In this study, the following are to be considered:
The significance of the name p.1
The importance of the historical and geographical status of the city p.1
Other scriptural references p.2
The Messiah p.2
Watchfulness p.3
Garments p.5
The Lamb’s Book of Life p.6
References and credits p.8
Sardis – The Hypercritical Assembly
Rev. 3:1-6
Each future assembly would have a particular problem highlighted in the letters, but there are all aspects of the letters apparent in varying degrees at all Church Periods.
Sardis was typical of the assemblies from 1520 C.E to 1750 C.E. (Larkin p. 25). This can be considered as the Reformation Period Assembly that was distinguished by a ritualistic assembly, “holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also.” (2 Tim. 3:5).
Rev. 3:1a – The Greeting
“And to the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of Yahuah, and the seven stars says these things…”
The city
Name: Sardis means to come out of or to escape from. However, this is in a plural form indicating two cities; the upper and lower.
The original (upper) city was located in the River Hermus valley and was established on a precipitous outcrop of the Mount Tmolus range, having high sheer cliffs to three sides.
The later (lower) city was built upon the River Pactolus, a river rich in alluvial gold, being the source of the wealth of its best known resident, King Croeseus ((1)Barclay p. 144).
Political status: It was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia and the vastly rich and militarily powerful Lydian (Ludim) Empire.
It was a Roman assize town with the right to hold its own magisterial courts.
-1-
Commercial status: It was the centre of Lydian woollen dying industry from where it was thought that the craft of wool dying was discovered ((1)Barclay p. 145). The deep blood red sardius gemstone takes its name from the scarlet/crimson/purple dye famous in Lydia (https://www.biblestudytools.com).
Religious status: Sardis was famous for the Temple of Cybele. The acropolis in the upper city was built by Alexander the Great to honour Olympian Jove ((2)Fairbairn p. 103).
It was considered to be the first city of converts made by the Apostle Yochanan (Henry p.1364).
Population: It was Hellenized after Alexander. The once powerful city was in a state of degeneration in the late 90s C.E.
Scripture: The Ludim were considered a powerful, warlike nation in the 6th. Century B.C.E., “Go up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Kush and Put, who handle the shield; and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.” (Jer. 46:9). They were the descendents of Lud, the son of Shem ((2)Fairbairn p.104).
The sardius gemstone is referred to on the Chief Priest’s Breastplate of Judgement. “And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row…“And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.” (Exod. 28:17,21 NKJV). Slemming (p. 61) observes that order of the twelve stones of the breastplate according to tribes, places Yahudah first and so the sardius represented this tribe (cf Num. 2:2, 3).
“And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.” (Rev. 4:3 NKJV). The appearance of Yahuah was like a fiery like the deep red sardius.
“The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones… the sixth sardius” (Rev. 21:19, 20 NKJV). The New Yerushalem would have sardius stone in its foundations.
The Messiah
(i) Has seven Spirits of Yahuah (cf Rev. 1:4);
(a) Seven-fold gifts of the Ruach, “The Spirit of Yahuah shall rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahuah.” (Isa. 11:2) or demonstration of power of the Ruach ((1)Barclay p.146). The Spirit of Yahuah is the authority given to Him by the Father, “Yahusha came to them and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.’” (Matt. 28:18).
(b) The completeness of the gifts of the Ruach symbolised by the number seven and His omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience (Thomas p.352);
(ii) Has seven stars referring to His complete ownership of all assemblies at all times.
-2-
Rev. 3:1b – The Condemnation
“…I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” The Messiah accuses the assembly of hypocrisy. It had the outward signs of a thriving congregation with no internal schisms caused by false doctrine and free from external persecution ((1)Barclay p.148). This led to the assembly being lethargic and prosperity giving rise to hedonism and loss of vitality, “But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.” (1 Tim. 5:6).
Rev. 3:2, 3a – The Counsel
“Wake up, and strengthen what remains, before it dies too! For I have found no works of yours perfected before my `Elohiym. Remember, therefore, how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent…”
Watch
Although thought to be impregnable, the (upper) city of Sardis was besieged and sacked by the Persians under Cyrus and then by the Greeks under Alexander. The false sense of security offered by its location led to failure to keep effective guard.
Watchfulness is frequently commanded in Scripture:
(i) To stand continually on watch for the attack of the enemy, “Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8);
(ii) To watch and pray lest temptation strikes with success, “Watch and pray, that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41);
(iii) To watch for the return of the Messiah, “Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Master comes.” (Matt. 24: 42);
(iv) To watch out for false doctrine, prophets and teachers, “For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch…” (Acts 20:29-31a);
(v) To watch our conduct and attitudes in life because the Messiah is watching Believers ((1)Barclay p150), “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the righteous; Their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous `Elohiym.” (Psa. 7:9).
