3rd for 3

Revelation 3

To the Church in Sardis

¹“To the angel^£ of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits^£ of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ²Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. ³Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. ⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no-one can shut, and what he shuts no-one can open. ⁸I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no-one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no-one will take your crown. ¹²Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see.

¹⁹Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. ²⁰Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

²¹To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Once again I fear I may have bitten off more then I could chew with regards to this chapter. The amount of information and concepts relayed in this chapter are many to say the least…

Still… what can I say…hmmm…

Sardis. Suffering from what is often a problem among Christians. Not only is it often a problem, but it is also quite a sticking point for non-believers. Hypocrisy. It would appear that the church in Sardis had a reputation that preceded them. A good one, but to God, whose understanding sees through peoples “fronts” and to their motivation for action, there was a problem. Wake Up! Is the cry from the most high. Now I don’t know about you. When people are falling asleep, especially in public places like the train for example, and they are caused to wake, you will see a sudden rush of blood to their faces, turning red briefly revealing the hint of embarrassment at losing consciousness. This wake up call must have done the same to this church. How embarrassing for a church whose reputation was clear and righteous, yet they are being called to wake up and to take guard. This sleep could have been caused by many things. It could be over tolerance of sinful practices. It could have been allowing detestable practices. Whatever it was specifically, the message to us is the same. Do not fall asleep with this bold and steadfast message of salvation which we have been blessed with delivering. The promise of what will happen if we continue to slumber is clear. V3.

Philadelphia: Another message to persevere. Unlike Sardis, the church in Philadelphia appears to holding fast, not falling asleep, despite fatigue (v8b). They will surely be rewarded for this clinging to Christ. The promise of deliverance is clear again, reward for their sure hope. As if the sure hope itself isn’t enough? How good is God?! Rewarding a sinner, in their sinful attempts to hold onto the salvation they could not earn. Is not this an amazing message. This is real, Steak on the plate whilst you wait talk, as opposed to pie in the sky when you die mentality that Christians often get harangued into accepting their present sufferings with.

Laodicea: This is something I remember from childhood. Water is no good tepid. Hot or cold has it’s uses. Warm has neither. In these days, this can be taken from a scientific point of view and confirmed. Warmth breeds bacteria, especially with moistness… Hot water cleanses. Cold water has a multitude of uses. Warm water cannot be consumed, unless you’re snorting it as per the doctors instructions when mixed with salt to stop an infection in your sinus… enough about that though eh?!

These people were building riches in the material, “here and know” environment. The “Amen” as they are called, are here urging the readers to store up treasures where moth and rust cannot destroy, where man cannot break and steal. These are the things of eternity.

And once again we are left with a fantastic prospect of a reward! How good is it to have a reward likened to that which Jesus himself received? V21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

I believe the word you are looking for is “Awesome”…?

Final note. On all of the separate passages listed in Revelation 2-3, the notes to the churches end with the phrase, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Those of you who have read this. You are without excuse. If you have read the passages of which I have spoken and written over thepast few days, you are without excuse. The words are clear! My interpretation may be flawed. I am but a man after all. My mind is tainted with the stains of sin. I’m neither professing to perfect nor expecting that you will see what I have been writing about being lived out 100% in my own life as you may expect from someone writing such things.

I would refer back to the poem I posted a while ago… This Christian life is not something I, nor anyone else except from the God-Man Christ himself can live in unison with their desires and heart, for what I want to do I do not do, and what I do not want to do I do. But all I would say is, I’m trying. I know He will help me try as he has promised. I know he will not leave the work he has started in me uncomplete. I know there will be challenges ahead, but I look forward to them. I look forward to them knowing that I can and will stand up against them with the help of Him who first called me.

Praise be to God! He deserves more then I could ever give. That wont stop me trying.

[listeing to:- Coldplay, X&X]

[contemplating:- Friday X tonight]