Read with Me
Revelation 3:1-6 (HCSB)
“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:
“The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Listen with Me
Sardis had been the capital of the Lydian Empire before being conquered by Cyrus the Persian, then by Greece, and finally by Rome. It was known as a major producer of textiles.
Jesus identifies Himself as the One who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. The seven stars imagery is also used in the note to the church in Ephesus and is explained in the initial vision John was given (1:20). By claiming to hold the seven stars, Jesus is claiming the role of the Leader of the leaders of the Churches., the Lord of them all. In claiming to hold the seven Spirits of God (or the seven-fold Spirit of God, the Greek words can be read either way), Jesus is claiming that He is the one through whom the Holy Spirit and all his diverse manifestations are sent throughout the Churches.
The Church at Sardis received scant praise from its glorified Lord. Out of the whole Church, the Lord can only find a few who have remained unstained by the corruption and paganism that surrounded them, and over which they were charged to be victorious. It seems that by and large, the Church has simply compromised with worldliness. They have a reputation for being alive, but they are in fact spiritually dead.
Jesus also delivers an overt threat to those in the Church who refuse to repent. The threat is that Jesus Himself will visit them like a thief to mete out their punishment.
The call of Jesus is for the people to wake up, to open their eyes to their sad state and repent. There is still hope. Everything has not died, although without a quick shift in direction it could end up dying.
The promise to those who wake up and start moving forward is threefold. First, they will walk with Jesus now and forever dressed in white, the symbol of purity and genuinely lived-out holiness through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Second, his or her name will never be blotted out of the book of life. This is not a guarantee of eternal security regardless of behavior, or the mention of it would be unnecessary here, especially as a promise to those who already claim Jesus, but whose name is clearly in danger of being erased unless they repent and become overcomers.
The final promise to the overcomers is that Jesus will acknowledge them before God, empowering their prayers, while they are in the world, and ensuring that they will be accepted into heavenly glories when their journey here is over.
Pray with Me
Father, we are so used to your wonderful promises and expressions of love for Your people that the threat of punishment hits us as incredibly discordant. But it is clear that You take these issues very seriously. Not only are the souls of Your people imperiled if we will not wake up and repent, but Your mission to rescue the people of the world from an eternity in hell can’t be effectively completed by worldly, spiritually sleepy and unrepentant people. I fear, Lord, that far too many of us in your church today carry too much of the scent of the world on us. I’m afraid that we are sound asleep spiritually, so overwhelmed by the events of the world that we no longer see Your plan and our part in it clearly or at all. And I’m afraid that You find us more full of excuses and rationalizations than repentance. Help us, Lord, to really see ourselves as You see us. Let us be driven to our knees in repentance wherever that is needed, so that we can live in Your blessing rather than in Your judgment and condemnation. Amen.