by Richard Clark, Jr.

When the national bank of Ethiopia sent a consignment of gold bars to South Africa in 2008, Ethiopia experienced an embarrassing shock. South Africa promptly returned the gold bars. The reason? The bars were not pure gold—just gold-plated steel. Come to find out, the bank had bought an entire load of this fake gold. 

Is it possible that we, today, are in the same situation as the Ethiopian bank? As Christians do we buy (or sell) spiritually that which is not pure gold, just coated common steel?

In the book of Revelation, Jesus sends each of seven churches a special message, which includes an assessment of their spiritual condition. To the seventh, and significantly the final church, Laodicea, Jesus gives a particularly startling evaluation. The Laodicean Christians are neither so hot that they are on fire with love for God nor so cold that they feel they need Him. Instead these Christians are lukewarm, tepid. Their character and relationship with Jesus could be represented by gold-coated steel bars: a little of Jesus, a lot of self.

In their own eyes, the Laodicean Christians really don’t look too bad. They resolutely claim to be wealthy and in need of nothing, but Jesus says they are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (3:15-17, NKJV). The Laodicean Church members may not be literally poor (historical Laodicea was a wealthy city) but they are destitute spiritually. These "wretched" people are not atheists, not animists, nor even agnostics—they are practicing Christians.

The Laodiceans’ condition is a result of depending upon human reason alone, even for spiritual riches, Jacques Doukhan explains. He says: "The Kingdom of God has become a human construction. The institutional church—if not the nation—has replaced the city of God. Politics takes the place of religion, and reason that of revelation" (Secrets of Revelation, 46).

King Solomon had a word to describe all the impermanent things we humans get caught up in. It’s hebel, Hebrew for "vapor" or "vanity," and Solomon uses it throughout his book Ecclesiastes. Take Ecclesiastes 1:14, for example: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind." Hebel so absorbed the Laodicean believers’ lives that they had become proficient at grasping for the wind. And wind-grasping leaves only so much time and energy for a relationship with God.

Although in Revelation Jesus goes on to say that He will "vomit" the Laodicean church members "out of His mouth" because of their nauseating lukewarmness, He immediately gives a remedy for their condition: "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" (3:18, NKJV).

Looking closely at Jesus’ message, we find more irony. In Laodicea gold would not have been a scarce commodity. The area was also renowned for black sheep wool; clothing would not have been unobtainable. Near the city was a medical school that produced eye medicine, so eye salve would have been available. In spite of the physical realities of Laodicea, they did not extend to the souls of the inhabitants.

Jesus wants the Laodiceans to receive the solid, pure gold of a holy character and faith patterned after His. He wants to give the Laodiceans the robe of His righteousness. Isaiah speaks of this: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). And Jesus wants His church to have its spiritual "eyes" anointed with the ointment of spiritual discernment.

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul desires that "God … may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling" (1:17-18). David sheds further light on what helps the spiritual eyes see. He says that "the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:8).

What is the result of "buying" Jesus’ gold, white garments, and eye salve? "God [will] enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival" (Ezra 9:8). No longer will the Laodicean believers be content with being lukewarm. The realities of heaven will take on more importance than the empty vapors of earth. And they will be able to distinguish between the world’s gold-plated steel and heaven’s solid gold.

Both the Ethiopian National Bank and South Africa bought the "gold bars." Only one tested them. Let’s make sure we get the real thing. For us, there is only one Source.

Richard Clark is assistant editor of Connected magazine.