Revelation Blindness

Revelation: Justification by Faith

Blindness

Revelation 3:17-18 (ESV)
"For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see."

We have already seen that Laodicea is wretched and lacks the faith compared to gold. But the church in Laodicea is also blind.

Isaiah speaks of this blindness:

Isaiah 29:11-12 (ESV)
"And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When they give it to one who can read, saying, ‘Read this,’ he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, ‘Read this,’ he says, ‘I cannot read.’"

Isaiah 29:13-14 (ESV)
"And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’"

Isaiah 29:18-19 (ESV)
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

Laodicea is often blind when reading God's Word. They read it, but they don't understand it. It doesn't penetrate, and the meaning is vague.

The Pharisees were also called blind because by following their own traditions, they made God's Word powerless. They were blind leaders who led the blind to their destruction. And this happens in the church today as well.

However, both in Laodicea and in Isaiah, hope is given. There is the possibility of healing from this blindness. It is possible to receive eye salve.

Can a blind person heal themselves? How severe is it when the blind are blind to their own blindness?

But God can heal the blind, just as Jesus healed literal blind people. He wants us to let His Word speak directly to us without adding human commandments. This could heal our blindness.

The healing of the blind man in John 9 is perhaps one of the strangest healings Jesus performed:

John 9:6-7 (ESV)
"Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing."

When the man was told to wash, he could have thought that Jesus was crazy. He could have rejected the irrationality of this request. But he did it, and he was healed.

We must not let our healing be hindered by truths that seem strange to us. Having heard lies repeatedly, we often find the truth to be odd. But God's Word, as it is written, is certain and sure, and it cannot fail.

When we see this, we will certainly see.