The vision is yet
for the appointed time.
It hastens toward the goal
and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it
For it will certainly come,
it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3











Prophetic Commentary
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Page date  August, 2001
Updated  June 2007












    

The 7 CHURCHs in Asia - Revelation 3:1-6

The Book of Revelation was believed to be written around 96 A.D.
That was the beginning of the letters to the churches.

The town of Sardis was destroyed in 17 B.C.
and the known Christian Church was built in the first century

John's Letter to the church in SARDIS
You are thought to be alive, but you are dead. Wake up!
I will come like a thief and you won't know when.

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the
seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this:
'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive,
but you are dead.

2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were
about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the
sight of My God.

3 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it,
and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like
a thief, & you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

4 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled
their garments; & they will walk with Me in white,
for they are worthy.

5 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments;
and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and
I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

6 'He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.'

The MESSAGE to SARDIS



INTRODUCTION

Sardis was a city with two sections. The reason I tell you this
is so you will have a little understanding of the city and why
the letter was written to it. It sat on a ridge out side of a
mountain 1500 feet straight up. Perfectly safe from any enemy.
The city out grew this ridge so they began building at the base
of the mountain in the valley.

Legend has it that gold was just lying around in the river that
flowed thru the city, so its history is one of wealth and
security from all enemies. By the time John wrote Revelation
the city's flourishing wealth had passed and much of its glory
had faded. The population had become soft, lethargic and
omplacent, living on its past reputation.

The church there knew what the Lord meant by having a name that
they lived, but they were dead. They knew what it was to have
received the best of everything, but now they needed to repent.
It had a church that was dying.

Have you ever seen a church that was dead and dying,
completely lifeless? A church that was satisfied with itself,
with keeping things the way they had always been? A church
resting on its past history, that reveled in what used to be?
This was the church at Sardis. Sardis was a church that had an
excellent reputation and was highly respected by the community,
but it is dead & lifeless.

Verse 1
The church at Sardis was spiritually dead, with only a few of
its members remaining faithful to the gospel. Outwardly it
appeared alive & active and had a reputation of success and
spirituality. It may have had an exciting form of worship,
but not the true power and righteousness of the Holy Spirit.
Once again it is written to the minister, but he wants this
message proclaimed to the church as a whole. There is little
hope for a dead church ever becoming alive unless the minister
is set afire. The minister must be committed,
TOTALLY committed to Christ and His cause, Salvation.

A lifeless and dying church needs to look at Jesus Christ.
He has the seven spirits of God. This is a reference to the
Holy Spirit of God.

The number 7 means the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit.
It also believed that this is a reference to the sevenfold
ministry of the Holy Spirit found in Isaiah. (Isaiah 11:2)
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of know-ledge and of the fear of the Lord.

The number 7 also means completeness, fulness, or perfection
in the Bible. So the 7 spirits means the Holy spirit in all
His fullness.

Lets look at some of the things a lifeless and dying church
needs to seek.

1. Seek Christ for the Spirit of God. John 14:13-17
2. Seek the quickening of the Spirit. Romans 8:11 
3. Seek the convicting power of the Spirit. John 16:7
4. Seek the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
5. Seek the guidance of the Spirit. John 16:13

6. Seek revival, the Pentecostal fire of the Spirit
Matthew 3:11 - Acts 2:3-4

7. Seek the witnessing power of the Spirit. 

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8


Seven Stars



The 7 stars are the ministers. There is no commendation given to
this church. Its sin is one of the most serious problems a church
can have. It had works, all sort of programs, ministries,
activities. It had a great reputation among other churches.
It had the works, the right beliefs and doctrine, and it had all
the ministries and activities. But it was dying and lifeless.
What does it mean for a church to die spiritually?

There are a number of things:

1. Having a form of worship but denying the power thereof
2 Timothy 3:5

2. Focusing on ritual, ceremony, & worship
instead of Jesus Christ

3. Focusing on activities instead of Jesus Christ.

4. Services and activities for social fellowship instead of
spiritual growth and edification.

5. Losing the zeal for witnessing and sharing Christ
and for seeing others grow.

6. Becoming complacent and lethargic in the study of God's
Word and in prayer and spiritual growth.

You may say they were doing all these things and God says
they are dead and lifeless. They were void of spiritual life,
void of the Spirit of God.

