Recap: So far, in this series of sermons on the Book of Revelation, we have examined the letters of Jesus to four churches in the area we now call Turkey:
SARDIS -- THE DEAD CHURCH
COMMENTARY
1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Sardis
Located on Mount Tmolus in southern Turkey, the city of Sardis stood at the crossroads of Asia Minor, the most prosperous, powerful, fertile, and pagan province of the entire Roman Empire. First-century Sardis had a unique blend of residents: faithful Jews and Christians who worshiped God blended with influential pagans who worshiped the Roman emperor and gods such as Artemis and Cybele.
Seven hundred years before this letter was written Sardis had become one of the greatest cities of the world. Ruled over by the king of Lydia, it had magnificence and luxury and nearly unlimited wealth.
Sardis was also a great military power, which is really no wonder when you understand that it stood in the midst of a river plain on a plateau some fifteen hundred feet above the valley. The sides of the plateau were sheer cliffs. An enemy could be seen approaching for miles all around. The city was nearly impregnable. Looking at Sardis from a distance was like looking at a gigantic watchtower above the Hermus Valley.
Sardis grew until it could no longer fit on the plateau and the building spilled over into the valley below. Now it became a two-tiered city - upper and lower Sardis. A river that was said to contain gold bisected Lower Sardis. The greatest of the kings of Sardis lived at the time of the discovery of this gold. His name was Croesus.
Croesus and his people were extremely rich, but their wealth brought them down. As they settled more and more into lives of falsely secure luxury and splendor, they became soft and flabby. Their society was degenerate. Smug in their self-confidence, they thought their wealth would last forever.
In his haughtiness, Croesus recklessly declared war on Cyrus of Persia. In order to get to the armies of Cyrus, he had to cross the Halys River. He took counsel in one of the idol's temples about the battle and was told, "If you cross the River Halys, you will destroy a great empire." He never considered that the empire destroyed would be his own.
Croesus was routed when he crossed the River, but he was not worried. He simply had to retire to the citadel of Sardis, recoup, refit, and fight again. But Cyrus laid siege to the city. He waited fourteen days, then offered a special reward to anyone who could find an entry into Sardis.
One of soldiers in the army of Cyrus noticed that the composition of the rock on which Sardis stood had cracks and faults in it. One evening as he stood watching the wall above, he had seen a Sardian soldier drop his helmet off the edge. The soldier made his way down what appeared to be a crack below the wall, emerged outside, retrieved his helmet, and disappeared back inside. The watching warrior reasoned that there must be a crack large enough to let a man through the wall.
The next night he led a party of Persian troops up through the fault in the rock. When they arrived they found it completely unguarded and the soldiers of the city asleep. Under the cover of darkness, he and his men opened the gates of the city and Sardis was sacked that night.
A city with a history like Sardis would certainly understand what the risen Christ was talking about when He said, "Wake up!"
That isn't the end of Sardis' story, though. The city disappeared from history under Persian rule for two centuries until it fell to Alexander the Great and became a Greek city. It has been said that any people who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.
History did repeat itself in the city of Sardis. After Alexander died, his generals fought each other to determine who would become the new ruler of Greece. One of the rivals, Antiochus, became the ruler of the area that included Sardis. At war with another of the rivals, he sought refuge in the city of Sardis.
For a year he managed to defend the city, then one of the soldiers of Antiochus repeated the exploit of Cyrus. At night a band of soldiers crept up the steep cliffs and entered the city through a crack. There was no guard. The Sardians had forgotten the lesson. The city fell again that night because they were not watching.
In due time the Romans came. Sardis became a Roman town. In A.D. 17 it was hit by an earthquake and demolished. Tiberius the Emperor made Sardis tax-exempt for five years and donated money to rebuild the city. Sardis recovered the easy way.
By the time John wrote what Jesus told him to write to Sardis, the city was again wealthy and severely degenerate. Once again, the Sardians were soft. Twice the city had been lost because its inhabitants were too apathetic to keep watch. Once again an attitude of smug apathy prevailed. Within the city was a church, the church of Christ of Sardis. It too reflected the degeneracy of the time. It was lazy and apathetic. It too was not watching. It too was about to fall.
The Description of Jesus from chapter one:
"...Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds..."
The failure of the Sardis church: "...you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
What could that mean? "You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead?"
The word "reputation" in Greek is: onoma, literally: "name." You have a name, that you are alive.
Many times, if you just say the name of a church, people immediately have an image and an assessment in their minds. For example: "Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church." That is the leading and most active church on Signal Mountain. We all know people who are members there. Many of us have met Pastor Dudley, and others on the staff. We have taken advantage of their preschool or their vacation Bible school. We have read their ads and news write ups in the Signal Mountain Post, etc. SMPC is famous, and so they have a reputation. They have a "name."
The church in Sardis had a "name." They had a reputation. And it was good! But Jesus wasn't pleased. All we can do is look at the outside. But Jesus can see on the inside. We can see appearances, but appearances can be deceiving. We have the old proverb: "Never judge a book by its cover." And JRR Tolkien's poem about Strider, the old weathered ranger who turned out to be Aragorn, the rightful King of Gondor:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
Likewise, a man may be charming, handsome, well-dressed and well-spoken; and yet turn out to be a liar, a crook and a swindler. That's why it is important for young people to take their time about choosing a mate. Take a year to get to know a person, and his/her family. Be careful about whom you join yourself to for a lifetime relationship.
What qualities characterize a church that is truly alive?
What outward things are often mistaken for life?
These things are not necessarily BAD! But they are just outward appearances. It's not what counts with Jesus.
2-3 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
What is the cure for Sardis?
Jesus issues a threat: He will come to Sardis unexpectedly, and do what needs to be done. Judgment begins at the house of God, not in the world (I Peter 4:17-18).
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
4-6 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Jesus gives four promises to those who live for Him: