Revelation - Lesson 8

What Was Your Name Again?

Prayer: God as we study today about Sardis help us to learn the critical need for faithfulness and devotion.  Help us to do this as individuals, as a church body, and in the true Church - the body of believers in the world.  Amen!

Today we will be studying the 5th church of the 7 who were specific recipients of letters in the book of Revelation, the church at Sardis.

Established prior to 2000 BC, one of the oldest cities on the planet (or at least it was).  A number of Greek writers mention it as a city of renown.  During the time of the Lydian kingdom, established in the 7th century BC, Sardis was the capital.

Strategic location between Pergamum, Smyrna, Ephesus, Philadelphia & Phrygia; therefor it had favorable commerce & was a very wealthy city. Was located by the river Pactolus, in which Gold was discovered in the sand.  Gold & Silver "Lydian Staters" are considered the 1st coins in the world, and had their origin there.

The city itself was considered impregnable, it sat up high, with cliffs on 3 sides (each about 1000-1500 feet high), so only the Southern side (where access was available) needed to be guarded.  The river at the base of the mountain forms a type of moat.  However,  the cliffs were made of clay which caused problems with erosion, and the clay occasionally left cracks which could be exploited by enemies.

In 549 BC the city was taken by the Persians under Cyrus, the soldiers climbed one of the unguarded cliffs at night & snuck into the city and overtook it - it is said by historians that it was taken "like a thief in the night".  In 214 BC the city was taken by the Seleucid Empire under Antiochus in the same manner, again taken "like a thief in the night".  Sardis becomes a "proverb" of sorts, they appear secure, but aren't really so.  The city was defeated at least 3 more times in history, and became known as a city characterized by: Promise without Performance, Appearance without Reality, False confidence that brought Ruin.  Historically it is a city without Watchfulness or Diligence.  We're going to see, as we read the letter, that this also is reflected in the behavior of the Sardis church.

By New Testament times the earlier dignity and splendor of Sardis was gone, in 17 AD (before the writing of this letter) a severe earthquake caused major damage.  In the first century the population was estimated to be about 120,000.  The town ceased to exist in 1402 AD when conquered by the Turks.  Archaeological excavations were begun at the site in 1910, but the city wasn't uncovered until 1958.  The little town of Sart now in that location only has a few Greek pillars dating back to 1st century Sardis.

Architecture:

• Not much left today, at one time a famous, strong, wealthy city.
• Some ancient architecture remains is from the 2nd & 3rd centuries (after the time of this letter)

Religion:

• Patron deity - Cybele: goddess of the moon.  In Greek legend Cybele's son was said to be Midas the wealthy king of Phrygia (Midas touch), he may or may not have been a real person.
• Apollo - god of the sun (brother to Cybele) was worshiped alongside Cybele - both were nature religions.
• Artemis - a nature cult that built on the idea of death & rebirth.

The Letter to Sardis: read Revelation 3:1-6

Name of the city: Sardis - some believe the name may mean "Remnant" but there is no linguistic link for that, the link comes from the content of this letter.  Nobody really knows what the name means anymore, you'll sense this theme in this letter.  There was a stone called Sardis that was a precious stone, one of the stones of the breastplate of the high priest, believed to be a red stone - it was precious but became common.  No one can be sure what the Sardis Stone actually is, it is not identifiable. Both the City and the Stone have a name but no significance, an empty name, that theme runs through this letter.

Title of Christ: "him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars"

Seven Spirits / Seven-Fold Spirit - Holy Spirit (reference lessons on chapter 1).  That Jesus holds the seven-fold Spirit would indicate that He is the one that sends the Spirit to enliven.  Only the Holy Spirit can make spiritually live what was spiritually dead.

Seven Stars - Angels to the Seven Churches

Commendation:  (none)

Concerns: "you have a reputation of being alive but you are dead"

There are works, they carry a label, but they are dead!  They are what I call "Garage Christians" - sitting in a church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car.  I'm going to take it even further by saying that your involvement, your actions / works, though they may cause you to "look like" a Christian have nothing to do with you "being" a Christian.  Matthew 13:24-30; Hebrews 11:6.

My personal opinion is that those who have "grown up" in the church are at greatest risk.  They have always considered themselves Christians, and may never have had any inkling that they are Christian in label only - I know many people like this & that is a sad state of affairs, they're also the hardest to witness to because they think they're "ok", they're "in", they've got this "figured out".  I used to be one of those, and I was zealous for my beliefs, when I became a true believer my friends were puzzled because they already thought I was a believer!  This was 30 years ago, and some still don't get it.

Exhortation: "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."

Watch out, strengthen what you have - the church is in danger of spiritually eroding away, just like the city was in danger from physical erosion.

What does it mean to be Watchful?

• to be vigilant - Matthew 25: 1-13; Romans 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 16:13.

What should we be Watchful of?

