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The letter to the dead church in Sardis – Revelation

We move on to the fifth of the seven letters in Revelation.  We’re on the home-stretch.  This time the letter to the dead Church in Sardis.  Jesus has very little in the way of good things to say about the church in Sardis.  And, of course, bad things.  In this church, the examination will again be about the relationships between the good and bad statements.  But this time, Jesus very clearly points out the differences to the church.  And therefore, to us as well.

The letter to the dead church in Sardis – Revelation is article #5 in the series: Seven Letters to Seven Churches. Click button to view titles for entire series

Once again, the title comes from the section title in the NKJV.  As with most of the churches, the title refers to the content of the letter.  However, here in Sardis, there’s a warning (threat?) in how Jesus referred to Himself as the author of this letter.  Therefore, looking at the concept of a “dead” church  – how it came to be, who is dead and who isn’t – will be high on our list of things to check out.


First – Blessings in the Seven Letters

If you’re going through the series, you’ve seen this portion before. I’m including it for each letter for those who may only be checking out one of the seven letters.

The Book of Revelation starts with these verses:

Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 

We learn something of the importance of each of the letters from this passage.  Of course, we get a modern-day evidence chain of sorts, to let us know this is from God.  And while John is the recipient of the vision, we saw:

3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it …

Just like when Jesus spoke of things like love and believe, He was also saying that the love and belief should be so strong as to bring about action on our part.  Not our action alone – and not action to gain love or to have stronger belief.  No – it’s about faith and love that are stronger than anything we could ever have ourselves, because it’s God’s meaning of faith and love that we can only achieve with the Holy Spirit.

Then the action follows from having the Holy Spirit.  And with the Holy Spirit working through us, the actions that we carry out will come from God and be effective the way He intends them to be.  In short – it’s not about us.  It’s about God.

When we see Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, all of that involves action as a result of having read or heard the prophecy.  It takes the Holy Spirit to understand the words, to take them to heart.  And once we do that – we should have a desire, also coming from the Holy Spirit, to act on the words.  Both for ourselves and for others.

It’s a message that God wants us to hear/read – and then do something with it.  As we’ll see, each letter speaks to what Jesus has for and against each of the churches.  He lets us know very clearly where we stand in relation to what He wants.  To what He taught.  Our goal is to be more Christ-like, and when we read this, we can look for ourselves in the letters and know just where we are.

Praying about the Seven Letters and ourselves

We’ll start with praying portions of Psalm 139. Remember that these letters are for us today, as much as for those at the time John put pen to scroll and everyone in between. One really good way for us to ask God to let us know which parts of these letters apply to us as individuals, families, small groups, churches, Etc. is to literally ask Him! And to listen for a response.

As such, let’s begin by praying the verses below, from David to God.

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

Ps 139:1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

Ps 139:2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

Ps 139:3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Ps 139:22 I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Ps 139:24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

This Psalm is something we should incorporate into our prayer life. Sometimes maybe we feel like we don’t really want to know what God knows about us. But hey – He already knows, and He still loves us. So why not ask, and then also ask for His help to grow in our journey through this life in faith and the power of the Holy Spirit?


The letter to the church in Sardis

To the Church in 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. 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. 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. 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. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

What’s your initial impression here?  Good news or bad news for this church?  

Cultural and historical factors in Sardis

Sardis was a flourishing city located on a major east-west highway during the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.

Like many of its sister cities, Sardis exhibited strong pro-Roman sentiments, seen in its bid to house provincial imperial cults and in the prominence of the imperial cult in its second- and third-century architecture.

The Jewish community in Sardis had ancient and strong roots and was likely well-established from the Hellenistic period. If one can extrapolate from its fourth-century synagogue, it had been better integrated into the life of its city than was true for many Jewish diaspora communities.

Very little has been discovered in Sardis to shed light on the origins of, or challenges to, the Christian community there in the late first century beyond these generalities. 

Sardis sits sixty miles (97 km) east of Smyrna and thirty-five miles (56 km) southeast of Thyatira, within the horseshoe-shaped circuit of these seven congregations that John the prophet may have traveled before his removal to the island of Patmos.  [1]deSilva, D. A. (2019). The Social and Geographical World of Sardis (Revelation 1:11; 3:1–6). In B. J. Beitzel, J. Parks, & D. Mangum (Eds.), Lexham Geographic Commentary on Acts through … Continue reading

The city of Sardis, the old capital of Lydia, had become famous for its red dye and woolen goods.

