Revelation Chapter 3
| 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. | The Lord presents Himself as the One who is the
authority and the upholder of the churches. It should be noted that the
bad points appear before the good points in these church. This is a
reversal of the pattern within the previous chapter. Bad Points a) They had a reputation in the church world of that day. They appeared to work hard for the Lord, but in reality they did it all for their own glory. They seemed like a vibrant and alive church, but in fact they were spiritually dead. |
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| 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. | b) They had failed to be watchful. This should
also be seen as including watchfulness in prayer. They could recover
themselves if they repented and got themselves right with God. c) They had need of spiritual strength to uphold the doctrines of Christ. This speaks of the fact that they had compromised the faith by involving themselves in deception. This too could be remedied before it was too late. d) They had arrived at this spiritual condition because they had become half-hearted regarding the Lord's work. Religious duty and spiritual pride had caused this imperfection among them. It also means that they had never completed what they had started. |
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| 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. | The Remedy: a) Remember. These believers needed to think back upon what they had received and heard regarding the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. They had been blessed by the Lord in many wonderful ways, but somehow they had let it all slip away. b) Hold Fast. They needed to stand firm on whatever Biblical ground they were on. If this slipped from under their feet then they would have nothing at all. If there is spiritual weakness then it is important to at least build upon whatever ground we already maintain. c) Repent. They needed to repent for all their past failures to live up to the truth. This includes sin, doubt, half-heartedness, and false teaching. d) Watch. This means to take a good look at themselves and to what was happening around them. If they did not take account of these things, then the judgement of God would come suddenly, when least expected, upon them. |
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| 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. | Good Point: They had a few worthy believers among them. It was probably their influence that was holding back the coming judgement. These saints had not defiled themselves by compromising with paganism. It is only those who have not defiled their garments that will reach Heaven and walk in robes of righteousness. Out of all the members of the church in Sardis, these alone were worthy of the name Christian. |
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| 5 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. | Rewards: a) If the church would overcome then it would be blessed with the presence of God (even as the few worthy ones are promised). It was their choice either to stand for the Lord or to continue in sin. b) Their names would never be blotted out of the Lamb's Book of Life. These people had been saved, but they would lose this if they refused to overcome - be separate and live for the Lord. The Lord's threat here is meaningless if it is impossible to blot a name out of the Lamb's Book of Life! c) If they obeyed the Lord then their names would be declared in Heaven. Only those who have their names in the Book of Life will be announced in Heaven. |
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| 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. | This message to the church at Sardis is applicable to every church also. Each person must listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to them through this letter. | |
| 7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; | The Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as:- a) Holy. He is the only perfect and sinless one. This also speaks of His divinity and Lordship. b) True. He is always faithful, but this title also describes the fact that He is THE TRUTH. c) Keys of David. He has the supreme authority. He is the only Messiah for the people of Israel and the Gentile nations. He will one day rule from Jerusalem during the Millennial Kingdom - from the city of David. d) He is the final authority, for He opens and closes the door of eternal life - something that is not within the power of any man. He also opens and shuts the door of opportunity for the church. |
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| 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. | Good Points:- a) The fact that there are no bad points mentioned deserves our notice. b) They laboured for the Lord. They took every opportunity open to them to spread the Gospel of Christ. As a Missionary church, they used every possible means to get the job done. When God blesses a work there is nothing any man or devil can do to stop it; it is either the church disobeying or God closing the door. c) They only had a little strength but they used it! They were not a mega-church, but they still saw the mighty power of God working in them. d) They kept the word. This not only means that they preached it, but also that they would not compromise the word of God. e) They did not deny the Lord's name. Not only did they stand firm despite persecution, but they also continued to speak out the truth - that there was salvation in no other name. |
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| 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. | Rewards:- a) Every false teacher would one day have to submit to them. They will have to acknowledge that God anointed them. The false teachers will have to bow to the purity of the Gospel taught by true Bible-believers. |
