By: Tom Lowe Date: 6-5-2015
Lesson 9: The Church at Sardis (3:1-6)
Revelation 3:1-6 (NIV)
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 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.
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 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.
6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Introduction
Sardis lay about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira. It was a city in degeneration. Seven hundred years before this letter was written Sardis (modern Sart) had been one of the greatest cities in the world. There the king of Lydia ruled over his empire in oriental splendor. At that time Sardis was a city of the east and was hostile to the Greek world.
Sardis stood in the midst of the plain of the valley of the River Hermus. To the north of that plane rose the long ridge of Mount Timolus; from that ridge a series of hills went out like spurs, each forming a narrow plateau. On of these spurs, 1500 feet up, stood the original Sardis. Clearly such a position made it almost impregnable. The sides of the ridge were smooth and steep; and only where the spur met the ridge of mount Timolus was there any possible access into Sardis and even that was hard and steep. It has been said that Sardis stood like some gigantic watch-tower guarding the Hermus Valley. The time came when the narrow space on the top of the plateau was too small for the expanding city; and Sardis grew around the foot of the spur on which the citadel stood. The name Sardis is really a plural noun, for there were two towns, one on the plateau and one in the valley beneath.
The wealth of Sardis was legendary, but it eventually led the way to moral decadence. The city had become lethargic, its past splendor a decaying memory. Through the lower town flowed the River Pactolus, which was said in the old days to have had gold-bearing waters from which much of the wealth of Sardis came. Greatest of the Sardian kings was Croesus, whose name is still commemorated in the proverb, “As rich as Croesus.” It was with him that Sardis reached its zenith and it was with him that it plunged to disaster.
When John wrote his letter to Sardis, it was wealthy but degenerate, and it was experiencing spiritual death. Despite its reputation for being alive, Sardis was infested with sin. The church’s deeds were evil, and its clothes were soiled. The Spirit had no words of commendation for this church that looked so good on the outside but was so corrupt on the inside. Even the once great citadel was now only an ancient monument on the hilltop. There was no life or spirit there. The once great Sardinians were soft, and twice they had lost their city because they were too lazy to post a guard. In that debilitating atmosphere the Christian Church too had lost its vitality and was a corpse instead of a living Church.
Commentary
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.
As mentioned in the introduction, the city of “Sardis” (those escaping or renovation) was actually in two locations. The city had been built on a mountain. When its population outgrew that spot, a newer section had been built in the valley below. The newer section boasted a theatre, a stadium and a large temple to Artemis that had been started but never finished. The older city on the mountain had become an emergency refuge for the city’s inhabitants when under attack. Sardis was also known for its impressive necropolis, or cemetery, with hundreds of burial mounds.
In the introduction to this letter the Risen Christ is described in two phrases.
He is “Him who holds the seven spirits of God.” We have already come upon this strange phrase in Revelation 1:4[1]. It has three aspects to its meaning.
It denotes the Holy Spirit with His sevenfold gifts, an idea founded on the description of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2. There is only ONE Holy Spirit (Ephesians is 4:4), but the number seven demonstrates fullness and completeness. The Holy Spirit gives life to the church, and life is exactly what the people at Sardis needed. The sevenfold Spirit of God is pictured as seven burning lamps (revelation 4:5) and as seven all-seeing eyes (revelation 5:6).
It denotes the Spirit in His sevenfold operation. There are seven Churches, yet in each of them the Spirit operates with all His presence and power. The “seven spirits” signifies the completeness of the gifts of the Spirit and the universality of His presence.
