Revelation 3:18

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Rev 3:18 – Laodicea, Part 2

What The Spirit Says to The Angel of the Church in Laodicea – Part 2

Updated December 15, 2023

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Introduction

In our last study we saw that the spirit of the angel of the church of Laodicea within us is lukewarm and believes he is rich and in need of nothing. This is what the Lord says to that spirit within each of us:

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

What we saw in our last study is all addressed “unto the angel” of the church in Laodicea within us. It is “unto the angel” that the spirit says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were either cold or hot but since you are neither but are lukewarm, I will spue you out of my mouth.” All the rest of verse 17 is also addressed “unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans.” These ‘angels’ are all spirits whom the Lord uses to accomplish His work within us just as He used “a lying spirit” to accomplish His work and His purpose in the life of King Ahab:

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

King Ahab, as well as all men, are nothing more than “clay in the Potter’s hand”, and He is working His pleasure in all things, including that which is appointed for each of us:

Job 23:13  But [the Lord] is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

It is “the angel of the church of Laodicea” within us who thinks of himself as rich and increased with goods and having need of nothing, when in reality he doesn’t even realize he is wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. All of the things we discussed last week are directed to “the angel of the church of the Laodiceans”, which angel is within “he that has an ear to hear.” All those things we saw last week must be burned out of that angel, and they must be burned out of “he that has an ear to hear.” Everything we read in verses 14 through 17, ‘being lukewarm and thinking you have everything and are in need of nothing’, is all the fuel for the fire which must burn within that angel and within “he that has an ear to hear, and he that reads and hears the words of this prophecy, and keeps those things written therein.”

Rev 1:3 Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand.

Verses 14 -17 are part of “the things which are written therein.” They are the fuel for the fire which is mentioned in our next verse:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

This study will be on this one verse and the spiritual meaning of all the words of this one verse.

We will begin by asking, what is “gold tried in the fire?” Here is an example of “gold tried in the fire.”

Exo 25:31 And thou shalt make a [singular] candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
Exo 25:32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

It is instructive to note that the singular “candlestick of pure gold” of Exodus 25 is the seven candlesticks of Revelation 1. There are to be no alloys of any metals other than God’s pure precious gold to be found in the making of the “seven golden candlesticks”, which we are told are the seven churches to whom these seven angels are sent as messengers.

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Exodus 25 tells us that the candlestick of beaten work was of pure gold, and any jeweler knows that pure gold is “tried in the fire” to have all the impurities burned out of it. What is this “pure gold” of which the seven branches of the singular “candlestick of pure gold, tried in the fire” is made? Here is that pure gold of which, not only the candlestick but, everything else in the tabernacle of God must be made.

Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

This is what God does for Israel within us all when He first comes to us and draws us to himself.

Eze 16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
Eze 16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born [This is the natural condition of all flesh].
Eze 16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

What do we do with God’s gold and His silver with which He decks us? Here is what we all do as we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Two chapters earlier, Ezekiel had told us what these “images of men” were idols which we have covered with God’s gold and with God’s silver. These are not physical ‘images’ or physical “idols.” They are “idols of the heart.”

Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

“Idols of the heart” become “stumbling blocks of iniquity.” They are one and the same. They are the perversion of the words of God into the words of men. They are all the false doctrines of men who have placed their own heart’s idols, their own doctrines, ahead of the “doctrine of Christ:”

2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

It is “the doctrine of Christ” that comprises God’s gold and God’s silver, and it is with this gold and silver He decks us all from the moment He first begins to drag us to Himself. It is also with this same gold and silver, given to us by God, that we make our heart’s idols and the stumbling block of our iniquity, as we twist and pervert His words into our false doctrines, “the doctrines of men.”

Col 2:20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Col 2:21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col 2:22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

The “doctrines of men” are the ordinances to which we subject ourselves for many years before we are given to see or understand that false doctrines are ‘the stumbling block of our iniquity.’ Both God’s gold and God’s silver are “tried in the fire”, and both are His words and His doctrines as they are tried in us all as living “furnaces of earth” in which all the impurities of all of our false doctrines are burned out of us.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

“Pure gold” and “pure silver” are “pure words of the Lord”, and as Christ’s own disciples all demonstrated, we all think we have those “pure words” long before we discover that it was all just head knowledge; it was God’s gold perverted and wrapped around the idols of our hearts. It was cankered gold, the stumbling block of our iniquity, and it was not “gold tried in the fire” at all.

