2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
November 29, 2023
Revelations 3:1-13
Verse 1a. This week we focus on the church in Sardis. John is commanded to write to the angel (messenger) of the church in Sardis. Sardis, located at the foot of Mount Tmolus, is 32 miles from Pergamos and 27 miles from Philadelphia. The city and surrounding area was watered by the river Pactolus. The river, known for its golden sands, helped make the city prosperous when gold was found near its banks. The city was also noted for its fruits, wool, and temple to the pagan goddess Cybele. Sardis was devoted to the worship of the mother-goddess Cybele and no temple worshipper was allowed to approach the temple of the gods with soiled or unclean garments. A white and clean robe was required to approach its so-called gods. Sardis was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Lydia. The kingdom's most noteworthy king was the very wealthy Croesus (Kroisos), who ruled from about 560 to 547 B.C. He was the first person to strike and issue the first true pure gold (and silver) coins used in the marketplace. His father King Alyattes, who reigned from about 610 to 560 B.C., minted and distributed the world’s first coins. Alyattes' coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. Sardis was a city exceedingly fabled for its past wealth and splendor, but it had deteriorated greatly. Its greatness lay in the past. Sardis had, at one time, been considered to be impregnable because of its ideal physical arrangement and topography for defense. It sat on a hill or mountain surrounded by steep cliffs almost impossible to scale with only one narrow way of approach. Yet Sardis had been attacked and conquered twice because of its lack of watchfulness.
Verse 1b. Jesus refers back to the description of himself in chapter One. He is the one who “holds the seven spirits.”
The title of Christ is also the prescription for the problem in this church. This Church was in need of the power of the Holy Spirit. “The seven Spirits of God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son to the believer (John 7:37-39; 15:16, 26). He is the Son’s gift to enable believers to experience genuine spirituality through the multiple ministries and work of the Spirit symbolized here in the number seven which is a clear allusion to the seven-fold ministries of the Spirit mentioned in Isaiah 11:2-5. But believers have a responsibility to walk by the Spirit who indwells them. The responsibility is to walk by faith in His enabling power and to deal with the sin in their lives through honest confession or they will hinder (grieve and quench) the work of the Spirit. So, part of the problem was the believers in the church at Sardis were grieving and quenching the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).
He is also the one who “holds the seven stars.” The seven stars is defined as the angels of the churches in chapter one which refers to the human leadership of the church. The Holy Spirit and real spiritual leadership were lacking in this church. The seven stars referred to the spiritual leadership which is primarily responsible to hold forth the light of the Word to the local flock of believers. Here, it appears, was another key area of weakness; the failure to communicate and receive the Word in a consistent and an in-depth way with personal application and response of the mind, heart and will. Therefore, the two life-giving provisions of God for man---the Holy Spirit and the Word—were being neglected. The result was spiritual deadness (Zech. 4:6; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 3:16-19; 1 Thess. 2:13).
Verse 1c. Jesus declares that this church is dead, but looks alive. They have preaching, but not preaching that brings life. They have spiritual rituals but lack the power of the Holy Spirit. This church had a reputation for being alive, but by God's standards the church was dead. A good reputation is not enough. Most likely they had a nice building, plenty of programs, and plenty of money. They looked alive from the outside, but inwardly they were dead. Most churches fall asleep when they are comfortable.
Verse 2. Christ gives Sardis two admonitions. (1) He tells them to "wake up!" and (2) He commands them to "remember." (1). Considering Sardis’s past history, when the city was captured and destroyed twice because of the city's complacency, this is fitting advice. There is a parallel with the city's history and the church's lack of vigilance and the urgent call to "wake up" before it falls under God's judgment. It is also interesting that if Sardis can wake up there is hope. This infers that the church is not completely dead but even though the community is in the last stages of life Christ has not given up on this church yet. The danger is real and the judgment is coming but there is time. By the analogy of Scripture this was a command for believers to get back into fellowship, i.e., to repent or confess their sin and start walking in the Spirit and in the light of the Word (Eph. 5:14-18). They had deeds but their deeds were nothing without a real relationship with Christ.
Verse 3. The danger of not waking up from this spiritual sleep is that the church would face a spiritual judgment. We are not privy to what that means, but normally it would mean the collapse of the church fellowship. God would take his Spirit away and the church would crumble. The church must wake up and grab ahold of what they heard in the beginning. They must turn back to the faith that once was preached to them, but had been forgotten. These people are counseled to remember where the Lord brought them from and what He has done for them. They are to remember the days when they served the Lord out of a glad heart and wanted more than anything to do His will! They are to remember what it was like to walk in the power of God while the fire of His glory burned in and around them! This church is told to hold on to the things that are still alive in their midst. They are to resolve before the Lord that they will not allow those things to die as well. And finally, they are confronted concerning their sin. When the things of God are allowed to die, the only recourse the church has is repentance! Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action! How long has it been since we as individuals and we as a church have repented before the Lord for our laziness, our complacency, our apathy, our wickedness, our deadness, etc.?
Verses 4-6. Those who are living for the Lord and walking in His life are counseled to continue. They will be rewarded for their faithfulness to Him. The day will come when they will join Him in Heaven and they will walk with Him there. Why? Because they are worthy! Not because they are faithful, but because they are saved! His righteousness has been applied to their lives and they will spend eternity in His presence.
