Most of us will agree that man spends a great deal of time, effort, and money attaining items to adorn and beautify ourselves including precious metals, gems, jewelry, watches, fashion, shoes, hair styles, make-up, cosmetic surgery, cars, houses. We sometimes see this pursuit of beauty go overboard into covetousness, debt and obsession. Some become very unhappy because they are not satisfied with their pursuit of beauty. We are the only creature that is concerned with acquiring beauty. Some scientists, who wrongly contend that man is an animal, believe that this is man's effort to attract a mate, because man does not have the exotic plumage, or colorful trappings that many in the animal kingdom have. Others think that this pursuit of beauty and adornment is an attempt to attain a certain economic or social status.
Perhaps, however, this desire to beautify ourselves comes from a spiritual truth. We end up expressing this desire to be beautified outwardly, from a worldly concept only, rather than inwardly, because we don't understand where this desire comes from. As Mom used to say, "Pretty is as pretty does", and it turns out she was right! I started thinking about this after reading the following verses:
"For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds." Psalm 149:4-5
The LORD beautifies us with His salvation: Yeshua (Jesus' name). The root word "yasha" also includes the meaning "to be opulent".
The word "beautify" used above is the Hebrew word pa ar, which means to glorify, beautify, adorn, to gleam, to embellish, to be ornamented. We will see this word again in a verse we will read below. He uses this word here in regard to His "saints".
The word "saints" is the beautiful word kodesh. The term is not connected to a designation given by any church, but it means holiness, consecration and sacredness that comes from separatness and apartness. Its root is the word kadesh, which has the same meaning, but also includes "to show oneself sacred or majestic, to be observed as holy". So it also involves this quality of holiness as being something seen or observed in an outward, visible way. So the beauty of salvation is connected with the holiness of the saints. The first mention of "saints" in scripture is a rich description of the Gospel of salvation found in Deut. 33:2-3. It is not only a picture of the Gospel, but also of Christ's return. It was the last blessing that Moses spoke over Israel before his death. It only makes sense that he would leave Israel with this powerful image of the Gospel:
"And he (Moses) said:
"The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned (rose up) on them from Seir;
He shined forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand came a fiery law for them.
Yes, He loves the people;
All His saints are in Your hand;
They sit down at Your feet;
Everyone receives Your words."
The Gospel message in these verses would seem to be hidden to us, but to anyone who spoke Hebrew, it would be very apparent.
The Gospel is in the meaning of the words:
The LORD came (goes in, enters) from Sinai (thorny).
And rose up (rise up, break out, break forth) from Seir (he-goat of the sin sacrifice, a condition of horror, terror, a whirlwind, to shudder or quiver in fear). Note: Seir is in Edom, meaning red, from the root word dam, meaning blood.
He shined forth (light, shine, give light) from Paran (root is pa ra, the same word for beauty used in our verse from Psalm 149, meaning glorify, beautify, adorn, to gleam, embellish, ornamented).
He came with ten thousands (to become many or great, to be long of journey) saints (see above meaning of kodesh/kadesh).
From His right hand (Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, also to choose the right turn), came a fiery law (commandment or communion that comes out of supernatural altar fire).
This would be an expression of the above verses:
The LORD entered the thorny place. He broke out, or rose up, from the blood sacrifice for sin, out of the place of terror, horror, and fear. He shined forth from the place of beauty, glory, adornment and ornamentation, and came from this place of beauty with His saints, a great number from a long journey. Where can the saints be found? Separated and apart at His feet, receiving His Word (v.3).
The description of the church of Jesus, His bride, is that of an opulent, beautiful, adorned, glorious city built of precious gems, pearls and pure gold. (Rev. 21:18-21). The gems and gold found on earth are a pale comparison to the size and purity of those that are used for this living city-bride. Likewise, our attempt to capture physically the beauty of adornment represented in the saints, also pales in comparison. There is nothing wrong with seeking and adorning ourselves with earthly beauty, but the deeper meaning and manifestation of beauty is found in only one place: in the beauty of His holiness (Ps. 29:2, 96:9, 2 Chron. 20:21).
What does this beauty bestowed by the LORD upon His saints really mean? It is spiritual authority. When Abraham sent his servant to find the bride for his son, Isaac, he sent his servant with certain pieces of jewelry. They were a nose ring, and bracelets of gold. There were bracelets for each wrist. From the moment Rebecca accepted these pieces of jewelry, she walked in her purpose, her spiritual authority to make sure that the seed of promise, the seed of Messiah, was passed to Jacob, whom God had ordained, rather than Esau. Every decision she made regarding her two sons was made by revelation of God, and was carried out through the spiritual authority given to her, represented by these adornments. The reason she received the outward beautification of spiritual authority, is because she had the inward beauty of humility. She worked hard not only to bring water to Abraham's servant, but also to water his ten camels (Gen. 24). This man was a stranger to her, yet she felt his thirst, even the thirst of his animals, and brought him water. The world seeks this beautification, this spiritual authority, without being willing to come in humility to the One who raises up and beautifies. It is up to us to know the true beauty of His spiritual authority given to us, His saints.
Our Father beautifies His saints with salvation.
