Apocalipse 3

Apocalipse 3

Wuest writes that "The word assembly is a good one-word translation of ekklesia." John Walvoord has a helpful discussion of ekklesia - This word translated church or assembly is found in at least four important meanings in the New Testament. It is used (1) to mean an assembly of people. In this sense it has no special theological meaning. It can refer to Israel as a gathered people in the wilderness (Acts 7:38+) or a regular assembly of citizens (Acts 19:39+) or a group of people gathered for religious worship (Heb. 2:12+). (2) The same word is used for an assembly of Christians in a local church (Acts 8:1+, Acts 8:3+; Acts 11:22, 26+) and in the plural for a group of such churches (1Cor. 16:19+; Gal. 1:2+). Each assembly or church has a local gathering composed of professed Christians. That all in the assembly are not necessarily true believers is clear from the messages to the seven churches of Asia (Rev 2:1-29+; Rev 3:1-22+). (3) Ecclesia is also used of the total of professing Christians without reference to locality and is practically parallel in this sense to Christendom (Acts 12:1+; Ro 16:16+; 1Cor. 15:9+; Gal. 1:13+; Rev. 2:1-29+, Rev 3:1-22+; etc.). The same word is used (4) of the body of Christ, composed of those baptized by the Holy Spirit into the church (1Cor. 12:13+). Ecclesia used in this connection becomes a technical word referring to the saints of this age. (Borrow The Millennial Kingdom on page 224) (See also his article Revelation 2: The Letters To Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, And Thyatira) Ekklesia in the Revelation - Rev. 1:4+; Rev. 1:11+; Rev. 1:20+; Rev. 2:1+; Rev. 2:7+; Rev. 2:8+; Rev. 2:11+; Rev. 2:12+; Rev. 2:17+; Rev. 2:18+; Rev. 2:23+; Rev. 2:29+; Rev. 3:1+; Rev. 3:6+; Rev. 3:7+; Rev. 3:13+; Rev. 3:14+; Rev. 3:22+; Rev. 22:16+ = “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches." NOTE THE STRANGE ABSENCE OF THE WORD EKKLESIA IN Revelation 4-20 WHICH EVEN HAS NO ALLUSION TO THE CHURCH! Deeds (work, works) (2041) ergon gives us our English word "erg," a unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one dyne when its point of application moves one centimeter in the direction of action of the force. Friberg defines ergon - (1) generally work; (a) active, anything done or to be done = deed, work, action (Jn 3.21+); (b) passive, anything achieved or made as the product of an action or process = workmanship, deed, accomplishment (1Cor 3.13+); (2) in contrast to rest = work, activity (Heb 4.3, 4+); deed (1Jn 3.18+) in contrast to word (lo,goj); as a corollary or complement to faith, as a practical demonstration or proof of it work(s), deed(s) (James 2.18+); (3) as God's activity in the world work(s), deed(s), act(s) (Jn 5.20+); (4) as human duties and occupations = work, task (Acts 14.26+); (5) in a weakened sense = matter, thing, undertaking (Acts 5.38+) (Borrow Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament) Gingrich adds "1. deed, action Lk 24:19+; Col 3:17+; 2 Th 2:17+; Heb 4:3, 4, 10+; Jas 2:14+ff. Manifestation, practical proof, practice Ro 2:15+; Eph 4:12+; 1 Th 1:3+; 2 Th 1:11+; Jas 1:4+. Deed, accomplishment Mt 11:2+; Mk 14:6+; Lk 11:48+; Jn 3:19+, 20f; 6:28f; 7:3, 21; 10:25, 37f; Acts 9:36+; Ro 3:20, 28+; Col 1:10+; Heb 6:1+; Jas 3:13+; Rev 15:3+.—2. work, occupation, task Mk 13:34+; Jn 17:4+, Ac 14:26+; Acts 15:38+; 1 Cor 15:58+; 2 Ti 4:5+.—3. work in the passive sense, indicating what is produced by work Acts 7:41+; 1 Cor 3:13, 14, 15+; Heb 1:10+; 2 Pet 3:10+; 1 Jn 3:8+.—4. thing, matter Acts 5:38+; (Borrow Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by Gingrich, F. Wilbur.) (For more borrow Spiros Zodhiates The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament). Death, Spiritual.(TOPICAL BIBLE) 1.Alienation from God is. Eph 4:18+. 2.Carnal-mindedness is. Ro 8:6+. 3.Walking in trespasses/ sins. Eph 2:1+; Col 2:13+. 4.Spiritual ignorance is. Isa 9:2+; Mt 4:16+; Lu 1:79+; Eph 4:18+. 5.Unbelief is. Joh 3:36+; 1 Joh 5:12+. 6.Living in pleasure is. 1Ti 5:6+. 7.Hypocrisy is. Rev 3:1,2+. 8.Is a consequence of the fall. Ro 5:12,15+. 9.Is the state of all men by nature. Ro 6:13+; Romans 8:6+. 10.The fruits of, are dead works. Heb 6:1+; Hebrews 9:14+. 11.A call to arise from. Eph 5:14+. 12.Deliverance from, is through Christ. Joh 5:24,25+; Eph 2:5+; 1 Joh 5:12+. 13.Saints are raised from. Ro 6:13+. 14.Love of the brethren, a proof of being raised from. 1Jn 3:14+. 15.Illustrated. Eze 37:2,3+; Lu 15:24+. ILLUSTRATION - Maybe you heard about the little boy who walked out of the church sanctuary one Sunday. Out in the lobby was an engraved plaque listing all the members of the church who had died in military service. The little boy asked his father,''Dad, what' that?'' His dad replied,''That's for the members who died in the Service.'' To which the little boy asked, ''Which service did they die in, Dad? The morning or the evening service?'' ILLUSTRATION OF "I KNOW" - By means of satellite imagery and software programs that can find almost any address on the planet, I can see almost any church building in the world from my study at home. If, for example, I want to see a certain church in South Africa, I can open a software application and a spectacular picture of our blue and green planet spinning in space appears on my computer screen. I type in Africa and the spinning planet rotates to the giant continent of Africa. I then type in South Africa and zoom in on the country of South Africa. I type in Barberton (a city west of Swaziland), and in seconds I see the entire city. Finally, I type in the address of the church. Before I know it, I’m looking down at the roof of a church building 9,800 miles (15,680 km) from my home. As powerful and amazing as this technology is, however, I