The Book Is Open, Revelation 3:14-22

Earl Gillespie 

Revelation 3:14-22

The Laodiceans, our final church before we follow John into Heaven and view the throne of Jesus.  This was a functioning church, they assembled together regularly to worship in their fancy edifices, conveyed in fine carriages, adorned in fancy robes and costumes.  They perverted the Gospel, they shaped the truth, they collected money and amassed huge fortunes, and there were no community services.    In the community people were sick and suffering, they were dying and they pretended not to see. They uttered praises for their blessing even to the point of bragging, but as a church, they were spiritually naked and dead.  There was no place for the unperverted Jesus or the pure Gospel on their programs, he was left standing at the door.

Last Sunday evening a pastor conducted a youth program, morning service was canceled so no hardship would be placed on the membership.  I am sure if the threatening rain had come, the event would also have been canceled.  The young people performed and a visiting minister preached one of those messages that most seasoned saints had to take notes to remember what the message was about.  The listeners were was constantly reminded to touch their neighbor.  It is unclear if this will have a decisive effect on the community or the decline of youth participation in the churches.   Prior to dismissing the service according to one minister on the rostrum, the Lord spoke to him and told him to lay hands on and pray for everybody in the church.  He elected to use a practice perfected in the sixties by Jim Jones and other TV preachers, by forcing the head back a couple of degrees the person could be made to stumble and fall, this was often mistaken for the spirit of God.   Church members were instructed to come to the Alter and bring a seed offering and he would pray for them.   It is amazing how God speaks to certain ministers when they are collecting money.

Promises in the name of God were made and the money was collected, then on their way back to their seats the sucker punch was thrown, "He might not come when you want him but he is always on time."  Wouldn't it be better to say, "whether your request is granted or not He is still God."  The Laodiceans were also guilty of lying on God   The spirit of the Jezebel type has grown and is manifesting itself in the church of the Laodiceans this very day.

(In a moment of weakness, I wondered if Jesus ministry would have been more effective if he had blessed the disciples and sent them out to open up a string of fish markets.  Then Jesus as the CEO  would visit each establishment and preach to the masses as they came to buy fish.  It is staggering to think of the money that could have been made in the name of doing God's work.)

The message to the church in Philadelphia and the church of at Laodicea overlaps each other and is representative of the present day churches and the climaxing of the church age.   The message to the church at Laodicea is a message to a church in its final state of apostasy.  The Gospel has been perverted and the word of God no longer reflect the return of Jesus Christ.  The message from the pulpit is about the changes and the shifting that is taking place and the great work that God is about to do.  The listeners are encouraged to prepare themselves for the blessing they are about to receive as they plant their seed offering of faith. The message sounds as if it is from the throne of God but it is not the word of God.  The Laodiceans called themselves a church, they looked like a church and they even acted like a church but they were dead.  They did the programs, they sang spirited songs, but they had locked the word of God out of their hearts.  It was all about the now and Jesus was left standing at the door gently knocking.

The messages to the seven churches were directed to the churches that existed in John’s day but because the number seven is used it gave the messages a deeper message.  Each of the seven churches represents a period of time from Pentecost to the Rapture. Also, note the fact that the message to the seven churches is located between the vision of the glorified Christ and the vision of the glorified Church. The seven churches represent the church age from Pentecost to the Rapture and when the Rapture takes place church will be glorified and given bodies like unto the Lord’s glorious body (I John 3:1-3).

Laodicea was located about forty miles east of Ephesus. Its name was derived from Laodice, the wife of Antiochus II, the Syrian who ruled in the early days of the city. Laodicea was a wealthy city, so much so that In spite of the fact that an earthquake destroyed it during the reign of Nero, A. D. 62, it quickly recovered from that terrible disaster, and from its own resources soon regained all the glory and wealth lost during the great earthquake. At the time John wrote the message to the local assembly there, Laodicea was again a magnificent and wealthy city. It was regal in its wealth and power and boasted that it needed nothing.

