CHAPTER 3
Revelation 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.
In 1200 B.C. Sardis was the capitol of ancient Lydia and was considered one of the greatest cities in the world and at the time John was writing these things it was known for its apathy and immorality, a city best known for its luxury and softness and was on the decline. This church was known as a dead church with a few faithful saints holding fast.
We have already discussed the seven Spirits of God that Jesus possessed and we know that the seven stars are the seven angels that are over the seven churches (1-20). We know that Jesus is in control of these churches for He has the seven stars in His mighty right hand. He is telling the church that He knows all about them and that to the world they may look alive and well but He knows that spiritually they are dead. They as a church were as the city they lived in, looking good on the outside, but dead on the inside.
2 Timothy 3
Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do withthem.
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Revelation 3:2
Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
The church is being admonished to be watchful, to be aware of what they had left that had not been fully corrupted by the world s influence but was in danger of becoming so. He is telling them that even though their works are not living up to God s standards it is not to late to repent and do something about their condition.
Revelation 3:3
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey and repent. 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.
They are being told to remember how they first heard and received the Word of God and that it is imperative that they obey the Word and repent of their backsliding. The danger of not being vigilant and alert, of being watchful is that Jesus will come upon them suddenly, as a thief that comes in the night. To we today the warning is even more important for we are living in those last days John is referring to and the Rapture of the church will be sudden and unannounced. Are you ready for it to happen?
Revelation 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.
God will always have a faithful remnant and in this dead church there were a few who had not soiled their spiritual garments by sinning and Jesus is saying that He will give them garments of white, representing purity and eternal life. These are found worthy to walk with Him in close fellowship because of their faithfulness.
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Revelation 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
Those whose garments were spotted by the world are no longer referred to but Jesus continues to talk about the overcomers, the faithful ones who were faced with the same temptations and trials but persevered, they held on to what they had and considered what they had more valuable then what the world offered them. They have received robes of pure white and Jesus is not ashamed to call them friends and introduce them to the Father. He refers to the Book of Life and these who are over-comers will not be erased from its pages. The Book of life is a literal book in heaven where every name of every person who bows their knee and accepts Jesus as personal Savior is recorded. The names of all the people on earth are not in this Book only the Born Again child of God. Now comes the big BUT, But if we soil the white garments we received spiritually when we were saved with the sins of the world and do not repent, our names will be blotted out, erased by Jesus Himself.
Revelation 3:6
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Again all who name the name of Jesus are admonished to hear what God is saying to the church through His Holy Spirit. Because of the present condition of the church, a church drifting in apathy and denial, it is easy to fall asleep spiritually and become spiritually dead. That is why Jesus said what He would do to the lukewarm. Only we can prevent this from happening to us as individuals.
Rev. 3:16
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Revelation 3:7
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the Key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens"'
Interesting bit of information; Philadelphia was built around 189B.C. and was known as Alashehir and was ruled by King Eumenes11. This King died and his brother Attalus11 succeeded him to the throne and was given the name 'Philadelphus'(One who loves his brother) and consequently the city was named after him. Need I say more?
Once again we are given a picture of the one who is saying these things, the Holy Sovereign God, the One True God, not a false god such as the people in those days were accustomed to. The one who holds the Keys to the doors that once He opens no man can shut and when He shuts them no man can open them. Complete power and authority.
Revelation 3:8
I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name
Again as with the other churches He says "I know your works". This church was know as the Faithful Church one that persevered through all its trials and though their strength was weakening physically in Christ they were spiritually strong and they faithfully kept the Word of God and would not think of denying Christ. Because of this God has set before them an open door, they were excluded from the synagogues, the door to them were shut but God open the doors not only to Heaven but to every opportunity to declare the truth of His Word. Doors that the world and the unsaved would try to keep closed but God would open them and no one would be able to shut them.
Revelation 3:9
Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are not, they are liars--indeed I will make them come and fall down at your feet, and acknowledgethat I have loved you.
God is seemingly indicating here that He is going to vindicate these Christians among the false Jews of their day and their Satan worshiping synagogues. It seems reasonable to believe that those people were persecuting the church and God was going to make them end up at the feet of the Christians. They will acknowledge that the Lord loves those who are faithful to Him.
Revelation 3:10
Because you have kept (Obeyed) My commands to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
1 Sam 15:22
To obey is better than sacrifice
Here we have a specific promise given to the faithful believers who have obeyed the Lord's commands. He will keep all of them from the Tribulation coming upon the world, He is talking about those who have already persevered, not going to persevere. What a promise and much can be said about this.