So we see, Sardis was home to an acropolis that was nearly impregnable, with 800 foot rock walls that were nearly vertical on three sides.  And yet –

Twice in its history it had been conquered—by Cyrus, in 549 B.C., and by Antiochus the Great, in 218 B.C.—because of failing to keep adequate watch. It may be with allusion to this historical fact that Jesus exhorted the church to be watchful (v. 2) against the encroachment of sin which might conquer the church.  [2]Gregg, S. (1997). Revelation, four views: a parallel commentary (p. 73). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

Can you even imagine that?  Twice!  And for the same reason!

Of course, if we’re honest, we do believe it, because we’re really no different.

The church in Sardis is referred to by some as the dead church.  Others call it the dying church.  That’s one of the things we need to pay attention to as we study it.  Is this church really dead?  Is there some hope for it?  Or maybe, it’s some of both?  You decide – just understand why you picked the one you will choose.

Sardis is about twenty-seven miles due south of Thyatira. It was one of the oldest and greatest cities of western Asia. In ancient times it was a proud, wealthy city, the capital of the kingdom of Lydia. It had a history of many wars, and it was the city of the wealthy Croesus. The patron deity of the city was Cybele, whose form appeared on their coins. She was represented as half-human and was regularly associated with a pair of lions or single lion. The deity was supposed to have power to restore the dead. The city fell before Cyrus the Great of Persia in the sixth century B.C. In A.D. 17 the city suffered greatly from an earthquake. When John wrote this letter, the city was a city of the past. Later, it was restored and continued to flourish until A.D. 1400–1403, when the Tartar Tamerlane swept over the area and destroyed everything. The city has never recovered from this desolation.  [3]Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2664). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The bigger they are – the harder they fall?

Breakdown of the letter to the church in Sardis

Here’s usual breakdown of the letter to the church in Sardis. However, this one is a bit different.

Notice that I put I know your deeds in there twice – in both “Divine Knowledge” and in the “But” section.  That’s to reflect what I wrote earlier regarding scholars’ thought about whether this church is (a) dead, (b) dying or (c) maybe some of both with a possibility of hope for the dying.  Rather than give away my thought now, I’m presenting all options to give you something to think about.

Tothe angel of the church in Sardis
Fromhim who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
Divine KnowledgeI know your deeds;
...
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.
But -I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
So -Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 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.

HearHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To those who overcome....
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.

The traditional To and From headings are present. 

To:

Obviously, it’s to the church in Sardis.  As we saw in the letter to the Ephesian church, it’s most likely not to an actual Heavenly angel.  Rather it’s probably to someone, probably of a high position, within the church.  To that end, Young’s Literal Translation says:

‘To the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write:”  [4]Young, R. (1997). Young’s Literal Translation (Re 3:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

From:

The letter is from he who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  

Uh oh.  The seven stars again.  That wasn’t good news for Ephesus.  It’s kind of unnerving to hear them again for Sardis.  But before we jump to conclusions, let’s see what the seven spirits of God is about.

The Seven Spirits of God

There are only four references to the seven spirits of God – and all four of them are in Revelation.

The first reference to the seven spirits of God is at the very beginning of Revelation.

Greetings and Doxology

Rev 1:4 John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen.
Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Verses 4 and 5 together seem to indicate the Trinity.  Of course, while the Bible never actually uses that word, it does indicate the three “persons” of God.  Today, we normally talk about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  However, in those verses, I believe we see the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son – in that order.

The Father – him who is, and who was, and who is to come
The Holy Spirit – the seven spirits before his throne
The Son – Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth

I suspect we get a bit confused about who the Holy Spirit is.  Some of that may come from trying to assign the Holy Spirit to either the Father or to Jesus.  But who says there must be a distinct separation between the three of them into non-overlapping “persons”? 

We read where Paul says the Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ.

Wisdom From the Spirit

1Co 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

And maybe we think “the mind of the Lord” refers to Jesus.  It would have been really nice if Paul had been more specific.  But in that sentence, he wasn’t.  As for context, it seems to be pointing to God, the Father.  And we have access to God the Father through the mind of Christ, by way of the Holy Spirit.  Or at least something possibly along those lines.  Who are we to know?  We just can’t.

But to try to bring this thought to a close, the Greek word we read as Lord in that phrase “the mind of the Lord” could refer to either the Father or to Jesus.

So – when we read the Greetings and Doxology section of Revelation, verses 4 and 5 do appear to be saying it’s from the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son.  

Therefore, the question becomes how the Holy Spirit comes to be called the seven spirits of God.

The second instance of the seven spirits of God is in the letter to Sardis, which we’re studying now.

As such, there’s nothing to put here – unless I want to put an endless number of copies of the whole thing here – like looking into a mirror with another mirror behind you.

I really only put that line about the mirrors here so it doesn’t look like I forgot something.