From the account In Revelation, the wealth of the city greatly affected the church. It seems strange to most people that riches and sorrow go together. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Most of the time, riches produce a rotten living. There are a few rich people who serve God, and there are a few rich churches that are spiritual, but the general rule is that riches bring sorrow. Jesus said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” That does not mean that God cannot or will not save a rich man - He can, and He will. But the sad fact is that riches and Spirituality somehow do not seem to walk together.

Verse 14: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the  Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” There was a local assembly at Laodicea, and even in Paul’s day some thirty years before John was exiled to Patmos, the condition of that assembly troubled Paul tremendously (Colossians 2:1). Seemingly the ruin of that church was pride, material wealth and self-satisfaction among the people. They did not need God - they had everything.  They gloried in things - not in the Lord. Since each church in Revelation represents a period in history between the beginning of the Church and the Rapture, we recognize that we are now living in a church age symbolized by the spirit of the Laodiceans of John’s day - pride, wealth, and Self-satisfaction. Note the titles of the divine Speaker: “These things saith The Amen.” This title is a Hebrew word signifying both the true unchangeable nature of the Speaker, and the unchanging message of God’s Word. Authorities on the original languages of the Bible tell us that the Hebrew word for “Amen” is literally “truth,” or “believe.” In the New Testament, the Greek word for “amen” can be translated “verily,” which is another way of saying, “truth.” So the Speaker addressing the Laodiceans is “The Truth,” and certainly that is Jesus (John 14:6, John 17:17).  But the Laodiceans have denied the truth.

Notice the second title given to the One who is addressing the Laodiceans: “The faithful and the true witness.” From Adam to this present time, every witness except this One has failed in one way or another. Who is this One? The Lord Jesus Christ! He is the only One who faithfully obeyed the commands, wishes, and desires of the Heavenly Father in every minute detail.

Verses 15 and 16: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Again the solemn words, “I know thy works!” This statement is made seven times in the messages to the seven churches. Omniscience is a divine attribute, and Jesus Christ is divine - just as divine as is God the Father.  To the church at Philadelphia Jesus said, “I know thy works.” He then went on to say, “For thou hast a little strength.” He knew the weakness of the church at Philadelphia, He knew the lukewarm spirit of the Laodiceans - and He knows the spirit existing in your organized church or assembly, whatever that spirit may be. This last phase of the church is the worst, by all means. Notice the use of the terms “COLD” and “HOT” - not “DEAD” and “ALIVE.” The Laodiceans were in the most dangerous state possible. They were not referred to as being spiritually dead, nor as being spiritually alive . . . they were indifferent. They were lost, of course, for had they been born again they would not have been spewed out of the mouth of Him who is the Head of the Church.

Verse 17: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” You will notice the believers in Philadelphia have not one word to say for themselves. They make no boasts nor brags. The Laodiceans testify in their own behalf: “Thou sayest . . . . “ In Laodicea, there was not only a self-satisfied condition in the assembly - but also pride. The church boasted openly, “I am rich!” (I am blessed) It is true that the city of Laodicea was materially rich, but the church had no right to boast in riches, nor to sellout to the riches of the secular city. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I am sure the church at Laodicea could have matched some of our big churches today - in members, social influence, gifts, showy buildings, robed choirs, intellectual leaders - and probably a banquet hall second to none even in this day. But any church - whether in Laodicea or in your hometown - is headed for ruin when it puts “things, programs and money” ahead of Jesus. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Wealth (things) at the expense of spirituality is a tragedy and a curse. Hear the Laodiceans testify further: “And have need of nothing.” These people had absolutely no place for the Lord Jesus Christ in their program. They did not need anything He had; they were completely satisfied. Even in the very face of judgment (verse 16), they continued to boast. They did not believe in a God of judgment. They believed what the liberals and modernists are preaching today - “the goodness of God, the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man.” They did not believe in a God who is a consuming fire, a God who is angry with the wicked every day, a God who judges in righteousness. The condition of the Laodicean church described here could be front-page news of any religious paper in this hour. All who will face facts and agree to the truth must confess the same. The last part of verse 17 is bursting with a prophetic truth: “. .and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked!”  These people did not know their spiritual condition. They were so totally indifferent to the truth, to the Word of God, to the Gospel and to Christ Himself, that they were calloused (“their conscience seared with a hot iron”). They were past feeling, and deep down in their own sinful hearts, they thought they were sitting on top of the world religiously. In reality, they were on top of the world religiously - but spiritually they were wretched, they were miserable - and yet their blind hearts could not see nor feel their misery. They were poor, they were blind, they were naked.  Why did I say this part of the verse is bursting with prophetic truth?

