Revelation 3:1 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. (2) Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. (3) Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. (4) But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with me in white; for they are worthy. (5) He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and 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.

Again, I believe that when Jesus tells John to write to the angel of the church in Sardis, he is talking about the pastor of the church. It doesn't make any sense for Jesus to tell John to write a letter to a spiritual being. I think he is writing to the pastor of each of these individual churches, because the pastor represents the church and is accountable to Jesus for the church. We see this very clearly in the Greek in each of these letters. When Jesus says "I know your deeds" the word "your" is singular. In the Greek, there are different words for 'you' singular or 'you' plural. And when Jesus says to write to the angel (or messenger), it is singular.

This church at Sardis was known for something. It was known in the community for being alive. It was an active, growing, worshiping church that was alive. At least in appearance – but in reality, it was dead. What is it that makes the difference between a church that is alive and a dead church? It is not the physical, but the spiritual condition of the church. What's the fastest growing church in America today? The Mormon church, but that church is are dead, dead, dead. In fact, if you study Mormonism, it's incredibly stupid! Anyone who carefully looks at what Mormonism teaches should question and reject it. But, nonetheless, it is growing. It has a name. They have wonderful commercials. They are doing amazing things to reach out to people, but they are spiritually dead.

Sardis was a very interesting place. It was in a valley, along a river that ran through the area. It was also on another trade road that ran East. Remember that all the churches of Revelation were on a circular trade road. Sardis was inland about 50 miles east of Ephesus. It was located on a 1500 foot high mountain, with sheer cliffs on three sides, so they only had to defend one side of the city. The people thought they were in really good shape. Unfortunately, Sardis had been conquered twice in its history. Writers in antiquity tell us it was done the same way both times. The first time they sent a climber up the cliff at night. He climbed up the cliff and opened the gates on the protected side and the whole army came storming in and wiped out the city. Not only did this happen once, but twice. After they rebuilt the city, they got back into the same situation and fell for the same attack strategy. We'll see how this historical background fits with what Jesus says later on.

The letter begins: He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: The seven stars were the seven angels of the churches. Rev 1:20 As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels (or pastors) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. What about the seven Spirits of God? What are they? Remember the Hebrews did not have numbers as we have them. They used numbers for other purposes. So, when Jesus says "seven," He doesn't necessarily mean the numeral "7" as in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of something. Instead, the number seven conveys the concept of perfection. So when we see seven in the Bible, depending on the context it may convey this idea of perfection.

Note Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; You see there are seven Spirits before the throne of God. Note also Rev 4:5 And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sound and peals of thunder. And seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God… In this verse, the seven Spirits are the seven lamps burning before the throne. Now look at Rev 5:6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, so the seven Spirits are seven eyes. Look at Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; Remember there were seven Spirits who stood before God in Chapter 1 verse 4. Here we see there are seven angels, or messengers. Isaiah chapter 11 prophesies the Messiah who is to come. Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. (2) And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (3) And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, This a seven-fold reference to Jesus, the Messiah who is to come. He will have this seven-fold Spirit of God resting upon him.

Hold that thought and turn to Zechariah 4. Here God is describing to Zechariah a vision of the temple. In 4:1 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned, and roused me as a man who is awakened from his sleep. (2) And he said to me, "What do you see?" and I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; (3) also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side." (4) Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, "What are these my Lord?" (5) So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." (6) Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." What is God showing Zechariah here? He sees a seven-fold lampstand. Now turn to Exodus 25. Here God is telling Moses how to build the tabernacle and what to put in the tabernacle Exodus 25:31 Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, it bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. (32) And six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side, and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. He goes on to describe it and tells how to built it.

If you look at an overhead view of the tabernacle (or later the Temple), the Holy of Holies was the innermost room in the sanctuary that held the Ark of the Covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim made of gold and between their wings dwelt the physical manifestation of God, the Shekinah Glory Cloud. God also dictated the design of the Holy Place. On the right hand side as you entered through the curtain was the Table of the Presence, with its loaves of bread and wine. On the left side was the golden lampstand. Probably right in the center somewhere was the golden altar, the censor, where incense was continually burning. Now remember that there were three sections to the tabernacle. You couldn't see inside when you were inside the tabernacle. It was dark, so you needed a light. The light of the world. The spirit of truth to be a lamp for you feet and a light for your path.

So when you see "seven Spirits of God," remember that it is referring to the seven-fold perfection of the Spirit, the pure light that comes when you know God the Father, when you know Jesus, the Word of God, and when you know the Spirit of Christ. Do you see how all of this fits together? Yet many times, we don't think in these terms. We think of the Spirit as some kind of experiential thing that comes over us when the music is terrific and we're raising our hands. But, it has far more to do with truth and being in the light. Jesus said that after He had left the world, the Comforter (or Counselor), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. … When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth." (John 14:26, 16:13) What we see is that it is the Spirit who gives us truth, who gives us the belt of truth. The seven Spirits of God are the seven-fold perfection of God, all of which are truth and light.

He who has the seven Spirits of God, (remember Jesus has the seven-fold Spirit of God) and the seven stars, says this: I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Remember the church had an incredible name in the community. It was a famous church in the area, but they weren't sticking to the word of God so they were spiritually dead. (2) Wake up, (The Greek actually says "demonstrate," or "show yourself watchful") and strengthen the things that remain, Remember the city of Sardis had been overrun twice before. They had thought they were invincible because they were on top of a cliff, but twice before in their history armies sent climbers up the face of the rock who went into the city and opened the city gates, so the army came walking in. Jesus is now applying this to the church at Sardis. He's telling them not to think they are invincible. That message is also true for us. We need to be aware that Satan doesn't make a frontal attack. Satan doesn't come in with tanks. That's not his way. He's going to sneak in with lies and subtle deception. Satan will bring in the Jezebels to urge compromise to fit in with the culture where necessary. But eventually, Jesus warns, the church will fall if you are not watchful, constantly vigilant.

strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Jesus is saying to the church, "You're not doing the work that God has laid out for you. You've made a name that you're alive, you're growing. You have a good reputation in the city, but not in God's sight."

