The word “golden” in Revelation 1:12 is the Greek word chrusos. This Greek word was used throughout Scripture and other ancient literature to denote the precious metal gold. It described gold, gold coins, gold jewelry, gold fabric, and other items that were fashioned of pure gold.
In the ancient world, there were two kinds of gold — gold that was absolutely pure and gold that was an alloy, meaning it had been mixed with other metals such as silver. Pure gold was considered to be the highest quality and most desirable form of the metal. Varieties that had been mixed with other metals were considered to be less valuable and of a lower grade. The Greek word chrusos — the same word John used in Revelation 1:12 to describe the “golden candlesticks” — referred to pure gold of the highest quality.
Raw gold is typically discovered encased in rock. Once the gold-bearing rock is removed from the earth, it must be crushed in order for the gold to be extracted. After the rock is crushed, water is forced over the broken fragments to wash away everything except the raw gold itself. With the rubble removed, the gold is exposed and then placed into a fiery furnace. There the blazing hot temperatures melt the gold into liquid form and bring all the impurities hidden in the metal to the surface where they can be scraped off by a refiner who oversees the whole process. The heat is turned up again and again, and with each increase in temperature, more impurities are brought to the surface where they can be scraped away.
If the impurities in the metal are not removed, they will become a defect that decreases the strength of that batch of gold. Intense fire is necessary to remove these impurities, and the refining process requires time, patience, and many degrees of blazing hot temperatures. If the process is carried through to completion, however, the result is a soft, pliable pure gold that a gold worker can beat and shape into an exquisite object. From beginning to end, this is a lengthy, tedious, expensive, and complicated process.
Unlike silver, gold does not tarnish, rust, corrode, or corrupt with time. Gold coins might lie buried in the earth or at the bottom of the sea for hundreds or even thousands of years, but when they are discovered, they appear as brilliant as the day they were lost. Thus, because of its incorruptible nature, pure gold became a symbol of enduring value.
In both Old and New Testament times, there was nothing more valuable than pure gold. Therefore, God’s use of the word “golden” (chrusos) to describe the Church conveys a very important message about what He thinks about the Church of Jesus Christ — and, therefore, what He thinks about you and every one of your brothers and sisters in Christ!
First, because the word chrusos describes gold of the highest purity, we see that the Church is pure gold in the eyes of Jesus Christ! Like a miner who goes deep into the earth to extract rock that contains gold, Jesus stepped into the darkness of sin in the human race to extract the Church from this lost world. The Gospel was preached; the lost were convicted of sin, and the Word of God, like rushing water, poured over the souls of the redeemed to remove rubble, wreckage, and waste from their lives. Since the birth of the Church 2,000 years ago, Jesus, our Great Refiner, has been washing the Body of Christ with His Word and overseeing the purifying and refining of His precious Church
The specific seven churches in the book of Revelation that Jesus referred to had some very serious problems, many of which are the very same problems we see in the Church today. In fact, the book of Revelation tells us:
- They left their first love (Revelation 2:4).
- They were spiritually fallen (Revelation 2:5).
- They had false doctrine (Revelation 2:14 and 2:20).
- They had the compromise of the Nicolaitans in their midst (Revelation 2:6 and 2:15). (For more information on the Nicolaitans, see page 631 in Sparkling Gems 1.)
- They had works that were weak and ready to die (Revelation 3:2).
- They had works that were incomplete (Revelation 3:2).
- They struggled with staying on fire for the Lord (Revelation 3:15).
- They were lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).
- They were strongly rebuked by the Lord (Revelation 3:19).
- They were told to repent of wrong attitudes and actions (Revelation 2:5; 2:16; 3:3; 3:19).
- They were far from perfect!
You may feel disheartened by what you see or know about the church where you attend or some of the people who attend with you. Perhaps your emotions are trying to convince you that the situation is hopeless and your church family will never turn around for the better. Or perhaps the devil is attempting to dissuade you from further involvement by whispering negative thoughts in your ear about the sad condition of your church. Although it’s true that there is room for change in any church, you must never forget that Jesus died for His Church and there is nothing in the world more precious to Him than the Body of Christ — including your local congregation. You may see problems, but Jesus sees the Church only as pure gold.
The Church has always had imperfections; this is nothing new, for only God is perfect. When we finally see Jesus face to face, we will be transformed into His image and become just like Him with no imperfections. However, until that time, Jesus will keep working as our Great Refiner — washing us with the water of His Word and putting us through His purification process to make us pliable and usable in His hands! The work of purification and refinement goes on!
Peter was referring to this very same principle when he wrote, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18,19). This verse emphatically tells us that Jesus gave His own blood to purchase the Church. The Church may still be in the process of purification and refinement, but we must never forget that Jesus gave His life for it. He loves His Church, and we must love it too. To Him, it is pure gold — worth more than anything else in the whole world — and we must also learn to see it as pure gold and precious.
Therefore, whenever you are tempted to be discouraged about the state of the Church at large or about certain things that bother you in your own local church, proclaim to yourself: Regardless of what I see, feel, or know, Jesus died for the Church, and it is golden to Him. Therefore, the Church at large, and my local church in particular, are golden to me — and NOTHING is going to tarnish my view of it!