still can’t see inside the building. I see only the roof. I cannot see or hear God’s people as they worship, nor can I look into the hearts and minds of the people who gather there. But there is one who can see perfectly into every human heart. He can perceive the corporate spirit of a church. Not only can he see into every church and every heart, he can walk among the churches on earth without being detected! And he does it all without the benefit of our feeble computers, cameras, or satellite imagery. ILLUSTRATION - The vast distances of interstellar space are unimaginably immense. The nearest stars to us are trillions of miles away. Those large distances have forced astronomers to come up with an appropriate measurement unit, the light-year. One light-year equals the distance that light, traveling at more than 186,000 miles per second, travels in one year—more than 6 trillion miles. The enormous distance to even the nearest stars presents an interesting possibility. If a star thirty light-years away from the earth exploded and died five years ago, we would not be able to tell by looking at it for another twenty-five years. Though no longer in existence, the light from that star would go on shining as if nothing had changed. That illustration perfectly sums up the situation in many churches. They still shine with the reflected light of a brilliant past. Looking at them from a distance, one might think nothing had changed. Yet the spiritual darkness of false teaching and sinful living has extinguished the light on the inside, though some of their reputation may still remain. Such a church was the church at Sardis. It was reputed to be alive, but the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced it to be dead. The downward spiral depicted by these churches, beginning with the Ephesian church’s loss of its first love for Jesus Christ and continuing with Pergamum’s worldliness and Thyatira’s toleration of sin, reached a new low at Sardis. The church at Sardis could well be nicknamed “The First Church of the Tares.” (Actually this fits Laodicea better as there were 100% tares there!) It was a church dominated by sin, unbelief, and false doctrine. Like the fig tree in Jesus’ parable, it bore leaves, but no fruit (Matt. 21:19+). (See Revelation Commentary) ILLUSTRATION - I (Adrian Rogers) remember hearing my good friend Dr. W. A. Criswell talk, one time, at a convention. And, Dr. Criswell was talking about some of these dead churches. He told about how, on a vacation, he went into a church to visit in that church. He told how dead it was, and how barren it was, and how still it was, and how there was a clammy coldness about it all. Then, he said, after that—it was in a resort area—he said he and his wife went to a restaurant, and that restaurant was staffed with college kids. And, he said they had on the tables their red checkered tablecloths, and the kids were dressed very brightly. And, the kids had big smiles on their faces, and they were serving. And, they even had a little songfest over in the corner, and it was such a happy place to be. Dr. Criswell, in his own way, said, "I went out of that restaurant so happy and just so blessed." He said, "They didn't give an invitation at the church." And, he said, "They didn't give an invitation at the restaurant. But, if they had, I would have joined the restaurant, rather than the church." Sardis: Cocky and Confident - Sardis seemed impregnable, sitting on a hill surrounded by high cliffs which no army could scale. Cocky and confident, the people of Sardis slept soundly while Cyrus, the Persian king, and his army climbed the steep cliffs. When the sun rose over Sardis on that day in 549 B.C., its inhabitants discovered they should have been watching instead of sleeping. Did the people of Sardis learn a lesson? Perhaps—but they failed to tell it to their children. In 214 B.C. Sardis again fell when Antiochus the Great surprised the sleeping city by scaling the cliffs at night. ILLUSTRATION OF A MAN WHO WAS ORTHODOX BUT DEAD - THE STORY OF JOHN WESLEY founder of Methodism John and his brother Charles went to Oxford and in 1726 established ''The Holy Club'' arising at 4 a.m. for prayer, Bible study, self-examination and going out to minister to the poor and the imprisoned. In 1735 Charles and John sailed for Georgia to ''save'' the Indians. John on returning to England wrote: ''I went to America to convert the Indians, but who will convert me?'' On the initial trip from England to America there were some Moravians on board who had an alive, vibrant Christianity. The Moravians told the Wesleys that they had not been born again. Before they sailed for Georgia, John Wesley talked with Charles who now began to long for the faith that could conquer sin after 10 vain years of struggling. John Wesley, despondent from his experience in America, entered into ''a dark night of the soul'' writing ''For 3 days I was sorrowful and very heavy, being neither able to read nor sing nor meditate nor pray nor do anything.'' Charles could pray despite suffering bodily pain but his prayer brought no sense of Christ's presence and he thought he was going to die. But he was convinced he would not die until he truly knew Jesus. He knew all about Jesus but nothing changed in his life. Charles shared the gospel of salvation by faith at one church and the church was upset. He supposed they were ''too religious'' to tolerate a FAITH SO SIMPLE. On Saturday John gathered with some friends to spend the night in prayer for his brother Charles and on the morning of Sunday, May 21, 1738 Charles Wesley came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. As they arose from prayer John was greeted with the news that his brother Charles had accepted Christ and truly believed and