined by fire, the white robe and salve for my eyes!  I want to be victorious and be with You where You are!