The third instance of the seven spirits of God is in Chapter 4

Not surprisingly, it’s in a description of what John saw at the Throne in Heaven.

I underlined verse 5 below for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.

The Throne in Heaven

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.”

Rev 4:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
Rev 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

Here’s the thing about verse 5:

There’s a bit of a problem with the NIV translation.  Again.  It’s too simple.  There’s a word left out that can lead to difficulties for us today.  Something that would have been obvious at the time, but maybe not so much today.  Worse yet, the missing word is in verse 5 – the very one we’re looking at.  Here it is from Young’s Literal Translation.

5 and out of the throne proceed do lightnings, and thunders, and voices; and seven lamps of fire are burning before the throne, which are the Seven Spirits of God,  [5]Young, R. (1997). Young’s Literal Translation (Re 4:5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

The NIV:  
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

So it’s actually seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.  And it’s those seven lamps of fire that are the Seven Spirits of God.

If you’re interested, here’s the KJV translation as well, which is in line with the YLT wording.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  [6]The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 4:5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

I point out the fire, because these days we don’t need a lamp of fire to have something to give bright light.  LED lights today can light up even a fire.  The difference matters because of the implications of fire in the Bible.  In addition to providing light, fire also has the power to destroy or to purify.  For the church in Sardis – the significance of fire in those terms cannot be overstated.

But let’s keep going so we can get one final look at the seven spirits of God.

The fourth and final instance of the seven spirits of God is in Chapter 5 where the Lamb opens the scroll.

The Scroll and the Lamb

Rev 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Let’s go to an outside source to bring all of this to a close.

Seven horns (κερας [keras]) is a common symbol in the O. T. for strength and kingly power (1 Sam. 2:10; 1 Kings 22:11; Psa. 112:9; Dan. 7:7, 20ff.) and often in Rev. (12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 12). Fulness of power (the All-powerful one) is symbolized by seven. Seven eyes (ὀφθαλμους ἑπτα [ophthalmous hepta]). Like Zech. 3:9; 4:10 and denotes here, as there, omniscience. Here they are identified with the seven Spirits of Christ, while in 1:4 the seven Spirits are clearly the Holy Spirit of God (3:1), and blaze like torches (4:5), like the eyes of Christ (1:14). The Holy Spirit is both Spirit of God and of Christ (Rom. 8:9). Sent forth (ἀπεσταλμενοι [apestalmenoi]).  [7]Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 5:6). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

Since we’re already seen the verses in Revelation, let’s bring up the passage from Romans to clear this up.  As usual, I include the entire passage for context, but especially pay attention to the underlined verses.

Life Through the Spirit

Ro 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Ro 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
Ro 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Ro 8:12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Again:

Ro 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

So – the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of God (the Father) and of Jesus (the Son).

We also know the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, from Rev 1:20.

And, what seems like the most reasonable explanation of the seven spirits of God (the Holy Spirit) comes from Isaiah 11-16.  It”s part of a prophecy about the coming of Jesus.  The first few verses tell of the seven spirits – and the remaining ones demonstrate them.

The Branch From Jesse

Isa 11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Isa 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

The Spirit of the Father, resting on the Son,
with the seven spirits being the underlined items below.
Keep in mind, seven is a number representing completeness or fullness. 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
Isa 11:3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

That’s six, if you counted.  What’s number 7?  It’s actually at the beginning of the verse – 
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him

It’s beyond our understanding to figure that one out.  It looks like the six I underlined are part of the overall Spirit of the Lord.  And yet – somehow – maybe having to do with the concept of completeness, or the perfection that comes from the synergy of all of them together,  it’s seven.

And as I mentioned, the remainder of the passage shows examples of each of them. 

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
Isa 11:4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Isa 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
Isa 11:7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.
Isa 11:9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 11:10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
Isa 11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
Isa 11:14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will lay hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
Isa 11:15 The LORD will dry up
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that men can cross over in sandals.
Isa 11:16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.

From: — conclusions

So – what can we ultimately say about this letter being from he who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars?

This doesn’t appear to be a good sign.

Jesus is holding the angel of the church in Sardis.  And, He’s holding the Holy Spirit.  

Remember, after Jesus’ ascension to Heaven, for better or worse, we are now His representatives here on earth.  Since the seven churches in Revelation represent the overall church on earth, Jesus holding onto the Holy Spirit and the angel for that church can’t be good.  

The description Jesus uses for Himself always has something to do with the state of the church.  This sounds very much like Jesus is warning them about losing the Holy Spirit.  And if they do that, they also lose their connection to Him, by way of the Holy Spirit.  Which also means they lose their connection to God.  A dire warning if that’s the case.