• the wiles of the devil - 1 Peter 5:8.
• temptation - Matthew 26:41.
• Jesus coming - Matthew 24:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6.
• false teachers - Acts 20:29-31.  
• don't believe in justification by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• don't believe in the inerrancy of the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16).
• don't believe in the depravity of man (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23)
• don't teach redemption by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:22)

Your deeds are not complete - incompletion due to the lack of underlying belief.  Just as faith without works is dead, works without faith are of no value.  Matthew 7:21-23.

Remember what you have seen and heard & hold fast - they had been given the truths of Christ, had witnessed the works of the Holy Spirit, but many who had joined the ranks had not repented and become obedient to Christ - it had become a "nice social club" as many churches were in the late stages of the Reformation & as some are today.

Those who repent will not be caught by surprise, those who don't will be surprised when Jesus "comes like a thief".  This threat that Jesus will "come as a thief" at a time they're not expecting fits the history of the city of Sardis, and it should have been a clear warning to the church there.

Promise to the Overcomer: for the few true believers "who have not soiled their clothes (pooped their pants) & for those who repent: "he walk with me, 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."

Those who are true believers not only are clean in God's sight while in this world, but will be clothed in white garments (purity, free from corruption) in the next. 1 Corinthians 15:50-54.

Name will not be blotted out of the book of life - in ancient times when your name was blotted out of the city ledgers you lost your citizenship.  Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that this it speaking of people loosing their salvation (that's a subject we won't cover here) because I don't believe you can loose your salvation, but I think there's the implication that Jesus has extended His invitation to all mankind - but there are those who refuse the invitation & thus have their names removed from the guest list.

Acknowledge name before the Father and his angels - Jesus will bear witness of His faithful, being their advocate. 1 John 2:1-2 speaks of Jesus as our advocate, verse 2 is one of those passages that points to the invitation to faith & thus forgiveness being available to all.  We will be acknowledged before the Father and his angels.

Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 12:8-9.

Closing Statement: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches"

Historical Church - the Reformation / Protestant Church (1400-1800): 

Early roots of the Reformation were in the 1200s due to the problems with the papacy & church officials - greed, immorality, corruption of all kinds.  The church at the time owned 1/5 - 1/3 of the lands of Europe, tax free, which brought envy and resentment by the peasantry - who were starving.  

In the 1300s John Wycliffe attacked the papacy regarding: sale of indulgences, excessive veneration of the saints, moral and intellectual standards of ordained priests.  To reach the common people he translated the Bible into English, prior to that it had been available only in Latin.  It had been in Latin in order to control access to the scriptures - there are "churches" today that also control access, some forbid reading of materials outside what they publish or unless accompanied by what they publish, some take away the Old Testament.

Wycliffe's teachings spread to Bohemia where John Huss became a powerful advocate.  John Huss was executed in 1415 for his teachings, leading to the Hussite wars.

The Gutenberg Press was invented, with the 1st print book (Bible) being printed in 1455.  Efficiency in printing resulted in a more literate population, fueling the spread of ideas and thus the 16th century Reformation in Germany.

Martin Luther was born in 1483, he originally planned to be a lawyer (he was a scholar) but in 1504 had a life changing event that came in the form of a violent storm, this cause him to pursue a doctorate of Theology.  He visits Rome and is disillusioned by the state of the church, on October 31st 1517 he nails 95 theses to the door at Wittenburg College - calling for reform in the church, in 1520 he's excommunicated and became a leader in the reformation.  Luther's life verse was Habbakuk 2:4.

Reformation claimed that the Bible was the authority, not the church & its traditions, and taught that salvation came by faith rather than works.  Since the Bible was available in printed form in common language, and since the common people were becoming more literate, the reformation was able to take place & gain ground.  There was much political & religious upheaval, more than we have time to go into here.

The Reformation brought about the rise of many varied Protestant denominations, each with their unique flavor & opinions, but most (over time) marked by: increased softness in interpretation of scripture (belief that the Bible contains the word of God rather than is the word of God) - so not taken literally in many cases, denial of the literal Millennial Reign of Christ depicted in Isaiah & Revelation, denial of Israel's prophetic destiny (replacement theology & such), absence of a Biblical devotional life, de-emphasis on the Gospel of Christ, ordination of Homosexuals (and similar offenses to the pure teachings of scripture).

How is your life like the life of the church of Sardis?  Are you coming in, being active, but not really having a heart & life change that comes from complete whole-hearted devotion to Christ? Is Jesus your Lord & Savior, have you voluntarily laid your whole life down before Him in sacrifice?

How is our church like the church of Sardis?  Are we just being a friendly place for people to come or are we having a real impact for the Lord on people & our culture?  Has our church become so large that there are birds in our branches (Luke 13:18-19)?

Prayer:  God, help us to be faithful followers and not just pretenders, help us to work with seekers to bring them to true faith - to disciple them.  Help us to do this as individual believers and as a local body of believers, so that as many as possible may have their names written in the Lord's book of life.  Help us Lord to be a people and a church of devotion & faithfulness.  Help our church and our homes be places where people are growing in faith and devotion to you, where the only thing we boast in is Jesus Christ.