Revelation 3:1-6--To the Church in Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6
English Standard Version

To the Church in Sardis
3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

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Jesus' message to the pastor of the church at Sardis, the congregation that meets there, and to the rest of the Church, including us today starts with reminding them that He is the one who has the Seven Spirits of God (the sevenfold Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit) and He has the seven stars (the pastors of these seven churches who represent the pastors of all the churches in all places at all times).

Jesus begins his message tot eh church in Sardis telling them that He knows both their works and their reputation (sometimes these are not the same).  People think they are alive, but He knows they are spiriutally dead.  They give all the ourward signs of living, growing church, but they are in a state of spiritual apathy, just going through the mostions, that is about to lead to to the death of that church, and Jesus knows it.  He tells them to wake up and strengthen what remain, for it is about to die.

Jesus judges their works that have gotten them such a good reputation and finds them to be incomplete. in the sight of God--their good works will never satisfy God, only their trust in the good work of Jesus to make them righteous in the sight of God will please Him because He is always pleased when He looks on His Son and those dressed in His Son's righteousness, because the Son perfectly obeyed the Father, even to the point of death on a cross.  They must remember the true gospel they heard and return to it.  They must repent of the way in which they have swerved from the truth.

If they refuse to wake up and repent and return to the first things that they need to remember, Jesus promises that His return will be like a thief in the night that catches them unaware.  When He comes to bring salvation to those that are His, these people who think they belong to Him will find out when it is too late that they never really knew Him or belonged to Him.  I say this because He says at that time He will come against against them--that is a promise for the wicked who are His enemies, not for His Bride who He comes to rescue.

There are a few true believers still who both believe rightly and have right behavior that is in allignment with their true faith.  They will be saved from the coming judgment, for the Lord will not premit the righteous to be caught up in the judgment of the wicked (see Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Battle of Jericho to name a few places in the past that point to a truth for the future as well).  Such a man will be clothed in pure, white garments without spot or blemish (the righteousness of Christ) and will walk with Jesus in white (they will be His Bride and He will be their Bridegroom).  He will never blot the name of ssuch a man out of the Lamb's Book of Life (more on that book later).  He promised to confess the names of such men who belong to Him before the Father to gurantee our entry into the coming Kingdom and to secure for us an inheritence that the Father has prepared for us (first and foremost, this will be the person of Christ and then after that will be all the riches that belong to Him and then the delegated authority to not only be co-heirs with Him, but also to reign and rule with Him).  This is the message of Jesus Christ not only to the Church of Sardis, but to all the Seven Churches and to all the members of the Church, the Bride of Christ--past, present, and future.