The Facebook Church
Jesus's Oracle to the Church at Sardis
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: Thus says the one having the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be awake and strengthen that which was about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. Therefore remember how you received and heard and keep, and repent. Then if you do not stay awake, I will come like a thief and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you. But you have a few names in Sardis which have not spoiled their garments and they are walking with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers thus shall be clothed in white garments and I will never wipe his name from the book of life and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. The one having an ear, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:1-6.
If there is a church in Revelation that fits the Facebook mold of today, it is the church at Sardis.
Appearance over substance.
All over Facebook, people put their “best face forward” as the happiest humans on earth while the disasters of their lives remain hidden.
Unfortunately the pressure to look like a joyful Christian leads not only to the same happy Facebook posts, but to smiles and handshakes in church and at least in the South the wearing of “Sunday best” clothes.
That Sunday face often belies the truth of what is going on the other six days.
Recently a high-school friend had to leave a high profile ministry because of inappropriate relationships.
As a teenager, I remember the shock of youth leaders divorcing and even a suicide from a prominent and well respected man in my church.
No one knew anything until it happened.
Lives of quiet desperation or of hidden sin are closeted away because of the shame or humiliation of being weak and vulnerable, while at the same time presenting an entirely different face to the world.
But those are the very things Jesus wants us to bring to him for healing: Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.
In a similar way to “left your first love” Ephesus, Jesus called on the church at Sardis to turn back from their fake appearance and toward him in truth and purity to receive the white garment he had for them.
This oracle divides easily in to six parts: the opening, a statement of condition, an exhortation, a warning, a praise, and finally rewards for conquering and the call to listen.
(continued)
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Opening: And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: Thus says the one having the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Revelation 3:1a.
Sardis, just to the northeast of Smyrna and south of Thyateira, had a long and illustrious history going back to the famously rich Croesus.
The city had a well-known citadel that was difficult to overcome, though it did happen several times. An earthquake in AD 17 did what many armies could not do, destroy the city quickly.
Sardis was known for gold and fine clothing and had been rebuilt by the mid-first century when Paul or his emissaries likely founded the church.
Jews had been present in the city for centuries and some may well have converted to Christianity.
In this opening, Jesus once again referred to his vision to John in chapter one by invoking the seven stars “which are the angels of the seven churches.”
Some commentators argue the seven spirits are the same as the seven angels and others the Holy Spirit.
Early commentators on the seven spirits from the third to fifth centuries were divided between seven angels and the Holy Spirit. Later in Revelation 4 the seven spirits are before the throne of God (4:5) and in 5:6, the seven spirits are the “seven eyes” of the Lamb. Both of these as well as 1:4 point more to the Holy Spirit than angels, with seven representing the perfection of the Spirit but also the distribution of the Spirit.
With these words, Jesus referred to his divine and omniscient status in preparation for the message he had for the church in Sardis.
Statement of condition: I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Revelation 3:1b
This line of Jesus may be the most devastating words in the seven oracles, only challenged by “you have left your first love” in the oracle to Ephesus, and perhaps lukewarm Laodicea.
By stating this general condition with no specifics (unlike the Nikolaitans or Jezebel), Jesus used the sword of his mouth to cut to the heart of their spiritual malady: appearance over substance.
“A name” means their reputation.
The church as a whole had put their best PR foot forward: WE ARE ALIVE!
It may be that the large Jewish community in Sardis was a driver—the church wanted to show their religious faith was just as good as the Jews.
No matter the driver behind their reputation-based actions, Jesus called them to the truth.
The church is not a social club or gathering place for like-minded people, but a beachhead for the Kingdom of God on this earth.
Christian faith is not about appearing put together but about honesty and humility before God and one another in the daily struggles of life.
The outside matches the inside: Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
The daily recognition of need for God and relying on God is what is essential, not what people think about me.
From my admittedly small vantage point in Redding, California, this appearance over substance malady seems to be a major idol for both Christians and the church and Christian organizations today.
“Scandals” among Christians are not usually the result of sinful actions themselves, but the coverup of those actions.
Confession and repentance from the original action before God and one another is life-giving and clears the way for walking with integrity.
But the Lie is convincing ourselves that our mistakes will “harm my witness” or “put the institution in danger” or “affect people’s livelihood.”
We must cover them up.
In a word, corruption results and the coverup becomes an idolatrous obsession, until all comes into the open anyway and the entire event is termed a scandal.
Churches and other “Christian” institutions are littered with these—the appearance of life in their propaganda, but dead through compromise.