was at peace with God, rejoicing and recovering from his illness. John Wesley lapsed into misery, on Monday and Tuesday seeking and praying for ''a full reliance on the blood of Christ shed for me, a trust in Him as my Christ, my sole justification, sanctification and redemption.'' He had thought that he must become holy BEFORE he could be saved. Now he knew that he deserved nothing but wrath. On May 24, 1738, 3 days after his brother accepted Christ, John Wesley was saved. THE ACCOUNT OF JOHN WESLEY'S CONVERSION: John went to a meeting at Aldersgate where they were reading Luther on the book of Romans. John later wrote ''In the evening I went...to a society at Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle of the Romans. About a quarter before 9, while he was describing the change which God works in a heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.'' He began to pray ''for all those who despitefully use me.'' Then he testified openly to those who were there what he now felt in his heart. ''But it was not long before the enemy suggested this cannot be faith for where is joy.'' He learned then that faith does not depend on feeling. ''Joy might be given or withheld.'' The others ran to Charles who was writing a hymn to celebrate his own conversion ''Where Shall My Wandering Soul Begin?''. John was brought in and declared ''I believe. We sang our hymn with great joy: '' Out passive men, to you I call: harlots and publicans and thieves. He spreads His arms to embrace you all, sinners alone His grace receives. No need of Him the righteous have. He came the lost to seek and save. For You the Prince of glory died. Believe and all your guilt's forgiven. Only believe and yours is heaven.'' He went out to share at a Sunday evening dinner party. John got up and told them that 5 days earlier he was not a Christian and that the way for all of them to be Christians was to believe and to own that they were not Christians! Mr. Hutton was surprised by this unexpected injudicious speech and said ''Have a care Mr. Wesley how you despise the benefits received by the two sacraments.'' After the company left several went in to eat where again Wesley made the ''same wild speech at supper in the parlor. Mrs. Hutton exclaimed ''If you was not a Christian ever since I knew you, you was a GREAT HYPOCRITE for you all made us believe you once was!'' Significant facts about Sardis "To a striking degree, the history of the church at Sardis paralleled that of the city." (MacArthur) "Sardis’ claim to fame at the time Revelation was written lay essentially in its history, for, while it had once been the preeminent city in Asia, it had fallen into decline and lost any claim to a leading role. Sardis was situated at the junction of the major roads leading from Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum to the East." (Monty Mills) Sardis was the capital of the fabulously wealthy Lydian empire as early as 1200 B.C. (See map of Lydian kingdom circa 547 BC) to become one of the greatest cities in the ancient world Sardis reached its zenith under King Croesus. King Croesus and Sardis were famed around the world for their wealth. In that part of the world, it is still common to hear the phrase, “As rich as Croesus”. (depiction of Croesus) He is credited with issuing the Croeseid, (picture) the first true gold coins with a standardized purity for general circulation and the world's first bimetallic monetary system c. 550 BC. While Sardis reached its zenith under Croesus, it also fell under his reign. He and the people of the city became complacent in their wealth, their power and their city’s apparent invincibility (see picture of acropolis where city citadel once set - you can see why it was almost impregnable - it was built with a smooth, nearly perpendicular rock walls on three sides). When the region where Sardis was located came under attack by Cyrus the Persian, King Croesus and his people retreated to their city, believing they were safe. One night, one of the Persian soldiers saw a Sardinian soldier drop his helmet over the wall of the city. He watched as that soldier followed a hidden path down the side of the mountain to retrieve his helmet. When nightfall came, Cyrus and his troops followed the hidden path up the side of the mountain, entered the city while the guards slept and conquered Sardis. R L Thomas adds - Despite an alleged warning against self-satisfaction by the Greek god whom he consulted, Croesus the king of Lydia initiated an attack against Cyrus king of Persia, but was soundly defeated. Returning to Sardis to recoup and rebuild his army for another attack, he was pursued quickly by Cyrus who laid siege against Sardis. Croesus felt utterly secure in his impregnable situation atop the acropolis and foresaw an easy victory over the Persians who were cornered among the perpendicular rocks in the lower city, an easy prey for the assembling Lydian army to crush. After retiring one evening while the drama was unfolding, he awakened to discover that the Persians had gained control of the acropolis by scaling one-by-one the steep walls (549 B.C.). So secure did the Sardians feel that they left this means of access completely unguarded, permitting the climbers to ascend unobserved. It is said that even a child could have defended the city from this kind of attack, but not so much as one observer had been appointed to watch the side that was believed to be inaccessible. History repeated itself more than three and a half centuries later when Antiochus the Great conquered Sardis by utilizing the services of a sure-footed mountain climber from Crete (195 B.C.). His army entered the city by another route while the defenders in careless confidence were content to guard the one known approach, the