We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

Chapter 3 starts with Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis, located about 35 miles southeast of Thyatira. This wealthy city had a significant Jewish community, featuring one of the largest synagogues ever discovered. Sardis was one of the older cities mentioned in the seven letters of Revelation. Artemis was the city’s patron goddess, and the people were fascinated by nature and immortality, worshipping hot springs and other natural elements.

In Chapter 3 verse 1, Jesus says, “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. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, 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.”

In prior posts, we analyzed the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The title that Jesus uses for Himself is different with each letter. For Sardis, Jesus is reminding the church that He not only walks among the churches and knows everything about them, but He also holds the power to strengthen the churches that are dying inside. Sardis has a reputation for being alive, perhaps they put on a lot of events for the community, but they were struggling behind closed doors. Maybe only a few church members were volunteering for everything or maybe the church’s teaching had wandered from the Truth. It is hard to know exactly, but this is a great time to pause and reflect on your church. Is your church busy, but wandering from Jesus? Are there plenty of events, but only a few church members carrying the responsibilities?

Jesus says, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, 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.”

Jesus’ call to action is clear, what few church members Sardis has that are spiritually alive are about to die. Perhaps they are burning out or are tired of the church wandering away from Jesus. He uses the descriptions of being alive and dead since the city of Sardis was obsessed with immortality to the point of worshipping nature.

Jesus also says their deeds are unfinished in the sight of God. This may mean that all of the activities or their worship is hollow – they are not pointing people to Jesus. In the city of Sardis, there was a large, unfinished temple to the goddess, Artemis. This description would resonate with the believers in Sardis. To keep the church from dying, Jesus tells them to remember what you have received, the power of the Holy Spirit. And to remember what they have heard, the Truth of Jesus and to repent; otherwise the church of Sardis will not be prepared when Jesus returns, He will come when least expected (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10). If Jesus were to return today, would your church be ready?

In verse 4, Jesus provides a promise, “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. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”

Those who have not stained their clothes with sin will walk with Jesus. White clothes are the symbol of holiness; in the New Testament, angels appeared in white and Jesus Himself wore white when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3 and 16:5).  Here, Jesus is saying that the few people in Sardis who have remained faithful will walk with the victorious, those who are worthy.

Jesus also promises that the victorious, those who believe in Jesus and remain faithful to Him, will have their name written in the book of life or written in heaven (Psalm 69:8, Philippians 4:3 and Hebrews 12:23). Once you put your faith in Jesus as the Son of God, your name is written in heaven, your salvation cannot be taken away. Your name cannot be erased from the Lamb’s book of life.

Jesus’ final promise to those who are left faithful in Sardis is that He will acknowledge their name before His Father and the angels. This is the same promise Jesus gave to believers when He walked the earth in Matthew 10:32. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

In verse 6, Jesus concludes His letter to Sardis by commanding the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church.  “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.