REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 3.1a
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Three
LETTERS
TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
CHAPTER
3
Outline
1. The
Addressee – To whom the
letter is addressed (3:1)
2. The
Address – To where the letter is
addressed (3:1)
3. The
Addresser – From whom the
letter is addressed (3:1)
4. The
Approval – The acclamation
of good qualities (3:4)
5. The
Accusation – The
presentation of bad qualities (3:1c, 2b)
6. The Appeal
– The application to change (3:2a,3)
7. The Advice
– The recommendation to change (3:5-6)
Sardis
The church in Sardis is the fifth letter to the
seven churches in Asia Minor. In reviewing the first four churches we notice a
digression of spirituality.
1. Ephesus - The church that fell out of love with Jesus
Christ
2. Smyrna – The poor but rich church in Christ, the persecuted
myrrh church
3. Pergamum –
The church at Satan’s throne who was married to
the world
4. Thyatira –
The church that became completely engrossed in the
world because it tolerated sin within its congregation
5. Sardis – The church often referred to as the dead or
sleeping church
The Letter to the Church at Sardis
1. The
Addressee – To whom the
letter is addressed
(Verse 1)
And unto the angel (pastor, elder,
messenger) 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.
The Church
The word Sardis
or Sardes in the Greek language
is a plural feminine noun of unknown origin. In Greek, the word means ‘escaping
ones’ or ‘those who came out of’.
There is uncertainty as to the origin of the
church in Sardis. Most likely it was founded as an outreach of Paul’s ministry
in Ephesus. The character of the church differs from the first four churches in
that it represents the protestant period of church history – The Reformation.
Following Thyatira, the Reformation Period emerged
as a schismatic reaction against the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Dark Ages.
Freedom from non-biblical restraints of false doctrine and dogmatic practices
resulted in confusion rather than orthodoxy.
Great reformers of this age were:
1. Martin Luther
2. John Wycliffe
3. John Calvin
4. John Knox
5. Huldrych Zwingli
6. William Tyndale
7. The Wesleys
During this time, many creeds ("I
believe…") were developed. An adage states: A man who believes in anything has a creed. The Word of God – God’s
Truth – does not need to be contained in a creed. Along with many ministers
occupying orthodox pulpits, they simply add to the demise of religion.
Protestantism became a great organization, but in
most cases showed little or no evidence of spiritual life. New congregants were
being born again, baptized, placed on membership rolls, receiving the
Lord's Supper, and trusting in ceremonies but devoid of saving faith. However,
the new birth requires faith in Jesus Christ.
Principles of Saving Faith
Scripture documents saving faith principles as
such:
John
3:16-17 - For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
1 Timothy
1:15 – Christ
Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.
Ephesians
2:8 - For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Acts 16:31
- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:9
- If thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved.
John 14:6
-
Jesus saith unto him, I (Jesus) am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me (Jesus).
Acts 4:12
- Neither is there
salvation in any other (name): for
there is none
other name (Jesus) under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The Lord Jesus Christ singled out the church in Sardis as a reflection of their condition:
1. They were spiritually asleep
2. The Spirit of the Lord was not at work in their
lives
3. Their actions did not meet their reputation
4. There was no deliverance of sin
5. They were, ‘Standing on the promises but sleeping
on the premises.'
6. They were Christian in name but self-righteous
7. They had a superficial faith
Question
How does a
church become this way?
Answer
1. When live members are overtaken by dead ones
2. When a church becomes more concerned with forms,
liturgy, events, and programs than it does with life on a spiritual level
3. When a church becomes more concerned with material
things, welfare, and social ills than a spiritual reality
4. When a church loves systems more than Jesus Christ
5. When unbelievers take over positions in the church
6. When a church substitutes boards rather than the
direction of the Holy Spirit
7. When the toleration of sin supersedes moral
biblical standards.
A brief anonymous synopsis of The Rime
of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798) best describes
the Church in Sardis:
·
Corpses manned
the ship.
·
Dead men pulled
the oars.
·
Dead men
hoisted the sails.
·
Dead men
steered the vessel.
·
The whole
operation was functioning by dead people.
Today, Sardis now named Sartmahmut (Sart), in the
Manisa Province of Turkey has a very small population and is void of a church,
because their watchman fell asleep.
2. The
Address – To where the letter is
addressed
Unto the angel of the church in Sardis
History
Seven hundred years before Christ wrote this
letter, the city of Sardis, the capital of the Anatolian Kingdom of Lydia in Asia
Minor, was the oldest and most important city in ancient times. It may have
indeed been considered the wealthiest city anywhere in the world. The city was
destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 17 and rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius Caesar.
The citadel remained occupied until the early
fifteenth century. Many of the buildings of the lower city stand in rubble
covered by dirt from above over time. Princeton University initiated
explorations of Sardis from 1910 to 1914. In 1958, amid its ruins, a synagogue
was unearthed by Harvard and Cornell University archaeological expeditions.
Geography
Sardis is located about thirty miles inland
southeast of Thyatira (Akhissar), fifty-six miles northeast of Smyrna (Izmir),
and is situated on a commercial east-west trade route through Lydia. It is also
seventy-five miles southwest of Ephesus - a two-hour and fifteen-minute ride.
Sardis was initially built on an elevated plateau (50 feet in height) along a
long ridge of mountains called Mount Tmolus (modern Bozdag) rises above the
fertile Hermus Valley and is well watered by the Pactolus River. Three sides of
this plateau are smooth and perpendicular, except the backside had a narrow
path of rocks, thus rendering the city practically
impregnable.