isthmus of land connected to mount Tmolus on the south. (See Revelation Exegetical Commentary) Sardis regained some of its former wealth under the reign of Alexander the Great, but was invaded and defeated by Antiochus the Great, who also entered the city at night while the guards slept. When the Romans came, Sardis was still a wealthy, powerful city, but by John’s day, Sardis was just a shell of what it had been. The people had grown lazy, degenerate, immoral and complacent. Sardis was dying through apathy and indifference. Once an important commercial city - Pliny says that the art of dyeing wool was invented there, and it was the entrepôt of the dyed wool, the raw material for which was furnished by the flocks of Phrygia. Located about 60 miles inland from Ephesus and Smyrna and about 30 miles south of Thyatira in the fertile valley and on the Pactolus River (picture) from which the ancient Lydians mined electrum (a combination of silver and gold - see picture) and minted it into coins, some of the first coins minted in the ancient world. Archaeologists have found hundreds of crucibles, used for refining gold, in the ruins of Sardis (Borrow New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor) Melito of Sardis (died circa 180 AD) was a well-known bishop and apparently wrote one of the early commentaries on the Revelation. Geographically imposing, founders placed the acropolis of the city upon an impressive hill (1,500 foot high plateau), but it is a hill of mud, not of rock. Wind and rain have carved the surrounding soft hills into a variety of curious shapes. There was one narrow road leading into the city and other sides of the plateau were steep cliffs (see picture above) which made the city safe and nearly impenetrable by invading armies (or so they thought). In its lower city, there was a large temple to Artemis/Diana (goddess of the hunt, the moon, and fertility - picture of temple). In later centuries a church building occupied the same site. Hot springs not far from Sardis were celebrated as a spot in which the gods manifested their supposed power to give life to the dead—an ironic note for a city whose church was dead. Death in fact was a special preoccupation of the Sardians, as witnessed by the impressive necropolis, or cemetery, of "a thousand hills" so named because of the hundreds of burial mounds visible on the skyline seven miles from Sardis. In the second century the Romans built a large bathhouse complex of over five acres that included a gymnasium for exercise (picture of ruins; reconstructed picture). A synagogue in Sardis is one of the largest ancient synagogues excavated in the Roman world (picture), providing evidence for a significant and influential population of Jews. Sardis was the city of death. It possessed appearance without reality and provided promise without performance. Due to its careless confidence, the church at Sardis displays a lack of watchfulness in spiritual matters. Sardis was the home of Aesop, author of the famous children's fables. Sardis was destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 17 AD and rebuilt by the Romans with the aid of Emperor Tiberius for whom the Sardians built a temple in his honor. The city was proud of its past; it was proud of its reputation. But, its reputation was all it had left. For all intents and purposes, the city of Sardis was dead, even while it lived. The city is now a heap of ruins. In 1850 no human being found a dwelling there. WILLIAM RAMSEY ON SARDIS: The letter to the Sardian Church breathes the spirit of death, of appearance without reality, promise without performance, outward show of strength betrayed by want of watchfulness and careless confidence. Carelessness and failure to keep proper watch, arising from over-confidence in the apparent strength of the fortress, had been the cause of this disaster, which ruined the dynasty and brought to an end the Lydian Empire and the dominance of Sardis. The walls and gates were all as strong as art and nature combined could make them. The hill on which the upper city stood was steep and lofty. The one approach to the upper city was too carefully fortified to offer any chance to an assailant. But there was one weak point: in one place it was possible for an active enemy to make his way up the perpendicular sides of the lofty hill, if the defenders stood idle and permitted him to climb unhindered. The sudden ruin of that great Empire and the wealthiest king of all the world was an event of that character which most impressed the Greek mind, emphasizing a moral lesson by a great national disaster. A little carelessness was shown; a watchman was wanting at the necessary point, or a sentinel slept at his post for an hour; and the greatest power on the earth was hurled to destruction. The great king trusted to Sardis, and Sardis failed him at the critical moment. Promise was unfulfilled; the appearance of strength proved the mask of weakness; the fortification was incomplete; work which had been begun with great energy was not pushed through to its conclusion with the same determination. More than three centuries later another case of exactly the same kind occurred. Archaeus and Antiochus the Great were fighting for the command of Lydia and the whole Seleucid Empire. Antiochus besieged his rival in Sardis, and the city again was captured by a surprise of the same nature: a Cretan mercenary led the way, climbing up the hill and stealing unobserved within the fortifications. The lesson of old days had not been learned; experience had been forgotten; men were too slack and careless; and when the moment of need came, Sardis was unprepared. A State cannot survive which is guarded with such carelessness; a people at once so slack and so confident cannot continue