"Wake Up and Live!" Revelation 3:1-6, Sardis-The letters to the 7 Churches
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
Many times during my Army career my sleep was disrupted by a phone call informing me that my unit was having an alert, otherwise known as an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise. I had to drag myself out of bed, put on my combat gear and report to the company HQ. In these letters to the 7 churches Christ is calling us to be on high alert status. In chapter 3 we read His rousing call to the slumbering saints of Sardis.
The city of Sardis was located 50 miles east of Ephesus and 30 miles south of Thyatira, overlooking the plain of Hermuz and situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus. Excavations of the city have unearthed a Roman theater, stadium, and a large but unfinished temple to Cybele, a fertility goddess and the patron deity of the city. The most prominent section of the city was the necropolis, or cemetery "of a thousand hills", just outside the city and so-named because of the large number of burial mounds visible from the city walls. The citizens of Sardis were preoccupied with death.
Sardis was the ancient capital of Lydia (13th Century BC); in 546 BC it fell captive to Cyrus and became the seat of the Persian governor. In 133 BC the city fell to Rome. Sardis was a prosperous center of trade and industry. The art of dyeing wool was invented and perfected by Sardis merchants.
Very little is know about the Christian congregation of Sardis. Melito, a 2nd Century pastor of the church of Sardis wrote the first known commentatary on the book of Revelation.
In verse 1 Christ describes Himself as the One "who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars." The 7 stars are identified in 1:20 as the angels or messengers of the 7 churches, and most scholars interpret this to mean their pastors. The 7 spirits perhaps represent the Holy Spirit (7 in the Bible is the number of perfection). Isaiah describes the character of the Spirit as having many qualities (11:2).
Our Lord writes to a congregation which had lost its vitality and was a corpse instead of a living church. Nearly all that remained was a mere façade. The church had become a spiritual graveyard. How does a church die? They believed in God, but weren’t actively living out their faith. They were content with mediocrity. They weren’t making an impact in the community. The church at Sardis is a perfect model of inoffensive, complacent, nominal Christianity.
The pagan goddess Cybele was believed to have the power to raise the dead. The Risen Christ writes to those who claim to have been raised from spiritual death to life; yet in reality, their appearance didn’t match their true condition. It’s possible to profess Christ but not possess Him; genuine faith results in an active Christian lifestyle. Our Lord’s rebuke is similar to one recorded by Isaiah: "This people say they are Mine; they honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me" (29:13).
We may talk the talk but we’ve gotta walk the walk. A hypocrite has been described as "someone who’s not himself on Sunday"! The word comes from the name of the Greek actor Hypocrites. Hypocrisy is make-believe, pantomime. We see hypocrisy in a recent poll-75% of Americans think it is important for people to read the Bible, but only 13% actually read the Bible daily.
The rebuke continues in verse 2. Jesus tells the church to wake up and live! The life of this church was hanging by a thread. Like the unfinished temple of Cybele, their works fell short of completion. Before God their efforts hadn’t measured up.
The city of Sardis stood atop huge rock walls like a watchtower overlooking the Hermuz valley, yet despite its strong natural defenses the city fell to invading armies 3 times in its history. The most notable defeat came by the Persian conqueror Cyrus. He offered a reward to the first one who was able to climb the seemingly impregnable city wall. A watchful soldier observed a city guard accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements. Thinking that no one was watching, the guard climbed down the precipice to retrieve his helmet and carried it back. Natural decay of the cliff enabled the guard to climb down the cracks in the rock and return. The watchful Persian soldier that night scaled the rocky cliff unhindered, followed by a large number of his fellow troops. When they reached the top they discovered the battlements were completely unguarded. They moved with the element of surprise and quickly penetrated the city’s defense. The erosion of the wall and the un-watchfulness of the city’s guards undermined the defense of Sardis and it swiftly fell to the Persian invaders.
The church in Sardis was also showing signs of spiritual decay, and was not on its guard. The Savior tells them to be watchful. Verses 2-3 contain 5 commands: "wake up", "strengthen", "remember", "obey", and "repent". Christ follows-up His expectations with a word of warning: "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." This is not a reference to the Second Coming, but a coming in judgment.
Why bother with a warning? Because it wasn’t too late-according to vs 4, there was a godly remnant, some who hadn’t been polluted by the world. They are promised white garments, the first of several references in this prophetic book to such attire. Jesus promises to sustain them, even though the majority were lifeless. He tells them to recall what they’ve received; what they "received" was the apostolic tradition of the Gospel.
In Bible days no one would dream of entering a temple, pagan or Jewish, with soiled clothing. Soiled clothes disqualified the worshipper and dishonored the temple. Since the manufacture and dyeing of woolen goods was the principle trade of Sardis, an allusion to defiled garments would be readily recognized. Soiling seems to be a symbol for believers mingling with pagan practices and defiling the purity of their faith.
The white robes promised symbolize purity and spiritual victory. In Psalm 51 David prays "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." In Col 3:12 Paul encourages believers to "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience." We see in Rev 17 a reference to a great multitude robed in white, guided by the Lamb of God to springs of living water.
Our Lord’s promise includes eternal security. In verse 5 Jesus tells His people that He "will never blot out their names from the Book of Life." This idea of a divine ledger is first mentioned in Exodus 32 where Moses prays that if God will not forgive the sin of His people, he wishes to be blotted out of the book God has written (c.f. Ps 69:28 & Dan 12:1). In Luke 10 Jesus assures His disciples that their names "are recorded in heaven" (vs 20); and in Rev 20:15 we’re told that those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire. The citizens of Sardis could identify with this promise and warning-in those days, anyone who entered a temple with soiled garments had their names removed from the civic registrar and lost their citizenship.
James tells us that "faith without works is dead". Genuine faith is a faith that works. When Jesus says that some of the church is dead, vs 1, He’s not implying that they were once in the Book of Life but are no more. These are those who never had true saving faith. Authentic faith results in a life of faithfulness.
Yet there is no statement here that any believers will find their names blotted out-only the promise that their names will not be removed from God’s ledger, because of their faith in Christ. Our faith is a gift of God, Who will cause it to continue. We must not rely on our stability but in the power of God Who securely holds us in His hand. He has delivered us from sin and will complete the work He has begun in us. This is also a strong affirmation that even death can’t separate us from Christ and the life He offers.
Another promise is the assurance that Jesus will acknowledge us before the Father and the heavenly host. In Matthew 10:32 Jesus declares, "Whoever acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before My Father in heaven." This Greek word for "acknowledge" was normally used in the context of making a statement before a judge. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God; those who’ve trusted in Christ will be declared "not guilty."
This letter to Sardis causes us to consider whether we’re in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We may have a reputation of being alive, but still have no entry in God’s book of the living. It’s possible to be on the church roster without being in the Divine Register. These sober words of Christ call us to self-examination, and a life of faithfulness.
