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Part 8 - SARDIS
Rev 3:1 "To the angel 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.
Rev 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen
what remains and is about to
die, for I have not found
your deeds complete in the
sight of my God.
Rev 3:3 Remember, therefore,
what you have received and
heard; obey it, 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.
Rev 3:4 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.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes
will, like them, be dressed
in white. I will never blot
out his name from the book
of life, but will
acknowledge his name before
my Father and his angels.
Rev 3:6 He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches.
Sardis was a
city 30 miles from Thyatira
situated on the mountain
cliff of Timolus. It was
built in BC 500 and was
probably one of the first
affluent cities of the
world. It was impregnable
because of its position,
self sufficient with respect
to food and water and other
resources. It was
approachable only from one
side by a single road. Like
Jerusalem, Sardis could have
boasted that with only the
lame and the infirm could
defend the city.
2 Sam 5:6
The Jebusites said to David,
"You will not get in here;
even the blind and the lame
can ward you off." They
thought, "David cannot get
in here."
(2 Sam 5:7
Nevertheless, David captured
the fortress of Zion, the
City of David)
Nevertheless
the city was taken twice
once in BC 449 and then in
BC 218. In both cases the
procedure was the same. In
both cases the helmet of one
of the soldiers fell down
the cliff side. As he took
his path down to extricate
it, the enemies watched. In
the night they traced the
footholds in single file and
entered the city. The
sentries were surprised by
the attack and the city fell
without a fight. They were
confident and therefore
careless.
Rev 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen
what remains and is about to
die,
It was rich.
Therefore an affluent
society living in absolute
luxury lived there. Being
business people, it was here
the first minted coins were
used in trade. The mountain
area was an earthquake zone.
When it was destroyed by an
earthquake it was rebuilt
within eighteen months in
more (then) modern design
and architecture, much more
sophisticated and planned
without any external aid.
Such was the wealth of the
people.
In this city
was a church following the
labors of John. They had
beautiful cathedrals and
rich treasures. The churches
were always full and they
were always doing things for
God. They had wonderful
expensive projects which
probably included uplifting
of the poor and the needy -
orphanages and
rehabilitation centers and
what not.
I know your deeds; you have
a reputation of being alive,
but you are dead.
They had a
form of godliness, not the
power. They worshipped God,
but the spirit was missing.
Mat 15:8
"'These people honor me with
their lips, but their hearts
are far from me.
Mat 15:9
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but
rules taught by men.'"
They
professed to be Christians
but lacked Christ. The
nature of the society
invariably was reflected in
the church. Where there is
no want, you may fail to
rely on God in your daily
life. This is why the Israel
was given one days bread a
day and not more. An
affluent church is seldom
called in for affirmation.
They had it easy and they
were careless. Therefore the
fall was inevitable.
Dispensationally this
reefers to the Reformation
Churches. As soon as the
great waves of reformation
were over, the church found
itself in cozy situation and
the spirit was lost. They
did a lot of reorganization,
rectification and renaming
but went no further.
for I have not found your
deeds complete in the sight
of my God.
Like the
city of Sardis, the church
became careless and fell
victims to the enemies due
to sheer carelessness. The
rise of Higher Criticism in
1800s assisted by the
rationalistic movements of
the period and the Newtonian
Mechanistic view of law
based universe led to the
collapse of faith. Kant,
Hegel, Kirkegaard, Marx,
Freud and Lenin were only
the outgrowth of this social
situation. In the face of
these strong rationalistic
and critical outbursts
church shrank back to
emphasize social reforms and
outward work to the utter
neglect of essential gospel
of Jesus. The word "Sardis"
means "escaping" or "that
which remains".
There was no
justification for the Sardis
Church for their lack of
witnessing because they
heard and received the full
revelation. Reformation was
complete. They had the full
Word of God in everyone’s
hand. Jesus refers to this
church age in the parable of
the hidden treasure. Through
the mighty power of the Holy
Spirit the church was given
the full hidden treasures of
salvation full and free.
They have received it with
joy. So Jesus asks them
Rev 3:3 Remember, therefore,
what you have received and
heard; obey it, and repent.
To those
lost their faith he has only
one advise - repent.
The normal
result of watching the
church is that the enemy
will fall upon them when
they are least expected.
That is what happened to the
church in the reformation
period. But Jesus says:
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.
The same
idea of watching is
explained in the parable:
Mark 13:32
"No one knows about that day
or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father.
Mark 13:33
Be on guard! Be alert ! You
do not know when that time
will come.
Mark 13:34
It's like a man going away:
He leaves his house and puts
his servants in charge, each
with his assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to
keep watch.
Mark 13:35
"Therefore keep watch
because you do not know when
the owner of the house will
come back--whether in the
evening, or at midnight, or
when the rooster crows, or
at dawn.
Mark 13:36
If he comes suddenly, do not
let him find you sleeping.
Mark 13:37
What I say to you, I say to
everyone: 'Watch!'"
Fortunately
there were people who kept
the fire going even in these
situations. One specialty of
Sardis was its white fur
coats - the symbol of
aristocracy. Jesus refers to
this symbol of wealth and
glory in verse 4
Rev 3:4 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.
White
evidently represents purity
and undefilement.
The book of
life referred to earlier in
the bible in Philippians
4:3.
Phil 4:3
Yes, and I ask you, loyal
yokefellow, help these women
who have contended at my
side in the cause of the
gospel, along with Clement
and the rest of my fellow
workers, whose names are in
the book of life.
However it
is implied even in the Old
Testament when Moses speak
to God on behalf of his
fallen people.
Exo 32:32
But now, please forgive
their sin--but if not, then
blot me out of the book you
have written."
Exo 32:33
The LORD replied to Moses,
"Whoever has sinned against
me I will blot out of my
book.
In this
passage God clearly defines
the conditions under which
He will blot the name out of
the book of Life. More
detailed reference to the
Book of Life is made in
various places in the book
of Revelations at the time
of White Throne Judgement.
It is often referred to as
"the lamb’s book of life".
The implication is thus that
it contains the names of
those who have attained the
citizenship of the Kingdom
of God. As in Rome of John’s
period, these citizens were
not liable to normal code of
procedures as applicable to
non-Roman citizens. (This is
in contrast to the Law of
the United States where the
code of procedures in case
of crime is the same). The
people whose names are
written in the book of Life
do not stand in judgement
before the white throne.
Rom 8:1
Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus,
Rom 8:2
because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit of
life set me free from the
law of sin and death.
Whatever be
their other basic
qualifications for the
citizenship to the Kingdom,
for those in Sardis, the
fact that they kept
themselves from the
Jezebelian fornication was
sufficient . They shall walk
with Christ - in the stola,
the white robes of
justification, and adoption,
and comfort, or in the white
robes of honor and glory in
the other world. .Jesus
promises them that He will
acknowledge them before the
Father as a member of the
Church - as his bride.
  
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