As the population and commerce grew more complex,
the high plateaued Acropolis became overcrowded begging the need for a lower
city to be built on the western side of the original city, thus making it a
dual city (Sardis).
Commerce
Sardis or Sardeis became the center of textile
manufacturing and the carpet industry. Even though Thyatira was renowned for
its purple dye, Sardis was the first city to discover and develop the method to
dye wool.
There also emerged a lucrative jewelry industry
because of its natural resources of gold and silver. The finest silver and the
first true gold coins were minted in Sardis, causing Sardis to become the most
luxurious city in the ancient world.
Croesus
Croesus was a famous king of the Lydian Kingdom (560-547
B.C.). He ruled from the capital in Sardis. Because of the gold found on the
shores of the Pactolus River, Croesus gained notoriety as the wealthiest man in
the world. His name became legendary as everything he seemed to touch turned
into gold. Popular expressions like “as rich as Croesus” or “richer than
Croesus” became synonymous with the Greek mythological Phrygian King Midas - The Midas Touch.
Croesus was also responsible for funding the
construction of the seventh wonder of the world – The Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus. His signature remains on the base of one of its ruined columns on
display in the British Museum.
Worship
As far as worship was concerned, Sardis embraced
many mystery cults or religious secret societies apart from the two prominent
pagan deities:
A. Cybele – the main goddess. (Artemis in Greek,
Diana of Rome). Her Temple (one of the few buildings in ruins still seen) was
built in the lower city. In Sardis, Cybele was the goddess of the moon (inland
she was commonly known as a nature goddess). Orgies, like those of Dionysus
(Bacchus), were practiced in her honor at festivals.
B. Apollo – the god of the sun. Apollo and Cybele
were brother and sister in mythology.
C. Judaism – A synagogue discovered in 1958 lends
evidence of a Jewish community during the Roman era. It contained a large
gymnasium that housed a bath complex with changing or resting rooms having
mosaic floors.
D. Remains of a Christian church building were also
unearthed adjacent to the Temple of Cybele.
One can deduct from the factual evidence why
Sardis became so decadent.
1. For its love of money
2. For its love of luxury
3. For its immorality caused by the corrupt worship
of Cybele
The Greek historian Herodotus stated that the
citizens of Sardis had acquired a reputation for lax moral standards, and open
licentiousness.
Military
Apart from being a naturally well-fortified city,
the inhabitants built a gigantic watchtower on the side of the upper city, overlooking
the entire Hermus Valley and warning them of any approaching enemy attacks. The
Practolus River also served as a moat around the citadel for additional
security.
At least four times the city was captured by
invading forces. In the seventh century by the ancient Cimmerians, in the sixth
century by the Persians under Cyrus the Great, in the fifth century by the
Athenians, and in the third century by Antiochus III the Great. It is unclear
how the city was attacked for the first time since the Cimmerians are clouded by
legend.
However, there is a very interesting story of how
the besiege of the city came about in the same manner. On both occasions, the
city was conquered by two different invading armies: once by the Persians under
Cyrus the Great and the second time under Antiochus III the Great’s army.
Cyrus the Great
Herodotus tells the story: As Cyrus’ army
approached Sardis and surrounded the city, the strategy needed for defeat was
to capture the upper part of the city first to conquer the lower city. So, one
of Cyrus's Median soldiers continuously stood to watch at the base of the south
backside of the mountain. One evening, a Mardian soldier named Heroeades, son
of a Sardian soldier, dropped his helmet from the top of the watchtower of the
citadel. The helmet rolled over the edge to the bottom of the mountain.
Hyroeades, right about sunset, climbed over, made
his way down the backside of the mountain to the base of the valley, retrieved
his helmet, and climbed back the same way he came down. In their
overconfidence, the Sardian sentries left the city gate unguarded while the
entire city was asleep.
Upon observation, the Cretan soldier from Cyrus’
army gathered an elite group of men and followed the same path. The Cretan then
slipped over the wall, opened the gate, let the army in, and the city was
destroyed.
Cyrus, after capturing Sardis confiscated all
their weaponry, coerced the captives to wear tunics, and taught them to dance
while the lyre was playing.
Antiochus III the Great
After the Persians destroyed the city in 546 B.C.,
the city remained vacant except as a military citadel. Later in 215 B.C., a
second soldier named Lagoras, from the army of Antiochus III the Great, repeated
Hyroeades’ tactic and discovered an identical approach to capture the city.
Not thinking anyone could impregnate the city, Sardis was attacked again
because they failed to keep a soldier on guard. Two times the city was lost
because they were too lazy to watch and taken like a thief in the night
(cf. Matthew 24:43).
Notice the first two words of verse two of the letter
to Sardis:
Revelation
3:2a - Be
watchful.
Needless to say, the Church of Sardis became a
dead church in a dying city – Too lazy to keep watch. But, amid this
degenerating atmosphere, a small remnant of Christians held fast and true to
the Word of God.
In our next study, we will discover Sardis’ good
and bad qualities along with Christ’s recommendation to change.
QUESTIONS:
1. What period of history does Sardis represent?
2. How does a person receive salvation through Jesus
Christ?
3. How does a church become a dead church?
4. What is significant about the geography of Sardis?
5. What is significant about the commerce of Sardis?
6. What were the circumstances surrounding Sardis’
defeat?
7. What was the key to Sardis’ failure as a church
and city?
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