TOPIC:“Sardis - The Lifeless Church”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Revelation 3:1-6
“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die for I have not found
your deeds complete in the sight of my God” (v. 1, 2).
Sardis, the fifth of the seven churches, is located fifty miles east of Smyrna and thirty miles southeast of Thyatira. It once served as the ancient capital of the powerful kingdom of Lydia. The city in early times was situated on the plains of the Timolus River and became a wealthy city of commerce through the manufacture of textiles and the making of jewelry. The first money coins in history were minted in this city.
Sardis eventually was captured in 549 B.C. by Cyprus, the Persian King and for almost two centuries it virtually passed from history. It was revived under the reign of Alexander the Great only to be captured by Antiochus the Great in 214 B.C. The city was devastated by an earthquake in A.D. 17 and later rebuilt through the generosity of Tiberius, the Roman emperor, who generously contributed a large sum of money for its reconstruction.
At the time when John wrote the book of Revelation, Sardis was once again a prosperous city. It continued to exist until the 18th century only to end up today as a city in ruins. Of the Sardis church, who started it, when it was started, there is little information available. Let us now turn our attention to the message of Christ to this church.
Consider the description of Christ in the introduction of the letter as found in verse 1: “These things saith he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” Here as in 1:4 where the seven Spirits of God are declared to be before the throne the reference is to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. “Seven” is the number which speaks of completeness. The need of the church in Sardis at this time was the effective sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit as He rested upon Jesus as stated in Isaiah 11:2.
Christ is further presented as having “the seven stars” (v. 1) which according to 1:20 are the messengers or Pastors of the seven churches. In the letter to the Ephesian church Christ is described as holding the seven stars in His right hand to show His authority, protection and security over them and to make it clear that the messengers of the church are responsible only to Him.
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