It occurred to me, it seems like we spend a lot of time on the From section of each letter.  And we do.  But I feel it’s important, because it sets the tone for everything that follows.  Jesus could have just said, “this is from Jesus, your Lord”.  But He didn’t.  Instead, He chose to describe Himself.  And those descriptions have specific meanings to each church that are tied in with the content of each letter.


With that in mind, we can move on to the next portion of the letter to the church in Sardis the Divine Knowledge.

Divine Knowledge in the letter to the church in Sardis

Next, we’ll look at the Divine Knowledge. The things Jesus knows about the church. Usually, this is good news for the receiving church. However, that’s not always the case. Jesus had some good news for this church. But it was only for a few people. Plus, we have the title of “dead” church. We’ll find out more about what that means.

Divine Knowledge in the letter to the church in Sardis

I know your deeds;

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.


Biblical scholars disagree over what goes in the so-called Divine Knowledge portion of the letter to the church in Sardis.

It’s quite possible you think or have read something that there says there should be nothing in this section.  Some scholars have it that way.  I even had it empty the last time I revised this study.  However, I now have something in it.  I don’t mean to influence you, but I should tell you why I put something here.  

It has to do with the issue of whether this church is dead or dying.  Or some of both.  Before, I thought the church was dead.  No hope.  I no longer feel that way.  But that’s all I’ll say for now.  More will come at the end.

So – what I put in the Divine Knowledge section, the part with the “good news”, is this.

I know your deeds;

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.

That sentence was actually after some of the bad news.  It can get lost.  Or can lead us to think it’s too late.  But then, maybe it’s a warning about just how dire the situation is for those few people.  And for the church as a whole.  Like maybe if those few people leave the church for any reason, this church probably really is dead?

Soiled their clothes  

The Greek word we read as soiled is only used three times in the New Testament.  There is one occurrence of the root word in Greek, and it’s translated as contaminate in the NIV.  Both words then to be translated as defile or defilement in other translations.  Defile is a word we should recognize from the Old Testament.  For instance, this passage in Numbers.

The Purity of the Camp

Nu 5:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 4 The Israelites did this; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

Based on you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, we know there are some people who aren’t defiled, in a sense.  I say, in a sense, because we’ve all sinned.  It’s more a question of where our hearts are.  So a better way for us to think of it is that there are a few people whose hearts are in the right place.  But only a few.

And because of that, they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. One place to see what that means is one of my favorite Old Testament passages – starting at Isaiah 1:18.

A Rebellious Nation

Isa 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Isa 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

Isa 1:20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

If you read the entire passage, you find an incredible condemnation of Israel. Sadly, if you look at the kinds of things they did, you also see an image of the U.S. today. And, I dare say, far too many other so-called civilized nations as well.

In any case, only a few of the people in the Sardis church will be forgiven and have eternal life in Heaven.  The rest, the majority of them, will get Hell if they resist and rebel.

The good news in the Divine Knowledge of Sardis

This is part of the reason I think this church has some good news.  Yes, it is buried within the bad news, but it’s in the letter.  If anything, the placement makes it all the more remarkable that anyone can possibly come out of this church with God in their hearts.

In some of the other letters, it wasn’t immediately obvious whether the Divine Knowledge really was good or bad.  In this case, although the number of people to whom it applies is small, I believe it’s very good news for them.

We will, unfortunately, look at the majority of what Jesus says about this church in the “but …” and “so…” sections.

“But …” in the Divine Knowledge in the letter to the church in Sardis

I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

This is where we see the church is Sardis being referred to as dead. Worse still, the description comes from none other than Jesus.

But

I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Now that sounds bad, doesn’t it?  Fatal?  Generally, when someone is spoken about as being dead, there’s no chance for them.  But we’re talking spiritually dead here – not physically dead.  We’re also talking about something Jesus said.  If they can come back to life, who better to be there but Jesus?

So – is the Sardis church really dead?

So the church in Sardis has a reputation of being alive.  Most likely, that means they were spiritually alive at some point.  

The thing to remember here is that Jesus is the one who said the church is Sardis is dead.

Is dead really dead?

Let’s look at the Greek word that we read as “dead”. Does it really mean dead, the way we think of it? Or is there something in the Greek use of the word that has a different meaning?

3498 νεκρός [nekros /nek·ros/] adj. From an apparently primary nekus (a corpse); TDNT 4:892; TDNTA 627; GK 3738; 132 occurrences; AV translates as “dead” 132 times. 1 properly. 1A one that has breathed his last, lifeless. 1B deceased, departed, one whose soul is in Hades. 1C



This post first appeared on God Versus Religion, please read the originial post: here

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The letter to the dead church in Sardis – Revelation

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