He is “Him who holds . . . the “seven stars.” Our Lord’s description of Himself as the One who has the “seven stars,” was given to remind all who were in the church at Sardis that the oversight brethren are in His right hand (1:16, 20). They must take their orders from Him. He is the sovereign Head of His Church; He sent the Holy Spirit into the world, and through the Holy Spirit He carries out His program (Acts 1:8). The “stars” stand for the churches and their angels—the messengers, pastors, or leaders of the churches. The Church is the possession of Jesus Christ. Many a time men act as if the Church belonged to them, but it belongs to Jesus Christ and all in it are His servants. In any decision regarding the Church, the decisive factor must not be what any man wishes the Church to do but what Jesus Christ wishes to be done. Many a local assembly can attribute its lack of life and love to the fact that Christ is no longer acknowledged as the Head and Lord over the people.
Christ has both the “seven Spirits” and the “seven stars.” All light and all ministry proceed from Christ. Whatever may be the ministry in the church, if it is successful and it should be, it proceeds from the Lord Jesus Christ in whom all fullness dwells, “in whom ye are complete” (Colossians 2:8-10[2]).
The Phrase “him who holds the seven spirits of God” takes us back to the vision of Christ recorded in the first chapter where we see “the seven Spirits . . . before His throne” (v. 4). “Seven” is the divine number for expressing completeness, fullness.
The terrible accusation against the “Church in Sardis” is that, although it has a reputation for life, it is, in fact, spiritually dead. The New Testament frequently likens sin to death. In the Pastoral Epistles we read: “She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:6). The Probable Son is he who was dead and is alive again (Luke 15:24). The Roman Christians are men who have been brought from death to life (Romans 6:13). Paul says that his converts in their pre-Christian days were dead through trespasses and sins (Ephesian is 2:1, 5).
Sin has been described as death in three ways:
Sin is the death of the will. If a man accepts the invitations to sin for long enough, the time comes when he cannot accept anything else. Habits grow upon him until he can no longer break them. A man can come to hate his sins and to love them at the same time. There can be few of us who have not experienced the power of some habit into which we have fallen.
Sin is the death of the feelings. The process of becoming the slave of sin does not happen overnight. The first time a man sins he does so with many misgivings. But the day comes, if he goes on doing that which is forbidden by God that he will do, without so much as a qualm that which once he would have been horrified to do. Sin, as some put it, “petrifies the feelings.”
Sin is the death of all loveliness. The terrible thing about sin is that it can take the loveliest things and turn them into ugliness. Through sin the yearning for the highest can become the craving for power; the wish to serve can become the intoxication of ambition; the desire of love can become the passion of lust. Sin is the killer of life’s loveliness.
Wherever sin and failure mark a local assembly, one can be certain the Holy Spirit has not been in command in the hearts of the people. The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel needed to be re-emphasized in Sardis, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). It is only by the grace of God that we can escape the death of sin.
The lifelessness of the Church at Sardis had a strange effect. FIRST, the Church at Sardis was untroubled by any difference of opinion. Disagreement is always the product of the searching mind; it is, in fact, the sign of a Church that is alive. There is nothing worse than a state in which a man is in agreement because he is too lazy to think for himself. He is actually better-off with a mistaken viewpoint which he holds intensely than with a point of view about which in his heart of hearts he does not care. SECOND, the church at Sardis was untroubled by any attack from the outside, either by the heathen or by the Jews. The truth was that it was so lifeless that it was not worth attacking. The Pastoral Epistles describe those who had drifted away from the true faith by saying that they have a form of godliness but denied its power (2 Timothy 3:5[3]).
A truly vital Church will always be under attack. “Woe to you,” said Jesus, “when all men speak well of you!” (Luke 6:26). A Church with a positive message is bound to be one to which there will be opposition.
A Church which is so lethargic as to fail to produce any difference of opinion is mentally dead; and a church which is so negative as to fail to produce opposition is dead in its witness for Christ.
