Revelation 3:
Letters to the seven churches, part two.

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Verses 1 - 6: A letter to Sardis.
NOTE: Sardis had once been one of the richest and most influential cities in the world. Its ruler in the sixth century BC was Croesus, whose name has become synonymous for fantastic wealth. The phrase "as rich as Croesus" is often found in history and literature. In the first century, however, Sardis was recovering from a series of devastating earthquakes.

Verse 1: The address: "To the angel of the church in Sardis. . ." The description of Christ is from John's vision of chapter one.
Review Question: What are the seven stars?
Answer: The "angels" of the seven churches.
What is the first complaint against Sardis? "You have the name of being alive, but you are dead."
What does this mean? They had a reputation as an active, growing church, but in reality their faith was dead.

Verse 2: What is keeping Sardis from being alive? Their works have not been perfect (complete).
What are they to do about it? Awake and strengthen what faith they still have.

Verse 3: What was Sardis to remember? What they had been taught.
Isn't this a message to all churches today?
What does it mean that Jesus will ". . .come like a thief. . .?"
He will come suddenly and unexpectedly.

Verse 4: The commendation: some have not soiled their garments.
How did the others "soil their garments?" They had lost their faith.
Again, as we saw with Thyatira in 2: 24, there is almost always a faithful remnant, even in the worst of churches.

Verse 5: What is promised to the faithful at Sardis? He will receive white garments.
What does this mean? They will be granted salvation.
What is implied by the statement: ". . . I will not blot his name out of the book of life?" That a saved person can sin so as to lose salvation -- have his name blotted out of the book of life.

Verse 6: "He who has an ear. . ." In plain English, what is this ending phrase really saying? You better listen to what is being said and do it.
What kind of church does Sardis represent? The big church with a good reputation, but one which has no real faith. They are just playing the "numbers game" and not growing in faith.


Verses 7 - 13: A letter to Philadelphia.
NOTE: Philadelphia was named for Attalus II Philadelphus, so named because of his constant devotion to his brother Eumenes. Phildelphus means "brotherly love." That is why Philadelphia, even to this day, is referred to as the "city of brotherly love."

Verse 7: In chapter one it said that the "son of man" had the keys of Death and of Hades. Here he has another key: the key of David.
What was it that Jesus would open and no one shut? David was the greatest king of Israel. So, this key is the key of God's Kingdom. In other words, only Jesus has the power open or close the "door of opportunity" to preach the word to other lands. Jesus is the head of the kingdom of God, no man or group of men can take authority from him for HE holds the key.

Verse 8: "I have set before you an open door. . ."
What did Philadelphia do right? They kept Jesus' word and never denied him.

Verse 9: The synagogue of Satan: we saw this mentioned with Smyrna.
Obviously this means that some who considered themselves faithful Jews were not following Christ, so, spiritually speaking, they were no longer Jews, but Satanists. They had become worldly and compromising, and most importantly, they denied that Jesus was the Messiah. They would be made to bow at the feet of the faithful Christians. This "bowing down" could refer to their eventual humiliation by Rome, or their bowing at the feet of Christ (hence, at the feet of the faithful) when judged.

Verse 10: They would be spared the great hour of trial which was coming. The church in Philadelphia did not die out, there are still Christians there. They would not suffer in the great judgements that were coming very soon upon the people of the earth, especially the people of Judea. (As prophesied by Jesus in Luke 19 and Matthew 24.)

Verse 11: We see that Jesus is coming SOON. Not at the end of the world, obviously. This is a coming to mete out justice upon evil kings and nations. We will speak much more of this later on.
When he says, "Let no one seize your crown," what is Jesus saying? Don't let anyone persuade you to give up your faith.

Verse 12: What is the significance of the promise that he would write God's name, the name of the city of God, and Jesus' own new name on the faithful? They would be saved and forever belong to God and reside in heaven.

Verse 13: The usual ending.
What kind of church is represented by Philadelphia? The small church with great spiritual power. They may be small in numbers, but they are great in faith.


Verses 14 - 22: A letter to Laodicea.

Verse 14: Jesus' description is 3-fold:
1) The Amen. Amen means what? Firm and faithful. What does Jesus mean by this? That he is ever faithful concerning his promises to us.
2) The faithful and true witness. Witness to what? Witness to God's power and to the truth of the Word of God.
3) The arche (Greek) of God's creation. Arche means chief or originator or Lord, as in archangel. It does not mean beginning in the sense that he was the first thing created. It does mean beginning in the sense of the Literal New Testament: ". . .the source of the creation of God. . ." (See Col. 1: 14 - 17.)

Verse 15: Neither hot nor cold. What is the benefit of being hot or cold? It shows you have some conviction about things. You are not apathetic.

Verse 16: I will vomit (Greek= emeo) you out. Apathy makes God sick. (This Greek word survives in the English word "emetic," which is a medicine given to make you vomit.

Verse 17: They were self-deluded. They were just deceiving themselves.

Verse 18: The city of Laodicea was rich. It made fine black woolen cloth, and made salve for the eyes which was renowned for its healing properties. But the lukewarm Christians of Laodicea needed spiritual money, spiritual clothes, and spiritual eye-salve.

Verse 19: Though they made Him sick, did Jesus still love the lukewarm Christians in Laodicea? YES.
How can you tell when God loves you? He reproves and chastens you.
What two things did the church in Laodicea need to do? They needed to get zealous, get energized with faith, and they needed to repent.

Verse 20: "I stand at the door and knock. . ."
What does it mean to hear Christ's voice and open the door? To understand what he has taught in his word and then start following it. Now remember, he is not talking to pagans, he is talking to the church! They had "fallen away" and they needed to repent.

Verse 21: HOW do we conquer? (See Rev. 2: 10.) We must remain faithful until we die.
What does Jesus promise to those who conquer? To sit with him on his throne.
What does this mean? That the faithful will share the blessings of heaven with Christ right there at their sides.

Verse 22: He who has ears let him hear! And that means you and me.

-- end of chapter three --


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