Verse 7. The city Philadelphia was founded about 150 B.C. Philadelphia was situated in Lydia along the Hermus River valley about 38 miles southeast of Sardis. It was backed by volcanic cliffs and though the land was rich and fertile from the volcanic residue, Philadelphia was a dangerous place to live due the many earthquakes experienced by the region. Because of its location, the city was in constant danger of earthquakes and experienced shocks every day. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 A. D., along with Sardis and other cities in that locality. Most of the others recovered rather quickly from the disaster, but the after-shocks continued in Philadelphia for quite a number of years, with the result that the people had to flee the city repeatedly. Philadelphia was founded with the deliberate intention that it might be a missionary of Greek culture and the Greek language to Lydia and Phrygia; and so well did it do its work that by A.D. 19 the Lydians had forgotten their own Lydian language and were all but Greeks. Three centuries before this letter Philadelphia had been given an open door to spread Greek ideas in the lands beyond; and now there has come to it another great missionary opportunity, an open door to cany to men who never knew it the message of the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus starts this letter by describing himself in three ways. He is the Holy One, the True One, and the One who holds the key of David who can open doors that no one can shut and shut doors no one can open. Each one of these descriptions speaks to the church’s condition and the Savior’s power to help the church. The Holy One is a common Old Testament title for God (Isaiah 40:25; 43:15). Jesus is reminding the church that he is the Sovereign God who has all power. This is good news to a church with little power. The church with little power is serving the God of all power. He is also true in the sense that he is faithful and trustworthy. God can always be counted on to keep his promises (Titus 1:2). The church that is weak needs something to stand on that is stable. True is often used as a term that denotes stability. For a church that was used to being on shaky ground, a stable God was great comfort. John wrote that Christ is the One “who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (verse 7). Christ had set an open door before the church that “no one can shut.” What was this key that unlocked a door that could not be shut? The answer lies in analyzing the key and door metaphor, which is found in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. He referred to an individual of his time named Shebna who had charge of the palace of the Judean king. Today, we might call him the chief of staff. The prophet Isaiah said the Lord would replace Shebna with a man named Eliakim. The Lord would “place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Isaiah 22:22). Thus, Eliakim would be a kind of gatekeeper with power to control entry into the royal kingdom. As the king’s steward, he would decide who could or could not have access to the king. This story in Isaiah serves as a prophecy of the Davidic Messiah. “The imagery suggests that Christ is the only one who can grant access to God,” Writes Norman Perrin. Christ “has given the Christians at Philadelphia access to God and no one can deprive them of it.”
Verse 8. Jesus states that he knows their deeds. Notice that he knows their deeds and finds no fault in their works. Jesus would usually correct a church at this point in the letter, but this church receives only praise. Jesus knows their deeds and he has made it possible for nothing to stop them from continuing in doing the Lord’s work. Jesus states that he knows that they have little strength but the good news is that they don’t have to rely on their strength. Isn’t that wonderful that the doors we need to be opened in our lives are not opened by us but by God? And since they are not opened by us, these doors are not closed by us either. Jesus is encouraging this church to keep on trusting the Holy God who has never left their side. They have been faithful, and Christ wants them to know that God is going to be even more faithful to them. They had kept his word. “Kept” is the Greek threw, “to watch over, guard, keep, preserve” and “give heed to, pay attention to, observe” especially of the Law, or the Word, or teaching, etc. Undoubtedly, both ideas are involved. They were committed to Christ’s Word or the Word about the Savior to preserve it from false teachings, but they were also committed to observing its truth in their lives. These Jewish Christians often endured exceptional pressure and stress. They were called apostate Jews by their own relatives. Non-Christian Jews accused Christians of being usurpers. They insisted that Jews and not Christians had the open door to God’s presence and the keys to the kingdom. The early believers were always told that they did not have access to God or his love. Jesus wants to encourage this church that they have access to God that no one could take away.
Verse 9. The Jews of Philadelphia who were persecuting and intimidating the Christians are called a “synagogue of Satan” (3:9), as they were identified in the letter to the church in Smyrna (2:9). They will experience a reversal of fortune — be forced to acknowledge that the church constitutes the true people of God (3:9). The background for verse 9 is also to be found in the Old Testament, but with an unexpected twist. Isaiah had pictured the victory of Israel over its enemies (60:14). In one place Isaiah said gentile nations would pay homage to Israel at the start of the kingdom. “They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, ‘Surely God is with you...” (Isaiah 45: 14). The imagery of Isaiah bears a striking similarity to Revelation 3:9. But a stunning reversal of fortune has occurred. What the Jews hoped to gain from the gentiles, they themselves must render to the Christians. The Jews in Philadelphia must play the part of the heathen and concede that the church contains the people of God.
Verse 10. Christ refers to a time in the future when the whole world would be tried and tested. The good news is that those who are believers would not have to worry during this time of testing because they were true to God’s word by believing in Christ and keeping his word.
Verses 11-13. Jesus assures the church that he is coming soon. They are to be encouraged that he is coming to right the wrongs and redeem his people. Philadelphia was also told not to let any person take its crown which refers to the wreath of victory awarded to winners of athletic contests. This would have been a meaningful word to the church in Philadelphia, as the city was famous for its athletic games. Christ promised the faithful in Philadelphia that he would make them pillars in God’s temple (3:12). And, they would never again leave his presence. This is another symbol of assurance that the members would gain eternal admission into the kingdom of God. Christ also promised to write three names on the believer — the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and Christ’s new name (3:12). Ancient pillars had the names of people they honored inscribed on them. The metaphor means to say that God will honor and bless his people. But in what way? First, the believer will have God’s name. In the Old Testament, the Lord told the priests to pronounce specific blessings on Israel, which concluded with this thought: “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them” Numbers 6:27). Second, to be named with the city of God — the New Jerusalem — is a symbolic way of saying that the believer has citizenship in God’s spiritual commonwealth (Galatians 4:26; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 12:22).Third, the believer is to have Christ’s own new name. Perhaps this refers to a future full revelation of Christ himself, which cannot be grasped until the believer is glorified (1 John 3:2).
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