Structure of Sardis, Revelation 3:1-6

Study:

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

Partial Structure:

A

B

C

C'

 

B'

 

 

A'
 

 

 

 

 

i

ii

ii'

i'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirits

name

watchful

watch

names

garments ... white

raiment white

name ... name

Spirit

Structure:

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

"...These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;..."

"...thou hast a name
that thou livest, and art dead." (vs. 1)

"Be watchful,..." (2) "..."

"If therefore thou shalt not watch,
I will come on thee as a thief,..." (vs. 3)

"Thou hast a few names even in Sardis"

"which have not defiled their garments;
...they shall walk with me in white..." (vs. 4)

"He that overcometh,...
shall be clothed in raiment white;"

"...I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,... I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." (vs. 5)

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches." (vs. 6)

Layer 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.
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." vss. 2,3

These verses are obvious references to the Second Coming of Christ as recorded in Matthew 24:42-44.

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

The implication of these two verses of Revelation (Rev. 3:2,3), of Christ's command to be watchful and of His reference to His Second Coming, is two-fold!

1. The church of Sardis is no longer looking for Christ's Coming! Their love of this world now exceeds their love for Christ. They have become comfortable in this world and are no longer longing for Christ's return to save them out of it.
2. Christ will come to them unknowingly and judge them. He says, "If therefore thou shalt NOT watch, I will come on thee as a thief..." thus, disobedience, rooted in a lack of love (as noted above), brings His coming in judgment. This, however, is not a literal coming! How do we know? The seven churches outline the earthly/fallen walk of God's church (note the calls to "repent" within the seven) and Christ's literal coming brings this walk to an end. That there remain two more church periods, Philadelphia and Laodicea, after Sardis, prove that this coming of Chist is not literal. As Christ's literal coming brings the earthly/fallen walk of the church to an end in judgment, so this non-literal coming brings the Sardis church period to an end in judgment. The church period of Philadelphia, meaning "brotherly love," is a description of the non-literal coming of Christ, further detailed in Revelation 10. We will see this in a future, following study.

In Summary...

 

 

 

 

Warning of coming Judgment!

Non-literal coming of Christ
(Rev. 10)

 

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Phila-delphia
(= "brothery love")

Laodicea

 

 

 

 

"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."

Rev. 3:3

 

 

Layer 2:

...I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. vs. 1

Why does Christ say to the church of Sardis, "...thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead"? I suspect because (as noted in above) they are no longer adventists, that is, they claim to be Christ's church, His bride, but are no longer looking for and longing for Christ, their husband.

Layer 1:

The focus of this structure is the outer layer, the Holy Spirit. It answers the central issue or problem of the church of Sardis.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four 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

In order to be awake and watching... cognizant of the times... we must have the eyes of a prophet and be filled with the Holy Spirit as Christ is.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.  2 Peter 1:19-21

Not only can the Holy Spirit give us eyes to see prophetically but also ears to hear its convicting voice and a heart to love God with all of our body, mind, and spirit. The Holy Spirit is truly one of our greatest needs. 

Note: that the "seven stars" are connected to the churches.

"... The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:..." Revelation 1:20

To be continued...