Revelation 3Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea
The last three letters to the churches. Sardis looks alive but is dead, Philadelphia has little strength but is Jesus’ favorite, and wealthy Laodicea is lukewarm. All three are told the same thing: you can still be victorious, and Jesus is coming soon.
The quickest review from the first month: Revelation is a prophecy, an apocalypse and a letter, a “prophe-pocalypti-letter.” It is written to seven churches. Each church needs keys to victory on its own battlefield (chapters 2–3), and the overall war is outlined in the rest of the book and its imagery. John’s understanding is thoroughly rooted in the Old Testament, and everything is coming together in this book: it is the proper culmination of all things.
This revelation is from Jesus Christ and of Jesus Christ, so you get to see more of Jesus from Jesus. Apokalypsis means “uncovering, disclosing, revealing” what God makes known. It didn’t carry the sense of “the end of the world” until this book gave it that sense.
Seeing pictures from God is the second most common way God speaks in Scripture, rivaled only by hearing His voice. Your inheritance as a believer includes the kingdom and patient endurance. You can make it! And being “in the Spirit” is a heightened sense of spiritual awareness, where the Spirit of God envelops you and you can see into the spiritual realm.
Last month’s review: what Jesus addresses in each of the churches sets the tone and themes for all of the action and imagery in the rest of the book! There are seven churches, and seven is the number of completion, so these messages are for all believers everywhere.
The churches were all reading each other’s mail. It was a circular letter, carried from one church to the next around the circle. They weren’t isolated: the church is one in these things, to support each other and hold each other accountable among their sister cities.
The messages of Revelation were not only to encourage the persecuted. Some of these churches were persecuted; some were rich and actively participating in the favor of the demonic governments around them.
The pattern of the seven letters
- “To the angel”
- “These are the words of him who …”: a description of Jesus
- “I know”: encouragements from Jesus
- Charges against the churches
- Commands to the churches
- Consequences for not following the commands
- “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches”
- “To the one who is victorious”
- Bonus: four churches received prophetic promises from Jesus, and Philadelphia got two!
Who Jesus is, what He knows, what He holds against them
| Church | “These are the words of him who …” | “I know” | Charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus | Holds the 7 stars, walks among the 7 lampstands (Rev 1:13, Rev 1:16) | Hard work, perseverance; cannot tolerate the wicked; tested false apostles; not grown weary (Rev 2:2-3) | Released the love you had at first (Rev 2:4) |
| Smyrna | The First and the Last, who died and came to life (Rev 1:17-18) | Rich in afflictions, poverty and slander (Rev 2:9) | None |
| Pergamum | Has the sharp, double-edged sword (Rev 1:16) | True to Jesus’ name near Satan’s throne (Rev 2:13) | Sexual immorality, the teaching of Balaam (Rev 2:14-15) |
| Thyatira | Eyes blazing like fire, feet like burnished bronze (Rev 1:14-15) | Love, faith, service, perseverance, now doing more (Rev 2:19) | Tolerating the “prophet” Jezebel and her sexual immorality (Rev 2:20-23) |
| Sardis | Holds the 7 spirits and the 7 stars (Rev 1:4, Rev 1:16) | A few unsoiled (Rev 3:4) | Dead, asleep, unfinished (Rev 3:1-2) |
| Philadelphia | Holy and true, holds the key of David, opens what no one can shut (all new) | Kept my word, not denied my name despite little strength, endured patiently (Rev 3:8-10) | None |
| Laodicea | The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation (all new) | None | Lukewarm; wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Rev 3:15-17) |
What He commands, warns and promises
| Church | Command | If not | To the one who is victorious |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus | Repent, do what you did at first (Rev 2:5) | I will come and remove your lampstand (Rev 2:5) | The right to eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise (Rev 2:7) |
| Smyrna | Do not be afraid of your trial; be faithful (Rev 2:10) | None | Not hurt by the second death (Rev 2:11) |
| Pergamum | Repent (Rev 2:16) | I will come and fight them with the sword of my mouth (Rev 2:16) | Hidden manna, a white stone with a new name (Rev 2:17) |
| Thyatira | To the un-Jezebeled people: hold on to what you have (Rev 2:25) | Jezebel cast on a bed of suffering, her children struck dead (Rev 2:22-23) | Authority over the nations; the morning star (Rev 2:26-28) |
| Sardis | Wake up! Strengthen what remains (Rev 3:2) | I will come like a thief while they’re asleep (Rev 3:3) | Dressed in white; name never blotted out; acknowledged before the Father and His angels (Rev 3:5) |
| Philadelphia | Hold on to what you have (Rev 3:11) | None | A pillar in God’s temple, never to leave; the name of God, His city and Jesus’ new name written on them (Rev 3:12) |
| Laodicea | Buy from Jesus refined gold, white clothes and salve for your eyes; be earnest and repent (Rev 3:18-19) | I will spit you out of my mouth (Rev 3:16) | The right to sit with Him on His throne (Rev 3:21) |
Specific prophetic promises from Jesus
- Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer (2:10, Smyrna)
- I will cast Jezebel on a bed of suffering and strike her children dead (2:22–23, Thyatira)
- The unsoiled will walk with Me, dressed in white (3:4, Sardis)
- I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut (3:8, Philadelphia)
- I will make the synagogue of Satan fall down and acknowledge that I have loved you; I will keep you from the hour of trial (3:9–10, Philadelphia)
3:1Sardis: alive in name only
Revelation 3:1 NIV
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.
