Letters to the Churches
Revelation Chapter 3

Revelation 3:1-6 - Sardis

Background:

Situated at junction of five roads thirty miles south-east of Thyatira, Sardis generated much commerce, particularly in textiles and wool, but it wasn't the city it had once been. The city never quite recovered from an earthquake in 17 A.D., although Emperor Tiberius had excused the city of taxes for five years and gave them other funds to rebuild.

It was a very rich city, with "old" money, dating back to the famously rich King Croesus in sixth century B.C., but this wealth led to listlessness. The city had high walls and was built high on a hill, such that three sides of the hill were sheer cliffs fifteen hundred feet high. However, the city fell to military attack in both 549 B.C. by Cyrus the Persian and in 218 B.C. by Antiochus because of the same lazy oversight -- both attacks took place at night with no guards on duty to warn of the enemy troops climbing the city walls.

Character of Christ:

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; ...

Christ is described as having the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Remember that in Revelation 1:4, the "seven spirits" of God represented the entirety of the Holy Spirit, who ministers at the same time to all the churches. Likewise, the seven stars represent Christ's ownership of all the churches. The message is He that has the greatest spiritual power for a church which had a dead spirit.

The Good:

There is almost no good identified in this letter. In verse 4, Jesus says that there are a few who "have not soiled their clothes." These have followed Christ without compromising their faith. While the church is "dead," there are some parts that are still hanging to life that can be revived.

The Bad:

... 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.

Jesus tells this church that they have a good reputation, that of being alive, but He knows they are dead. Unlike its neighboring churches, neither the Jews nor the Romans had bothered this church, most likely because they had no reason to! Luke 6:26 warns "woe to you when all men speak well of you." Barclay notes that there was no mention of heresy in the church, because "heresy is the product of a searching mind."

Jesus said He knew what they had done, and nothing measured up to God's standards. This isn't because of the quality of the work (nothing we can do is "good enough" on its own merits), but because of the motivation of the work -- God can't do anything with their work because they are dead in the spirit.

Jesus first admonishes the church to change. Wake up (better translated "show yourself watchful")! Strengthen what remains but now is at the point of death! Remember (better translated "never let yourself forget") what and how you received and heard! Obey and keep obeying it, and repent now! The word repent calls for a strong, immediate response, and refers to a change in the slack believer's way of thinking about Christ.

If this church continues to sleep, just as the watchmen did in the two attacks on the city, Jesus will come as if in the night and no one would know when. This is a judgement to this church, not the Second Coming.

They are called to be like the few who have not soiled (literally "polluted") their clothes, and who will be garbed instead in white with Jesus in Eternity. There was a common rule of pagan temples at the time that those who wore dirty clothes to a temple would dishonor the deity. The "white garments" can have a number of meanings, including the Old Testament implication that white garments mean having to do with Heaven, and the Roman practice of wearing white robes to feasts and weddings, but the best interpretation is likely the symbolism of justification, through faith.

It is easy to forget in the challenge to those who are spiritually "dead" how those that are spiritually alive are keeping a living faith. These are "ordinary" Christians, who slip and fall from time to time, but who see the criticality of continually renewing themselves in Christ. Their work is not necessarily profound, but their works are done in a way that God can use and multiply them. They have no more "earned" salvation than anyone, but because of their humility and attitude, they accept the grace God gives.

The Blessing:

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.

Jesus calls the church to be like the few, so they will receive white robes, so their names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life, and so Jesus will "confess their names" before the Father. The key distinction for those whose names are in the Book of Life is not what they say or profess, but what they are truly like on the inside. Many in this church had apparently outwardly "received and heard," and carried out the motions of following Christ, but were still inwardly "dead," having never truly accepted the grace of God.

Revelation 3:7-13 - Philadelphia

Background:

Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities listed. It was founded around 145 B.C. by colonists from Pergamum, under the rule of Attalus II. Attalus's love for his brother Eumenes was such that he was called Philadelphos, thus the name of the city.

The purpose of founding the city was to share the Greek culture with the regions of Lydia and Phrygia. It did such a good job with its mission that by 19 A.D., the Lydians had forgotten their language in favor of Greek.

Philadelphia was at the edge of a large volcanic fissure, which was the source of the earthquake in 12 A.D. that destroyed both Sardis and Philadelphia. The Emperor Tiberius was as generous to Philadelphia as he was to Sardis, but unlike Sardis, Philadelphia successfully rebuilt. In gratitude, the city renamed itself Neocaesarea, and then under Vespasian, changed its name to Flavia (after his family name). The city finally succumbed to common usage and changed its name back to Philadelphia.

Because Philadelphia was so close to this fissure, the city was hit for years by aftershocks and smaller earthquakes. Often these quakes damaged parts of the town, and the city's residents were often chased from their houses into the open to escape being hit by falling structures. As a result, many people lived outside the town in huts and would refuse to walk the city streets.

Also because of the volcanic activity, the soil was rich and particularly suitable for the best grape crops in Asia Minor, so the people worshipped the Roman god Bacchus.