Your Gold and Silver are Cankered

As we saw last week, “Peter… and all the disciples” signify all of us, and until the gold we have been given is “tried in the fire”, God’s gold within us becomes “cankered.” Until it is “tried in the fire” it will become “the stumbling block of our iniquity”, and we will use it to cover the “idols of our hearts.” Look at what James has to say to us concerning this time in our walk:

Jas 5:1  Go to now, ye rich men [who are in reality poor], weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fireYe have heaped treasure together for the last days.

There it is again. Our ‘gold’, our ‘garments’ and the ‘fire’ which is needed to try our gold. If our gold is cankered, then our clothes are moth eaten, and our nakedness is apparent, and we “shall eat our flesh as it were fire.”

However, if our gold is “tried in the fire” of bitter repentance after years of failure, and we come to see the inadequacies of our flesh, then it will make us “rich in faith,” and it can then be used to adorn the “white linen raiment” which will clothe us and hide “the shame of our nakedness.”

Jas 2:5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

 What is “white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed?” Here is our raiment which covers our nakedness:

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

“The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” Where else do we find this phrase in scripture?

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Like our gold and our silver, our righteousness is also “of the Lord” and belongs to Him. It is not of ourselves in any way whatsoever.

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

Jer 51:10  The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

What is “the shame of thy nakedness?”

Why should we be ashamed of our nakedness? Did not our Creator make us that way? Yes, indeed He did:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wifeand were not ashamed.

Was Christ born naked? Of course, He was:

Luk 2:7  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luk 2:12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

When did “the man and his wife” become ashamed of their nakedness? They became ashamed of their nakedness only after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Until that time they were totally unaware that nakedness represented the shameful sin that is naked flesh:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do itbut sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

There is a false doctrine which denies all of these truths and declares that flesh is not sin or shameful. There is a false doctrine which declares that ‘in me, that is in my flesh, there is no sin’, and sin is only the result of a conscious decision of something that is completely separate from sinless flesh. According to this false doctrine, flesh is of itself sinless and the only thing that can sin is the carnal mind, which we are told is independent of the body of flesh. Such reasoning is totally unaware of the meaning of the word, ‘carnal’, which means flesh. It is the mind of the flesh that rules us until Christ comes to dethrone that carnal mind.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked [carnal mind] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Flesh is “corruption”, and anyone who says otherwise does not believe this verse of scripture:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Do the scriptures teach that the flesh is separate from the carnal mind, and that the carnal mind must consciously commit sin before I can say, “In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing?” Or do the scriptures teach that “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing… by nature?” In other words, what do the scriptures teach? Are we sin in the flesh, or is sin something which the scriptures separate from flesh?

The answer is that in both the Old and the New Testament, both King David and the apostle Paul, taught that flesh is in and of itself sin, apart from any conscious personal decisions. In other words, both King David and the apostle Paul considered the carnal mind to be just that, the mind of the flesh, which is what the word ‘carnal’ means.

Here again is the apostle Paul:

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Paul’s wording, under the inspiration of the holy spirit, is “in me, that is my flesh.” In other words flesh, dust, is what we are:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The holy spirit through the apostle Paul declares that “in me… in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” To this evaluation of who we are and what we are, King David agrees in every detail, and it has nothing to do with our making conscious decisions with a mature carnal mind. We are told, by the holy spirit, that we are sin by virtue of being “made of a woman” before we are even born.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The doctrine that the carnal, fleshly mind is somehow not connected with the flesh, is the same false and lying spirit which demands that Christ is really not the son of man at all, and is not the son of Adam in any way whatsoever. “This is that spirit of antichrist.” It is a spiritual “idol of the heart,” and it will cost us our reward if we use the word of God to cover this false doctrine which denies that Christ was “made sin.”

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Here is this same verse in the Conservative Version:

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (ACV)

It is Christ Himself who tells us there was “no good thing” in His own flesh:”

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

If Christ’s flesh were not “sinful flesh” like the flesh of “the seed of Abraham” and like the “conceived in sin” flesh of King David, He could easily have said, “Yes, as the Son of God, I am good, and being ‘separate from sinners’ I am perfected.” That is not what Christ told this young man who called Him “Good Master.” Those who want to argue with Christ on this point refuse to accept His own testimony that He had to be resurrected on the third day in order to be perfected:

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

All who deny Christ His own claim to be the seed of Abraham and the seed of David “according to the flesh,” are denying that He was the same naked, shameful flesh, as you and me. What exactly do the scriptures have to say about this particular idol of our hearts? Here is what the scriptures teach concerning this particular doctrine:

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

“The flesh” is the only flesh there is. It is “the same as the children.” Christ’s flesh was as naked as yours and mine, and it had to be covered just as does our sinful flesh.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of manclothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Even here in the book of Revelation, Christ introduces Himself as “the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot.” Yes, just like you and me, Christ is both ‘the son of man’ and simultaneously the Son of God, and whenever He is “come in the flesh”, He must be “clothed with a garment:”

2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

Christ and His words are “our house which is from heaven.” If Christ’s mother Mary did not even contribute a human egg to the conception of Christ, then Christ has no connection at all to us. If Christ’s mother Mary were not of “the seed of Abraham”, then Christ has no claim to be “the seed of Abraham according to the flesh.” If He were really the son of Abraham, then He was also the son of Adam, just as Luke 3 tells us He was.