Christ had no words of commendation for this church. Nor did the Lord point out any doctrinal problems that required correction. Neither is there any mention of opposition or persecution. It seems to have been untroubled by heresy from within or persecution from without. The impression is that the assembly in Sardis was not aggressive in its witness to the city; this church had compromised with its pagan surroundings. There was no persecution because there was no invasion of the enemy’s territory. No friction usually means no emotion! The unsaved in Sardis saw the church as a respectable group of people who were neither dangerous nor desirable. They were decent people with a dying witness and a decaying ministry. Thus, Christ’s words to the church paralleled the city’s history—“you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”
While Christ’s description of the church in Sardis appears the harshest, he does not promise the kind of judgment he predicts for the church of Laodicea. The church in Sardis wasn’t luke-warm (like the church in Laodicea); it was dead, that is, basically populated by unredeemed, unregenerated people. Even though Christ called Sardis a dead church, he also affirmed the handful that were faithful believers. The believers may have thought they were a living and active church, but according to Christ they were dead. Christ loves to defeat death. If you find yourself in a dead church, make sure you preserve your own faithfulness. Ask God to intervene. Ask God to help you find other believers, and pray together with them for an awakening of your church.
Before examining our Lords complaint, it should be observed that the church in Sardis, was not lacking in works. He said, “I know your deeds (works).” In all probability it was a beehive of organized activity. When Christ said, “You have a reputation of being alive,” I presume that there was little lacking in the outward appearance of that church. It had a reputation for being a progressive church. No doubt others in the surrounding communities were saying, “Now that church in Sardis is a live church for you.” Had you inquired of any pagan on the streets of Sardis for the location of this church, I venture to say he could have told you at once. It was well attended, and well-advertised. But more than this, it had a reputation for being alive. It was known as “the live church.” Christ said, “You have a reputation of being alive.” It was engaged in all those activities which characterize a live church. Most people had a high estimate of this church. Had you been moving from any one of the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, or Thyatira to Sardis, your pastor would no doubt have suggested that you attend this church.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
If anything is to be rescued from the impending ruin of the Church in Sardis the Christians there must “wake up!” The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21) and some others translate the verse a little differently: “Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” No commandment appears more frequently in the New Testament than that to watch—“wake up” and “WATCH.” Scripture has much to say about this.
WATCHFULNESS should be the constant attitude of the Christian life. “It is full time,” says Paul, “to wake from sleep” (Romans 13:11). “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith,” he urges (1 Corinthians 16:13). It has been said that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” and eternal watchfulness is the price of salvation.
The Christian must be on the WATCH against the wiles of the devil (1 Peter 5:8). The history of Sardis had its vivid examples of what happens to the garrison whose watch is slack. The Christian is under continual attack by the powers which seek to seduce him from his loyalty to Christ. Often these attacks are subtle. He must, therefore, be ever on the watch.
The Christian must be on the WATCH against temptation. “Watch and pray,” said Jesus, “that you may not enter into temptation” (Matthew 26: 41).
The New Testament urges the Christian to be on the WATCH for the coming of his Lord. “Watch, therefore,” said Jesus, “for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” “What I say to you, I say to all: watch” (Matthew 24:42, 43; Mark 13: 37). “The last day is a secret,” says Augustine, “that every day may be watched.” A man should live every day as if it were his last.
The Christian must be on the WATCH against false teaching. In Paul’s last address to the elders of Ephesus he warns them that grievous wolves will invade the flock from outside and from inside men will arise to speak perverse things. “Therefore,” he says, “WATCH!” (Acts 20:29-31).
Nor must the Christian forget that, even as he must watch for Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is watching him. “I have not found your works perfect,” says the Risen Christ, “in the sight of my God.” Here two great truths meet us. (a) Christ is looking for something from us. We so often regard Him as the One to whom we look for things; for His strength, His help, His support, His comfort. But we must never forget that He is looking for our love, our loyalty and our service. (b) The things a man must do lie within his grasp. The old saying is true: “Fate is what we must do; destiny is what we are meant to do.” The Christian does not believe in an inescapable fate; but he does believe in a destiny which he can accept or refuse.
