The 7 Churches of Revelation: Sardis

As we begin reading about the Church of Sardis, we immediately see that Christ is displeased with them and doesn’t see anything for them to be commended for.

Posted on

The fifth church we’ll be looking at is the Church of Sardis – the dead church. As we begin reading about the Church of Sardis, we immediately see that Christ is displeased with them and doesn’t see anything for them to be commended for. It’s fairly short, quick, and to the point; they aren’t doing a good job. Jesus wants them to do better and hold on to what they’ve been imparted with.

In verse one, Jesus says that “'”‘…I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead'”‘” (Rev. 3:1, NLT). I believe what Jesus is saying here is that, due to their works, they’ve garnered a positive reputation for themselves, but in the eyes of Christ, it’s nothing.

In this sense, the Church of Sardis appears similar to the Church of Ephesus in terms of their works being “worthless” due to their hearts being in the wrong place. Jesus also warns them, “'”‘Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God'”” (Rev. 3:2, NLT).

Just from this, we can see that there may have been some aspects of the Church of Sardis’s faith that have already “died off.” However, there are a small number of those among this church that has held on to their faith. “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4, NLT).

A key idea expressed here are the garments not being defiled. This is commonly used in the Bible to refer to our sins and salvation (when our garments are made clean) or righteousness. Here are several verses expressing this idea of having spotless garments or not defiling our garments:

  1. “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And to him He said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes’” (Zech. 3:3-4, NKJV)
  2. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 1:21-23, NKJV)
  3. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15, NKJV)
  4. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:11-13, NKJV)

As if this idea of garments from verse 4 couldn’t be expressed enough, Jesus immediately references it again in verse 5 when He tells the church the reward that awaits for them in overcoming. “All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine” (Rev. 3:5, NLT). As stated before, this is an important idea in the Bible, not just because it correlates to the sinful nature of man and how we are saved and given “clean garments,” but it has to do with the resurrection of the dead as well as the rapture.

Jesus has been alluding to the resurrection and rapture of his church since the first letter to Ephesus and this doesn’t change here. We can find this in Revelation 6:11 which talks about the fifth seal where those that were killed for having the testimony of Jesus are given “white robes.” I went into more details about the fifth seal and what it means in my article on the 24 elders here.

The only punishment Sardis will have to face if they don’t repent is that Jesus will come at a time they don’t know (Rev. 3:3). I made this same connection in my article about the Church of Ephesus; if they continue as they are without paying attention, they won’t be able to discern the times and know the season of Christ’s return. The opposite is true if they pay attention.

If you enjoyed this study, you can find similar studies on the book of Revelation here including the 24 Elders, the 4 living creatures, 4 Horseman, etc.

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on himitsustudy.com

Image from Pixabay

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

Ayo is an energetic blogger striving to use his insights and God given talents to share the Gospel. Through his blog, he aspires to point skeptics of the bible to the truth of the Gospel using apologetics. His aspires to also inform others - both believer and non-believer - regarding the times we're living in preceding the Lord's soon return through the study of prophecy. He hopes to both inform his readers with facts, equip them with tools to communicate the Gospel, and offer hope and encouragement through God's Word.