an imperial power. Sardis, as a great and ruling city, was dead. It had sunk to be a second-rate city in a Province. Yet it still retained the name and the historical memory of a capital city. It had great pretensions, which it had vainly tried to establish in A.D. 26 before the tribunal of the Roman Senate in the contention among the Asian cities recorded by Tacitus, Annals, 4:55. When in that year the Asian States in the provincial Council (called the Commune of Asia) resolved to erect a temple to Tiberius and Livia his mother and the Senate, as a token of gratitude for the punishment of an oppressive and grasping administrator, eleven cities of the Province contended for the honor of being the seat of the Temple. Nine were quickly set aside, some as too unimportant, Pergamum as already the seat of a Temple to Augustus, Ephesus and Miletus as taken up with the ritual of Artemis and of Apollo; but there was much hesitation between the claims of Smyrna and of Sardis. Envoys of Sardis pleaded the cause of their city before the Senate. They rested their claim on the mythical or historical glory of the city as the capital of the Lydians, who were a sister-race to the Etruscans, and had sent colonists to the Peloponnesus, and as honored by letters from Roman generals and by a special treaty which Rome had concluded with Sardis in 171-168 B.C.: in conclusion, they boasted of the rivers, the climate, and the rich territory around the city. The case, however, was decided in favor of Smyrna. And such also was the city and its history. Looked at from a little distance to the north in the open plain, Sardis wore an imposing, commanding, impregnable aspect, as it dominated that magnificent broad valley of the Hermus from its robber stronghold on a steep spur that stands out boldly from the great mountains on the south. But, close at hand, the hill is seen to be but mud, slightly compacted, never trustworthy or lasting, crumbling under the influences of the weather, ready to yield even to a blow of the spade. Yet the Sardians always trusted to it; and their careless confidence had often been deceived, when an adventurous enemy climbed in at some unguarded point, where the weathering of the soft rock had opened a way. Sardis boldly styled itself “first metropolis of Asia, of Lydia, of Hellenism” on the arrogant coin represented in Fig. 9. Smyrna was dead and yet lived. Sardis lived and yet was dead. SARDIS: No city in the whole Province of Asia had a more splendid history in past ages than Sardis. No city of Asia at that time showed such a melancholy contrast between past splendor and present decay as Sardis. Its history was the exact opposite of the record of Smyrna. Smyrna was dead and yet lived. Sardis lived and yet was dead. SARDIS was one of the great cities of primitive history: in the Greek view it was long the greatest of all cities. At the beginning of record it stands forth prominently as the capital of a powerful empire. Its situation marks it out as a ruling city, according to the methods of early warfare and early kings; it was however more like a robber’s stronghold than an abode of civilized men; and in a peaceful and civilized age its position was found inconvenient. In the Roman period it was almost like a city of the past, a relic of the period of barbaric warfare, which lived rather on its ancient prestige than on its suitability to present conditions.The great plain of the Hermus is bounded on the south by the broad ridge of mount Tmolus, which reaches from the main mass of the Central Anatolian plateau like an arm extended westwards towards the sea. In front of the mountains stretch a series of alluvial hills, making the transition from the level plain to the loftier ridge behind. On one of those hills stood Sardis. The hills in this neighborhood are of such a character that under the influences of the atmosphere each assumes the form of a small elongated plateau having very steep sides, terminating towards the north in a sharp point, and on the south joined by a neck to the main mass of Tmolus. One of those small elevated plateaus formed the site of the original Sardis, an almost impregnable fortress already as it came from the hand of nature without any artificial fortification. Only a small city could be perched on the little plateau; but in the primitive time, when Sardis came into existence, cities were small. It was actually inaccessible except at one point, viz., the neck of land on the south, which still offers the only approach. On all other sides the rock walls were smooth, nearly perpendicular, and absolutely unscalable even without a defender (except in rare conditions described in the sequel). The local myth expressed the facts in a religious form by saying that the ancient Lydian King, Meles, carried a lion, the symbol of Sardis and type of the oldest Lydian coins, round the whole city except at one point. The story is told by Herodotus, 1, 84; but he (or a glossator) has given an incorrect explanation, to the effect that Meles thought it unnecessary to carry the lion round the southern side of the city, because there it was precipitous. The exact opposite was the case: the only approach to the old city must have been from the beginning and must always be on the south. The story is a popular explanation of the fact that the south alone was accessible and not precipitous. This southern approach is far from being easy. It is a tedious and difficult climb at the present day (See picture above), when the hill-sides are overgrown with thorns, and only a sheep-track exists in place of a path. Even when the summit was inhabited and a carefully made road led up to the southern gates, the approach must have been long and steep by a winding road, which could be defended with perfect