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Verse 18: “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried In the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” The characteristics of the Laodiceans are summed up by the Spirit in three words: Poverty -nakedness blindness! The Lord does not command the Laodiceans to repent - He counsels with them and offers to take care of their poverty, their nakedness, and their blindness. We find Him standing at the door, knocking - pleading for just one man to open the door and let Him in – but to no avail. Notice the counsel He gives: “Buy of ME gold tried in the fire.” The riches of Christ are unknowable, inexhaustible. He has gold tried in the fire, and to buy from Him is no problem. Isaiah instructed, “Buy without money.” You do not need gold as man knows gold, in order to buy at the Lord’s great supermarket. “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and with price” (Isaiah 55:1). Gold, purified by fire, points to the divine righteousness of God - and Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (I Corinthians 1:30). Without the riches of His grace, we are of all men most miserable. We are the poorest of all men - but in Christ, we are the richest of all men; Heaven is at our disposal, in Christ. White garments are the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:8). To be clothed in righteousness is to be free from the shame of nakedness. Eyesalve is for spiritual discerning. Unless our eyes are opened by the Lord, we cannot discern spiritual matters. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14). Unless the Lord opens the eyes of our understanding we will never know the truth that makes us free.

Verse 19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” This passage does not apply to any particular group, but to ALL the children of God throughout all ages. This verse is very enlightening and needs to be preached in churches today. From the beginning of creation, the Lord God has rebuked and chastened those whom He loves - His own children (Proverbs 3:11,12; Hebrews 12:5,6). In Romans 11:22 Paul cries out, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God.” The Word of God speaks for itself. The Scriptures carry their own light. Scriptures unlock themselves when we allow the Spirit to compare spiritual things with spiritual; therefore, hear these words:“Hebrews 12:6-8  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Verse 20:” Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Verse 21:” To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”

22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

This last picture of the church is sad. At the beginning (at Ephesus) we found the Lord Jesus standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks . . . standing in the midst of the assembly, while in Laodicea He is standing at the door, on the outside, knocking. This tender, touching call of the Master has been the call of ministers down through the centuries, appealing to individuals to open the door and let the Lord Jesus in.  In this Scripture, Jesus is appealing to ANY (even ONE) individual, but He is knocking at the door of the Laodicean church - not the door of an individual heart. However, if one individual will open the door, His promise is, “I WILL come in and sup with him, and he with me.” “Behold, I stand at the door.”  Thus the Lord is pushed out. He is not within the assembly at Laodicea; He is outside, knocking and speaking. Here we have a true display of the grace of God, even when the church has stooped to the lowest degree and has pushed the Lord Jesus out.  The Lord Jesus does not command the Laodiceans to buy (verse 18), nor does He force entrance (verse 20). “I stand,  I knock.” You may rest assured that the Lord Jesus will never force Himself upon any home, any church, or any nation. He loves all, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He is searching for the unsaved - but He will never force Himself upon anyone. The Lord will never intrude where He is not wanted.

And Jesus Himself asked, “When He comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Surely we are living in the hour of the lukewarm, professing church. I am sure if the Rapture should take place between 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday morning, some churches in the midst of a service would not be disturbed, and from the preacher on down, no one would be taken from that congregation. That assembly would not know anything had happened until the service dismissed and the people returned to their homes or neighborhood, to find some of their friends and loved ones missing. Yes, there are churches on earth today - local assemblies - where there is not one born again child of God in the group.