In view of the fact that the Rapture could take place at any moment, the church is to be alert. The date for this great event is unknown. God doesn’t want us to know when Jesus will come, and the reason for that is that the church is to be constantly on the alert for His coming—“Looking for that blessed hope . . .” (Titus 2:13). You see, anyone can get ready for a fixed hour, but you must always be ready for an unexpected hour.
What little spirituality remained in Sardis was rapidly dying out, and that assembly was therefore admonished to “strengthen what remains.” The fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) still existed there, even though that fruit was undoubtedly very feeble; and it must be strengthened immediately, or else all true Christianity would vanish from Sardis. The situation in Sardis was NOT hopeless—if they caught themselves in time, they could “strengthen what remains” even though it, too, was about to die. (There is always hope because Christ was the Head of the church and He was able to bring new life.) Christ knew all their “deeds,” and condemned them as . . . “unfinished in the sight of my God.” The church may have looked impressive from the outside, but like the unfinished temple to Artemis, the churches “deeds” were incomplete; there was no spiritual motivation or power behind them. It would appear that this church was great for starting things but not for completing them. D.L. Moody used to remark, “I would rather say, ‘this one thing I do’ than to say, ‘these forty things I dabble with.’” The church at Sardis was dabbling instead of doing. It had a dozen programs, no doubt, launched with fanfare and flourish, none of which had come to anything. In letters to the other churches, Christ commended deeds of love, faithfulness, obedience, and perseverance. Sardis, however, had none of these qualities.
Our Lord fiercely condemned every outward appearance of religious activity not directed by the Holy Spirit. He warned those hypocrites who made their contributions “that they may have glory of men”; who said their prayers “that they may be seen of men”; and who “disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men too fast” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16-18). Toward the end of His ministry He said, “But all their works they do for to be seen of men” (Matthew 23:5). “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead man’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28). These are stinging remarks aimed at all hypocritical make-believe. The Lord is never deceived by the outward attractiveness of a well-kept mausoleum, knowing that on the inside there are the bones of a dead man. The sight of death is bad enough, but a corpse that is made to look alive is a ghastly, frightening spectacle.
From every one of us Jesus Christ is looking for something; and for every one of us there is something to do.
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 verse three we have a series of necessities or commands.
The Risen Christ says: “Remember how you received and heard the gospel.” It is important and necessary and it means: “keep on remembering; never allow yourself to forget.” The Risen Christ is telling the lethargic Sardinians to remember the thrill with which they first heard the good news. Forever and ever, the Christian must stand before the Cross and “remember” again what God has done for him.
However, it doesn’t end with remembering, for next he says (obey it),” that is, obey the Christian truth they had heard when they had first believed in Christ—to get back to the basics of the faith and i.e., the gospel.They needed to return to the apostolic teaching that had changed their lives and once again make it their central focus.These believers had slipped away from that teaching into compromise with the world, so they would need to obey and repent.Only a change of heart could save them from punishment.That would mean taking God’s word seriously and purposefully obeying it.If they refused to and see what was happening to them, Christ “would come like a thief,” unexpectedly, as had the soldiers who had climbed the walls to capture the city gate.The soldiers had brought destruction; Christ would bring punishment, giving them what they deserved. In this context, the phrase refers not to the Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10), but to judgment.
The Risen Christ says: “Repent!” This is a crucial command and describes one definite action. In the Christian life there must be a decisive moment, when a man decides to be done with the old way and to begin on the new. Unless they “repent”, He will come to them as a judge—unknown, unlooked for, and unexpected. The Lord Jesus will come to the Church as the Morning Star. To Israel He is the Sun of Righteousness. To the world and to professing Christendom, He will come in sudden surprise as “a thief in the night.”
The Risen Christ says: “Keep the commands of the gospel.” Here again we have an important command, indicating continuous action. It means: “Never stop keeping the commands of the gospel.”
There is the command to watch. There is an old Latin saying that “the gods walk on feet that are wrapped in wool.” Their approach is silent and unobserved, until a man finds himself without warning facing eternity. But that cannot happen if every day a man lives in the presence of Christ; he who walks hand-in-hand with Christ cannot be taken unawares by his coming.
