3:1 “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, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

• Sardis was about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira and 50 miles east of Smyrna.  Sardis was the capital city of Lydia.
• The city was on Mt. Tmolus which was 1500 ft. high off the plain.  At the base flowed the river Pactolus which served as a moat, rendering the city practically impossible to invade.   The city was overtaken twice (549 BC by Cyrus and 218 BC by Antiochus the Great).  Because of only one way into the city, through the south, Cyrus the Persian King in 549 BC gave a reward offer to anyone who found a way to scale this seemingly impossible hillside to penetrate.  One of Cyrus’s soldiers noted a Lydian guard drop a helmet down the side and then climb down a narrow crevice to retrieve it.  That soldier remembered that crevice and later that night lead a band of soldiers up that crevice to the unguarded side of what was thought to be a safe side of the mountain.  That night Cyrus’s army overtook the city.
• The city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17 and rebuilt with the help of a non-tax for five years by the Roman Empire through the Emperor Tiberius.
• The people of Sardis primarily worshipped Cybele who was “mother earth” or the goddess of nature.
• “The ancient city was noted for its fruits and wool, and for its temple of the goddess Cybele, whose worship resembled that of Diana of Ephesus. Its wealth was also partly due to the gold which was found in the sand of the river Pactolus, and it was here that gold and silver coins were first struck. During the Roman period its coins formed a beautiful series, and are found in abundance by the peasants who till the surrounding fields. The ruins of the buildings which stood at the base of the hill have now been nearly buried by the dirt washed down from above. The hill upon which the acropolis stood measures 950 ft. high: the triple walls still surround it. The more imposing of the ruins are on the lower slope of the hill, and among them the temple of Cybele is the most interesting, yet only two of its many stone columns are still standing. Equally imposing is the necropolis of the city, which is at a distance of two hours' ride from Sert, South of the Gygaean lake. The modern name of the necropolis is Bin Tepe or Thousand Mounds, because of the large group of great mounds in which the kings and nobles were buried. Many of the mounds were long ago excavated and plundered.” [2]
• The message unto the messenger of the church in Sardis is from He that hath the complete Spirit (1:4) and the seven messengers (1:20).
• Though the church in Sardis had a name (a reputation with men), they were dead (James 2:14-26).  Though men might look a see a church that exists, the Lord knows that such is only in name for nothing can be hidden from the Lord (I Samuel 16:7, Psalms 69:5, Psalms 139:1-6, and Jeremiah 23:24).

• The very first instruction to correct the problem is to be watchful (Matthew 24:42, I Corinthians 16:13, I Thessalonians 5:1-11, II Timothy 4:5, and I Peter 5:8 [cf. Ezekiel 33:1-10]).
• Secondly, there were a few things going on that were right and those things needed to be strengthened for they too are ready to die.  In these things Christ should be the source of their strength (Philippians 4:13).
• Their works were not found to be complete or up to what they should be.

• As the Prodigal Son remembered his life in his father’s house, the church at Sardis needs to remember where they once were (Luke 15:17-21).  A like admonishment was given to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:5).  Once they have recalled they need to hold on securely to those things wherein they once stood and bring about true repentance (Matthew 3:8 and II Corinthians 7:9-10).
• If true repentance is not reached, the Lord will come upon them in a judgment at an unknown time.

• There are some who are still walking worthy among this congregation.  Just like Noah in the days prior to the flood (Genesis 6:6-10 and I Peter 3:20-21). The Lord would have spared the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there would have been found ten righteous souls there (Genesis 18:32). There is no shame in being among the few (Matthew 7:13-14 and Matthew 20:16).
• Walking among the few certainly shows the true faithfulness of those whom were not joining the crowd.

• Those whom overcome shall have the Lord standing before the Father and confessing their names (Matthew 10:32-33).
• These who stand fast will be clothed in white raiment representing purity as they are rewarded with eternal life.

• Again, a similar conclusion to that we have seen over and over again to the churches of Asia Minor.  The point made is to listen to what the Lord is saying.

• This city originally known as Rabbath-ammon and was beautified by Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.).  The city was renamed in honor of the king of Pergamos “Attalus II”.  He was given the title of "Philadelphus" because of his loyalty to his elder brother, Eumenes II, who was the king of Lydia.  Philadelphia comes from the Greek word, "philadelphos" which means, "one who loves his brother."
• Philadelphia was located about 25-30 miles southeast of Sardis. Philadelphia was located on a main trade route from west to east.  It soon became a wealthy trading center. This city lied in the Cogamis valley. This valley served as a natural line of communication from Pergamum to Philadelphia via Sardis. Philadelphia was first built by the Greeks to spread the Greek language and culture to the countries of Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia. Philadelphia had the characteristics of a border town. This city was also known as Neocaesarea in the first Century.  It was also know as "Little Athens" because of the temples and other public buildings that were so grand.  Philadelphia was also a rich farming region.  The city was destroyed by a great earthquake in 17 A.D. just like Sardis and 10 other cities in this area. It was later rebuilt with the help of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius who waived their taxes for 5 years and contributed heavily to them as they were rebuilding.
• Jesus is the most holy [pure, clean, etc.] (II Corinthians 5:19-21, Hebrews 4:14-15, and I Peter 1:18-19).
• Christ is true (Strongs #228 “that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine” – Thayer).  Christ is God (Matthew 1:22-23), God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), therefore Christ cannot lie.  The word is truth (John 17:17), Christ is the word (John 1:1), therefore Christ is the truth (John 14:6).
• A key represents a form of authority.  Christ has all authority (Matthew 28:18).  The significance of mentioning the key of David can only have reference to the kingdom.  The keys of the kingdom were shared by Christ (Matthew 16:18-19) and used in Acts chapter 2 to bring the kingdom into existence.

*We will continue our study of the congregation meeting in Philadelphia next week.
 

1. All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.
2. James Orr, John L. Nuelsen, Egar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Hendrickson, 1929),
3. Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, (Reprint by Hendrickson, 2002, original copyright 1896).