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THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA
/REVELATION 2 - 3
copyright November 2007
CHAPTER 11 (1 of 2)
S A R D I S
Sardis means "Prince of Joy",
but we can see from God's description of the church, that the church is far
from it. Not only had the joy of the
Lord (".... For the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10)
departed from their life, so did the Holy Spirit and the ability to discern
that He had (liken unto that of Samson, Judges 16:20). The church had deceived them self in
believing that all is well in their relationship with God. When we choose to walk in worldliness and
carnal pleasure, after having sincerely given our heart to Christ, not only
will God's presence not be with us, neither will His joy. Here is how God's joy was with Jesus and how
His joy will be with us. When we live
our life as Jesus did, in full obedience to the perfect will of God, the
same abundant joy that Jesus had will be ours also.
In verse 2-3, "Be watchful, and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found
thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and
heard, and hold fast, and repent..." God's command to the believers in
Sardis is to become vigilant, repent of being self-satisfied, content, and
unconcerned, or I will bring swift judgment upon you. The majority of the Believers in Sardis had
become what God calls cold, neither lukewarm nor hot. Their walk with him had become unacceptable,
"I have not found thy works perfect before God."
S A R D I S
And unto the angel 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. Be watchful, and strengthen the things
which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy
works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and
heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not
watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what
hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in
white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out
of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and
before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. Revelation
3:1-6
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Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Hebrews 1:9
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The distinction spoken
of in v.1 "the seven Spirits of God," has to do with Jesus having the
all-encompassing fullness of God's Spirit within Him. Another interpretation of this is that this
is referring to the personality and character of God. With this second interpretation, Revelation
5:6 could imply that God's personality and character can be found in every cell
and atom of creation. What ever the exact
meaning Jesus is describing Himself this way to Sardis, and it is likely that
they understood the meaning.
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John to the seven churches which
are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and
peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits
which are before his throne; Revelation 1:4
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And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of
God. Revelation 4:5
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And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of beasts, and in the midst of the elders,
stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth. Revelation 5:6
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For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell: Colossions 1:19
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Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power: Colossians 2:8-10
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For the invisible things of him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they
are without excuse:
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Like many churches today the church of
Sardis had become a "country club" type of church. Church where, for the most part, no one was
being won to Christ, and the attitude in their gathering together was more for
socializing than for prayer and to worship God out of a sincere heart of truth
and devotion to Him. Most likely,
because they were "dead" spiritually v.1, persecution of the
church was not like that of the other cities, if it existed at all.
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Sardis, unlike the
humanitarian deeds of Thyatira, and the passion of Ephesus to fulfill the Great
Commission to win the population of Ephesus to Christ, had just about if not
altogether given up on doing anything for the kingdom of God, whether it be the
spiritual growth of the "Christians", or winning Sardis to
Christ. There obviously was some kind of
maintenance of the church going on, if not by the Pastor, at least by those in
the church who did have a passion for Christ on a personal level. In v.4 the Lord said, "Thou hast a few
names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments." It was because of the few saints who were
"working out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil.
2:12)" praying for revival in Sardis, that God was speaking to the church.
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The Lord covers numerous specifics about
this church, which is a declaration of what God requires of us, for us to be
assured the salvation of our soul and what is a favorable or unfavorable
attitude of God toward those who profess to be His people. God says in verse 1 "I know thy works
[Gk, acts, deeds], that thou hast a name that thou livest, and
art dead." The Church had
become complacent (self-satisfied and unconcerned), causing the
church to be like the pagan temples around it, just another place for religious
expression. This attitude was causing
the gospel of Christ to become just a philosophy for moral living in the midst
of a pagan belief system, rather than a radically changed spiritual nature,
from that of a Sinner to a Saint.
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Watch therefore: for ye know not
what hour your Lord doth come. Matthew 24:42
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Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Matthew 25:13
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Watch ye therefore: for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or
at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all,
Watch. Mark 13:35-37
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Although these
scriptures speak of Jesus' return for His church, the attitude of God is no
different concerning discipline. As in
Revelation 3:2 the same Greek word translated "watchful" and those in
Matthew and Mark translated "watch" is used, thus Jesus'
exhortation is in reference to vigilance. We are to build upon, and fortify our
resolve to obey God's perfect will for our life, TO LIVE IT. If we choose not to correct ourselves,
God will do it when we least expect it, v3.
This attitude of God is the same if we are not being vigilant to
maintain a deep intimate relationship with Him, when He comes for His Saints we
will be left behind *(foolish virgins).
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But that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be
burned. Hebrews 6:8-
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My
Facebook Wall http://www.facebook.com/#!/samuel.siders; some of the
responses I have posted in answer to those who God has had me to shared with
can be found in my "Notes" section on my FaceBook Wall.
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My
activity with sharing the Word of God with Muslims continues; this open door
that Lord has made available to me as an apologist is one where worldwide
opportunities are made available (all English speaking people around the world
from many different countries, race, and religious beliefs).
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One of the topics that are always being discussed in Jesus
being God; Christianity preaches He is, Judaism and Islam denies Jesus is. One test (not the only test) for knowing if a person is
one of God’s children [born again and Holy Spirit filled] is if they
acknowledge that God became a man; 1 John 4:2 … “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus [Elohiem/Ps 45:6-7] Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” 1 John
2:22 …“Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist
that denies the Father and the Son.” Muslims do not believe Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) if
they do not believe He is God [Elohiem]. Anyone of any religion who says that
Jesus is not God is of the antichrist (Satan).
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In John chapter 10 Jesus
was quoting Psalms 82:6 (the context is Ps. 82:1-8); it is obvious Jesus was
making a reference to our spirit/soul having been created in God’s likeness
(Genesis 1:26) for the word “gods” in Ps 82:6 is the Hebrew word “Elohiem”
which is the PLURAL name for God; which would mean MORE THAN ONE. Jesus used Ps
82:6 as a defense, that He is Elohiem in Spirit (but much more than that which
is “common”) Him being THE Son of God. By birth Jesus is God because God is His
Father, that which is who God is, is who Jesus is; Elohiem Psalms 45:6-7 (all
three words in this reference is the plural Hebrew word Elohiem). There are
multiple references in the Tanak where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
mentioned; Jesus and the Apostles quoted many of them. In John 10 Jesus neither
denied being God, nor did He deny He is the Son of God; this is the logical
reason why the Jews did not back away from wanting to kill Him, but were unable
to do it at the time for the time of His death was not full come.-
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Samuel 5/27/2012