The coming of the Lord means different things to different people. The attitude one has toward this doctrine is a sure test of his spiritual condition. If I am like the “many” in Sardis, the announcement of His coming is one of terror. If I am of the “few,” the very thought of His appearing is like a lovely refrain to the soul. The “many” in Sardis desired to see His coming postpone, the “few” were living in the spirit of joyful expectation. This is a very real test of our spiritual condition. Every time the “few” in Sardis heard that Christ was coming again, they responded with the words, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Christ does not come upon His waiting bride as a thief, but in such manner He will come upon all apostates and the unregenerated. Paul wrote, “for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night . . . But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4). The Thessalonian believers were witnessing, working, and waiting for God’s Son from Heaven (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). Is the coming of the Lord your daily expectation? “Remember,” when He comes, it will be too late to “repent” of your deeds.
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.
In verse 4 there shines through the darkness a ray of hope. Even in “Sardis” there are the faithful few, who kept themselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Here the church is told, “You have a few.” In Luke 12:32 the Lord called his church “little flock.” Now it is much easier to live for Christ when you are surrounded by honorable and godly Christian people. But the “few” in Sardis were the spiritual among the unspiritual, the sincere among the hypocrites, the humble among the proud, and the separated among the worldly. They were the saints who were leading pure, wholesome Christian lives in the midst of corruption. When Abraham is pleading with God for Sodom, he appeals to God: “to slay the righteous with the wicked, far be that from thee” (Genesis 18:25). God never abandons his search for the faithful few and they are never lost to his sight in the mass of the wicked.
The word “clothes” is used in a figurative sense. What clothes are to the body, so habits are to the real self. How we dress is important. It makes a difference whether our clothes are clean or dirty, whether they fit or do not fit, whether they become us or do not. Read our Lords parable of the wedding supper. When the king examined the guests and discovered there a man who did not have on a wedding garment, he ordered that man to be banished to outer darkness, and then He concluded the parable with the words, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:11-14). It was the few in Sardis who were properly clothed.
“White” is always the color of Heaven. The redeemed of the Great Tribulation are seen wearing robes washed white (not a dull white, but glittering, dazzling white.) in the blood of the Lamb (7:14). Then there follows the white cloud (14:14); the white horse (19:11); the white horses (19:14), and finally the great white throne (20:11).
It is said of the faithful that they “have not soiled[4] their garments[5].” James spoke with respect and admiration of the man who kept himself “unstained from the world” (James 1:27). There are two possible pictures here.
In the heathen world no worshipper was allowed to approach a temple of the gods with soiled clothes. For the heathen this was an external thing; but this may describe the man who has kept his soul clean so that he can enter into the presence of God and not be ashamed.
Someone said that the white garments stand for the profession a man made at baptism; and that the phrase described the man who had not broken his baptismal vows. At this stage in the Church’s history baptism was adult baptism, and a man took his personal pledge to Jesus Christ. This is still the more likely because it was common at baptism to clothe a man, after he had emerged from the water, in clean “white” robes, symbolic of the cleansing of his life. The man who is faithful to his pledge will, beyond a doubt someday hear God say: “WELL DONE!”
To those who have been true the promise is that “they will walk with God.” Again there is a double background.
There may be a heathen background. At the Persian court the kings most trusted favorites were given the privilege of walking in the royal gardens with the king and were called “The Companions of the Garden.” Those who have been true to God will someday walk with him in Paradise.
There may be a reference to the old story of Enoch. “And Enoch walked with God and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch walked with God on earth and continued to walk with Him in the heavenly places. The man whose walk with God is close on earth will enter into a nearer companionship with Him when the end of his life comes.