With the words, “but you are dead,” Jesus called the church at Sardis to account.
Exhortation: Be awake! and strengthen the rest which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. Therefore remember how you received and heard, then keep it and repent. Revelation 3:2–3a.
Jesus’s first statement, “You are dead,” was actually rhetorical hyperbole—they weren’t totally dead.
In this exhortation, he implied that death was happening but not yet complete—he suggested they were sleeping on the job: “I have not found your works complete before my God.”
There it is again—their works.
Here it is instructive to note that the previous oracles help us to interpret this statement.
What are the true works? Love (for Jesus and one another), faithfulness, perseverance, and service.
Appearing put together before others is not a viable work before God; it is only a fake mask, what Jesus in the gospels termed hypocrisy or acting.
But there was still time to right the ship of their close-to-shipwrecked faith if they woke up and made some changes.
What were those changes?
First they needed to remember what happened when they came to Jesus in the first place (like the Ephesians)—how they received the gospel message and responded to it (“heard”).
I often pray the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy upon me a sinner.” Those few words remind me again and again what I was and what Jesus did for me. And apart from the daily grace of God, I can so easily fall into the same deadness as those at Sardis.
Second, Jesus called them to “keep watching and repent.”
Along with remembering where Jesus brought them from, they were to look forward with care to where Jesus wanted them to go—and change their mind (repent) about where they currently were.
This repentance is not a one time thing. As we stay awake, we will always discover new areas we need to change our mind about in our quest to follow Jesus.
Warning: Then if you do not stay awake, I will come like a thief and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3b
If the oracle to Thyateira had numerous references to the Old Testament, in this oracle, Jesus referred to his own words recorded in the gospels: But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what night-watch the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed the house to be broken into (Matthew 24:43). Paul referred to this thief language in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and Peter in 2 Peter 3:10.
These words also appear later in Revelation. Here is what Jesus told John right in the middle of sixth bowl judgment in Revelation 16:15: Look! I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and guards his garments so he might not walk around naked and they see his nakedness.
Something very intriguing was going on with Jesus’s warning.
Jesus showed by the warning, that despite their almost dead condition, he had not given up on them.
He doubled down on the truth about the state of their faith to shake them up and call them out of their stupor.
(cont.)
Praise: But you have a few names in Sardis which have not spoiled their garments and they are walking with me in white, for they are worthy.
Jesus once again showed that the shocking words “you are dead” were part hyperbole—he acknowledged that what he said did not apply to everyone in Sardis.
Some remained faithful.
They quietly went about showing love, faithfulness, perseverance and service in spite of the show around them.
These unobtrusive believers were the ones Jesus focused on as “worthy.”
They lived out their lives in faithful obedience—they had not dirtied their clothes with show or compromise for the adulation of others.
They only cared for what God thought of them; they followed the way of Jesus.
I hope this is how God views our efforts.
Reward and call to listen: The one who conquers thus shall be clothed in white garments and I will never wipe his name from the book of life and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. The one having an ear, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
It is that very image of “white garments”—the opposite of soiled garments—that Jesus promised as a reward as well as the promises never to erase their names from the book of life and to confess them before his Father.
With this reward, we once again see a reference to the Gospel record of Jesus’s teaching.
—Wedding garments show up in one of Jesus’s parables—those garments expected for those at the wedding feast (Matthew 22:11-12).
—At his transfiguration Jesus had on shining white clothes (Matthew 17:2).
—In Luke 10:20, Jesus told his disciples, “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
—In Matthew 10:32, Jesus taught, “whoever confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father in heaven.” And likewise in Luke 12:8, “everyone who confesses me before men, the Son of Man will confess him before the angels of God.”
The very things Jesus spoke on earth were the things he now spoke from heaven.
As Hebrews exclaims, “Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same, and forever.”
I’ve not said much so far about the phrase, “The one who conquers.”
This phrase is all about the perseverance of the saints.
Whatever theological tradition you are from, Catholic, Wesleyan or Reformed, this perseverance from the beginning of faith to the end is an essential feature, coming once again straight from the words of Jesus, “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 10:13; Luke 21:19).
Jesus called the church of Sardis to wake up from
their stupor, to repent, to show the works of God, and to endure.
His words to Sardis are ones that we all need to hear.
Thanks for reading. See you later.
Audio Version!
I am loving this journey through The Book of Revelation. The insights are invaluable!
This has been my favorite post thus far. As a pastor, it not only gives me wisdom to preach from, but to first apply to my own life--substance over appearance.
I continue to enjoy reading your posts. Thank you!