This is one of the harshest of the seven prophetic words to the churches. Sardis is on the struggle bus, in competition with Laodicea for the bottom of the barrel. The church had zero persecution and very little spiritual life. They were more concerned with appearing to be alive than with actually being alive in the spiritual realm.
There is at times in church history a connection between no persecution and no spiritual life in a church. Not always: there are life-giving churches where there is no persecution. But Christian churches have thrived and even exploded in the middle of persecution, and that’s true today in the Middle East, in Africa and in communist China.
He asked the room, “How do we as a church become more unstoppable?” Their answers: share Jesus, know His word, commitment, trust in Jesus, pray, and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.
“Holds … the seven stars.” The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, so Jesus is showing His authority and control. Him holding the churches matters more than holding actual stars, though He could hold actual stars if He wanted to! God set the stars in place (Psalm 8:3), determines their number and calls them each by name (Psalm 147:4), but Scripture doesn’t show Him presently, physically holding the celestial stars. He is holding our local churches, holding us together as a group of believers. He cares about you and our church, and we can praise Jesus for being big and powerful enough to hold this local church in His hands. That’s awesome!
“A reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Wow! Things are not always what they seem spiritually. Some people are very committed to appearing spiritual and right with God, and less committed to the reality of being right with God.
Moses’ tent “outside the camp” is in Exodus 33:7.
3:2–3Wake up, remember, repent
Revelation 3:2–3 NIV
2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, 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.
Three-part command #1 (verse 2)
- Wake up!
- Strengthen what remains and is about to die
- Get to work (you have unfinished work)
Three-part command #2 (verse 3)
- Remember what you have received and heard
- Hold it fast
- Repent
What had they received? Salvation; the Holy Spirit of God, the greatest miracle, where God’s Spirit takes up residence inside you; the baptism in the Holy Spirit; speaking in tongues and miracles; gifts from the Spirit; the fruit of the Spirit, His character being built in them; and the unity of the Holy Spirit. What had they heard? The Good News of Jesus, the truth of Jesus, living rightly before Jesus, living separate from the world in moral standards while at the same time reaching the world with the message of Jesus. He was open that he was inferring this list from the rest of Scripture.
That’s what they’d received and heard, and they were to hold it fast and repent. Whatever you’re doing right by Jesus, do more of that! Encourage it, reward it. Whatever you’re not doing right by Jesus, turn away from that! Reject those things, end them, start fresh.
“If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief.” This kind of language is normally used in the Bible for those who reject God and will face eternal punishment, so its being applied to believers here should scare them. It should scare them … out of hell.
Answers from the room: hearing Him say “I never knew you,” the truth of the message of Jesus, and being permanently separated from God.
3:4–6A few dressed in white
Revelation 3:4–6 NIV
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.
5The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
6Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
“A few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.” In other words, those who were dead and asleep spiritually had soiled their clothes; there was a sin factor. But a few hadn’t, and we need to be among those people. Those who have been soiling their clothes can shift over to the other group.
“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white.” “Like them” is used only here, in this fifth letter, and it proves that all of these letters are universal to all believers everywhere. “The one who is victorious” is everyone, including us. Be victorious, finish strong to the end, be dressed in white! Then you’ll be in God’s book. (He taught on the book of life last month.)
3:7Philadelphia: holy and true, holding the key
Revelation 3:7 NIV
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.
Philadelphia was the favorite! (Philadelphia in modern Turkey, not the one in Pennsylvania. He’s from Pittsburgh; there’s a little rivalry.) Smyrna was good, but Philadelphia’s word was great.
Praise and rebuke across the seven letters
| Received | Churches |
|---|---|
| Only praise, no rebuke | Smyrna, Philadelphia |
| Praise and rebuke | Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira |
| Only rebuke | Sardis, Laodicea |
Even the description of Jesus here is extremely positive. It’s foreshadowing. “The key of David” comes from Isaiah 22:22. “What he opens no one can shut” speaks of prophetic certainty: whatever He says has to happen. When He opens a door, you can walk through it; if He shuts one, you won’t get through no matter how badly you want to.
In fact, the people of the church in Philadelphia reflect these aspects of the character of Jesus! You can reflect the best aspects of the power and character of Jesus through your life and actions.
He asked, “What aspects of Jesus’ power and character do you want to reflect more?” The room said His love and forgiveness, His holiness, His willingness to serve, His compassion and His patience.
3:8–10An open door, little strength, kept from the trial
Revelation 3:8–10 NIV
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 on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
“An open door that no one can shut.” Some prophetic promises are easy: you just need to see them to walk through them. You still have to get your legs working and walk through the door, but you can’t miss this one. When God gives you an open door, walk through it!