Strengthen
“Finally, be strong in the Messiah, and in the strength of His might.” (Eph. 6:10).The small remnant of faithful Believers are called to keep strong even though it is a struggle when the majority of the congregation are pleasure-seekers and unwilling to give up the easy life for one of service (Henry p. 1364). They must exhort the others to labour for the Messiah as this had yet to be completed.
-3-
Remember
This verb sense is in the present imperative i.e. to keep on remembering. The assembly is not called to remember what they had received, but how they had received it. That is, they were saved by someone telling them of the Good News and that it was encumbering for all Believers to pass on the message of salvation. “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of Yahuah,” (Eph. 2:8); “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Yahuah.” (Rom. 10:17).
Hold fast
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Good News of Messiah, that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News.” (Phil. 1:27). This verb sense is in the present imperative i.e. to keep on holding fast, to how they received salvation.
Repent
This verb sense is in the aorist imperative i.e. a one-off action to turn back. This has to be a one-off action as they cannot keep turning back if they carry on the same course. This would not be true repentance. “and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of Yahuah for themselves again, and put Him to open shame.” (Heb. 6:6).
Rev. 3:3b – The Warning
“…If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”
“Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he does not walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15). To fail to keep watch would remind the listeners /readers of the history of Sardis where the upper city was besieged and sacked twice because of the lack of keeping an adequate guard of the walls.
“Watch therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Matt. 25:13). The verb to watch is in the present imperative active meaning to keep alert without ceasing at all times. The Master’s parable of the Ten Virgins is found in a passage in which the Master is describing events at the end of time (Matt. 24:1-25:45). There are three parables: The Faithful and the Evil Servants (Matt. 24:45-51); The Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13); The Talents (Matt. 25:14-30). In each parable, the Master urges His disciples (and thus all Believers) to be constantly vigilant for His return (Matt. 24:50); (Matt. 25:13); (Matt. 25:19) and the consequences to those who do not heed His warning (Matt. 24:51); (Matt. 25:12); (Matt. 25:30) and (Matt. 25:41-46). This whole section benefits from ignoring the (man-made) chapter and verse divisions and read as it was written. Destruction came upon the Sardians (twice) because of their complacency, as it will to all who fail to keep watch.
Rev. 3:4-6 – The Promise
“Nevertheless, you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the Book of Life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what HaRuach says to the assemblies.”
-4-
“Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Yisra’el, all the knees which have not bowed to Ba`al, and every mouth which has not kissed him.” (1Kgs. 19:18). Throughout history, Yahuah has always had a remnant of Believers to carry on the work and testimony of the Messiah.
Garments
(i) Unsoiled – the Believers who keep the faith pure are said not to have defiled their
garments, “Pure religion and undefiled before our `Elohiym and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27).
(ii) White – this is a sign of:
(a) Purity, “My beloved is white and ruddy. The best among ten thousand.” (Song 5:10);
(b) Righteousness, “I will greatly rejoice in Yahuah, my soul shall be joyful in my `Elohiym; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa. 61:10);
(c) Sins forgiven, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says Yahuah: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” (Isa. 1:18).
(d) Robes of the Presence, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9).
These righteous overcomers are given the white clothes and dressed by the Messiah. They do not do so by their own strength nor by any of their works but only made possible by the cleansing Blood of the Lamb, “I told him, “‘My master, you know.’ It said to me, ‘These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.’” (Rev. 7:14).
“…These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed by Yahusha from among men, the first fruits to Yahuah and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 14:4b). Believers will be called to walk in close and intimate union with the Messiah.
“If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; I will walk among you, and will be your `Elohiym, and you shall be my people.” (Lev. 26:3, 12). Yahuah takes delight in those who take delight in His Torah.
“so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of Yahuah for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure. This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of Yahuah, to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of Yahuah, for which you also suffer.” (2 Thess. 1:4, 5). “Because it has been granted to you on behalf of the Messiah, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,” (Phil. 1:29). It is for the sake of the Messiah that persecution and trials beset Believers and to those who endure, the same will be counted as worthy to walk with Him.
-5-
The Lamb’s Book of Life
“‘Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin and if not, please blot me out of your Book which you have written.’ Yahuah said to Moshe, ‘Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my Book.’” (Exod. 32:32, 33). Moshe asks Yahuah to remove his name rather than those who had sinned from Yahuah’s Book. Therefore, Moshe must have been aware of the existence of such a Book.
“Let them [the wicked] be blotted out of the Book of Life, And not be written with the righteous.” (Psa. 69:28). It is my belief that upon conception, every person is entered in to the Lamb’s Book of Life. Until a person’s final breath the name remains. If a person dies in a state of un-repentance their name is blotted out. However, if a person has repented and called upon the Messiah to be saved then their name will remain in His Book. This will also take into account the status of a child that has died at an early age or a person that has some form of learning disability. The age of accountability will depend upon three factors:
(i) The person’s access to sound teaching (Godly parents & grand-parents, youth church attendance, school);
(ii) The person’s ability to understand the teaching and to come to a considered decision;
(iii) The person’s ‘innocence’ being corrupted by others.