"Lord, You're Beautiful"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtzCD_8KbjI
"Lord, I Thirst for You"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOC7XGmzFJg
"Beauty of Your Holiness"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4iD_3G7F2A
"Never Be The Same"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465oXQegB2k
Note: Photo at the top of the page-artist rendition of the New Jerusalem, as described in Rev. 21.
I would like to find out something more about repentance. I don't think I understand enough about it. As I looked into it, I found some things that made me realize I have only a superficial understanding of repentance, and there is even more that I will have to learn in the future.
My starting place is usually word meanings, and so it is also for this. I found something surprising. There are two sides to repentance, two things going on at once.
In the Greek, it is fairly simple: a change of mind, purpose, or in something done.
However, in the Hebrew, there are two words used meaning repentance, racham and shuv, and this is where things get interesting.
Racham comes from a root dealing with breath. So it means to pant, or groan, to breathe heavily because of sorrow and regret. However, at the same time it means to be consoled, comforted, pitied, receiving compassion, ease, and even to avenge! The act of sincere repentance moves God at the same time to pour out comfort to us, and even to avenge us.
Shuv, the second Hebrew word for repentance, means to turn, turn back, turn away. At the same time, it means to bring back, allow to return, draw back, restore, refresh, to be brought back. So, at the same time that we are turning away from our evil, God is drawing us back and restoring us, refreshing us in Himself. We see this in 2 Chron. 7:14- when God's people repent, God pours out forgiveness and healing, not just on individuals, but upon the whole nation.
There are some other things about repentance that I found very interesting.
"But go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Mt. 9:13, Mk. 2:17, Lk. 5:32
The word "call" in the above verse means to call aloud, to call by name, to receive the name of, to give a name to one, to bear a name or title, to be so named.
The call to repentance is specific, with the Lord calling each of us by name. As He calls us by name to come to Him in repentance, He also gives us a name. We also bear the name of the LORD (Isa. 62:2, Jer.14:9, Dan. 9:19, James 2:7).
- Repentance is something that is granted (bestowed, permitted, supplied, furnished) and led by God:
"When they heard these things, they became silent; and they glorified God, saying "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." Acts 11:18
"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads (by laying hold of, accompanying, bringing) you to repentance?" Rom. 2:4
"...if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth..." 2 Tim. 2:25
Not only is repentance a gracious gift from God, from His goodness, but, again, at the same time as repentance begins, life is given in return.
A man cannot repent unless God grants him repentance. We should rejoice at the graciousness of God Who has allowed us to repent. It shouldn't surprise me to find that the love, and unlimited goodness of our Father is included in His principle of repentance, as with everything else concerning His dealings with us. He ends up giving me far more than I give Him.
- The sorrow of repentance is a godly sorrow:
"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death," 2 Cor. 7:9-10
The source of even the sorrow that makes us repent is from God, and is not the same as the sorrow known by the world. This godly sorrow and repentance leads to salvation, even for those who already know Christ (Paul was writing to those who were already believers).
"For you know that afterward, when he (Esau) wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Heb. 12:17
The place of repentance referred to here is "a space marked off from surrounding space". It also means a "Rock". Not everyone who seeks "a" place of repentance can find it. You can't create a place of repentance with tears and striving, and self-flagellation. The place of repentance can only be found at the place of the Rock, Jesus of Calvary, the place that is set apart from all other places. Esau never found that place. Aren't we glad that we have been shown that place, and can go there freely?
- God will never grant repentance to His great enemy: Death.
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Repentance (pity) is hidden from My eyes." Hosea 13:14
For our sakes, God has cut off Death and the Grave from ever being able to repent before Him. He has cut them off from Himself forever, and they cannot live.
- Repentance produces specific fruits (harvest):
"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." Mt. 3:8-9, Lk. 3:8
Jesus is reminding the people of God that repentance applies to them. We cannot have the spiritual pride of our own salvation, the pride of self-righteousness. These are the worst of the prides.
Scripture also says that we shall be known by our fruits:
"You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? ...Therefore by their fruits you will know them." Mt. 7:16, 20
One of the fruits that God's true people will be known for, and identified by, are the fruits of repentance.
Considering all of the wonderful benefits to us that can be found in repentance, I should be searching myself continually, and taking every opportunity to partake in it. I should be running to that place of repentance as often as my Father calls me. I need to change my knowledge and attitude about repentance.
Our Father calls us to, and grants to us, repentance.
"I Repent"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vw71-oDK4M
"Come Let Us Return to the LORD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWrHSH_zfDc&list=PL1AC19848DC3D2AEF&index=2
Jesus had strong words for the church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation:
"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
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- 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." Rev. 3:15-18
Laodicea had a tremendous spiritual calling. Its name means "Justice of the People". "Justice" here means more than right, justice, or a judicial decision. It has to do with causing something to be seen. Its root means "to show, to expose to the eyes, to give evidence or proof of a thing, to teach or exhibit, something presented to one in a vision, to bring to pass, of miracles performed in the presence of others to be seen, spoken of God as the author of Christ's visible return".