The Jezebel reference is Revelation 2:21–23.
How do you know if the open door is from God? That’s the big question, isn’t it! The room’s answers: first, it won’t be contrary to Scripture; that’s the first filter. Then guidance and peace from the Holy Spirit, though peace has to pass the Scripture filter, because people can have a false peace. And submitting it to those in authority over you, who can pray alongside you and help you discern, along with confirmations.
“You have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” People romanticize Philadelphia, but the church was likely very small, probably poor and not politically powerful. God is saying, “I like what you do have.”
“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial.” The whole world is getting a trial that you’ll get a pass on, because you already passed the test.
3:11–13I am coming soon: hold on to your crown
Revelation 3:11–13 NIV
11I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them 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 them my new name.
13Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
“I am coming soon.” If there’s only one theme of Revelation, this is it: Jesus is coming. That’s nine times in the first three chapters alone, and that tone will dominate the entire book and all of its visions.
See Revelation 19 and 22:20.
“So that no one will take your crown.” The word is the one for the wreath given to Olympic athletes when they won their race: an athletic victor’s crown. In other words, finish strong.
He asked, “How do you finish strong for Jesus?” The room said: keep clinging to Jesus even through trials, keep telling people about Jesus (it keeps it fresh in your spirit too), stay humble, complete what you set out to do for the Lord, and stay connected to Christ’s body, the church.
3:14–16Laodicea: lukewarm
Revelation 3:14–16 NIV
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.
Amen means “let it be,” “yes,” “truly.” It’s also used as an exclamation point. That goes along with “the faithful and true witness”: Jesus is going to witness to some things as “the ruler of God’s creation,” and they are true whether you want them to be or not. That’s the start of a not-so-good letter, because Laodicea is a mess.
Laodicea. We don’t want to be like these guys. The church had taken on all the characteristics of its city; they had become just like their natural city in spiritual attitude. A city often takes on the condition of the demonic principalities over it, and if we don’t carry a contrary spirit and partner with the Holy Spirit instead, we’ll just go along with what the city is doing.
“Lukewarm” does not mean hot is good and cold is bad. That’s a modern sensibility with zero meaning in the first century. Both hot and cold are good, because both hot and cold water are useful. This is a statement about their usefulness to God. Hot water is good for cooking and cleaning; cold water is refreshing in your mouth. Lukewarm water is like dirty dishwater after it’s been sitting in the sink awhile. Not good. Not useful.
3:17–19Rich, but poor, blind and naked
Revelation 3:17–19 NIV
17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
The church said, “I am rich.” What did Jesus say? “Poor, blind and naked.” Those are literally the three things the city was proud of, and they’re right there in the text. Jesus is saying: that’s not true in your spirit, and your spirit is what matters more.
Why was this bad? The church had made an alliance with their world and was comfortable matching it in spirit as well. It was evil and sinful because they were successful on the outside but useless to God. It is evil to Jesus to be successful to the secular world while being useless to God. Wow! Their money could not buy what they really needed.
Laodicea needed to …
- Be rich in faith
- Be pure in their actions before God
- See into the spiritual realm clearly
There are exchanges that can be made before God: “buy from me gold refined in the fire.” You can lay your burdens down and take on His easy and light burden (Matthew 11:28–30). You give Him your sin; He gives you His holiness, purity and cleansing.
The first three come from Isaiah 61:3.
What does it take to make the exchange? The room said repentance: saying “I know I messed up, I want help.” Spending time in the presence of God, soaking in His presence. “Jesus, I lay my life before You. I’m going to lay down on the altar, cry to You for fire and wait for You to light me up.”
As bad as this message is, the path to their full redemption is as clear as any: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” In the middle of the harshest prophetic word in the whole book, He assures them of His love.
“Earnest” is way too weak a word here. The Greek word is zealous. The same word, “Zealots,” was tied to Jews who were willing to murder Romans to restore Israel’s kingdom. So Jesus is telling them: be willing to kill your selfish desires in order to turn completely away from them. Repent. The path is actually quite easy and clear, and they’re assured of Jesus’ love in the process.
That raises a question: how should we receive rebukes from Jesus? It’s hard for us sometimes to receive them as love. But you need to retrain your thinking tonight! The room said: thank Him for it, put it into action, and see the correction as an act of love from the Father.
3:20–22I stand at the door and knock
Revelation 3:20–22 NIV
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 that person, and they with me.
21To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Verse 20 is unique: the capper of all seven letters. It’s spoken to Laodicea, but it seems to be spoken to all seven churches, and really to all people on the earth.
It’s not “knocking on heaven’s door.” Jesus is knocking on your door. He’s the one who makes the move; the Holy Spirit is drawing you, and our job is to respond to what He’s doing.
Eating with Jesus is pictured in communion: communing personally with Jesus, sitting across the table from Him. They took communion together that night with this verse, remembering how Paul spoke of dying daily (1 Corinthians 15:31), of being crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and of filling up in his body the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). When you commune with Jesus and get His heart for the world, you can lay down your life for others the way He did for you. And every time we take the cup we proclaim His death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26), just like we’re doing all through Revelation.