“There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Rev. 21:27).
“All who dwell on the earth will worship him [the Beast], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been killed.” (Rev.13:8). Those who worship the Beast will not be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I believe that this means that the Book of Life only becomes The Lamb’s Book at the end of time. By then, all who would repent have done so and these will not be blotted out. By inference, those who would not repent will be blotted out.
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Rev. 20:12 KJV). Some translations refer to the dead opening the books inferring that each person had their own book. There is no Scriptural indication as to who opened the books. It is clear, however, that one of the books held a record of the life of the person and this would also include words as by these, we are told, that we are justified or condemned. “I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36, 37). “that if you will confess with your mouth the Master Yahusha, and believe in your heart that Yahuah raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:9, 10).
“Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahuah your `Elohiym, that it may be there for a witness against you.” (Deut. 31:26).
“Then Yirmeyahu called Barukh the son of Neriyah; and Barukh wrote from the mouth of Yirmeyahu all the words of Yahuah, which He had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.” (Jer. 36:4).
-6-
“He said to them, ‘This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moshe, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:44, 45).
It is my belief that the ‘books’ or scrolls of Rev. 20:12 are three in number: “and the books(at least two) were opened: and another book(at least a third) was opened,”. The three books being i) the deeds of a person, ii) the Lamb’s Book of Life and iii) The Torah in its entirety being the Book of Moshe (Pentateuch), Prophets and Writings and the B’rit Hadashah (Renewed Testament). The Judge of All will take note of what is written in each book before passing sentence. There can be no evading the truth because the times when a person heard the Good News of the Messiah will have been written down and the response noted. A negative response will mean that a person’s name will not appear in the Lamb’s Book of (Eternal) Life.
Confession
A person has to right to come into the Presence only when their sins have been confessed and forgiven, “I acknowledged my sin to you. I did not hide my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to Yahuah, And you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psa. 32:5). The Believers are called to confess their new faith before men and will result in the Messiah confessing them to Yahuah (cf Matt. 10:32) in the presence of His angels. “I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of Yahuah; but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of Yahuah.” (Luke 12:8, 9).
Ears
ἀκούω akoo-oh #G191– means not only to hear but to consider, understand and to act upon what has been said and is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew שָׁמַע shema shar-mer #H8085.
Him: this personalises all the letters. The Messiah addresses the warnings and promises of this and all the other letters to each and every Believer throughout the ages;
Assemblies: this generalises all the letters. The Messiah addresses the warnings and promises to each and every Assembly throughout the ages.
The promise is given to those who endure to the bitter end.
There will be a more severe judgement against those who have heard the Word of Yahuah and reject it than to those who have not heard. “That servant, who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, but he who did not know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whoever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.” (Luke 12:47, 48).
-7-
Yahuah bless you and keep you–
Yahuah make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you,
Yahuah lift up His face toward you and give you peace.
All glory be to Yahuah,
Ameyn.
References and Credits
In using these references, it is in no way agreeing to or condoning the theological viewpoint of the authors.
(1)Barclay Rev. W.(1960) The Revelation of John Vol.I, St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh.
(2Fairbairn Rev. P. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary, Vol. II, Blackie & Son, London.
Henry. Rev. M. (1828) An Exposition of the Old and the New Testament, Vol. III,
J.R. & C. Childs, London.
Larkin C. (1919) The Book of Revelation, Moyer & Lotter, Philadelphia, PA.
Slemming C.W. These Are The Garments, Christian Literature Crusade, Fort
(1974) Washington, Pennsylvania.
Strong J.(1994) Strong’s New Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, World Bible
Publishers Inc., Madison. (Denoted by #H or #G).
Strong J.(1996) The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words, Thomas Nelson,
Nashville. (Denoted by #H or #G).
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sardine-stone/
AENT “Scripture taken from the Aramaic English New Testament Copyright 2008. Used by permission of Netzari Press.”
-8-
HNV The Hebrew Names Version is based off the World English Bible, an update of the American Standard Version of 1901. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.
King James Version (KJV) Outside of the United Kingdom, the KJV is in the public domain. Within the United Kingdom, the rights to the KJV are vested in the Crown. This Bible is printed and published by Cambridge University Press, the Queen’s royal printer, under royal letters patent. The text commonly available now is actually that of the 1769 revision, not that of 1611. The text used by BLB is the current 1769 edition.
U.S. Code › Title 17 › Chapter 1 › § 107 17 U.S. Code § 107 – Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
-9-
First Generation Assembly 