ease. The plateau is fully 1,500 feet above the plain, from which its sides rise perpendicularly. This small city on its lofty plateau was an ideal stronghold for a prince of primitive times. It was large enough for his needs; it could be easily fortified and defended at the only point where fortification or defense was needed. It was like a watch-tower overlooking the whole of the great plain. That primitive capital of the Hermus Valley seems to have been called, not Sardis (which was a plural noun), but Hyde; and it is mentioned by Homer under that name. As the capital of the great kingdom of Lydia, Sardis had a history marked by frequent wars. In it the whole policy of a warlike kingdom was focused. To fight against Lydia was to fight against Sardis. The master of Sardis was the master of Lydia. Thus in early centuries Sardis stood forth pre-eminent in the view of the Greek cities as the Oriental enemy on whose action their fate depended. They were most of them involved in war with Sardis, and fell one by one beneath its power. It was the great, the wealthy, the impregnable city, against which none could strive and prevail. In the immemorial contest between Asia and Europe, it represented Asia, and the Greek colonies of the coast-lands stood for Europe. Sardis was the one great enemy of the Ionian cities, it learned from them, taught them, and conquered them all in succession. Among an impressionable people like the Greeks, such a reputation lived long; and Sardis was to their mind fully justified in inscribing on its coins the proud title, “Sardis the First Metropolis of Asia, and of Lydia, and of Hellenism,” To avoid over-confidence in self, to guard against pride and arrogance, not to despise one’s enemy, to bear always in mind the slipperiness and deceitfulness of fortune — such was the greatest part of true wisdom, as the Greeks understood it; and nowhere could the lesson be found written in plainer and larger letters than in the fall of Sardis. According to the popular tale this weak point existed from the beginning of history in Sardis, because, when the divine consecration and encompassing of the new fortress had been made at its foundation, this point had been omitted; thus the tale would imply that the weak point was known to the defenders and through mere obstinate folly left unguarded by them. But such a legend is usually a growth after the fact. The crumbling character of the rock on which the upper city of Sardis stood shows what the real facts must have been. In the course of time a weakness had developed at one point. Through want of proper care in surveying and repairing the fortifications, this weakness had remained unobserved and unknown to the defenders; but the assailants, scrutinizing every inch of the walls of the great fortress in search of an opportunity, noticed it and availed themselves of it to climb up, one at a time. On such a hill, rising fully 1,500 feet above the plain, whose sides are, and must from their nature always have been, steep and straight and practically perpendicular, a child could guard against an army; even a small stone dropped on the head of the most skillful mountain-climber, would inevitably hurl him down. An attack made by this path could succeed only if the assailants climbed up entirely unobserved; and they could not escape observation unless they made the attempt by night. Hence, even though this be unrecorded, a night attack must have been the way by which Cyrus entered Sardis. He came upon the great city “like a thief in the night.” History repeated itself. The same thing happened about 320 years later, when Antiochus the Great captured Sardis through the exploit of Lagoras (who had learned surefootedness on the precipitous mountains of his native Crete). Once more the garrison in careless confidence were content to guard the one known approach, and left the rest of the circuit unguarded, under the belief that it could not be scaled. RELIGION IN ASIA MINOR: The general Anatolian temper of religion is summarized in the following words (taken from the Cities and Bishoprics of Phyygza, 1., p. 87): “Its essence lies in the adoration of the life of Nature — that life subject apparently to death, yet never dying but reproducing itself in new forms, different and yet the same. This perpetual self identity under varying forms, this annihilation of death through the power of self-reproduction, was the object of an enthusiastic worship, characterized by remarkable self abandonment and immersion in the divine, by a mixture of obscene symbolism and sublime truths, by negation of the moral distinctions and family ties that exist in a more developed society, but do not exist in the free life of Nature. The mystery of self-reproduction, of eternal unity amid temporary diversity, is the key to explain all the repulsive legends and ceremonies that cluster round that worship, and all the manifold manifestations or diverse embodiments of the ultimate single divine life that are carved on the rocks of Asia Minor.” The strange and uncouth idol, under whose form the goddess was worshipped, often appears on coins; and in alliance-coins Sardis is often symbolized by this grotesque figure, whose half-human appearance is quite of the Anatolian type. Thus Fig. 30 shows an “alliance” or religious agreement between Ephesus, represented by Artemis in her usual idol with her stags at her side, and Sardis, symbolized by the curious veiled image of her own goddess (whom numismatists usually call in Hellenizing style Kora or Persephone). THE GODS OF SARDUS: Healing power was everywhere attributed to the local embodiment of the divine idea, but in Sardis it was with exceptional emphasis magnified into the power of restoring life to the dead. It was, doubtless, associated