A Study of The Book of Revelation, Part #17

The Spirit's Message to the Church in Sardis

:Lesson scripture Revelation 3:1-6

Earl Gillespie

We are speedily approaching the end of our discussion of the letters to the seven churches.  Once we finish this chapter the churches will not be spoken of again in the book of Revelation.  In chapter fourth chapter John is called up to Heaven and the narrative continues with a view of heaven and a view of the earth from heaven..  The church is involved in everything that happen throughout the book of Revelation, but after the fourth chapter it has become a transformed body and merged into the heavenly host. It should be clear now that the church ( a called out body composed of Jews and Gentiles) is a special entity created for a special purpose in the kingdom. Paul made his point clear in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?  That statement brings to light another question, if the church is the representation of all of those who will be saved, how can the saints judge the world?

This modern day idealistic form of religion that promote the entertainment aspect of the here and now can easily be seen as a perversion of the gospel when we realize that the church was created for a greater purpose.  That purpose is not to be manifested here on earth as some suppose but as Jesus implied, the blessing would be in the  Kingdom to come.   Understanding that concept we should be thankful and enjoy the blessing that God has already afforded us as stated in  Genesis 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  Then as Jesus implied in Matthew 6:33 ... Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The strangest thing about these letters to the churches is that Jesus Christ did not make any, not one earthly promise to His church. His message was, "I see, I know, repent, and hear", then he made a promise payable in the kingdom.  With His love so profoundly professed why didn't he tell one church, "don't worry I got your back?"  This is something that the church should think of when coming before the throne of God with a shopping list of so-called favors.  If there is a question about these so called promises, maybe it has something to do with the way we read and interpret the scripture.  As one preacher loudly proclaimed, If he did it for the Children of Isreal he will do it for us, which many doubt that it is a true assessment of God's power.

Revelation 3:1-6 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis, write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

In the message to the angel (messenger) of the church in Sardis, the general state or condition of the church after the Reformation is reflected. In the message to Thyatira, we saw the condition of the church before the Reformation. I realize that these messages were actually directed to churches that existed in John’s day - but as I have stated already, the seven churches represent a period of time from Pentecost to the Rapture.  This is the reason for the use of the number seven. Protestantism is in power, whereas in the Thyatira assembly the Papacy (Rome) controlled. They overlap each other; but although there is not an abrupt break between the two, they do signify certain periods of time. The Reformation was a definite turning point in the history of Western Christianity. God used spirit led ministers to open the eyes of the masses, and for the first time the Word of God was put into language the common man could understand. Down through the ages, Rome has done her best to keep the Word of God from the ordinary people, but it is God’s will that every believer has access to His Word, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher (I John 2:27).  

The city of Sardis lay about thirty miles south of Thyatira. The city was very wealthy, filled with pride and its Christian churches boasted that they were alive. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia. When Sardis was conquered by Cyrus the Lydian monarchy came to an end. The once proud city of Sardis decayed entirely. The life and light of its religious community faded from view and history tells us that in 1850 not one human being was found living in Sardis. 

Verse 1: “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” This verse identifies the speaker, it also indenfies a church that professes to be alive and the speaker is having a problem with the acclimations made by this church. . “He that hath the seven Spirits of God.” The seven Spirits of God is a confusing statement to many Bible readers. Paul often speaks of “One Spirit” in his Epistles, and the Holy Spirit is one Spirit. We are all baptized into one body by one Spirit, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit; but in Revelation the phrase “seven Spirits” is used to assure us of the completeness, the fulness, and the diversified actions and ministries of The One Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:2 enlightens us: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

1. The Spirit of the Lord

2. The Spirit of wisdom

3. The Spirit of understanding

4. The Spirit of counsel

5. The Spirit of might

6. The Spirit of knowledge

7. The Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

The fulness of the Spirit is in Christ; and we can rest assured that whatever state the church may be in . . . it may have left its first love, it may be corrupt, it may be dead . . . but there is in Him who is in the midst of the golden candlesticks, adequate spiritual power to meet every need, regardless of what that need may be. The speaker not only has the seven Spirits of God, but also the “seven stars.” The stars are the light-bearers of the local assemblies. Their responsibility is to shine for Christ, to reflect the light of Christ and of Heaven to the people in the assembly and the community who live in darkness . . . the darkness of this world should not be confusing. Christ has both the “seven Spirits” and the “seven stars.” All light and all ministry proceed from Christ. Jesus gives to us the ministry we are capable of handling, and it will be a happy day in the lives of ministers and Christian workers when we are ready to recognize that God knows what He is doing when He places us in a particular ministry. If we will faithfully discharge our duties and faithfully minister in the capacity He gives us, we will have our time so filled that we will have no time left to covet nor to criticize another man’s ministry. Whatever may be the ministry in the church, if it is successful and as it should be, it proceeds from the Lord Jesus Christ in whom all fulness dwells, “in whom ye are complete” (Colossians 2:8-10). 

