,, And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Rev.3: 1-6
"And thou shalt write unto the angel of the church of Sardis, Thus saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars."
These seven dry spirits of God are also mentioned in the first chapter and this refers to the Holy Spirit but it says "seven spirits of God" because seven is the number of perfection, fullness and completeness.
,, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;”
Isa 11: 2
From the following we see that the church in Sardis was "dead" because "you have a name that you are alive and you are dead" It looked like it was alive but in fact it was dead and Jesus knows that because we have seen it before and now it says "I know your works." In order for someone to be alive, it is necessary for someone to be born of the Spirit and not just bodily, Jesus is needed and not just bodily piety as needed.
,, Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As [for] that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.”
Job 3: 5-6
"and the seven stars" we have seen before refer to the seven preachers in Asia Minor who are heralds of Jesus' message.
,, The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Rev. 1:20
Preachers should be filled with the Holy Spirit, responsible, and pass on the full truth they have received from Jesus, and not preach their own or others' ideas or conclusions.
"I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive and you are dead" here Jesus mentions deeds and that is a sign that the church in Sardis was not inactive. In the beginning the church was very active and alive but over time it became "popular" and slowly the "worldly spirit" entered it. The church had a good reputation among the people and gained a "name" but Jesus says, "I know your deeds, that you have a name to be alive" but "you are dead" .People probably talked about this church "all the best" but Jesus says that it is not so because it was corporeal without the Spirit and that means "dead" despite the fact that they probably boasted about their tradition of fathers, prophets, their past maybe good This church forgot the most important old man, they did not preach the Gospel of Christ and the teaching that Jesus left them and that is why they were spiritually dead.
Spiritual death means that someone does not have spiritual communion with the living God, it is true that people are physically alive and may be full of good deeds and activities, but for God they are "dead" spiritually dead.
Here are some examples that speak to this topic: ,, It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”
Lk.15: 32
"And you who were dead for your transgressions and your sins, in whom you once walked in the age of this world, in the prince who rules in the wind, in the spirit that now works in the sons of opposition; In which we all once lived according to the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and thoughts, and were born children of wrath, like others, but God, who is rich in grace, for his great love, which he has for us, and us who we were dead from sins, revived with Christ (by grace you are saved), "
Eph.2: 1-5
,, But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”
1 Tim.5: 6
,, These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
Jude 1: 12-13
Judas here says, "to whom the darkness of eternal darkness is kept." And that is exactly what Jesus is saying to the church in Sardis, and that is that she is dead and that if she does not repent she will end up in hell in the "darkness of eternal darkness" and that is the message and for all of us and not just for the church in Sardis.
"Guard, and establish the others who want to die; because I did not find your deeds perfect before my God. Remember therefore how you received and how you heard, and hold fast and repent "and Dimitrije Stefanović translates this as follows:
"Awake, and establish the rest that was weary: for I have not found thy works perfect before my God. Remember therefore how thou hast received, and how thou hast heard, and hold fast, and repent."
We see here that Jesus is admonishing the church to wake up and return to the teaching they received from Jesus because they are left with "only a little" knowledge "that was dying" and are in danger of neglecting that and then they are safe, "eternal death" because what little is left will be taken from them.
,, For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”
Mt.13: 12
This church is threatened with taking what little it has from sound science because they did not believe with their hearts but relied on worldly ceremonies and teachings and that always brings death and not life. Life is only Jesus so Jesus tells them, because I did not find of your deeds perfect before God "so they were not turned with all their hearts to God but by deeds, reason, head, etc. and such faith does not lead to God. It even says that devils believe but they are not saved but are apostates from God and fight against the Creator, something similar happened with the church in Sardis, they believed that God exists that He is the One and Only, but they ignored the teaching of Jesus that He alone is the only Savior and nothing else.
,, Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
James 2:19
Jesus tells them to return to Him to remember His teaching that says in John:
,, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
John 5: 39-40
“And you will not come to me to have life.” Actually means that Jesus calls them and advises them to review the letters and repent.
"Remember therefore how thou hast received, and how thou hast heard, and hold fast, and repent of thy works, and believe on Jesus, which is life; and then they also shall live, because God liveth, and he desireth to give life to every one that giveth life." that life wants.
,, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14: 6
We have seen that the church in Sardis did not adhere to the science that Jesus taught, although Jesus said that they "adhere" to that science.
,, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28: 19-20
They had science in the beginning, but they slowly deviated from the right path, so Jesus told them, "If you do not beware, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not hear at what hour I will come upon you." Jesus will suddenly come “like a thief” which means that many of those who have gone astray will end up in hell.
Those who held the true faith were probably in the minority because it says, "But you have few names in Sardis, who do not defile their garments, and will walk with me in white, because they are worthy." And they were supposed to help the brothers who were set out on the wrong path to return to Jesus and to convey to others the warning that Jesus sends because Jesus is practically telling them:
,, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Matthew 7: 13-14
"But you have few names in Sardis, who did not defile their clothes, and will walk with me in white, because they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
It says here, "whoever does not defile his garments," the church in Sardis put on garments that were defiled by Satan's philosophies, works, and teachings, and it was to reject it. The Apostle Paul writes:
,, But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”
Col-3: 8-9
and then to put on clean dresses
,, And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ [is] all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye. And above all these things [put on] charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Col. 3: 10-17
We have seen in which clothes they should have been dressed, and these "dresses" are white because they are washed with the blood of Christ and they are clean from all sin, and only in those "dresses" can someone approach God and not on the basis of some of their merits.
"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
Here we have two promises, the first "dressing in white robes" and these are the "robes" that every newborn man received when he believed in Christ and "put on His righteousness" and the second, "and I will not blot out his name from the book of life."
There are two books of life, the first book of physical life and the second book of spiritual life. Everyone who is physically born is entered in the first book, and when they die, their names are deleted from the book of the living on earth.
When the Israelites sinned and made a golden calf, God killed three hundred people and Moses said to God:
,, Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin --; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”
Exodus 32: 32-33
This is what David writes about when he thought about how the wicked torture the righteous:
,, Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.”
Ps.69: 28
Unlike this book, newborns are written in the book of life.
,, And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life.”
Philippians 4: 3
and no unbeliever is written in this book of life
"... and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
Rev. 17: 8
It was the custom among the Romans to persecute true believers and erase their names from the book of Roman citizens, but Jesus now promises them, "and I will not erase his name from the book of life" and in addition
"And I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."
And this is the greatest recognition that a man can receive, to be recognized by God Jesus before God the Father.
Unlike newborns for all others it says:
,, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Rev. 20:15
And finally, another warning that was for all the churches in Asia, and it is also a warning for all the faithful through the centuries, and we are included here, and we should take this warning seriously.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
check my new article about empathy