The Inspection of the Church

The messages to the seven churches in Revelation, emphasizing their spiritual conditions and the lessons contemporary believers can draw from them.​

The Last two Weeks: The Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira

Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7): The Ephesian church was diligent in work and doctrinally sound but had abandoned its initial love for Christ. He underscores that labor and purity cannot replace genuine passion and love for Jesus. ​

Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11): This church faced severe persecution. Their suffering would be temporary, and he encourages believers to remain faithful, even unto death, to receive the crown of life.​

Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17): Situated in a city filled with pagan influences, the church at Pergamum is commended for holding fast to Christ's name. However, they are reprimanded for tolerating teachings leading to moral and spiritual compromise.​

Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29): While recognized for their deeds, love, and faith, the believers in Thyatira are criticized for permitting a false prophetess to promote immorality and idolatry.There are dangers of compromising with false teachings.​

Today: The Churches of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea

Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6): Sardis as a church with a reputation for being alive but spiritually dead. He calls for vigilance, strengthening of the remaining faith, and genuine repentance.​

Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13): This church is commended for its faithfulness despite limited strength. The importance of keeping God's word and not denying His name, assuring believers of an open door that no one can shut.​

Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22): This church as lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—which Christ finds distasteful. He urges believers to be zealous and repent, highlighting the necessity of wholehearted commitment to God.​

Sardis:

Revelation 3:1–6 KJV 1900

1 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. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

SARDIS, THE FADING CHURCH (3:1-6)

Ancient Sardis, the capital of Lydia, was a most important city. It lay about fifty miles east of Ephesus at the junction of five main roads, so it was a center for trade. It was also a military center, for it was located on an almost inaccessible plateau. The acropolis of Sardis was about 1,500 feet above the main roads, forming an impregnable fortress. The main religion in the city was the worship of Artemis, one of the "nature cults" built on the idea of death and rebirth.

Sardis was also known for manufacturing woolen garments, a fact that influenced Christ's message to the church. Sad to say, the city at that time was but a shadow of its former splendor, and the church, unfortunately, had become like the city—it was alive in name only.

The message to Sardis is a warning to all "great churches" that are living on past glory. Dr. Vance Havner has frequently reminded us that spiritual ministries often go through four stages: a man, a movement, a machine, and then a monument. Sardis was at the "monument" stage, but hope still existed!

There was hope because Christ was the Head of the church and He was able to bring new life. He described Himself as the one possessing the seven Spirits and the seven stars. There is only one Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:4), but the number seven demonstrates fullness and completeness. The Holy Spirit gives life to the church, and life is exactly what the people at Sardis needed. The sevenfold Spirit of God is pictured as seven burning lamps (Rev. 4:5) and as seven all-seeing eyes (Rev. 5:6).

All of the church's man-made programs can never bring life, any more than a circus can resurrect a corpse. The church was born when the Spirit of God descended on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and its life comes from the Spirit. The church begins to lose life and power when the Spirit is grieved. When sin is confessed and church members get right with God and each other, the Spirit infuses new life-revival!

Christ also controls the seven stars, the messengers of the churches (Rev. 1:20), most likely referring to the pastors. Sometimes, it is a pastor's fault that a church is dying, and the Lord of the church must remove the star and put another in his place.

There are no words of commendation to the believers at Sardis. Nor did the Lord point out any doctrinal problems that required correction.

Neither is there any mention of opposition or persecution. The church would have been better off had there been some suffering. for it had grown comfortable and content and was living on its past reputation. There was reputation without reality, form without force. Like the city itself, the church ar Sardis gloried in past splendor, but ignored present decay.

In fact, even what they did have was about to die! Why? because the believers had gone to sleep. Twice in its long history, the citadel at Sardis had been captured, each time because sentries had failed to do their jobs faithfully. It is when the church's leaders and members get accustomed to their blessings and complacent about their ministry that the enemy finds his way in.

The impression is that the assembly in Sardis was not aggressive in its witness to the city. There was no persecution because there was no invasion of the enemy's territory. No friction usually means no motion! The unsaved in Sardis saw the church as a respectable group of people who were neither dangerous nor desirable. They were decent people with a dying witness and a decaying ministry.

Our lord's counsel to the church began with, "Be watchful! Wake up!" (see Rom, 13:11ff.) The "sentries" WERE asleep! The fint step toward renewal in a dying church is honest awareness that something is wrong When an organism is alive, there is growth, repair, reproduction, and powers if these elements are lacking in a church, then that church is either dying or already dead.