Verse 1: Closes with the same announcement made by the Spirit to all the churches: “I know thy works.” But the statement here goes further. Members of the church at Sardis had the name that they were alive - but the Lord is omniscient, He knows all things - and though Sardis announced life, God knew, the church there was dead. Man looks upon the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. Many times when we pass a magnificent structure we say, “My! That is a great church! What a beautiful building!” While a little storefront down the street, with the word Mission written across the door, may be a much greater church in the eyes of the Lord than the great edifice on Main Street. Such was - and is - Protestantism in many places today. Many great Bible authorities regard the Reformation as the greatest blessing to Christianity, and declare the greatest curse to be the beginning of Rome (the Papacy).

We must distinguish between the Reformation and Protestantism. The Reformation was the divine work of the Holy Spirit but Protestantism is a human system, and many times is just as dead as dead can be. The reformers succeeded in breaking the chains and shackles of Rome, and Christianity flourished for a season. Some may have wondered, “Will this zeal continue? Will victory succeed victory? Will one victory lead to another?” The devil has had a lot of experience. He is not asleep. He is on the job, walking about seeking whom he may devour. Thus, before long, the Reformation began to cool and lapse into formal, lifeless, cold Orthodoxy. The great reformers died - and those who replaced them led the church into “systems.” Instead of searching the Scriptures, they drew up dogmas and followed tradition. The church began to abandon the old ideas and concept that made the church strong, in the name of common sense.  Spiritual power was gone, and the zealous lost their zeal. Soon the church had a name that it was alive - but it was dead.   New denominations and churches began to appear only to follow the same path.  Protestantism did not produce the gross corruption and the horrible spiritual fornication produced in the Middle Ages; Protestantism produced spiritual slumber. The church was dead-asleep. It was alive in name only.

Verse 2: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God” We are to occupy until He comes. We are not to sleep as others do . . . we are to be alert. Watching and praying go hand in hand as having to do with the Lord’s return (Mark 13:33).  Watching and praying are Siamese twins when it comes to winning in the Christian conflict, and being an overcomer (Ephesians 6:18). I wonder how many Christians we have today who are alert - watching and praying - really looking and longing for the return of the Lord?   There is an old adage that says, "everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to die,"  A preacher once acknowledged that there were some things he want to do before Jesus came back.  There is no New Testament truth that will so stir a church and keep it clean, as will the truth of the Lord’s return “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” They who believe in the imminent return of the Lord, live zealous, pure lives. “And every man that hath this hope, purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (I John 3:1-3). What little spirituality remained in Sardis was rapidly dying out, and that assembly was therefore admonished to “strengthen the things which remain.” The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) still existed there, even though that fruit was undoubtedly very feeble; and it must be strengthened immediately, or else all true Christianity would vanish from Sardis.

Verse 3: “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” To Ephesus the Spirit said, “Remember” (Revelation 2:5). Again in this present verse the church is admonished to remember. Ephesus was admonished to remember their first love, (their virgin love) - the glorious experience they had had with Christ, the One who was standing in the midst of the golden candlesticks.

 In verse 3, Sardis is admonished to remember the golden age of the Reformation. (This church is after the Reformation - the time when spiritual power and exceeding joy flooded the hearts of the believers.) Therefore, the Spirit admonishes these people to remember that glorious era  In this verse there is also a threat from the One who stands in the midst of the golden candlesticks. The church is to remember - hold fast and repent . . . and watch; and if they do not remember, repent, and watch, Jesus will come as a thief and judge them. (Read I Thessalonians chapter 5.) Unless they repent, He will come to them as a judge - unknown, unlooked for and unexpected. I am afraid that Protestantism and the world have come to terms, and the great majority of church members today find more pleasure in the world than they do in the prayer meeting. They find more pleasure in the things of the world than in the things of the Spirit. The beat of worldly music has entered todays sanctuaries and the churches rocks.  Therefore, if the church and the world agree and walk together, they must suffer the same judgment, the same doom. The Lord Jesus will come to the Church as the Morning Star. To Israel He is the Sun of Righteousness. To the world and to professing Christendom, He will come in sudden surprise as “a thief in the night.”