In later days, Philadelphia stood as a free Greek city after the rest of the region had fallen to the Turks. The town was home for centuries to a vibrant Christian church although the rest of the region staunchly followed Mohammedanism.

Character of Christ:

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;

The Greek word for "true" in the description of Jesus as "the true one" is alethinos, which means "real". More to this point, this word is the antonym to "unreal" -- this congregation of faithful followers should know that the Jesus they serve is no shadowy abstraction.

Jesus is described as the one with the key of David, symbolizing authority. This image references the Old Testament story of a faithful steward to King Hezekiah named Eliakim (see 2 Kings 18), who alone controlled access to the King. In Isaiah 22:22, God speaks through the image of Eliakim of one who would take the key of David, and have the authority of opening and shutting the new city of David. We are reminded that Jesus holds the keys to both Heaven and Hell.

The Good:

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.

In this passage, we have a simple and comprehensive reminder of how basic our job is in God's plan. If we are faithful with whatever we have, even it it is just a little strength, God can work through us in incredible ways to accomplish His work in the world.

This letter doesn't mention any struggles this church had, although from the reference to the Jews, it sounds like they had similar challenges to what the church in Smyrna had. I think this means that the church in Philadelphia had such a "overcoming" attitude in the strength of their faith that their struggles weren't worth mentioning.

The mention of "open doors" references carrying a message to the uninitiated, as Philadelphia did with Greek culture to the region. In the case of Christianity, this is the missionary work of spreading the Gospel. At the same time, Jesus said that He was the door to eternal life, so the reference also means both Jesus and eternal life. I am reminded in this of Jesus's parable of the land owner that trusted his wealth to three servants while he was gone. At the end, the rewards for the faithful servants included more opportunities to work.

The Bad:

None!

The Blessing:

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.

The blessing, that the unfaithful Jews would bow down before their feet parallels but changes the promise to the Jews that at the end time, all the Gentile nations would pay homage to God's people as those who knew the Truth. Clearly, the "synagogue of Satan" had forfeited their right to this recognition of God's blessing, but the church of Philadelphia was faithful.

While we're on the topic of the Jewish people, we ought to consider the matter of Jews in different interpretations of Revelation. One key difference in interpretations deals with the role of the Jews in God's ultimate plan. Those who look for symbolism use passages like this, discussing the failure of the Jews, as reason to interpret the "remnant of the Jews" in the rest of the book as Christians. Others who object to substituting symbolism for what can be read literally see in the "remnant" as the ultimate completion of God's promise to Abraham, even though most of the Jews rejected God's Son. For me, that feels like an empty, academic debate. For those like me who are Gentiles, it doesn't apply to us personally. Passages like this certainly should not discourage Christians from sharing the gospel with Jews, on the off-chance that they, the "remnant", will get into Heaven anyway!

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.

The image in the blessing is of a church that has followed the example set by Christ when on earth in his endurance to do the Father's will, and Christ's promise to do the same for that church, to "keep them safe". It is significant that of all these seven churches, the Christian community in Philadelphia is the only one that lasted through the conquest of the area by the Turks. This city has been home to a Christian church continuously since the book of Revelation was written. The "hour of testing" for the whole world probably refers to the Old Testament prophesies that are repeated in Revelation, of the tribulations ushering in the end times.

This passage brings up a fundamental problem in translating prepositions from the Greek; it is unclear whether the church is "safe from testing" or "safe in testing" -- the Greek syntax allows either interpretation. The choice of this preposition is significant in the interpretation of later passages where some faithful Christians are hidden away, "safe from testing" during the start of the Antichrist's rule. Others point out that if read as "from," this passage contrasts too much with the message to the other church that received no criticism, Smyrna. Jesus tells the church in Smyrna to hold on through the affliction they will experience for "ten days." If the passage to Philadelphia is read as "safe in testing," the two passages would compliment each other, as well as the passage in John 17:14-15 where Jesus prays for his followers, who are not of the world, that they would not be taken out of the world but instead given protection from the evil one in the world.

I personally have a theological problem with the church of Philadelphia being "safe from testing" because of their endurance. We cannot expect that if we are good, good things will happen or our lives will be easy. First, we can never be "good enough" - it is only in God's grace that we have any "goodness." Second, our focus must always be on how we can love God more deeply and follow Him more closely, whether that leads us to protection or persecution. Third, God continuously prepares us for His service, and it seems to me opposite to God's way of working that He would pull us out of a challenge except to prepare or use us for other challenges.

11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

This phrase combines both reassurance to the faithful oppressed, and warning to those that would stop enduring. The inference in "no one may take your crown" is not that the crown would be stolen, but that the holder would forfeit his right to it. Note the contrast presented here - Jesus has opened doors that no one may close, but we can lose our right to wear the crown of those that persevere and overcome.

12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: ...