Verse 21: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.” This verse is bursting with truth and glorious revelation. How did Jesus come to the authority to sit with the Father in the Father’s throne? It is true that from the standpoint of deity He had a perfect right to sit there – but bear in mind that He humbled Himself, took upon Himself the form of man, and became obedient unto death. In Hebrews 1:1-3 we are told that He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father; and when Stephen looked into Heaven, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father.  I believe Hebrews 12:1-2 will clear up this question: “ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God..” “Hebrews 5:7-8  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  Though he was a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Revelation 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The Book Is Now Open, Revelation 3:7-13

THE SPIRIT’S MESSAGE TO PHILADELPHIA
Revelation 3:7-13

Philadelphia, the name derived it meaning from the Greek words meaning brotherly love.  On several occasion, Paul wrote about brotherly love.  Romans 12:10, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;", 1^st Thessalonians 4:9, "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye, yourselves are taught of God to love one another."  Hebrews 13:1, "Let brotherly love continue."  

Among the many attributes that make a church and people great and acceptable to Jesus Christ is its ability to show brotherly love.  The interpreted term "brotherly love" in today's modernist society does not necessarily equate to the teaching of Christ. 

Brotherly love was the theme of the Gospel and the New Testament message to the church. Because of the Devil's attempt to destroy the church brotherly love has become one of the most elusive and counterfeit expressions within the organized church. Love has been converted to a series of shallow expression that makes good fodder for a lively Sunday morning sermon by preachers that cannot get along with their brothers or members of the community they serve.  

The social media has become aflame with Christians projecting messages of hate in the name of "staying woke".  To facilitate their objective they have cast aside or reinterpreted the Word of God to allow for The Pacification of Christian Values.   There is nothing more heartbreaking than the testimony of a saint expressing their love for their sisters and brothers when their actions betray them.  Brotherly love requires more depth than expressions.  The defining and redefining of love has rendered it an irrelevant entity in modern society.

Counterfeit love the same as counterfeit Christianity is a destructive force within the home, church and the community. The academic scholars have dissected the attributes of pure love and reassembled them into five or more separate entities.  The basic reason is to justify our failure to achieve and live by the goals Jesus set.  It is all part of The Pacification of Christian Values.   Love, now in its polluted form has become a powerful force that overrides justice, judgment and common sense.  If God loves me so, he would not send me to a place like Hell is now a misconception of many.  2^nd Peter 2:4, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;", this should be enough to set our thinking straight. 

The next verse in our verse-by-verse study of the Church of Brotherly Love begins with a promise made to the assembly by Jesus.  There again this promise was not made to make thing easier here on earth, it was a promise payable in the Kingdom.  One of the major differences between the church of Philadelphia and the church of the Laodiceans was the church of Philadelphia was looking towards their heavenly reward.  The Laodiceans boasted in their earthly good.  The Laodicean church is a representation of many churches today and it is the last church we will discuss before we follow John on his view of Jesus and his church in his Throne room in Heaven.  I can hardly wait to begin that lesson...

Verse 10: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”  Two things are pointed out here. First, “Because thou has kept the word of my patience . . .” By this, the Spirit means, “Because you have been true to the pure Word of God.” Until we reach that heavenly state, we will never know the full importance of God’s Holy Word. If the devil could discredit the Word of God through deliberate confusion, the foundation of Christianity would crumble and that would destroy the Church. However, that will never happen.  There is a certain clarification that we will make pertaining to this statement later on in this study.  The fact that it will never happen does not prevent the Devil from trying.  John 1:1, "In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.", If the devil could destroy the Word, the devil could destroy God, because God and His Word are synonymous. If the devil could discredit the Word of God, the devil would look God in the face and brand Him a liar.

I challenge you to open your mind and think about this.  Are we guilty of doing things that discredit the Word of God?  In our zeal to display our righteousness, are we putting our God to an open shame, "writing checks and making promises that God is not honoring", thereby rendering him irreverent to our younger generation?  Because of our lack of knowledge concerning the Word of God, do we present God as a God who does not keep his promises or as a God who takes forever to achieve his means?  On the sixth day, God created man but to some of us, years have passed and we are still a work in progress.  