Revelation 3:11
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may take your crown.
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James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Over and over the Lord has warned us of the suddenness of His return, in the twinkling of an eye He said, when you least expect it to happen it will, it is imminent. He is telling us to hold fast, to hold on to what He has given us, to persevere, be faithful so that in the end you do not lose the Crown of Life He has promised each overcomer. No one can steal it from you but you can lose it by being unfaithful and failing the test.
Revelation 3:12
To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him 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 him my new name.
Again the Lord is speaking to those who are overcomers, the ones who persevere and are faithful to their calling and are not ashamed of His name. He says He will make them pillars in His Temple, pillars are noted for their strength and stability. He also promises us a place of permanence and stability with Him this is an exact contrast to the uncertain place we have in this present world. We will also have such an intimate relationship with Him that we will receive in some way on our person the very name of God, the source of life and of His holy city, our destination and also the new name given to Jesus our friend and helper.
Revelation 3:13
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Once again we are admonished to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches for it is clearly meant for us also. We must not only hear but we are to be doers also for we are deceived if we are hearers only.
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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Revelation 3:14
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler (origin) of God's creation.
Laodicea, a ancient city in Phrygia which is located in SW Asia Minor. It was an important and wealthy city with an extensive textile industry and noted for an eye-salve so sought after that it was exported around the world. A very interesting note on Laodicea because of its physical location it had a very poor water supply and so they had to build a six mile aqueduct to bring water from the city of Hierapolis. There was one significant problem with this water, it came from a hot spring and so the water arrived in Laodicea lukewarm. These hot springs still exist today and the Turkish government is trying to harness this geothermal power source. Laodicea stood between Hierapolis with its hot springs and the city of Colossae with its cold water. Very ironic.
Revelation 3:15-16
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
The words written to the church of Laodicea where from the Amen, the final word and the true and faithful witness who is the ruler of all creation, the final authority. The church as we all know was known as a lukewarm church, pretending to be well off spiritually when in reality it was impoverished and in desperate need of repenting and Jesus refers to it as a Luke warm church. The most dangerous thing about a lukewarm person is that they cannot be told anything; they have just enough religion to make them believe all is well with their souls but the condemnation to them is strong. Luke warmness is characterized by indifference and compromise, these people were on fire for God once but because of apathy and a trust in self-reliance they have cooled down. The Luke warm believer is offensive to the Lord and He will not tolerate them but will spit them out as He would Luke warm water.
Revelation 3:17
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.
Again the Luke warm person thinks they have enough of everything, they are self-reliant and don t need the Lord and do not realize they are spiritual paupers and that they are spiritually bankrupt. They are warned but they are to proud to listen. They looked upon themselves as spiritually rich and though they had a form of godliness but they denied the true power.
2 Timothy 3:5
Having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Revelation 3:18
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.
He offers the riches of Heaven to them, gold, a symbol of faith developed from a love relationship. White clothes a symbol of purity of character that comes when we submit to Christ. They had the eye salve of God s Word to help them see their sinfulness. It is ironic that they were familiar with eye salve that they manufactured and sold but could not see their need of the Heavenly salve to remove the scales from their spiritually blinded eyes.
Revelation 3:19
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
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Hebrews 12:6
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives
Jesus reminds us that those He loves He will rebuke and discipline just as the Father does and He pleads with us to be sincere and repent.
Revelation 3:20
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 him, and he with me.
What a beautiful picture, the creator of the universe standing at our hearts door and knocking, not forcing Himself on us but patiently knocking, waiting for us to open the door of our hearts and invite Him in. He gives this invitation to the Luke warm church as well as to the saints. He wants to come in and have an intimate relationship with us and this shows His never ending and abiding love. This was one of the most eloquent pleas in the Bible, a message of love. Though they were poor, blind and naked the Ruler of the Universe wants only to come in and dwell with them and they only need to let Him in, it s that simple.
Revelation 3:21-22
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Here Jesus is telling the Luke warm church and we today that He desires for all to be overcomers that all can change and throw off the yoke of compromise and indifference and can stop being self-reliant and put their trust in Him. The church of Laodicea is a picture of the modern church of today, a church with a form of godliness but denying the power of God and once again Jesus is admonishing those with ears to hear, to use them and hear what the Spirit of God is saying to them. Time for the church is running out and if we want to be sitting with Christ in His Kingdom we had better open our spiritual ears and hear the Holy Spirit talking to us. By this invitation Jesus reveals the true nature of God, the self sacrificing, self-renouncing One, and presents before all men the choice by which they will be judged.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
