Revelation-Part 10

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SARDIS: THE CHURCH OF COMPLACENCY

Initially seven messengers left John the Apostle on the island of Patmos to deliver seven messages from the Lord Jesus to seven churches in the first-century Roman prov­ince of Asia (Rev. 1:20). Presumably, by the time the group left Thyatira only three mes­sengers remained, each of the other four having remained in his own city after delivering the message to his own church. From Thyatira the remaining three traveled thirty-three miles south to Sardis where they conveyed the Lord’s message to that city (Rev. 3:1-6).

The message to Sardis contained the same seven parts as the previous four to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. (1) First came the address (3:1a) followed by (2) the attributes of the speaker (3:1b). Jesus described Himself as “the one who has the seven spirits of God,” a designation of the Holy Spirit derived from Zechariah 4:1-10. More fully expressed, the sender was someone represented among the churches by the third Person of the Trinity, who knows everything and seeks to bear testimony through the seven churches in Asia. The sender also “holds the seven stars,” a designation that speaks of His sovereign control of these churches. The testimony of the Sardian Christians was weak to nonexistent, and the controller of that church sought to rectify that shortcoming.

(3) Jesus’ knowledge about the people in this church (3:1c) pertained to their works that were woefully inadequate. They had a semblance of possessing spiritual life because their outward activity gave that impression, but the reality was that the church’s spiritual life belonged to the past. They were at peace with the surrounding society and had lapsed into a state of spiritual separation from God. They had no specific foes such as heretics, an­tagonistic Jews, or Roman officials such as the opponents encountered in the earlier four churches, but through their own lethargy had sunk into a deep sleep that, if not interrupted, would lead to spiritual death.

(4) The state of the church (3:2-3a) was of a nature that called for the Lord to com­mand them to become watchful. The church had become so complacent that they were allowing past spiritual victories to shrink into nothingness. They were in the process of falling into a deeper sleep spiritually and needed an abrupt wake-up call. That kind of mentality seemed to attach to living in Sardis as our discussion below will reflect. Jesus’ solution for their dilemma was to issue another (5) promise of the Lord’s coming (3:3b-4). His coming would occur at an unannounced time and would come as a threat to the com­placent persons in the church, but would result in reward for those who had kept them­selves pure in those unwholesome surroundings.

(6) His promise to the overcomer (3:5) included the privileges of his being clothed in white garments, allowing his name to remain in the book of life, and having his name con­fessed before the Father and His angels. Once again, (7) He extended His command to hear (3:6) to those in all the churches.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

Of all people, the citizens of Sardis should not have needed a lesson on watchfulness. The history of the city abounded with reminders of the need to stay alert in view of an imminent danger. The city rested on a small elongated plateau with steep sides of smooth rock walls that were almost perpendicular dropping to the plain 1,500 feet below. The only access to the city was a narrow neck of land by which one could climb to the top of the hill where the city was situated. That limitation on access to the city made it easily defendable against an invading enemy. Only the narrow access had to be watched, the unscalable walls on the other sides furnishing their own defense.

As the capital of Lydia, Sardis had a history of frequent wars, two of which led to its downfall because of a lack of watchfulness. The first came in 549 B.C. after Croesus king of Lydia attacked and defeated Cyrus king of Persia. After his defeat Cyrus pursued the army of Croesus back to Sardis and laid siege against the city. Because of the city’s im­pregnable situation, Croesus felt secure by guarding only the narrow access to the hill’s top, even though the hill on which Sardis stood was surrounded by Persian forces. After retiring one evening, Cyrus awoke to discover that the Persians had gained control of the city by scaling the city’s steep walls, one soldier at a time. The Sardians left those steep walls completely unguarded. In other words, they did not watch.

About three and a half centuries later, in 195 B.C., Antiochus the Great used a similar means in conquering the city. He used a sure-footed mountain climber to lead his army into the city by another route while the defenders in careless contentment guarded the only known approach, the isthmus of land on the south that led to the valley below.

LESSONS FROM JESUS

Before His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension Jesus had instructed His followers to watch for His return (Matt. 24:42) and to be prepared for it (Matt. 24:44; Luke 12:39-40). In their complacency the church at Sardis had ignored His instructions. They had sunk into a deep sleep and had grown careless in regard to spiritual realities. This state of affairs necessitated that the Lord issue this wake-up call to them (Rev. 3:2), lest they should fall prey to the judgment to come in connection with His return. They needed to repent of their merely superficial profession of Christianity. They needed to return to the spiritual realities that had characterized the church in its earlier days.

If they refused to repent, Jesus promised to come to the church as a thief (Rev. 3:3). That repeats a comparison of His coming that He had used twice during His earthly minis­try, that of the head of a house being caught by surprise when a thief comes (Matt. 24:42- 43; Luke 12:39). Paul also used the comparison when speaking of the surprise beginning of judgment in the day of the Lord (1 Thess. 5:2). Likewise, Peter spoke of the coming of the day of the Lord as a thief (2 Pet. 3:10). The Lord makes the comparison later in Revela­tion as he continues His larger message to the seven churches (Rev. 16:15). The compari­son of a thief’s surprise visit was widespread in the first-century church to remind people of the imminence of Christ’s return.

In our July 1999 discussion of the last book of the Bible we pointed out the book’s emphasis on the imminence of Christ’s second coming. No one knows when that coming will occur (Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7), but when it does, it will mean vastly different conse­quences for two groups of the world’s population. For believers in Christ, those whose allegiance to Christ has dominated their lives, it will be a time of refreshing, deliverance, and untold rejoicing (see for example, Phil. 3:21; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:11). For all others, it will be devastating because they will have to experience the worst-ever period of world his­tory—called “the Great Tribulation” (Matt 24:21)—as God punishes human beings for their rebellion against Himself. At the finish of that period they will face God’s eternal, unending punishment, which will be far worse than the period of great tribulation.

I’m hoping and praying that all who read these words will join me as a believer in Christ in exerting every effort to be faithful to the Lord, thus being among those to enjoy the exhilarating experience of personal union with Him at His coming. Let’s watch and not be caught spiritually asleep like most of the church at Sardis! Let’s be like those exceptional people in Sardis who had not defiled their garments (Rev. 3:4)!

Note: For more detailed comments about what Jesus said to the church in Sardis, see my discussion in Revelation 1-7 (Moody Press, 1992), pages 239-267. To order this vol­ume, you may call Grace Books International at (800) GRACE15.

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