specially with certain hot springs, situated about two miles from Sardis in the front hills of Tmolus, which are still much used and famous for their curative effect. As the hot springs are the plain manifestation of the divine subterranean power, the god of the underworld plays a considerable part in the religious legend of the district. He appeared to claim and carry off as his bride the patron-goddess of the city, in the form of Kora-Persephone, as she was gathering the golden flower, the flower of Zeus, in the meadows near the springs; the games celebrated in her honor were called Chrysanthia; and it may be confidently inferred that crowns of the flower called by that name were worn by her worshippers. The name of “Zeus’s flower” also is mentioned on the coins. A DEAD CITY IN ROMAN TIMES: It is plain that the greatness of Sardis under the Roman rule was rooted in past history, not in present conditions. The acropolis ceased during that period to be the true city; it was inconvenient and useless; and it was doubtless regarded as a historical and archaeological monument, rather than a really important part of the living city. Apart from the acropolis there is nothing in the situation of Sardis to make it a great center of society, and it has long ceased to be inhabited. The chief town of the district is now Salikli, about five miles to the east, in a similar position at the foot of Tmolus, but more conveniently situated for travelers and trade. ILLUSTRATION - Michael Andrus - I have discovered an unusual thing. In most places in the world the vitality of religious faith is in inverse proportion to the size and the cost of the houses of worship. Where the number and size of cathedrals is the greatest, church attendance and church health seems to be at its lowest. On the other hand, where believers have to worship in house churches in secret, attendance is strongest and the church most vital. A case in point is a visit I made three years ago to York Minster (ED: LOOK AT THESE PICTURES), a cathedral in central England. This amazing building dwarfs any church building in our country. Its huge and intricate stained glass windows, some of which date back to the 13th century, were removed during the Second World War to protect them from German bombs, and it took the craftsmen 13 years to reinstall them. They picture much of the story line of the Bible in beautiful symbolism, all laid out in a gorgeous stone building almost as big as three football fields. Sadly at York Minster, like most of the great cathedrals throughout Europe and England, there are far more tourists than worshipers. There are seats for thousands, but an average service might find 35-50 people in attendance, mostly in their 80's (ED: I WATCHED A STREAMED SERVICE WHICH CONFIRMS THIS) Many of these churches haven’t had vibrant congregations for decades, maybe even centuries, and for the most part they are more like mausoleums than churches. In fact, there are literally more dead people present in the worship services than living ones, for there are hundreds of famous clerics, powerful politicians, and major donors entombed in the floor and in the basement! Now I still love visiting these buildings because I love the architecture and the stained glass and the wood carvings in these cathedrals. But spiritually speaking these great edifices are not worth the enormous cost of maintaining them, to say nothing of the immense amount of time (250 years for York Minster) and treasure it took to erect them, if they do not house a family of believers that is alive and growing. REPETITION OF THE PHRASE "SAYS THIS" = "TADE LEGEI" Says this - Literally the Greek reads "These things says" Says this could be accurately paraphrased "“this is the solemn pronouncement of” (NET) Greek = “These things says [the One] …” The expression τάδε λέγει (tade legei) occurs eight times in the NT, seven of which are in Rev 2–3 [Rev. 2:1+; Rev. 2:8+; Rev. 2:12+; Rev. 2:18+; Rev. 3:1+; Rev. 3:7+; Rev. 3:14+]. “The pronoun (tade) is used to add solemnity to the prophetic utterance that follows.…In classical drama, it was used to introduce a new actor to the scene (Smyth, Greek Grammar, 307 [§1241]). But the τάδε λέγει formula in the NT derives from the OT, where it was used to introduce a prophetic utterance. Thus, the translation “this is the solemn pronouncement of” for τάδε λέγει is very much in keeping with the OT connotations of this expression (because) the expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. The Septuagint (Lxx) has the same Greek phrase (τάδε λέγει, tade legei) about 350 times, with nearly 320 of them having “the LORD” (Heb יהוה, Yahweh) as subject. That the author of Revelation would use such an expression seven times with the risen Christ as the speaker may well imply something of Christ’s sovereignty and deity. Cf. also Acts 21:11+ in which the Holy Spirit is the speaker of this expression. (NET Note - Bolding added) EDITORIAL COMMENT - "TADE LEGEI" is used over 350 times in the Septuagint (Lxx) - here are a few representative uses which are as noted above usually are from the LORD Himself and begin "Thus says the LORD (or "Lord God" or "LORD of hosts")" - Amos 1:6; Amos 1:9; Amos 1:11; Amos 1:13; Amos 2:1; Amos 2:4; Amos 2:6; Amos 3:11; Amos 3:12; Amos 5:3; Amos 5:4; Amos 5:16; Amos 7:11; Amos 7:17; Mic. 2:3+; Mic. 3:5+; Obad. 1:1+; Nah. 1:12; Hag. 1:2; Hag. 1:5 = "Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!"; Hag. 1:7; Hag. 1:9; Hag. 2:6; Hag. 2:11; Zech. 1:3; Zech. 1:4; Zech. 1:14; Zech. 1:16; Zech. 1:17; Wake Up And Live I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. —Revelation 3:1+ Today's Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6+ It happened more than 30 years ago but it still hurts. During a