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| 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. | b) They will be kept from the time of wrath that will come upon the earth in the last days. This promise of divine protection is only available to faithful believers. | |
| 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. | c) If they remained faithful unto the coming of the Lord, then no one will be able to steal the crown of eternal life from them. This calls for watchfulness. | |
| 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, 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. | d) Faithful believers would be the very pillars
of faith in the spiritual temple - the Heavenly Temple. e) They will be eternally kept and protected. f) They will receive their new name, the heavenly name, which is linked to the name of God, the city of God, and the name of Jesus Himself. This must be a very special name indeed. It is our citizen name for the Kingdom of Heaven. |
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| 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. | As with all the churches, this message applies to every believer in the churches. The Holy Spirit's voice must be heard in these final days of world history. We must be Philadelphian Christians and build a church worthy of the name of Christ by standing upon His true word. | |
| 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; | The Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as the TRUTH (Amen) to the Laodicean Church. As a result He is the Faithful and True Witness - what He says is absolute truth, not a mixture of truth and error. He points back to His resurrection as proof for what He says is true, for the "beginning of the creation of God" refers to the Resurrection of Christ. | |
| 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. | Bad Points: a) Works. They did work for the Lord to some degree, but it was half-hearted. They were not particularly interested in spiritual matters, and this affected how they lived their Christian lives. They had become religious. b) They sat on the fence. They took the middle road on everything concerning Christianity and morality. They were the "do-gooders" of their day. Today we would call them modernists and liberals. c) They had enough Christianity to make it appear like they stood for God, but not enough to excite them to faithfully serve Him. |
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| 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. | d) God was sick and tired of their liberalism. To win friends and influence people they watered down the Gospel, but in doing so they were making God their enemy. | |
| 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: | e) They were prosperous and thought that their
wealth meant that God was blessing them. f) They were positive thinkers; they did not need God's help - they could do it all by themselves. Their religion made a god of self. g) They were spiritually blind. They could not see the spiritual condition that they were truly in. h) They were spiritually destitute. i) They were in a very miserable state before God, yet they claimed that they to worship God, had His joy, especially since they had so many earthly blessings they thought came from Him. j) Poor. They had physical wealth but did not have the riches of Christ - the true treasure from Heaven. k) They were blind. They could not see that Satan had trapped them. There are none so blind as those who will not see. l) They were naked. They claimed to have the righteousness of Christ but did not. They were as foolish as the king in "The Emperor's New Cloths". |
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| 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. | Remedy: a) Listen. They must hear the counsel of God. This was their wake-up call before it was too late. Repentance and Revival must begin with listening to God's word and putting it into action. b) Pure Gold. True wealth come from God not in the earth's materialism. c) White raiment. This is the righteousness of Christ. He alone can cleanse a soul from sin and purify a Christian's heart. d) See. The Lord wants to open the spiritually blinded eyes just as He did the physically blind. If we come to Him, He will cause us to see what we are really like. We may not like what we see! |
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| 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. | Rewards: a) Jesus loves even this Church. Because He loves them He must rebuke and chasten. If they repent and become zealous for Him, then they would indeed be truly blessed. He is calling for real repentance here. not the half-hearted variety. Jesus' love is unconditional on His part, but we must be in the right spiritual condition and position to receive it. See following verse. |
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| 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. | b) The Lord offers each person the chance to renew fellowship with Him. We should be doing the knocking but instead we find Christ knocking on the door of our hearts (and individual churches). Some have become so hardhearted that they no longer hear God's voice. Neither do they care that they have no fellowship with Him. The door is firmly bolted from the inside. Those who do respond to His invitation will enter in to renewed fellowship with the Lord. We must allow Him into every area and situation of our lives. | |
| 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. | c) Those who do respond by overcoming the lukewarmness, they will be blessed with the privilege of reigning with Christ. This means that He will exalt them in the Kingdom. | |
| 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. | Again, this message is for all the churches who have similar situations. It is for all church (and Christians) of every generation until the Lord returns. |