# 5 - Letter To The Church At Sardis Series

Letter # 5 – Letter to the Church at Sardis

Revelation 3:1 - “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

The Seven Spirits of God

Jesus begins this letter by introducing Himself as the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. One look at this verse could raise the question, “Does God have seven Spirits?” Let’s take a closer look at what this could mean.

Rev.1:4 – “John, to the seven churches which 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.”

Rev.4:5 – “And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”

Rev.5:6 - “And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”

We read in Rev.8:1,2 – “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” From these verses it appears that the seven spirits of God refers to the seven angels. After all, angels are also referred to as ministering spirits in Heb.1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

It is these seven angels that sounded the seven trumpets that brought seven terrible woes on the earth in Rev. Chs.6,7,8,9 &11. Again in Rev. Chs.15 & 16 refers to the seven angels with the seven plagues of God’s wrath.

The Seven Stars

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. What is meant by this is not entirely clear – there are several interpretations to this. But firstly, let’s realise that the Lord was not talking to a particular local church in each of these cities, but was talking to the church at large in each of these cities. Thus, the angel or ‘messenger’ that is being referred to could not have been the local church Pastor, as some believe it refers to.

Some others believe that each church has a guardian angel to oversee its affairs, but neither Jesus nor did any of the New Testament writers ever mentioned that that churches had guardian angels.

Still others believe that these angels were the ones who would take the message from John to the seven churches. That would seem rather unlikely, because if Jesus wanted them to be the messengers to take the message to the churches, He would have passed it on directly to them, and not have done it through John.

Still others believe that the angels were the Bishops or overseers of a group of churches, but there’s no evidence that there were denominations like we have today, back then.

We’re not entirely sure what the seven angels refer to, so let’s just go with the text – the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Perhaps one day we will know the true meaning of what the seven angels were.

I know your works

The Lord then says the same thing He has said to the previous four churches, “I know your works.” The Lord knew everything about the church at Sardis – nothing was hidden from His sight. Like we heard in the last letter – He even knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts – not just the things we say and do, or the visible things.

You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead

While speaking to the previous four churches Jesus said He knew their works referring to them in a positive way, but in this letter His tone is different. Here He says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but are dead.” This is not a good thing for a church to hear from her Master, the Head of the Church.

This church seemed to have a name or reputation that they were alive and well – perhaps they said and did all the right things – things that made people believe them to be something they were not. They seemed to be alive and vibrant in the eyes of people, but in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, they were anything but alive – they were dead.