The Letter to Sardis (Rev. 3:1–6)
The Letter to Sardis (Rev. 3:1–6)
Sardis
was the capital city of Lydia in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey). During its
days as a Roman city, Sardis became an important Christian center. However, the
city’s complacency and reliance on past glory affected the church at Sardis: “You
have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1).
Sardis,
the dead church, was like “whitewashed tombs which... appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones” (Matt. 23:27). Its
thriving, healthy appearance masked an inner decay.[1]
The
Correspondent
3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These
things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know
your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
The Lord
Jesus Christ draws His descriptions from the vision of “the One like the Son of
Man” (Rev. 1:12–17). The letter to Sardis outlines
an additional component from the salutation, in (Rev. 1:4, where the phrase, “the
seven Spirits,” also appears.
The Seven Spirits
The seven
angels are mentioned in the Book of Revelation in many places.[2]
Some see “the
seven Spirits” as the fullness of the Holy Spirit described in the sevenfold
expressions in Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:20, NIV).
The Seven Stars
Once
again, “the seven stars” are the seven angels, the priests, or the elders of
the seven churches (Rev. 1:20). They likely carried a copy of the Book of
Revelation back to their respective churches.
The
imagery shows Christ as the head of the church, having the fullness of the
Spirit. He is working for the perfection of the churches through their godly
priests or elders. That introduction served as a reminder to the Sardis church
of what it lacked. Without the Spirit, the church at Sardis was dead.
The Concern
3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that
are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
The
outward appearance of the angel of the church in Sardis may have fooled men. He
had a name or reputation of being alive, but he could not deceive the Lord
Jesus Christ, who knew his deeds. Therefore, with His infallible knowledge, the
Lord Jesus Christ pronounced him to be dead.
The New
Testament always connects Spiritual death with its cause, sin. Eph. 2:1
describes the unregenerate as “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (Luke 9:60, 15:24,32; Col. 2:13;
1 Tim. 5:6; 1 John 3:14). Sin killed the angel and the people of Sardis church.
The
church’s angel in Sardis was probably performing many activities or routine
rituals. However, Christ declared, “I have not found your works perfect before
God” (Rev. 3:2). Those deeds were sufficient to give him a reputation before
men but were insufficient and unacceptable in God’s sight. He was a corpse. He
had been weighed on the scales by the Righteous Judge and found wanting (Dan.
5:27).
The Command
Christ
commanded the church’s angel in Sardis to “Be watchful, and strengthen the
things which remain, that are ready to die” (Rev. 3:2). He gave him five steps
to spiritual restoration, which, if diligently practiced, would bring about
revival:
To Be Watchful
First, he
needed to “be watchful” to wake up. Then, he needed to look at what was
happening in his church, evaluate the situation, get involved in changing
things, confront sin and error, and make a difference.
To Strengthen the
Remaining Things
Second,
he needed to “strengthen” the things that remained, which were about to die.
These things are the spiritual services from their hearts.
3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold
fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a
thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
To Remember How he
Received
The Lord
Jesus Christ told the angel of the church in Sardis, “Remember therefore how
you have received and heard” (Rev. 3:3). He needed to go back to the truths of
the word of God, remembering the gospel and the teaching of the apostles. Paul’s
letters and the New Testament were available before writing the Book of
Revelation (2 Pet. 3:15–16).
The
church’s angel in Sardis needed to reaffirm his belief in the truth about
Christ, sin, salvation, and sanctification. In Paul’s words to Timothy, he
asked him to guard what had been entrusted to them (1 Tim. 6:20). He needed to
establish a solid doctrinal foundation to serve as a base for renewal.
To Hold Fast
Having
gone back to the truths of Scripture, he needed to “hold fast” (Rev. 3:3) to
keep those truths. Thus, orthodox theology, apart from obedient lives, will not
bring about renewal.
To Repent
Finally,
he needed to “repent” (Rev. 3:3). Thus, the church’s angel at Sardis must
confess and turn away from his sins with remorse and sorrow.
If
revival did not come, Christ warned him, “Therefore, if you will not watch, I
will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon
you” (Rev. 3:3). The picture of the Lord Jesus Christ coming like a thief
always carries the idea of imminent judgment (Matt. 24:43; Luke 12:39; 1 Thess.
5:2,4; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15).
The
threat here is not related to His Second Coming. It means the Lord would come
against the angel of the church in Sardis if there were no revival. It can also
be a warning of the judgment that faces all dead churches at Christ’s return.
The only
way to avoid the stricter judgment that awaits those who know the truth and
turn away from it (Heb. 10:29–30) is to follow the path to spiritual life.
The
Commendation
3:4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled
their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
The Remnant
Amid this
dead church, the Lord Jesus Christ found a few true Christians who remained
faithful to Him, for God’s preserves His faithful remnant (Mal. 3:16–17; Heb.
6:10). The faithful remnant is a frequent theme in Scripture, as it also
happened in the days of Elijah (Rom. 11:1–6).
God had
His remnant even in the dead church at Sardis. A few were sincere among the
hypocrites, a few humble among the proud, a few separated among the worldly,
and a few stalks of wheat among the tares.
Christ
described the faithful remnant as those who “have not defiled [soiled] their
garments” (Rev. 3:3). “Soiled” was a word that would have been familiar to
readers in Sardis because of the city’s wool-dyeing industry. “Garments”
symbolize character in Scripture (Isa. 64:6; Jude 23).
The
faithful remnant could come into God’s presence because they had not defiled
themselves. They “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Christ says of the faithful remnant that “they shall walk
with Me in white, for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4).
The Counsel
3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and
I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels.
As
encouragement, Christ described the rewards awaiting those who overcome as
white garments. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:3) and the
holy angels (Matt. 28:3; Mark 16:5; Acts 1:10; Rev. 19:8) were dressed in white
garments when they appeared. The white clothes express the purity, holiness,
and righteousness of God.
True
Christians, as already noted, will be clothed in white garments. In ancient
times, people dressed such garments for celebrations and festive occasions such
as weddings. The Spirit calls the faithful remnant to the heavenly banquet, “the
marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:9), where true Christians will wear
their white garments (Rev. 19:7–9).
The
martyrs under the altar in heaven (Rev. 6:11) and the great multitudes of the
victorious standing before God and the Lamb dressed in white clothes (Rev.
7:9,13).
Christ promised
those faithful remnants that He would not blot out their names from the Book of
Life. Instead, He will confess them before God and before His angels (Rev.
3:5).
In St.
John’s day, rulers kept a register of the citizens of a city. If someone died
or committed a serious crime, they erase his name from that register. But the
Lord Jesus Christ promises never to erase a faithful Christian’s name from the
roll of those whose names were “written from the foundation of the world in the
book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev. 13:8).
On the
contrary, the Lord Jesus Christ will confess every believer’s name before His
Father and before His angels (Rev. 3:5), declaring they belong to Him. Here
Christ affirmed His promise, “Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also
confess him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32).
3:6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.
[1] Simmons, Brian. Revelation:
The Unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ, The Passion Translation. Broad
Street Publishing Group LLC.
[2] Rev. 8:2; 8:6; 15:1; 15:6; 15:7;
15:8; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9
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