Revelation 3:17 (LSB)

Passage

Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.

Nearby Context

Revelation 3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

Revelation 3:17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.

Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "become", "wealthy", "need", "nothing", "wretched", "pitiable", and "poor". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "become", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "So because you are lukewarm and neither..." into verse 18's "I advise you to buy from Me...", so "rich" and "become" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "rich" and "become" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.