The Lord warned the Ephesian saints that He would come and remove their LAMPSTAND if they did not repent (Rev, 219), He warned the church # Pergamos that He would come and make war with the sword of the spirit (Rev, 2:16). If the believers at Sardis did not follow His orders, He wold come at a thief, when they last expected Him, and this would mean judgment.

However, a remnant of dedicated people often exists in even a dying church, The Christians ar Sardis had life; even though it was feeble. "They were working, even though their works were not all that they could have been. The Lord admonished them to strengthen what remained. Where there is life, here is hope!

What was different about this dedicated remnant? They had not defiled their garments (Rev, 3:4). Some evidence from antiquity suggests that temple worshippers were not permitted to approach their gods and goddesses wearing dirty garments. The remnant in the church at Sardis had not compromised with the pagan society around them, nor had they grown comfortable and complacent. It was this devoted spiritual remnant that held the future of the church’s ministry.

"Wake up! Be watchful! Repent! Remember the Word you have received and obey it.” This is the formula for revival. It is good to guard our spiritual heritage, but we must not embalm it. It is not enough to be true to the faith and have a great history. That faith must produce life and works.

The promise in Revelation 3:S ("clothed in white raiment") would have been significant to people who lived in a city where woolen garments were manufactured. And the statement about the names being

blotted out would also be significant to people in the Roman Empire, where citizenship was vitally important (sce Acts 22:24-30).

Is there a warning here that a true believer might lose his salvation? don't think so. It would appear that God's "Book of Life" contains the names of all the living, the wicked as well as the rightcous (Ps. 69:28). Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 suggest that the names of the saved are written in the book from the foundation of the world-that is, before they had done any thing good or bad. By God's grace, they have been chosen in Christ before the beginning of time (Eph. 1:4; see also Matt. 25:34).

Jesus told His disciples to rejoice because their names were written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). The Greek verb is in the perfect tense, which means it can be translated (as Kenneth Wuest does in his Expanded Translation.

-Your names have been written in heaven and are on permanent record up there." It is not likely that jesus would contradict Himself in this important matter!

If the names of believers (the elect) are written from the foundation of the world, and if God knows all things, why would He enter the name of somebody who would one day fall and have to be removed from the book?

We are enrolled in heaven because we have been born again (Heb. 12:23), and no matter how disobedient a child may be. he or she cannot be “unborn."

As unbelievers die, their names are removed from the book; thus, at the final judgment, the book contains only the names of believers (Rev: 20:12-15). It then becomes "the Lamb's Book of Life" (Rev. 21:27), because only those saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have their names in it. All the others have been blotted out, something God would never do for any true child of God (see Ex. 32:32; Rom. 9:3). Ir is a book of life, and lost sinners are dead (Eph. 2:1).

The warning here is that we do not grow comfortable in our churches, lest we slowly die. The encouragement is that no church is beyond hope as long as there is a remnant in it, willing to strengthen the things that remain.

Philadelphia:

Revelation 3:7–13 KJV 1900

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

As most people know, Philadelphia means "love of the brethren." Certainly, brotherly love is an essential mark of Christianity. We are "taught of God to love one another" (1 Thess. 4:9): by God the Father (1 John 4:19), God the Son (John 13:34), and God the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). But it is not enough to love God and our fellow believers; we must also love a lost world and seek to reach unbelievers with the good news of the cross. This church had a vision to reach a lost world, and God set before them an open door.

Philadelphia was strategically situated on the Imperial Post’s main route from Rome to the East, and thus was called "the gateway to the East." It was also called "little Athens" because of the many temples in the city. The church was indeed located in a place of tremendous opportunity.

The only major problem with the location was that the area was prone to earthquakes. Philadelphia sat on a geological fault, and in 17 BC, it was destroyed by a severe earthquake that also destroyed Sardis and ten other cities. Afterward, some citizens refused to move back into the city and remained in the surrounding countryside, which they called "the burnt land." There did not seem to be much security in the city of brotherly love!

Jesus Christ presented Himself to the church at Philadelphia as "He that is holy." This is tantamount to declaring that He is God, which, of course, He is. Jesus Christ is holy in His character, words, actions, and purposes. As the Holy One, He is uniquely set apart from everything else, and nothing can be compared to Him.

But He is also the One who is true-that is, genuine. He is the original, not a copy; the authentic God and not a manufactured one. There were hundreds of false gods and goddesses in those days (1 Cor. 8:5-6), but only Jesus Christ could rightfully claim to be the true God.