Secondly - they had not only kept the Word, but they had also kept His name. They had not denied but had lifted up the name that is lifted up in the Word - the name at the sound of which every knee shall bow in Heaven, in the earth, and things under the earth (Philippians 2:10).  “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation.” 

"Understanding the Word of God", teach us to let the Word of God speak without trying to shape it to fit our predefined idea.  Denominational guidelines often play an important but dangerous role in interpreting the Word of God.  There are many shaped truths, ideas, doctrines, and dogmas concerning The Church and the Great Tribulation period that shall come upon the earth during the reign of the Antichrist.  It is hard to come to a conscious when searching for an answer. Some teach that The Church will go through the first half of the Tribulation. Some teach that The Church will go through all of the Tribulation. There are those who teach that the rapture of the church will take place in mid-Tribulation. Then - there are those who preach the rapture of the church will take place before the appearing of The Antichrist, before the beginning of the Tribulation, “the hour of temptation that shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.”  

To inject a level of confusion that will become clear as this study proceeds, this statement has nothing to do with whether the church goes through the tribulation or not.  Regardless of your answer, the scripture teaches that souls will be saved during the tribulation.   Revelation 7:14  And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Yet the promise to the church in Philadelphia is, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation that will come upon all the earth.” 

The question of how do we reconcile the two different scriptures that seems to contradict each other?  There are questions that we must answer before we can understand these verses.   Was the church mention in the New Testament and Revelation the conduit to salvation or was it a called out body, selected to be the Bride of Christ?  What role will the bride of Christ play in the Kingdom of God?   After the church has been taken out of the earth to meet the Lord in the air, will salvation still be available?   My book, "The Five Judgments" explains the end time events in a non-denominational manner including the status of the church during the tribulation, the judgments and the establishment of the Heavenly Kingdom.

 
What we do know is the Bride of Christ will emerge as Holy Angels and return to judge the world.   We will engage your minds further in Revelation 4: as we search for the truth.   (My Mother taught me to always wash the pitcher before filling it with water, least what was there taint what is.) 

Verse 11: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” This verse contains an announcement and good sound advice. “Behold, I come quickly.” When Jesus comes for the Church it will be quick all will be over in the twinkling of an eye. Believers are admonished to “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man takes thy crown.” This does not say, “Hold fast to your salvation, let no man steal your salvation.” Oh, no! It says “crown.” Crowns are rewards. I will name them for you in just a few moments.  

Verses 12 and 13: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of myGod, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of Heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Without a doubt, the Philadelphia church is The Church that will be raptured out of this earth at the same time the Laodiceans, the last and final church will be spewed out and left to go through the tribulation You do believe in God, don't you?

It is true that in John’s day, there was a city named Philadelphia, and there was a church there. But the message goes much further than the local assembly in Philadelphia. Each of the seven churches is identical to a period of church history behind us, up to the church at Philadelphia. We are now living in the time corresponding to the church of the Laodiceans. The church at Philadelphia is a picture of The True Church, just before the Rapture.

Every minute detail of prophecy having to do with the coming of the Lord has been fulfilled, or is being fulfilled today before our very eyes! So many things have happened in the past years, one almost becomes dizzy when comparing current events with prophecy.  

After we visit the Throne room of Jesus, we will take a look at the things that "are to be."  Things prophesied centuries ago have been fulfilled in our day. One of these glorious days, Christ will return to judge the world - and it will all be over “in the blink of an eye” (1^st Corinthians 15:51, 52).

There is a need for more preachers to give up their quest for financial gain or status in the Social Media and preach faithfulness to God's Word. If ever there was a day when God’s people need to be faithful and stand up to be counted for Jesus, it is today.  

There are many works that are done in Jesus name, but they will not stand when tried by the fire of God.   The offering, the programs, the entertainment aspect of worship, will it be able to stand?  The outstanding danger among believers today is unfaithfulness to the pure Gospel. Read slowly and carefully study the Second Epistle of John, and hear what the Spirit is saying to you in that passage.