The Papacy (Thyatira) and Protestantism (Sardis) are running on together, but in opposite lines; but great efforts are being made to heal the breach between Protestantism and Romanism. The differences between the two are becoming less and less, and the hour is fast approaching when all differences will be ended between them. Ther stage is being set for the great world church which will be headed by the devil himself in the person of the Antichrist. The end of that church will be devastating judgment from Him who is the head of the True Church - the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Verse 4: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments;  and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” As I have previously stated, there was a very small remnant in Sardis who bore the fruits of the Spirit . . . very weak, but they were there. God has always had His true remnant here on earth, and always will have until the Rapture of the Church. As it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall appear. In Noah’s day, eight people were saved. In Lot’s day the number was cut from eight to three. As it was, so shall it be.  The Word of God asks, “When Jesus returns to this earth will He find faith?” More false prophets have risen in the last twenty years than in any given period of time prior to that. Magazines have donated multi-millions of dollars worth of advertising for ministers who deny the deity of Christ, His shed blood, and the cardinal truths of Christianity. In this day, men are trying to strip the Lord Jesus of His deity and demote Him to the level of all men. Award shows that utilize the Words of God to promote human values. Thank God that cannot, and it will not happen; but these things are a sign that Jesus is at the door. Surely, He will come quickly. Surely He cannot tarry much longer.  The remnant of true believers in Thyatira was referred to as “the rest in Thyatira.” How many “the rest” were, we do not know. But notice here in Sardis the Scripture says, “a few names.” There were a few - a very few - in Sardis, who were undefiled, who had not completely denied the Lord. They were truly born again, and had not defiled their garments with the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 The majority in Sardis had a name that they were alive, but only a few were really alive.  The few who had not denied His name and who were genuinely born again, had the promise, “They shall walk with me in white.” They had washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb, and would therefore walk with the glorified Saviour in white robes.  The signification and symbology of revelation is clear here.  To understand we must use our eyes to see the message so that we can hear it.  The statement “they are worthy” could be made only about persons washed in the Blood, saved by the grace of God. Even though these few might be as “a brand plucked from the fire,” they would walk in white because there is no degree of redemption. There are degrees of reward - but when people are saved their sins are washed away and they are as white as snow. Even though these few were cold and indifferent, seemingly almost dead spiritually, they would walk with the Redeemer, dressed in white robes, in that glorious resurrection morning.  Overcomers will wear white. Their names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. True life in Christ Jesus is proven by victorious living by those who possess His life (Colossians 1:27). True born again saints of God do overcome. Read carefully, I Corinthians 10:13, I John 4:4, Romans 8:31-39, Ephesians 4:30. We live victorious lives because “greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.” In John 17,

Jesus prayed to the Father, “ . . . Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12).  (The son of perdition here refers to Judas Iscariot, who still has a job to do here on this earth during the Tribulation period).  Judas hanged himself and “went to his own place.” He will return to this earth during the Tribulation period.  Judas Iscariot was the devil in the flesh. In John 6:70 Jesus said, “Have I not chosen twelve, and one of you is a devil?” It is true he was a member of the disciple band, but he fell from apostleship. Judas always referred to Jesus as “Master,” never as Lord, or Saviour. Jesus IS Master, even of the devil. Judas “had a name that thou livest,” but he was dead. His name was on the disciple register, but not in “THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE” (Revelation 21:27). There is a difference between “the Book of Life” referred to in our Scripture here, and “the Lamb’s Book of Life” mentioned in Revelation 21:27. 

Sardis “had a name that thou livest,” but in reality the assembly was dead. There were a few believers there, however, who had been truly born again. They were in the minority, they were not zealous and alert, but they were alive. Let me remind you that there is a difference between redemption and rewards. It is altogether possible for a true believer to lose his reward. Read II John. Study it carefully. The same John who wrote Revelation uses the entire second Epistle of John to warn Christians concerning the truth, “that we might receive a full reward.” It is possible for a real believer to be snatched as a brand from the burning . . . to be saved “so as by fire.” This passage in Revelation does not contradict what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32,33: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” In Revelation 3:5 we read, “But I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.” These few had not denied the name of Jesus. They had confessed Him and had sincerely put their trust in Him. They were genuinely saved - while the masses were professors, not possessors. The professors had joined the local assembly, but they were not born into the family of God. In Acts 2:47 we learn how we become a member of the New Testament Church. When we are saved, the Lord adds us to the Church. The moment we are saved we are added to the Church through the baptism of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12:12, 13).

Verse 6: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” The message to the angel of the church in Sardis closes with the admonition to “hear the message of the Spirit to the churches.” God help us to be again reminded that we are individually responsible to the Lord God Almighty. We are to hear what the Spirit says - not what man says or teaches.

Let me point out that in Sardis, the admonition to “hear” comes after the promise of reward to the individual overcomer. The entire assembly at Sardis was not an overcoming church. The overcomers there were only the few who had not bowed to the world, the flesh, and the devil.

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