hotcoffee
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Revelation 3:1 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:1 Or messenger; also in verses 7 and 14
Revelation 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
By now in most of the Bible Studies I attended, the studies seemed to mired down. Some of the students were still stuck on the mysticism of the meaning of stars and candles, while others were anxious to get on to the monsters and earthquakes. The commentaries I've read seem to be the same.
One of the commentaries I found put these verses in words that are very easy to understand. "Those unprepared for His return will suffer the consequences. He does not explain what the precise consequences will be, but they are to be avoided at all cost."
Consider this... "During the second and early 3rd century CE, the city expanded to the west. At the beginning of the 5th century a wall enclosing 156 hectares was built. Then in the year 616 CE, Sardis' life came to an end. A Persian army penetrated the Roman defensive lines that had been deployed in eastern Anatolia. Soon after, part of that region fell to the Persians, including Sardis. The city fortifications could not do much to stop the Persian troops, and Sardis was sacked and devastated so completely that no attempt to restore the city has been recorded. This incident constitutes the end of Sardis’ civic life. A military detachment regained the citadel in 660 CE, but the town itself remained empty and all subsequent references to Sardis are to the castle on the hill, never to the town."
Back to the verses.... The church at Sardis had a reputation. It was after all one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. That alone would give it life. The problem is.... the church was known to Jesus as dead! The majority of the people came to church when they were supposed to, they gave their tithe, they recited the appropriate prayers, they sang the appropriate songs, they shook hands with the leaders, and then went home and didn't think about the church or Christ until it was time to do it all again. Do you know those types? I've seen them in every church! Problem is, in Sardis, those people outnumbered the true believers. This was a young church. Paul had been there! The crucifixion and the raising were all fresh in everyone's mind! It would be like someone being Baptized and then skipping church the next Sunday. It doesn't make sense does it? I think of them as Zombies.
But then.... there is verse 4. There were a few people in the Church of Sardis that loved the Lord. They would be ok. Their names would never be blotted out of the Book. Those who hung in there and kept the faith will enjoy eternal life.