The church as a whole might not heed the Lord’s call, but there would always be a remnant (“a few people”) here on earth, and there always will be until the Rapture of the Church. The Lord always has those who refuse to bow the knee to Baal. As it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall appear. In Noah’s day, eight people were saved. In Lot’s day the number was cut from 8 to 3. As it was, so shall it be. The Word of God asks, “When Jesus returns to this earth, will he find faith?”
The first thing about the remnant at Sardis worthy of note is that they were a virtuous remnant. The Lord acknowledges, “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” (3:4). They are the aristocracy of heaven.
This remnant, moreover, was a victorious remnant. They are the overcomers who have remained faithful in their service to the Lord. The one who overcomes by the blood of Christ, of course, never does it because of his own strength, cleverness, or ability. Overcomers will wear “white.” Their names will NOT be blotted out of the Book of Life. True life in Christ Jesus is proven by victorious living by those who possess His life (Colossians 1:27[6]). We live victorious lives because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” True born again saints of God do overcome, and they will be rewarded; they shall receive the same reward as they who “have not defiled their garments” (v. 4). Think of it! To be taken by the hand by the Lord Jesus, to be led past the assembled ranks of the angels, up along the golden boulevards of glory, past the cherubim and the seraphim, up, up to the throne of God Himself and to hear the Lord Jesus call you by your name and present you in person to His well beloved! Then, to hear the Father say, “Bringing the best Robe and put it on him.” Think of it, a robe of white, bright as the day, pure as the light! When the Lord Jesus was transfigured on the Mount, something happened not only to His countenance, something happened also to His “clothes.” His raiment became white as the light. What a reward for faithfulness, to have a robe like that draped around the shoulders and to be invited to walk the shining ways of glory in light-transfigured clothes! Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these.
The statement “they are worthy” could be made only about persons washed in the blood, saved by the grace of God. “They are worthy” with a worthiness that is not their own but that which Christ has put on them (7:14[7]). Even though these “few” might be as “a brand plucked from the fire,” they would “walk” in “white” because there is no degree of redemption. There are degrees of rewards—but when people are saved their sins are washed away and they are as white as snow. Even though these few were cold and indifferent, seemingly almost dead spiritually, they would walk with the Redeemer, dressed in white robes, on that glorious resurrection morning. This concept of a special reward of this nature is also found in Daniel 12:10, where we read that during the time of testing and persecution the faithful “shall purify themselves, and make themselves white.”
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.
Not every believer in Sardis was being condemned for complacency and compromise with the world. Christ pointed out that some have not soiled their garments with evil deeds. These believers were being faithful. It must have been encouraging to those few who had been attempting to live for Christ in this dead church that Christ was commending them as worthy of His name. Christ promises a threefold reward for these faithful few.
They will be clothed with white raiment (clothes). The “white” raiment” promised here is probably the body transfigured into the likeness of Christ body, and emitting beams of light reflected from Him. It is said of the righteous that “they will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43); and it is said of God that he covers Himself with light as with a garment (Psalm 104:2). What do the white robes signify? To be “dressed in white” means to be set apart for God, cleansed from sin, and made morally and spiritually pure. Revelation mentions white robes several times. The believers in Laodicea are told to buy white robes to cover their shame (3:18); the martyrs awaiting justice wear white robes (6:11); the twenty-four elders in heaven wear white robes (4:4) as do the people in the great multitude who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white (7:9, 13). The armies of heaven are also clothed in white (19:14). The white of these garments symbolize the purity that comes when one has been “washed” in Christ’s blood.
In the ancient world “white” robes stood for festivity. “Let your garments be always white,” said the preacher, “and let not oil be lacking on your head” (Ecclesiastes 9:8). The white robes may stand for the fact that the faithful will be guests at the banquet of God.
In the ancient world “white” robes stood for victory. On the day when a Roman triumph was celebrated, all the citizens clad themselves in white; the city itself was called urbs candida, the city in white. The white robes may stand for the reward of those who have won the victory.