Luk 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Luk 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, …

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

As such, Christ’s flesh was the same sinful flesh as the flesh of Adam and Eve. It, too, was “marred in the hand of The Potter… shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin,” just as was the flesh of all of Adam’s seed.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Does the absence of a physical Father preclude being “made sin, marred in the hand of the Potter, shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin?” If it does, then Adam was not a vessel of clay which was marred in the hand of the Potter, but if Adam were “made sin,” then so are all who are his children.

“He Himself suffered being tempted” (Heb 2:18). How is every man tempted?

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Christ’s flesh lusted after its own preservation to the extent that Christ had to pray this prayer:

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Christ is not ashamed to reveal His connection to our flesh, but our own hearts’ idols want to deny Him this connection to the first Adam. That is how we abuse the golden words of God which are our Lord Himself.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The truth of Christ being “made sin” cannot be understood without seeing Christ as the Father Himself reveals Christ to us in the law of the offerings in the book of Leviticus. In that book there are five different offerings given to ancient Israel. The last two are the sin offering and the trespass offering. They are as different as the other three offerings are. The sin offering is Christ, who is offered for what we are, as corruptible, naked clay which has been marred in the Potter’s hand. The trespass offering is not for what we are, but it is for what we do in the marred vessel which we are. The only way Christ can be a trespass offering is through us. That is why the sin offering is given first, for what we are as “marred clay vessels in the Potter’s hand and as “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.” We then furnish the trespass offering by “fill[ing] up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ, in our flesh, for His body’s sake which is the church.”

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

It is only “through our offenses” that Christ was delivered up and it is only through our justification that He was raised from the dead.

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for [Greek: ‘dia‘, through] our offences, and was raised again for [Greek: ‘dia‘, through] our justification.

Neither Christ nor His Father seek to separate Christ from the work of His own hands. It is only “that spirit of antichrist which you have heard should come, and which is already here” which seeks to make that separation between Christ and His brothers.

That is how we pervert God’s Words before we “buy of Him gold, tried in the fire.” Here is how we have used God’s Words to cover our hearts’ idols:

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them [those who come to God’s Words of pure gold tried in the fire], Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

What are those idols? Where did they originate?

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Therefore idolatry, just like the subject of marriage, is primarily a spiritual matter of worshiping the false doctrines of the Babylonian system. It is a matter of being unfaithful to our True Husband, Christ and His doctrines. Rather than obeying the words and doctrines of Christ, who we claim as our spiritual husband we believe and live by the idols of our heart. In spiritual terms, this is called “adultery, fornication and whoredom.”

Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father [Satan] and mother [Babylon The Great], and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Christ gave up everything His flesh wanted to please His heavenly Father. He is our example.

When asked by the rich young ruler what he must do to inherit eternal life this is what Christ said:

Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

So again, this ‘whoredom’ of Ezekiel 16 and Revelation 17-18, just like ‘marriage’ in Ephesians 5, is primarily spiritual, and the very fact we are commanded not to commit adultery is proof that we have all done so spiritually.

… and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

What is this “eyesalve” which gives us our sight? As is always the case, this, too, is a ‘Christ-centric’ spiritual concept which is clearly explained in these verses:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye [Eyes in need of spiritual eyesalve] hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him [Obey Him – 1Jn 5:2-3].

What then will give us spiritual eyes that have spiritual “eyesalve” which can see and know and understand spiritual what are the spiritual gifts we are given and eyes that can “compare spiritual things with spiritual, and can understand “the things of the spirit?”