period of spiritual rebellion, I ran into a young man I had introduced to Christ. He was stunned to discover that I had walked away from the Lord and was no longer the person he had known. It is one of my most regretted experiences, and I still pray for an opportunity to make it right with him. During those wandering years, I would have fit in comfortably as a member of the First Church of Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6+). My dilemma, like theirs, was that people thought I was the person I used to be. The risen Lord confronted the church in Sardis: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God” (Revelation 3:1-2+). Their reputation for being alive didn’t match reality. They were spiritually dead. But there was still hope. The Lord told them to wake up and fan the spark of spiritual life still in them. “Hold fast and repent,” He warned (Rev 3:3+). Pretending to be what we aren’t is a heavy burden to bear. Our Lord calls us to lay it down, repent, come back to Him, and live.By: David C. McCasland O Lord, return to me Your power That once by grace I knew; Forgive the sin that grieved Your heart, And help me to be true. —Anon. No matter how far you’ve run from God, He’s only a prayer away. Character Or Reputation? You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. — Revelation 3:1+ Today's Scripture & Insight: Revelation 3:1-6+ Legendary basketball coach John Wooden (1910–2010) believed that character is far more important than reputation. “Your reputation is what you’re perceived to be by others,” Coach Wooden often told his players, “but your character is what you really are. You’re the only one that knows your character. You can fool others, but you can’t fool yourself.” In the book of Revelation, we find the words of the risen Christ to seven churches in Asia. To the church in Sardis, Jesus said, “I know your works, that you have a name [reputation] that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1+). The Lord knew the truth about them, and no doubt deep down they knew it too. Jesus told them to wake up and strengthen the spiritual life inside them that was about to die (v.2). He urged them to remember the truth they had received, obey it, then turn around and start moving in a new direction (v.3). When the Lord shows us what’s wrong in our lives, He always provides a remedy for change. When we turn from our sins, He forgives and strengthens us to start over. How liberating to exchange a false spiritual reputation for the true, life-giving character that comes from knowing Christ our Lord! By: David C. McCasland Men talk too much of gold and fame, And not enough about a name; And yet a good name’s better far Than all earth’s glistening jewels are. —Guest The true test of our character is what we do when no one is watching. Revelation 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. BGT Revelation 3:2 γίνου γρηγορῶν καὶ στήρισον τὰ λοιπὰ ἃ ἔμελλον ἀποθανεῖν, οὐ γὰρ εὕρηκά σου τὰ ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ μου. KJV Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. NET Revelation 3:2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. CSB Revelation 3:2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. ESV Revelation 3:2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. NIV Revelation 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. NLT Revelation 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. NRS Revelation 3:2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. NJB Revelation 3:2 Wake up; put some resolve into what little vigour you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in your behaviour that my God could possibly call perfect; NAB Revelation 3:2 Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. YLT Revelation 3:2 become watching, and strengthen the rest of the things that are about to die, for I have not found thy works fulfilled before God. GWN Revelation 3:2 Be alert, and strengthen the things that are left which are about to die. I have found that what you are doing has not been completed in the sight of my God. BBE Revelation 3:2 Be on the watch, and make strong the rest of the things which are near to death; because as judged by me your works have not come up to God's measure. RSV Revelation 3:2 Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. NKJ Revelation 3:2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. ASV Revelation 3:2 Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine perfected before my God. MIT Revelation 3:2 Go on the alert, and strengthen what remains that is about to die, for I have not found your works to meet the full standards before my God. Wake up: Rev 16:15+ Isa 56:10 Isaiah 62:6,7 Eze 34:8-10,16 Zec 11:16 Mt 24:42-51+ Mt 25:13+ Mk 13:33-37+ Ac 20:28-31+ 2Ti 4:1-4+ 1Pe 4:7+ 1Pe 5:8+ strengthen: Rev 2:4+ De 3:28+ Job 4:4-5 Job 16:5 Isa 35:3+ Lu 22:31,32+ Ac 18:23+ your deeds: 1Ki 11:4+ 1 Kings 15:3+ 2Ch 25:2+ Isa 57:12 Da 5:27+ Mt 6:2-4+ Mt 23:5,28-38+ Revelation 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Revelation 16:15+ (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) Ephesians 5:14+ For this reason it says (Isa 60:1), “Awake, (egeiro in present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) sleeper, And arise (anistemi in aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” (See commentary for discussion of whether this refers to believers or unbelievers). Romans 13:11-14+ - (DON'T MISS THE TIME PHRASES) Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; (WHY?) for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision (present imperative with a negative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) for the flesh in regard to its lusts. JESUS' COMMANDS WAKEFULNESS AND STRENGTHENING