In any land and time “white” is the color of purity, and the white robes may stand for the purity of those whose reward is to see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
It has been suggested that the “white” robes stand for the resurrection bodies which the faithful will someday wear. They who are faithful will share in that whiteness of light which is the garment of God Himself.
Evil deeds soil garments, but Christ can clean those sins away. Isaiah had said, “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18, NLT). Only those who have allowed Christ to cleanse them from their sins and clothe them in “white” will be able to reign with Him (2:27[8]). In pagan religions it was forbidden to approach a god with soiled garments, so a person had to be clean in order to come into a temple. Christ, however, invites soiled, sinful people to come; he will give them clean clothing.
Their names will NOT be wiped out of the “Book of Life.” “The Book of Life” refers to the heavenly registry of those who have accepted salvation in Christ. The “Book of Life” is an expression which occurs often in the Bible. Moses is willing to be wiped out of the book which God has written, if by his sacrifice he can save his people from the consequence of their sin (Exodus 32:32, 33). It is the hope of the Psalmist that the wicked will be “blotted out” of the book of the living (Psalm 69:28). In the time of judgment those who are written in the book will be delivered (Daniel 12:1). The names of Paul’s fellow-laborers for God are written in the book of life (Philippians 4:3). He who is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15); only they who are written in the “Lamb’s book of life” shall enter into blessedness (Revelation 21:27[9]). This book symbolizes God’s knowledge of who belongs to Him.
In the ancient world a king kept a register of his citizens. When a man committed a crime against the state, or when he died, his “name” was erased from that register. For the citizens of heaven, however, death is not a cause for one’s name to be removed; instead, it is the way of entrance. To have one’s name written in the book of life is to be numbered amongst the faithful citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Names, according to contemporary usage, are synonymous with ‘persons.’ The blotting out from the book of life brings to mind Exodus 32:32, where the book is a register of the citizens of the theocratic kingdom; here it is the register of the eternal kingdom, as in Daniel 12:1 and many New Testament passages (see Luke10:20; Philippians 4:3; Hebrews 12:23). Some have suggested that Christ’s statement that he will “never blot out” (erase)” certain names leaves open the possibility that he might erase some name, and may imply that people can lose their salvation. I don’t think so. It would appear that God’s “Book of Life” contains the names of all the living, the wicked as well as the righteous (Psalm 69:28[10]). Revelation 13:8[11] and 17:8 suggest that the names of the saved are written in the book from the foundation of the world—that is, before they had done anything good or bad. By God’s grace, they have been chosen in Christ before the beginning of time (Ephesians 1:4[12]; see also Matthew 25:34).
If the names of believers (the elect) are written from the foundation of the world, and if God knows all things, why would He enter the name of somebody who would one day fall and have to be removed from the book? We are enrolled in heaven because we have been born again (Hebrews 12:23), and no matter how disobedient the child may be, he or she cannot be “unborn.”
As unbelievers die, their names are removed from the book; thus, at the final judgment, the book contains only the names of believers (Revelation 20:12-15[13]). It then becomes “the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27), because only those saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have their names in it. All the others have been blotted out, something God would never do for any true child of God (See Exodus 32:32; Roman 9:3). It is a book of life, and lost sinners are dead (Ephesian is 2:1).
It is interesting to note that in the genealogies there are only two books which are identified: (1) “the book of the generations of Adam” (see Genesis 5:1) – we are all in that book, but it is a book of death—and (2) “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (see the Matthew 1:1). The phrase, “the book of the generation,” is an unusual expression. It occurs only in connection with Adam and then in connection with Christ.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ is the Book of Life. I believe that you get into that book by faith in Christ. This, then, raises the question: Is it possible for you to be in the Book of Life and then have your name blotted out? Can you lose your salvation? If that is true, then the Lord Jesus should not have said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Again and again throughout Scripture we have the assurance given to us of our salvation.