No born again person should attend an assembly that is not true to the pure Gospel nor support a preacher who denies the faith. When I say “the faith,” I am speaking of the faith once delivered to the saints, as referred to in the first three verses of Jude. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? so run, that ye may obtain” (1^st Corinthians 9:24). Personally, I want some trophies to lay at His feet when we crown Him Lord of all. I want some trophies to lay at His feet when we crown Him King of Kings. By God’s grace, I will be true and faithful to His Word. 

Overcomers (members of the assembly who endured) will become pillars in the temple of God.  There will be no liberal temples in the Pearly White City (Revelation 21:22). The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the temple in the Pearly White City.  Overcomers will be the pillars (the members) of that great temple of God. True believers are pushed around by the worldly element in the local assemblies. True believers and true Bible preachers are many times put out of the local church. However, thanks unto God, true believers and true preachers will not be put out of that Holy temple in the New Jerusalem. “He shall go no more out!”

Thousands of Christians today have been put out of churches they helped to build. Many believers sacrificed to build churches in the years gone by.  But when the old saint of God, the old minister of the Gospel, passed on to be with the Lord, a streamlined, seminary-manufactured denominational preacher took over and changed all the old ideas. He brought in “the new frontier” in religion. The mourner’s bench was junked, the prayer room was outlawed, and a social gospel of entitlements and entertainment was substituted for the pure Gospel of God’s marvelous grace.  Programs, handshaking and card signing took the place of the real, old-fashioned “experience by grace through faith in the shed blood.”  After two thousand years, we became educated and realized, "it doesn't take all of that." There is no danger of missing the identity of these true-blue, consecrated overcomers.  Jesus tells us that He will identify them by writing on them the name of the City of God, and “My new name.”

Again we hear the Spirit saying, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith.” In these “last days” we need as never before to hear the Spirit as He speaks to us. If we walk in the Spirit, fellowship with the Spirit and listen to the Spirit, we will not become discouraged in these trying hours. 

The Book Is Open, Revelation 3:1-6

The Spirit's Message to the Church in Sardis

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 four 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 happens throughout the book of Revelation, but after the fourth chapter it has become a transformed body and merged into the heavenly host as the bride of Christ who emerge as the Holy Angels.  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, not some celestial bodies that float around on a cloud singing "Holy, Holy, Holy". Paul made his point clear in 1st 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 should be food for thought for those who twist a scripture, truncate it and proclaim the Bible say, "thou shall not judge."

This modern-day idealistic form of religion that promotes a hate -fill rhetoric and the entertainment aspect of Christianity 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 in earthly goods 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. 

The strangest thing about these letters to the churches is that Jesus Christ did not make any earthly promise to His church. His message was, "I see, I know, repent, and hear", then he made a promise payable in the kingdom.  His love so profoundly professed in his letters, but one can wonder, why didn't he tell the 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 as a church filled with hypocrisy.  In the message to Thyatira, we saw the condition of the church before the Reformation. These messages were supposedly directed to churches that existed in John’s day, but as I have stated already, the use of the number seven indicates a period that transcends time.  It is a period known as the church age.  It is not clear as if the church age ends with the rapture as we often teach, for there are some that believe that the rapture has already taken place, and we that are left must endure the tribulation that is upon us.

Jesus parable of the ten virgins was his first message as pertaining to the status of the church which is described as his bride.  We do well to remember that five was wise and five was foolish.   When the bride broom came for his bride those that were ready went in with, those that were not ready went about the towns and villages playing church. (paraphrasing)  In the book of Revelation Jesus is addressing the true church and he is also addressing those who have the name but are dead.  In my study of the Book of Revelation, there is a question I am forced to ask,  the answer hinges upon whether we believe the church will go through the tribulation.

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 (Ist 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 tell 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 identifies 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 fullness, 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.”

The fullness 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, the 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 or to engage in hate-filled rhetoric. 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 had evolved into a failed church, it was dead. A man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at 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, maybe 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 to 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 wanted 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 today's 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.”

In my book, "The Evolution of The Failed Church", I reference the true church and the organized church.  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. The 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 a 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” was, 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 are 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). 

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). 

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, therefore,o 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.