To a city plagued by earthquakes, the image of a firm pillar was the strength that no structure in Philadelphia could demonstrate. Because of this strength, no one ever would have to flee out of the city in fear of earthquakes any more. Note that those who earlier were described as having "little strength" in their city are made to be part of the foundation of the temple of God. The pillar also brings up descriptions in Galatians 2:9 of Peter, James, and John as the pillars in the early Jerusalem church, so there is an example of faith as well in this architectural image.

... 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.

Revelation 3:14-22 - Laodicea

Background:

The city of Laodicea of Lycus was at the junction of three key roads, with the most important one being from Ephesus to Syria, then another from Pergamum to Pamphylia, and one from eastern Caria to west Phrygia.

It became a great banking and finance center under the peaceful rule of the Roman empire, and was without question the richest city in Asia Minor. When it was damaged by an earthquake in 60 A.D., the city refused financial help from the Romans and rebuilt the town with its own money.

The town was a center of clothing manufacture, particularly in black wool from the sheep that were raised in the surrounding valleys. The town was often called "Trimitaria" because it was the source of the trimita tunics that were very popular across the Roman empire.

In and around the town were numerous medical centers, with a specialty for treating ear and eye problems. Some of the doctors from these facilities were so well admired in Laodicea that their faces were put on the town's coins.

The town had a very large Jewish community, with at least 7500 Jewish families resident in Laodicea in 62 B.C., and the community had been granted the right to preserve their customs. The town, along with the neighboring city Hierapolis, served as a regional center for the Jewish religion.

Paul had been aware of problems with the church in Laodicea, because he wrote in his letter to neighboring Colossae a stern reprimand to Archippus, the bishop in Laodicea, to "fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord." (Colossians 4:17)

Character of Christ:

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;

Jesus is "the Amen, the witness on whom you can rely." Everything that Jesus says is true because he observes all, he tells the truth, and he makes the truth "be so".

Jesus is "the moving cause of the creation of God," meaning that he began the process of the creation. This emphasis was important to counter heretics that claimed that the world must have been created by lesser deities because of the sickness and sin in it.

This letter is the one example in which the character of Christ is not taken from the first chapter of Revelation. Instead, this was more personalized, taken from Colossians 1:15-16, which was the letter that Paul told the Colossians to pass along to the church in Laodicea (4:16).

The Good:

None. This is only of the seven churches in which Jesus finds nothing good.

The Bad:

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.

The "True Witness" reminded the church that He knew their works, and they made Him sick to his stomach. Their works were like the waterfall outside the city, fed from hot springs six miles away. By the time it reached the town, the water was too cool to be of medicinal value. Likewise, the city's drinking water came from a cold spring six miles to the south, but after the journey by aqueduct, the cold water was about the same sickeningly tepid temperature as the waterfall.

This state of spiritual tepidness can be interpreted in several ways. One interpretation is indifference towards God's will, having completely dismissed respect for and fear of God. Another is neutrality towards Jesus Christ and the work we are called to do. These descriptions apply to our century's unchurched, who are not opposed to the church, but dismiss it as irrelevant. A third interpretation is compromise, "splitting the difference" rather than taking sides, as this church may have done by glorifying both God and Caesar.

In Christ's condemnation is the implication that it would have been better if these people had never found Christianity than for them to have received it then neutralized it. In our medical terms, they had developed "antibodies" to keep them from "catching" the Spirit.

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.

Jesus confronted these Christians with the failure of what they thought their city had achieved. The city was confident in its riches that they needed nothing from Rome. Unlike the Christians in Smyrna who were poor in a rich city, these Christians apparently had also prospered, and become self-confident in their success. Jesus said they were poor and wretched. He told them to abandon their gold for His "gold" of purified faith.

The city prided itself with its wool and tunic trade, but Jesus said they were humiliated in their nakedness. They should abandon their famous black wool and clothe themselves in His white garments of righteousness.

The city was famous for eye salves and treatments, but Jesus said they were blind, not seeing the work that Jesus had put before them or their own state of spiritual poverty and shame. They needed His treatment to be able to see the truth.

The Blessing:

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.

In this blessing is the often-preached passage, "I am at the door knocking." This passage seems to reference Jesus's teachings in Luke 12:36 and elsewhere that we must be alert because we do not know when the Master will return. To Barclay, a more fitting, beautiful parallel comes from the Song of Solomon 5:2-6, where the man is knocking at the door of his lover. Jesus Christ loves us enough to hunt for us and plead with us to accept His grace, and all we have to do is to open the door. When we do, he sits with us to fellowship and share the meal that marked the end of the day.

Even though this church was so chastised, still to them Jesus promised that the faithful would "sit with me in my throne" (think of a throne couch, not a chair) in honor and in close presence to Jesus.

Common Truths in the Letters

As a simple recap, consider the following truths that are consistent in these seven letters:

• We must through God's strength always balance our pursuit of "truth" and of "love."
• We cannot "earn" grace by our works, but our faith is weak if it yields no Godly works.
• Our God is a personal God, dealing as specifically with us as He wrote to the churches.
• Accommodation with worldly pressures is never an option, nor is tolerance of sin.