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NOTES for Rev 3:1-6

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1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
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Even now, the life of Christians can be fully described by this brief text. Yes, we were taught, heard, and came in response to the Lord’s call. But where are we now? Though we are within the Church, are we really as pure before God as we may at times appear to those around us? Or are we as terrible as they sometimes say, believing that a Christian must be merely nice rather than truly good? We are torn from within by passions and doubts just as the members of the community at Sardis were. Just as it was not easy for them to be consistent and faithful on the path to holiness, neither is it easy, pleasant, or desirable for us. The Lord does not tell us that everything is simple and easy, or that He wants from us something obvious and attainable. He calls us while we are sick with sin and expects faithfulness from us on the difficult path of healing from slavery to sin.

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For Rev 3:1-6
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
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Jesus gives His apostle no details about the situation in the church of Sardis, perhaps because they were...  Read more

Jesus gives His apostle no details about the situation in the church of Sardis, perhaps because they were already well known to him. We, of course, are in a different position today, and we can only guess at the details of the problems in the church of Sardis. Judging by the Savior's words in verse 3, one can say that this church was in a state of spiritual laxity, so that Jesus had to remind the Christians of Sardis of what He had often told His disciples during His earthly ministry: spiritual sobriety and readiness to meet the day of Judgment, which can come unexpectedly.

Of course, this does not at all mean that all the Christians of Sardis knew how serious the situation was. Unfortunately, as long as everything in the church outwardly goes on as before and its members preserve the appearance of ordinary Christian life, only someone who himself lives a normal spiritual life can recognize the spiritual problems that have arisen in the community.

Meanwhile, when events develop unfavorably, fewer and fewer such people remain in it. A closed circle arises, and the only way out of it is direct intervention from above, when God allows something to happen that can at least disturb the community's outward well-being and force its members to think about what is going on. Of course, such a shock by itself does not guarantee the right conclusions, but it does give the church community a chance to rethink its own life, repent, and turn to the One who, if asked, will help deal with any problem.

Still, in the church of Sardis, as we can see, there did remain a certain number of those who lived a normal spiritual life and had to understand what was happening in their community (v. 4). As we can see, they could not change anything, because no one else besides them was interested in it: the majority of the church members were satisfied with the state of affairs that Jesus condemned so severely. But even though they were unable to do anything for their own church, these people preserved the main thing: that life of the Kingdom which they had received by following the One who brought the Kingdom into the world (vv. 5-6).

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For Rev 3:1-22
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
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It is frightening... but how important it is for us. The Lord looks into our eyes and sees the heart. And He says everything He sees. How we would like to hear something life-affirming from Him, something like...  Read more

It is frightening... but how important it is for us. The Lord looks into our eyes and sees the heart. And He says everything He sees. How we would like to hear something life-affirming from Him, something like, “Well done, you are doing everything right; keep it up.” But He tells the truth. “You are neither cold nor hot.” “You are dead.” God, can it really be that You do not love me? But He says that this is not so at all. “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline.” And it is obvious. Can a loving gaze pretend that the beloved is perfectly well when in fact that person is dying—or has already died? God opens our eyes. Yes, what we see in the mirror of His eyes is frightening. But only the truth gives us a chance to change something, to come alive, to move forward, to be living and ardent rather than half-dead and lukewarm.

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