Revelation Chapter 3
VERSE 17 continued “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”
Having considered how our verse pertains to the nominal church let us now view it as it pertains to the Lord’s consecrated people. (New Albany Notes on Revelation)
“In addition to the lukewarmness, we now have a listing of the problems to which Christians of our day can fall prey —the things which, because they are integral parts of the thinking of our day, we must search out in ourselves and overcome.
I AM RICH, HAVE BECOME WEALTHY, AND HAVE NEED OF NOTHING —
This three-part listing has in common, in all three parts, that we can be proud of what we have and self-sufficient in it. We have all heard among ourselves the statement “WE HAVE THE TRUTH” spoken in a way which sounds just a bit to much like attainment. The end of this verse points out that if we have this attitude, we are not able to see what we really are and what we really lack.
What is implied by each of these three phrases?
I AM RICH would seem simply to say that we over-rejoice (rejoice beyond appreciation into reveling) in what WE HAVE (rather than what we are!)
I HAVE BECOME WEALTHY seems to say that we BOAST over having more than what others have or did have. We possibly fulfill this when we scoff at “poor Babylon” (the nominal professing church), which doesn’t have the honor of having received this windfall! We also fulfill this weakness when we look back to past ages of the Church and wonder how they ever could have been spirit-begotten or made their elections sure seeing that they had so little “goods.”
AND HAVE NEED OF NOTHING is an attitude we display when we refuse to listen to reason; when we think no one has anything to offer us; when we think we understand everything there is to understand at this end of the age. It also, worse yet, shows that attitude which says “I’ve made it.” While we might not say such a thing in so many words, we can say it by acting out a weekly routine of thinking we are just fine because we know the truth and attend studies.
AND DO NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE…
WRETCHED —Because we think we are rich; we can’t see that we are WRETCHED (Strong’s # 5005 —enduring famine or craving). BUT! We would say, I’m not hungry or craving! Each of us can think of those moments when we feel that life MAY not be doing all it could for His service.
In the world, many wealthy people have said, “Riches have not brought me that satisfaction with life which I craved.”
While WE might be satisfied with THE TRUTH, we should have an inner hunger, an inner craving, to be applying those riches of truth to self-growth, character building. We should NOT endure the craving; we should fulfill it. When we feel we have overcome something, we have a REAL satisfaction which the KNOWLEDGE of truth itself can never equal.
MISERABLE —Strong’s # 1652 = pitiable. This is surely how God, or even mature Christians, look at us. If we have not learned to value truth above POSSESSING it, we are, indeed, to be pitied.
POOR —Poor in application, in spirituality —NOT in what we have in the way of information!
BLIND —NOT blind to dispensational truths, but blind to our own shortcomings.
What is more blind than a wealthy man who doesn’t know what to do with his wealth?
The answer is a Christian who doesn’t know what to do with truth.
NAKED —This word DOES NOT MEAN WITHOUT CLOTHES. Many apply this to being without the robe of righteousness; but this can be true only in a partial or accommodated sense.
The concordances and Greek lexicons agree with one voice that this word SOMETIMES means naked, but just as frequently, if not more so, means INADEQUATELY CLOTHED. The proof that that is what is HERE meant can be found by comparing this verse with Rev 16:15 —a prophecy also of the Laodicean period with a remarkably similar wording.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
Notice in 16:15 that those mentioned HAVE garments which they are admonished to KEEP —to take care of, to keep from tearing and soiling and wrinkling lest he walk about NOT naked, but inadequately covered —inappropriately covered to their shame.
This message (Rev 3:17, 18 as well as 16:15) is TO THE CONSECRATED. Those who do not overcome will become part of the Great Multitude —FORCED to make their garments appropriate. (A similar use of the word is James 2:15. It does not speak of those with absolutely no clothes, but of those with inadequate clothing in a literal sense.)
The lesson in Rev. 3:17 is that IF we exult in the riches of truth WITHOUT using it to better our characters, we are relying on our minds, our understanding, to justify ourselves —a justification which is just filthy rags.
When we APPLY truth, with Jesus’ help, to our characters and trust him to make up the deficiencies, THEN we are keeping our robes of righteousness appropriately.
We move on to Verse 18 in our next post.