It is worth noting that when the martyrs in heaven addressed the Lord, they called Him "holy and true" (Rev. 6:10). they argued that, because He was holy, He had to judge sin, and because He was true, He had to vindicate His people who had been wickedly slain.

Not only is He holy and true, but He also has the authority to open and close doors. The background of this imagery is Isaiah 22:15-25. Assyria had invaded JUDAH (as Isaiah had warned), but the Jewish leaders were trusting Egypt, not God, to deliver the nation. One of the treacherous leaders was a man named Shebna who had used his office, not for the role of the front office, and a faithful man, Eliakim, was put in his place and given the keys of authority. Eliakim was a picture of Jesus Christ, a dependable administrator of the affairs of God's people. Jesus Christ also has the keys of hades and of death (Rex. I:18).

In the New Testament, an "open door" speaks of opportunity for ministry (Acos 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3). Christ is the Lord of the harvest and the Head of the church, and it is He who determines where and when His people shall serve (see Acts 16:6-10). He gave the church at Philadelphia a great opportunity for ministry:

But could they take advantage of it? There were at least two obstacles to overcome, the fit being their own lack of strength (Rev. 3:8). Apparently, this was not a large or strong church; however, it was a faithful one.

They were true to God's Word and unafraid to bear His name. Revelation 3:10 suggests that they had endured some special testing and had proved FAITHFUL.

It is not the size or strength of a church that determines its ministry, but faith in the call and command of the Lord. God's commandments are God's enablements. If jesus Christ gave them an open door, then He would see to it that they were able to walk through it! Martin Luther put it perfectly in his well-known hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God":

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing.

Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God's own choosing.

The second obstacle was the opposition of the Jews in the city (Rev.

3:9). This was really the opposition of Satan, for we do not battle against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). These people may have been Jews in the flesh, but they were not "true Israel" in the New Testament sense (Rom. 2:17-29).

The Jewish people certainly have a great heritage. (Matt. 3:7-12; John 8:33f..

How were these Jews opposing the church at Philadelphia? For one thing, by excluding Jewish believers from the synagogue. Another weapon was probably false accusation, for this is the way the unbelieving Jews often attacked Paul. Satan is the accuser, and he uses even religious people to promote him (Rev. 12:10). It is not easy to witness for Christ when the leading people in the community are spreading lies about you. The church at Smyrna faced the same kind of opposition (Rev. 2-9).

The believers in Philadelphia were in a similar situation to that of Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians 16:9-there were both opportunities and

obstacles! Unbelief sees the obstacles, but faith sees the opportunities! And since the Lord holds the keys, He controls the outcome! So what do we have to fear? Nobody can close the doors as long as He keeps them open.

Fear, unbelief, and delay have caused the church to miss many God-given opportunities.

These people must acknowledge that the Christians were correct (see Isa. 60:14; Phil. 2:10-11)! If we care for God's work, He will take care of our battles.

Second, He would keep them from tribulation (Rev. 3:10). This is surely a reference to the time of tribulation that John described in Revelation 6—19, "the time of Jacob's trouble." This is not speaking about some local trial, because it involves "them that dwell on the earth" (see Rev. 6:10;

8:13; 11:10; 12:12; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6; 17:2, 8). The immediate reference would be to the official Roman persecutions that would come, but the ultimate reference is to the tribulation that will encompass the earth before Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom. In many Bible scholars' understanding, Revelation 3:10 is a promise that the church will not go through the tribulation, but will be taken to heaven before it begins (sec

1 Thes: 4:13-5:11). The admonition, "Behold, I come quickly," would strengthen this view.

The third promise to the Philadelphians is that God would honor them (Rev: 3:12). The symbolism in this verse would be significant to people who lived in constant danger of earthquakes: the stability of the pil-lar, no need to go out or to flee, a heavenly ciry that nothing could destroy.

Ancient cities often honored great leaders by erecting pillars with their names inscribed on them. God's pillars are not made of stone, because there is no temple in the heavenly ciry (Rev: 21:22). His pillars are faithful people who bear His name for His glory (Gal. 2:9).

In a very real sense, the church today is like the Philadelphian church, for God has set before us many open doors of opportunity: If He opens the doors, we must work; if He shuts the doors, we must wait. Above all, we must be faithful to Him and see the opportunities, not the obstacles. If we miss our opportunities, we lose our rewards (crowns), and this means being ashamed before Him when He comes (1 John 2:28).

Laodicea:

Revelation 3:14–22 KJV 1900

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.