|
| Chapter 3 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
|
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: I know thy works, and that thou hast a name that thou livest, but thou 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, who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name from 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!’ 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: 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. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but do lie--behold, I will make them to come and worship at thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more; 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!’ 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: 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 spew thee out of My mouth. 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 from 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 may not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. 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 on My throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with My Father on His throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches!’" |
We now move onto the church periods after A.D. 1500, before this time the church leaders had assumed great power. People were losing trust in the leaders realizing their claim of sinless and infallible was wrong. During this time we had the renaissance period, (a period when learning, art and design developed). When people started to think for themselves, they were discovering the truths found in the Word of God. We now head for the Reformation, a 16th-Century movement for the changes to the wrong living in the Roman Church, this grew into the appearance of the Protestant Churches with Luther leading the field. Groups of people protested the behaviour and teaching of the original church. As a result the doctrine of ‘justification by faith’ was resurrected. v1 Sardis. A Church which appeared alive but was in fact dead. The town of Sardis was once the capital of Lydia but it sank into a city that was forgotten, living on past glory until it was rebuilt by Tiberius after an earthquake. The city was well known for dyeing cloth and a life of evil. The church appears to have developed in the same way as the city, v4 "who have not defiled their garments," shows evil living by the church members. A few Christians had remained faithful to the Lord but most of the church had become dead to the Lord. Jesus knew all about their behaviour and sends a warning v2,3,5. v7 Philadelphia. The name means "brotherly love," this period represents the period of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when there was a tremendous turning to the Lord. There were many revivals in the period, Whitefield, Wesley, Finney and Moody stirred up the people to turn to the Lord. This church period will continue onto the return of the Lord even though we may now be living in the Laodicean church period. Philadelphia had a small population due to regular earthquakes in the area, the church seems to be in a similar state, v8. It does not appear that the church was suffering persecution from the general towns people, only the Jewish groups, Jesus does not call them Jews but "of the synagogue of Satan," v9. It appears that sometime in the future these will be made to recognize the Christians, the return of Christ. Neither is there any indication of wrong doctrine only a "well done" and encouragement. v8 Jesus says that He has "opened the doors which no one will close," v11 "I will return soon make sure you do not lose your crown of life." v12 A promise of never being separated from God in the coming eternity. The one who succeeds will be given a new name, the Name of God, the name of New Jerusalem. v14 Laodicea. Laodicea was on the bank of a river near the junction of three main trade routes. It had become large and very commercial. It was a banking centre and so very rich. Clothing and carpets were manufactured there and it also had a medical school. The church was not accused of any sort of evil or bad doctrine, it just suffered from pride and self satisfaction. There may have been introduced a pagan element within the church so that fellowship with Christ was very low. This represents the period that we now live in, according to this church we are only lukewarm(not hot or cold) in our works for the Lord. The Laodicean’s were about to be rejected as "not having a good taste" by God. Note also that Jesus referred to the "church of the Laodicean’s" not the church at Laodicea, the members had taken over the church and God had no part in it. v17 These people were rich and had many goods and felt that they could do without God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yet God considered them "wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked," v17b. Man looks on the outside appearance, God looks on the heart. v18 The church was encourage to buy the "gold tried in the fire" to really be rich and anoint their eye’s (heart) with the purity of God to see their real state. v19 This terrible state of the church heart does not put off the love of Christ for them, He is still working to produce repentance and redemption. It is worth noting that the invitation is to individuals, not the church. Christ wants to be part of their life. v20,21 Christ knocks at the door of your heart, but only you can open it. If you open then He will come and join you for ever. He offers to share the throne given to Him by God the Father for those who endures (keeps faith) until the end. |
Easy English Translation
| Back to previous page | Return to Home Page |
| Revelation |