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

“Gold tried in the fire” and spiritual “eyesalve” are the same thing. It is “Christ in us” and His fiery Words being lived out in us. Peter thought he had Christ in Him, and like Peter, we, too, think that just because we have been learning at Christ’s feet for several years, we understand deep spiritual matters. The Truth that is being revealed to us through the revelation of the angel of the church of Laodicea within us, is that our spiritual depth is not even revealed to us until we have walked through the fiery trials that Peter and all the disciples endured.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

What does that verse say about the false doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ? The anointing of our eyes with eyesalve is the anointing by God’s spirit. “God reveals the things that eye hath not seen “by His spirit.” It is His spirit which gives us the “eye salve” of spiritual vision. What is “the spirit?” Listen closely to the Word of God, and do not be deceived by false ministers who claim that the spirit is somehow independent of, and above, what is written. It most certainly is not:

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

The words ‘of men’ are not in the Greek, and while they may well be implied, the direct command of the spirit is that we are never allow ourselves to “think above what is written.” When we fall for that false spirit which urges us to do so, we are doing nothing less than succumbing to the desire of the beast within, to circumvent the written word, and it yields us completely vulnerable to every wind of doctrine. When we are conquered by that very powerful false and lying spirit, which tells us that God’s spirit thinks above what is written, we are never again able to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God,” and we are adrift without a rudder in very dangerous and stormy seas.

Do you want to “anoint your eyes with eyesalve” so that you can see the things of the spirit? We all need to know what are the “things of the spirit.” How can we know “the things of the spirit” which things “eye hath not seen?” Let’s continue on with the verses right there in 1 Corinthians 2 which explain how the spirit reveals things which “eye hath not seen:”

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The natural man “cannot know the things of the spirit, because they are spiritually discerned.” There are two schools of false doctrines. One is ‘science falsely so called,” and the other is those who think that the written word is something less than the spirit of God. Both those who “think above what is written” and those who believe “contradictions of science falsely so called,” will use these golden words of the holy spirit to encapsulate the idols of their hearts. Both of those schools of false doctrines are condemned by these Words of our Lord:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The [“That which is written”] words that I speak unto you, they are spirit.” We would have no concept of “the words Christ has spoken unto us” were it not for His written word. “Whosoever readeth let him understand… Learn in us not to think above that which is written”:

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

“Thinking above that which is written” and believing the “contradictions of science, falsely so called” are both written in God’s Word to give us the warning and admonition that we need to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God.”

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane [and] vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

Anyone who prefers the “falsely so called” [‘facts’] of science to these inspired Biblical words, has simply not been granted faith to believe in “things that do not appear.”

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Isa 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did  them suddenly, and they came to pass.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘suddenly’ [H6597: ‘pithom’] means, “instantly”, not over thousands and millions of years], and they came to pass.

H6597
פִּתְאֹם     פִּתְאוֹם
pith’ôm    pith’ôm
pith-ome’, pith-ome’

From H6621; instantly: – straightway, sudden (-ly).

“They went forth out of my mouth” tells us that God literally spoke His creation into existence with a man who had the appearance of age, and a hen which was capable of laying and setting eggs and tall stately trees with hundreds or thousands of age rings already within them.

Whenever we “think above what is written” we have accomplished nothing less than placing the beast himself, “the man of sin, that spirit of antichrist,” right back on the throne of our hearts and minds.

Ask those who so easily and willingly “think above what is written” by what means they try the spirits, and you will soon discover the absence of any means of trying the spirits in any such person, and when it comes to the “contradictions of science, falsely so called” we are admonished in “that which is written” to “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Rom 3:3  For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Modern science and modern history are nothing but “seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” which are destroying our children. Carbon 14 dating is based upon the false premise of the theory of uniformity, which teaches that the earth has always been as it now is. The earth has not always been as it is, and it is “science falsely so called” which teaches otherwise. Beware of those who put false science before the word of God. Let God be true and every man a liar.

Conclusion

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

We have seen in this study what the scripture reveal is God’s gold, and God’s silver, and we saw that it is His “pure words… tried in in the fire…  purified in a furnace of earth seven times.”

We saw that God has called those who are poor in this world to be “rich in faith” in His precious and purified Words.

We have seen the scriptures which reveal that the white raiment is “the righteousness of the saints”, and that those in that “pure linen clean and white” are called “the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath, [and] the armies in heaven.” We have seen that those who are clothed in “white raiment which covers their nakedness” are God’s elect, and “the white linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

We saw that the righteousness of God’s saints is really of Him.

We saw all the scriptures which demonstrate that our shameful nakedness was given to us by our Creator, and that we are “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin”, and we were shamefully naked long before we ever committed our first conscious trespass or ever became aware that we needed “white linen, pure and clean, that the shame of our nakedness does not appear.”

Finally we also saw that the “eyesalve” which gives us spiritual vision, is nothing less than the spirit of God, and the spirit of God is nothing less than “the words I have spoken unto you, which are spirit and they are life… the things that are written…” We saw that it is the spirit which reveals to us what those who are in need of eyesalve cannot see and cannot hear “because they are spiritually discerned.”

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish chapter three and the admonitions of the spirit to the angel of the angel of the church of Laodicea, or “He that hath an ear.” Here is the rest of what the spirit has to say to the angel of the church in Laodicea within us all.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

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