(3) Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it and repent. Again you see the same pattern as with the other six churches. They are told to repent. Why? Because they are not doing what God had told them to do. The church at Ephesus was complimented, but was told to repent because they had left their first love. To the church at Pergamum, He says, "Repent!" And to the church at Sardis, likewise He says "Repent!"

If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. What is a thief in the night like? Many home burglaries take place while you're at home. They break in, rifle your clothes and wallet and drawers, all the while you are asleep. They're careful so they don't wake you up. Similarly, Jesus is saying, "You won't know when I come." Is he talking about the end of the world? That's the popular opinion. But to whom is Jesus talking? He's saying "I will come like a thief in the night, you won't know when I come, and I will take away your lampstand." And guess what? He did. The church at Sardis isn't there anymore. Even though it was once a big, popular church, it's gone. Did they hear what Jesus was saying to them? It doesn't appear that they did. Only one of the churches of Revelation is still there. All the others are gone. Only one city is left. We also need to heed Jesus’ warning that we must be faithful to him.

(4) But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with me in white; for they are worthy. Here Jesus is talking about people who did not compromise. He may be talking here about people who were persecuted and not allowed to work in their trade and did not soil their garments. The Bible speaks in other places about soiling your garments by being adulterous. I think that there is also something else going on here. When you went to worship, particularly as a Hebrew in the synagogue or temple, you went very clean. On Friday night, you finished your work, you took a bath, and put on clean clothes. Everybody gathered together and the wife started the Sabbath by lighting the candle. Similarly, when you went to worship in a pagan temple, you didn't go in your work clothes, you put on your best clothes. I used to tell people you don’t need "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes. You could come as you are. But maybe I was a little bit wrong. In the OT there is a focus on getting on clean clothes, getting on your good clothes. After all, whom are you coming to see? The God of the universe. How would you come to see a President? When I was in Hawaii I would go to church in T-shirt, shorts and shower shoes because that was standard dress. But as I began to learn more, I thought maybe I should put on good shorts and a nice T-shirt. I think there is some of that in this passage.

Jesus says, "…and they will walk with me in white;" He's saying, "they are pure." He's speaking of the purity of righteousness. We will be wearing His robes of righteousness in heaven. It's not our righteousness that's in view, but His. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." So when we appear in heaven, are we going to appear in our filthy rags? No! We'll have on our "Sunday-go-to-meeting" finest, which is nothing short of the glorious robes of Jesus Christ Himself.

for they are worthy. Why are they worthy? They had not compromised and were faithful, which was only possible because they had His righteousness. In the last analysis, it is not because of what they did, it's what He did, which in turn enabled them to do what they did.

(5) He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; You see this also in Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?" (14) And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. How do you make something white when you wash it in blood? It's the righteous blood of Jesus Christ. It's not our blood, sweat and tears. It's the blood of Jesus Christ. That is the only thing that is going to get our robes white. It's not our works that get us into heaven, yet it is our works, if you will, that get us into heaven. That may sound confusing, but the fact is that if we are going to heaven on the basis of grace alone, we will have works, because they are God's work. If we truly belong to Christ, then we will be doing what God commands.

The two boys who stopped the fatal shootings in Oregon said they did it because that's the way they were raised. It was the right thing to do. As Christians, we know the right thing to do. We have the truth. We have the Holy Spirit who tells us what to do. Christians should not lock themselves up in their fortress churches and sit there quaking in their boots waiting on Satan to try and get through the walls. The armor of God is offensive. The shield of faith is like the type of shield the Romans used when they were assaulting the walls. They formed a turtle and were completely encased by these shields and practically invulnerable. They would carry a battering ram inside and walk up to the gate and pound it until they knocked it down. That's how Christians ought to be because we have the shield of faith. Can the arrows of Satan harm us? Can the oil he pours down from the citadel harm us? No, absolutely not. Satan’s attacks fall off like water off a duck's back. Jesus tells Peter, "Upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not withstand it." We ought to be out there kicking down the gates of hell, because we have the shield of faith. We've got the strength. That's what the church at Sardis was not doing. They were compromising with the ungodly; they had declared a truce with the citadel of Satan. In so doing, they had a name that they were alive, but in fact they were dead.

and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. The thought in passage had a very important part in my Christian maturity. When I first became a Christian I remember talking to people, but I wouldn't tell them I was a Christian. I was afraid of what they might think. I was not secure enough in my belief. How could I witness to them if I didn't know enough about Christianity? Then I was reading through the Bible and came across the passage where Jesus says "If you are ashamed of me before men, I will be ashamed of you before my Father and his angels." (Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26) That really convicted me. I began to rethink my behavior. Now when I listen to people, I'm listening to the conversation, thinking in the back of my mind, how can I relate this to Christ? How can I bring God into this conversation? How can I tell people that I'm a Christian and what God has done in my life? You see, that's what it's all about. Do I know enough about Scripture to do that? No. Is it necessary for me to know everything about the Bible to witness? No. What Peter and the apostles and everybody in the Bible say, "We simply tell what we know, what we have seen and heard." What's important is what God has done in your life; what you are able to relate. It's not a matter of whether you can memorize and list all the Kings of the Old Testament. It's what God has done in your life. That's what makes a church alive. His people who are not asleep; who realize they are not invincible; who realize they are in an offensive army and who are going out there and looking for ways to evangelize; to give people the message of the Good News