Eli, the high priest of Israel, had two corrupt sons who did not know the Lord. According to 1Samuel 2:12, they stole from the burnt offerings, and lived lives of sin against the Lord. Worse, they caused Israel to sin. “Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offerings of the Lord.” 1Samuel 2:16-17
Though he should have slain them for their sin and disrespect (Deuteronomy), because of his complacency, Eli did nothing to stop them.
Finally God spoke to Eli, saying; “Because you have honored your sons before Me, and because of your complacency in allowing your sons to sin against me, I will cut off the arm of your house. There will not be an old man left to carry on your name.” (Author’s paraphrase)
And God removed His hand of blessing and protection from the house of Eli.
As the sons were escorting the movement of the Ark of the Lord toward the battle, it was captured by the Philistines and both sons were killed in the battle. When Eli heard what happened and that the Ark had been captured, he fell backwards off his stool and broke his neck (he was old and heavy) and died.
In 1Samuel 4:19-21, one of Eli’s widowed daughters-in-law gave birth to a son. She died in child birth, but before she died, she named her son Ichabod, which means, “the Spirit of the Lord has departed.”
How many churches today have Ichabod written in the Spirit above the door? Has the Spirit of the Lord departed from your church? Your life?
The Sleeping Church
1 “And to the angel of the church of Sardis write,”
The ruins of the city of Sardis lie to the west of what is now Asiatic Turkey. Sardis was an ancient city of great prosperity due in part to a gold-bearing river (the Pactolus) which ran through it. The richest man living at that time, Croesus, was king there. Much of the Roman coinage was minted in Sardis. It was also known for the manufacture of luxurious clothing and wool-dyeing, but also for profligate wastefulness.
In ancient times it was a fortress city surrounded by precipitous cliffs; the city was considered impregnable. But the people became complacent. They believed they dwelled in relative safety. In 546 BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, besieged the city. Taking advantage of the cover of darkness, he used a poorly defended point and took the citadel. In 214 BC, Antiochus the Great used the same tactics to take the city a second time.
Some people never learn.
An earthquake destroyed Sardis in 17 AD. Tiberius Caesar rebuilt the city during his reign, but it would never be rebuilt to its original splendor. Today, only the small village of Sart stands near the ruins of the old city. Sardis failed twice to learn from its complacency and lack of vigilance.
Key: The key to the church of Sardis is found in verses 1&5. “… alive, but really dead.”
1 “And to the angel of the church of Sardis write,
These things says He who has 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.”
We discussed the seven Spirits in Chapter 1 part 1. See Isaiah 11:2 for a list of the seven spirits.
“I know your works …” One of the seven Spirits is the Spirit of knowledge. Jesus knows our works, those done from the heart out of obedience and love, and those done out of a spirit of religion, pride and appearances.
“… you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” Ancient Sardis was known as a city of great spiritual achievement, but by the time of Jesus, it was spiritually dead. There was much licentiousness among both the heathen and the Christians. The church had fallen asleep.
Apparently the Spirit of Sardis, lethargy and complacency, had overtaken the Christians. And like the city, they left off watchfulness and were resting on their past reputation and glory. They had no present works to show Jesus. Do you?
2 “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”
The NIV translates “be watchful” as “Wake up!” The original Greek says ginomai (be) grēgoreuō (watchful), but in present imperative tense. Stated this way, Jesus is slapping them to wake them up, much as a sentry on guard duty blows a trumpet to warn of an enemy attack. The city was taken by surprise twice because the people failed to watch. The enemy came in and the people slept right through it! See 2Peter 3:3-4, 10-13.
It is time for sleepy churches to wake up and be vigilant. When He returns, will He find you sleeping? (Proverbs 24:33-34)
“… strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die …” Fan up the embers of the fire of your first love. In the temple, the fire on the altar of sacrifice was sanctified when it was first lit, and it was never to go out. (Leviticus 6:13)
The Christians of Sardis fell asleep and let their fire go out. Their works were not perfect before God; their sacrifices could not be accepted unburned (unsanctified). As with the altar that had to have a sacrifice burning on it constantly, so too our lives must be constantly offered up as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Romans 12:7, Hebrews 13:15
“… Remember … hold fast and repent …” Gnosticism, the worship of knowledge, was big in Greece and Rome in the first century. The demonic spirit and its false teaching constantly tried to gain a foothold in the Christian church. In 1Timothy 6:20-21, Paul is warning his protégé to beware of the creeping plague of Gnosticism as well as the cult of the Nicholaitans, and stick to the gospel he first received.
“I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” This is why no man knows the time or the season of His return. “I will come like a thief in the night.” (2 Peter 3:10) Will He catch you sleeping? See also Matthew 24:42-44, 1Thessalonians 5:2-4
4 “You have 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 who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, 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.”
“… defiled garments …” The people of Sardis knew the garment business. Soiled and defiled garments were unsaleable; they were of no value and were thrown out to be burned.
The garment is a symbol of spiritual covering; white represents holiness. We are either covered with white garments (God’s holiness), or defiled garments (the unrighteous flesh). All the soap in Sardis won’t clean up a garment soiled by our flesh. It must be thrown out and burned, and a new garment acquired. We cannot walk with Him into the wedding supper wearing soiled garments. Matthew 22:2, 11-14
But, thanks be to God, we receive new white garments when we are born again. It’s our job with the help of the Holy Spirit to keep them clean.
“… he who overcomes …” How do we walk with Him into the wedding supper of the lamb? Overcome, by crucifying the flesh and clothing ourselves with the robe of righteousness God offers us.
“… I will not blot out his name …” The city and people of Sardis, because of their complacency, were “blotted out” of existence. Had they refused to repent? Today, the city of Sardis is a heap of ruins; it is the only one of the seven churches no longer in existence. Only the small town of Sart remains as a warning to napping Christians. Proverbs 6:9-11