Posted by Elfriede Copple

REVELATION 3:18  [Jesus speaking]
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” (NKJV)

Last week we unpacked the meaning of “gold” – “refined in the fire” – “buy from Me gold” and why we should do that. This week we will look at the meaning of “white garments” and “eye salve”.

WHY AND HOW DO WE BUY FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?

Now, before we get to the white garments I would like to share some information I found in the John MacArthur Study Bible with regard to the “gold”, “white garments” and “eye salve” concerning the church of Laodicea. In those days Laodicea was the centre for three major industries which were banking, textiles and medicines.

MacArthur Study Bible commentary quotes:
“Jesus offers them the spiritual counterparts to their three major industries. Each item was a way to refer to genuine salvation.”
(pg. 2807, comment on Revelation 3:18)

The spiritual counterpart to banking would be “buying gold from Jesus” becoming pure and righteous through His sacrifice. Spiritually “white garments” would replace the textiles and “eye salve” the medicines.

What does “white garments” stand for? I think we can all agree that “white” is the symbol for “purity”. How can we stay pure in today’s world and society? Not easy with all the temptations around us! There is only One who can assist us and make us strong to stand against the temptations of this world and that is Jesus Christ! Having been baptized in the Holy Spirit when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we can have the strength to withstand evil. If we read God’s Word and listen, the Holy Spirit within us will guide and protect us.

Buy white garments from Jesus by abiding in the Word, obeying what we read in the Word, and listening to the Holy Spirit through reading the Word!

Let’s continue to the “eye salve”.

Eye salve was one of the major industries in Laodicea. We use our eyes to see, unfortunately not everyone can SEE the TRUTH! Jesus urges the Laodiceans and us to anoint our eyes with eye salve so that we will be able to see the Truth and won’t be deceived!

Most of us have eyes to see, but do we always see the Truth? Or are we blinded by the enemy?

Matthew 6:22-23
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 4:4
“whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.“

There were a lot of different “gods” in Laodecia to be worshipped. The Christians were under great pressure not to fall into idolatry. Their eyes saw all those different gods and rituals going on around them, and the eyes transmitted that to the brain to entice them to follow since it looked good and participation could prosper you! The enemy was trying to sell it to them in whatever package possible. That’s why Jesus told them to buy “eye salve” from Him so that they would see the Truth, that they would be able to discern right from wrong and stand firm!

How do we buy from Jesus?
Quoting Nadia Mikhael M.D. from her book
“Women of the Bible made a Difference”
pg 41, paragraph 4: “remember your ABCDs:

Accept the Word of God as truth,
Be faithful in reading it,
Commit to its ways, and
Do what it says!”

How are we doing? Are our eyes wandering? Do we need to buy “eye salve” from the Lord?

---

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

---

Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comment section. We would love to hear from you. Also if you like this blog, please share it with your friends. Thank you for reading. God bless you!