seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 3:1 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] 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.
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
a. Revelation 3:1 Or messenger; also in verses 7 and 14
b. Revelation 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
This is from enduringword.com.
Sardis: The combination of easy money and a loose moral environment made the people of Sardis notoriously soft and pleasure loving. “The great characteristic of Sardis was that, even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure-and luxury loving. Sardis was a city of the decadence.” (Barclay)
Sardis: This city was also a city well known for its softness and luxury. It had a well-deserved reputation for apathy and immorality. In Sardis there was a large, stately temple to the mother goddess, Cybele. From the ruins of that temple we can see that its main columns were 60 feet (20 meters) high and more than 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. This mother goddess was honored and worshipped with all kinds of sexual immorality and impurity.
Philadelphia: The name means brotherly love, and this city was the youngest of the seven cities, and was originally founded as a missionary outpost for Hellenism, the culture of ancient Greece.
Philadelphia: This was a prosperous city. "Philadelphia commanded one of the greatest highways in the world, the highway which led from Europe to the East. Philadelphia was the gateway from one continent to another.” (Barclay)
Philadelphia: This city was also known for beautiful buildings (it was called the “little Athens”) and her earthquakes, which required frequent evacuations.
The church of the Laodiceans: Laodicea was an important, wealthy city, with a significant Jewish population. Like other cities in the region, it was a center for Caesar worship and the worship of the healing god Asklepios. There was a famous temple of Asklepios in Laodicea, with a more famous medical school connected with the temple.
The church of the Laodiceans: Laodicea was also a noted commercial center, and some of its goods were exported all over the world. “It is frequently noted that Laodicea prided itself on three things: financial wealth, an extensive textile industry, and a popular eye-salve which was exported around the world.” (Mounce)
The church of the Laodiceans: One of their problems was a poor water supply that made Laodicea vulnerable to attack through siege. If an enemy army surrounded the city, they had insufficient water supplies in the city, and the supplies coming into the city could be easily cut off. Therefore, the leaders of Laodicea were always accommodating to any potential enemy, and always wanted to negotiate and compromise instead of fight.
It's a good thing there were good people in these new churches. I am really getting depressed thinking about what has happened to the churches since Jesus left.
I think the location and commercial ventures of a couple of these cities turned out to be a good example of what happened to their churches. Sardis was located on a hill side, with a large valley below. All they had to do was watch.... but they were too busy playing to keep an eye out for possible invasion... they had been conquered twice. Philadelphia was built for evangelism. The two brothers who set the city up in the first place, wanted to spread the Greek [Hellenistic] culture to the world. But there was also a large Jewish influence in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the Jews in Philadelphia were the old traditionalists who stymied anything that would cause them to get away from their circumcision and bloody altar. On top of that.... the city was built 6 miles from its water supply. When the water got warm... it was impossible to drink... full of organisms that thrive in warm water. On top of that... when enemies wanted to conqure them... all they had to do was plug a pipe and cut off the water supply. And the people in Laodicea were stuck on how intelligent they were.... they were doctors with an eye salve that made them really really rich.... there were lots of gold coins [shiny idols] in the bank.... and one of the commentaries even says.... the first coins were crafted in Laodicea..... for the profit from eye salve.
I am sure the people who are running the modern day churches are not at all like the men running the churches in this chapter. There are no churches that would bow to the anti-Christ if he were to fatten the church coffers to build a new wing to the church these days... right? I'm sure all of the books that are sold to the church membership for the low low price of $39.99 are all biblical and teach only the Gospel. I'm sure that $39.99 is better off in the pocket of the barker than food on the table for church members who have children to feed on minimal income. I'm sure the doctors were happy to heal everyone in the church.... of course there will be a minimal copay.... and then the insurance payment.... and I'm sure they never overbilled for their eye salve when a member of the church was in need. I'm sure there are no preachers in any of the modern day churches or chapels who are lining their own pockets before feeding the less fortunate, healing the sick, sheltering the homeless, and caring for the widows and orphans.... always eager to share the Gospel.... right?
So the three churches yesterday were suffering from boredom tradition and lust.... and today... these three churches are weak, ignorant, and blind. I bet those six words would never describe what happens to the well meaning man who thinks he has been "called" or "chosen" to lead the church. I'm sure men who are leading the church today never flirted with a married woman or caressed a teen a little too long or tainted their sermon to make a point that opened wallets to fund a pet project or bowed to the desires of the rich guy who wanted a tiny change to the church.... making it more appealing to the masses. I'm sure there is never a preacher who would tell the people it's important to be rich, drive a fine car, and live in a huge home because they have to be an example of the riches of Christ. I'm sure there has never been a preacher who had to fire the pool boy. I'm sure there has never been a priest who has been accused of abusing a child male or female. I'm sure there has never been a preacher who has admitted to stealing from the church. That would have only happened in the pagan churches right?
When John wrote this... He was sitting on a rocky desert island. He had a vision that Jesus was there... glowing like He did when He was with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. There was an angel assigned to John, who was to interpret anything Jesus said that was in sign. Jesus was talking to John about the churches of the day. They were all having problems.
Yesterday they were bored, going back to the old traditions [as if Jesus didn't even exist] and lust ridden. Today the churches are too weak to stand up to fake sermon preaching barkers, so ignorant they don't see they are out of line with the Gospel, and blind to the twisting of the gospel to fit the needs of the rich who are sure to hoard [as if the donations were private idols].
These are not winning report cards for the church. The three churches in chapter 2 were suffering from boredom, tradition, and lust. The three churches in chapter 3 are weak, ignorant, and blind.