Verse 2
He says watch and strengthen the works that still have some
life in them. What was wrong with the spirit of the people?
Their spirits were not focusing on Jesus Christ and his cause.
They were sitting in the services half asleep, allowing their
thoughts to wander about instead of hungering for GOD's Word.

They were attending services because it was the thing to do.
But Jesus says be watchful. Awaken, stir your minds and
thoughts, become alert and alive to the Lord Jesus Christ and
to the Word of God. The needed to think about why they and the
church were on earth, what their calling was, and why they were
meeting as a church. We a believers are to become watchers,
followers of Jesus Christ.
Making sure we stay spiritually alive. Matthew 24:42-43

Christ also tells them that he has not found any of their works
perfect, or complete, fulfilled, or finished. Not a single
ministry had been completed or carried out like it should.

Verse 3
Christ gives them 4 things as a warning.

1. They must remember how they received and heard the gospel,
how it gripped your life once.

2. Hold fast to the original spirit that gripped their lives.

3. They must repent. They had sinned against Christ by losing
their fervor.  They needed to confess their wrong and repent.
They needed prayer meetings to stir their hearts and bring
them back to Christ.

4. They must know that the judgment of Christ will fall on
them if they refuse to repent, and it would fall unexpectedly.
If a church and its believers refuse to watch, then Christ
will come upon them as a thief. They will not know what hour
he is coming to judge them.

The Preachers Outline and Sermon Bible made this statement:
He said the idea is the Christ will come and strip them of all
their valuables, just like a thief, they will be left bare,
without anything worthwhile. The church and its believers
would be worthless, of no value or worth to Christ and his
kingdom. They would be found vain, empty, and useless.
Their profession will become meaningless.
Mark 8:36

It doesn't matter when the Lord may come, it always pays to
be on guard against sin and carelessness.

Verse 4
There were a few who had not defiled themselves. A few
faithful believers in the church.

I thought the commentary made a neat statement here which
says they were not activity or program centered, but Christ
centered. They did not use the church as a place for social
activity, business contacts, and not a place to provide
activities for the family. These faithful believers kept
themselves pure.

They focused on Jesus Christ, his purpose and they were
growing spiritually, and reaching out to share Christ with
a needy world. That is the real purpose of the church today,
but some have gotten away from that.

Today a majority of Christians live so close to the world
that you can't tell them from the people of the world.
Our close friends should be Christians. 2 Corinthians 6:14
tells us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
That doesn't always mean just marriage,
it even means friendships.   1 Corinthians 5:11


Walk with Jesus Christ in white

What do you think it means to "Walk with Christ in white?"

The believer walks daily in the presence of Christ, openly
confesses all sin on a daily basis, asking Christ to forgive
his sins. The believer walks in victory and purity.
These are the overcomers.

Verse 5  There are 3 promises in this verse.

1. The overcomer will be clothed in white. The garment of
righteousness and purity, and of perfection when he enters
heaven he trusted the righteousness of Christ and he followed
Christ by living a righteous life.

2. The overcomer will not be blotted out of the book of life.
It is clear that any person who experiences the new birth,
but later refuses to persevere in faith and to overcome,
will have his name blotted out of the book of life.
Having your name blotted out of the book of life means
to lose eternal life itself.  Rev. 2:7

Some well meaning Christians today say that this cannot be,
because this would make the continuance of our salvation depend
on works, but what we must recognize is that our overcoming,
our winning victories is not a matter of our own works.
Our salvation is dependent on our continuous and obedient
faith in Christ as Lord.

Read 1 John 5:11-12

3. The overcomer will be acknowledged by Christ before God. 
He knows the believer who overcame by keeping his spirit alive
and focused on the Lord.

Verse 6
He that hath an ear is a repeat of what he has said to each
one of the church's at the end of each message.


WILL YOU walk with the LORD in WHITE?

 


A PROMISE
In Revelation 3:10-11 Jesus says
“Because you have kept My command to persevere,
I also WILL keep you from the hour of trial 
which shall come upon the whole world,
to test those who dwell on the Earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly!  (SUDDENLY! Unexpectedly!)
Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”