I would like to give you now an excerpt from Dr. John Walvoord’s book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which is a very good explanation of what is meant by this verse:
Some have indicated that there is no explicit statement here that anybody will have his name blotted out, but rather the promise that his name will not be blotted out, because of his faith in Christ. The implication, however, is that such is a possibility. On the basis of this some have considered the book of life not as the roll of those who are saved but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life. As they come to maturity and are faced with the responsibility of accepting or rejecting Christ, their names are blotted out if they fail to receive Jesus Christ as Savior; whereas those who do accept Christ as Savior are confirmed in their position in the book of life, and their names are confessed before the Father and the heavenly angels.
Some have identified the two books in chapter 20, verse 12[13], as the book of profession and the book of reality. They hold that names are erased from the book of profession but not from the book of reality. Others have suggested that all names are placed in the Book of Life at the beginning, but some are removed. A person’s lack of decision for or rejection of Christ causes his name to be removed at the time of death. Both of these views propose serious objections as well as having good points to commend them.
I am confident that the whole thought is simply that it is amazing that anyone in Sardis would be saved but that there were some whose names He said would not be blotted out of the Book of Life. But he didn’t say that anybody had been blotted out; He just said that even in Sardis there would be some saved. May I say to you, the important thing is whether or not your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I do not believe that after you are saved you would ever be able to lose that salvation. Because of the consistent teaching of the Scriptures that salvation is by grace, not by works, and because of the clear statements that the true believer is eternally secure (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-29), verse five cannot imply the possibility of a child of God ever being lost.
The warning here is that we do not grow comfortable in our churches, lest we find ourselves slowly dying. The encouragement is that no church is beyond hope as long as there is a remnant in Him, willing to strengthen the things that remain.
Jesus Christ will confess their names before his Father and the angels, and announce that they are His. It was Jesus’ promise that, if a man confessed Him before men, He would confess him before His Father; and if a man denied Him before men, he would deny him before His Father (Matthew 10:32, 33; Luke 12:8, 9). Jesus Christ is for ever true to the man who is true to Him. Believers can have no greater reward than to stand in heaven with Christ and have Him announce to the entire assembled host—“They are mine”—and they will be allowed to enter into Heaven.
6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Again Christ emphasizes the importance for the readers of Revelation to listen and understand. He closes the message to the angel of the church in Sardis with the admonition to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The message in this letter is also for you. God help us to be again reminded that we are individually responsible to the Lord God Almighty. We are to hear what the SPIRIT says—not what man says or teaches.
End Notes:
[1] (Revelation 1:4, NIV) “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.” This book is a revelation of the things which are and the things which shall be. “John is the writer, but Jesus Christ is the author,”
[2] (Colossians 2:8-10, NIV) “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” Verses 9 and 10 are a stunning rebuttal of the false teachers who encourage submission to the “elemental spiritual forces of this world” (v. 8) as a means of overcoming fears of not being acceptable before God. As outlined in the following verses, the “fullness” of God that the false teachers pretend to offer resides in Christ and is obtained only through Him (Colossians 1:19, 20).
[3] (2 Timothy 3:5, KJV) “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Having a form of godliness—That is, they profess religion, or are in connection with the church. This shows that the apostle referred to some great corruption in the church; and there can be little doubt that he had his eye on the same great apostasy to which he refers in 2 John 1:10-11;
[4] Soiled, as it is used here, means “to stain or defile morally: corrupt.”
[5] Garments, as used here refers to “character.”
[6] (Colossians 1:27, KJV) “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”
[7] (Revelation 7:14, NLT) “And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.”
[8] (Revelation 2:27, RSV) “and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father;”
[9] (Revelation 21:27, WE) “Nothing that is not holy will ever go in. People who do wrong things and tell lies will never go in. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life will go in.”
[10] (Psalm 69:28, NKJV) “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.”
[11] (Revelation 13:8, NKJV) “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
[12] (Ephesians 1:4, NKJV) “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”
[13] (Revelation 20:12-15, NKJV) “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
