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 th...