What an awesome purpose this church had been given. They were to be signposts for the return of Christ, and vessels to bring the invisible miraculous into manifestation, or visibility. However, their "lukewarmness" prevented the zeal for the "justice" of their name.
Jesus told them to buy from Him "gold tried in the fire". This gold is something that we can only get from Him. It is the everlasting victory over all things (Rev. 3:21) that He won for us, because He went through the "fire" on our behalf.
Why does Jesus say that this church must "buy" it from Him? Why doesn't He just give it to them? We are said to be buying this gold tried by fire from Him, because it costs us something. Following Christ as His disciple must come at a cost, with trials and testing of our faith:
"Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Lk. 9:23-24 (Mt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34, 10:21)
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it- ...
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
Lk. 14:27-28, 33
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you....If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you..." Jn. 15:19-20 (excerpt)
"Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." 1 Jn. 3:13
To buy that gold tried in the fire from Christ, is to our advantage. It costs us something, but we gain so much more:
"I will bring the one-third through the fire,
will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, "This is My people";
and each one will say, "The LORD is My God." Zech. 13:9
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of you faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love." 1 Peter 1:6-8a
"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings...If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part, He is blasphemed, but on your part, He is glorified." 1 Pet. 4:12-14
At the same time that the trial condemns those who are blaspheming, the Spirit of glory is resting upon us, and glorifying both us, and God, because we also share in Christ's sufferings. This glory (gold) comes at a cost-the sharing of His suffering. The resurrected Christ says to buy this gold from Him.
Laodicea was known as "the seat of the Christian church", yet this church was very self-satisfied and complacent, according to Christ in His prophetic word to John. Their purpose, revealed by the meaning of their name, was to show and exhibit to others the miracles and the blessings of the salvation, and the return of Christ, but they were more concerned with enjoying those blessings themselves. They took more pleasure with their riches and comfort, their success, than with their purpose in Christ.
They enjoyed the blessings of Christ, but they had not been tried. When we experience Christ, we also experience or share a portion of His sufferings. When we live and believe the Word of God, that Word in us is tested and tried. This testing produces that gold tried by fire, the pure gold that does not perish that Jesus mentioned. Without attaining that gold tried by fire, we are really "poor" in the Spirit (reduced to begging, destitute, powerless to accomplish an end), as was Laodicea.
The experiencing of Christ in the testing fire, is valuable to ourselves, and for our testimony to others. In the ultimate challenge to come, because we have joined Christ in that fire of experience, and we have been tried, even if our trials in no way compare to His, and have been delivered out of all (Ps. 34:19, Isa. 43:2), we are able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and the fact that we love not our lives unto the death (Rev. 12:11). Our overcoming faith, which is the faith of the Son of God, has been purified and sealed in the fire of testing.
Instead of leading others to spiritually "see" Christ and His return, the church of Laodicea was call "blind" by Christ. This word means to be wrapped in a cloud of smoke or a mist that prevents sight, and as a result, to be puffed up with pride and haughtiness. He urged them to anoint their eyes with eye salve, to clear their spiritual vision.
Jesus also described them as "wretched". This refers to a pair of balancing scales, as in our symbol for justice, but by this definition, these scales are weighted down with a burden, instead of weighing out liberating justice.
He said they were "naked". Instead of exposing others to the truth in Christ, their own nakedness was revealed. They were showing and exposing their own flesh and shame, and not His glory, nor the clothing of glory, which is righteousness, the white raiment, that He had attained for those who believe. He urged them to attain this spiritual raiment.
However, Jesus did not leave them with only these harsh words. He told them that He was correcting them because He loved them. He was knocking at their spiritual door because He wanted them to intimately experience and fellowship with Him (Rev. 3:19-20). You cannot stay lukewarm after you experience Jesus. You cannot stay lukewarm when you have seen the wounds of His suffering, and have been delivered from your own trials by His victory.
Jesus said that if they would heed His words to them, and repent, they would sit with Him on His throne, which is the throne He shares with His Father (Rev. 3:21). They would be overcomers, as He is. What an incredible promise and blessing to a church that was missing its calling so completely. It was still possible for them to walk in their calling and purpose.
This was a very timely word to the comfortable, complacent, lukewarm church of Laodicea. We can only hope that they received that prophetic warning, and heeded it. Shortly after they would have received this word, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake in 66 A.D., and was not re-built until almost 100 years later by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was a persecutor of Christians. Not only this church, but many other lives had been hanging in the balance when this prophetic warning from Christ was issued to them.
Christ is also warning the modern church, because many of us have become very much like the Laodiceans of Revelation. It is very tempting to compromise, or remain silent with the truth we know, in order to keep our comfort and wealth, to be accepted by the world and its views, and to avoid the trials that come with the truth of Jesus, and the Word of God. Again, as in the time of Laodicea, there are many lives in the balance, not just our own. We also have a vital End-Time calling and purpose. We also are called to bring the miraculous salvation and soon return of Christ into visibility for all around us. It is time to repent of our lukewarmness, and to become "hot" again, and to buy from Jesus that gold tried in the fire.
Our Father is a refiner's fire Fire.
"Have You Been Tried in the Fire?" by Macedonia Youth Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J6Ry0b_E6s
