END TIMES REVEALED

Revelation 3-part 1


Rev. 3:1 Our Lord and Savior addresses the church at Sardis as “The One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars,” the seven spirits of God refers to the Holy Spirit in the magnitude of His power and perfect work. “Seven” is the divine number for expressing completeness, fullness. Our Lord is telling Sardis and us that He (Christ) would or desires to control His church by the effective work of the Holy Spirit. In each of these seven letters to the churches, Christ describes Himself perfectly as to the condition of each church addressed. In Revelation 1:4-5 the “Seven Spirits” are linked with the eternal Father and with Jesus Christ as the one and only source of grace and peace. We are then assured that grace and peace are bestowed upon the believer priest who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus who holds the “seven stars” is a reminder to Sardis and to us that the “over sighters” (pastors) are in His right hand [Ref. Rev. 1:16, 20]. The pastors receive their messages from Him. He is the sovereign Head of His Church, and through the Holy Spirit He carries out His program {Ref. Acts 1:8]. Sardis represents the Protestant church. In time line Sardis period is from A.D. 151 to A.D. 1750, known as the Reformation Period. Sardis means “escaping ones” or “those who come out.” Reformation occurred and the Protestant church began as those who “escaped” or “came out” who broke from Rome and the intolerable condition under Papal rule. The church in Sardis was not lacking in works for the Lord states “I know your works or deeds.” Our Lord says Sardis had a reputation for being a progressive church. It was engaged in all those activities which characterize a live church. We as believer priests are to be about our Savior’s work, we are His light to shine upon the community, the nation, the world as His ambassador’s with the Holy Spirit to guide us in all things. We have been appointed to do this in our spiritual gifts. Our Lord expresses the terrible truth about the church in Sardis, He say’s “but you are dead.” The eyes of the Lord pierce beyond the flesh to the skeleton the church was dead, it was functioning largely upon its reputation of a once glorious past. All depends upon the eyes though which the church is being diagnosed; we are prone to forget that the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart of each and everyone of His children [Ref. 1Sam. 16:7]. He knows the difference between life and a corpse wrapped in grave clothes. Protestantism today, as a whole, has a name that it lives, but it is dead. Many protestant churches today are just going through the formalities. They are building, seeking numbers; people are coming, especially on Sunday mornings. But there are not many at midweek services, when they ought to come and hear the Word of God. We as believer priests are to be in the Lord’s Word every day. His will is for us to be approved as workmen who does not need to be ashamed [Ref. 2Tim. 2:15].

Rev. 3:2-3 The Lord expresses that the church is to “wake up” get spiritually strengthened. The church is about to die. I have not found your “deeds” complete (perfect), literally means “finished” or “fulfilled.” The church is not carrying out God’s purpose for their existence. The church members are physically alive and at the same time spiritually dead [Ref. 1Tim. 5:6, Eph. 4:18]. Our Lord fiercely condemned every outward appearance of religious activity not directed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is saying to Protestantism that they are to be constantly on the alert for His coming, be ready for the hour we do not know. Our Lord exhorts us to remember, obey, and repent. He warns us that if we do not heed his warning, He will come on us like a thief, that is, suddenly and unexpected.

Rev. 3:4 The Lord sees a few true believers who have kept themselves free from the encumbrances of the world. “Few” oligos denoting “small, slight, little.” They have not been defiled, thank God for the “few” who maintain a good witness for Christ, and who have not become bogged down in the quagmire of this world’s doubts and defilements. The Lord God has always known His faithful ones by name, and our generation is no exception. In most local assemblies one can find God’s remnant, His faithful “few,” the Masters minority. The Lords testimony was that they “have not defiled their garments. The word here “garments” is used figuratively. The Christian must exercise care about the wardrobe of his soul. We must discard the unregenerate life [ref. Col. 3:8,9], we are to put on the new creature (new nature) from Christ, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, be of kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. “Whites,” clothed in the righteousness of God for they are worthy.

Rev. 3:5 Christ relates that the ones who overcome, overcomes by the blood of Christ of course, never does one overcome by his own strength, cleverness, or ability. We get into the nook of life by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and our names as He promises here will never be blotted out [Ref. John. 10:28], and our names will He acknowledge them as His own before the Father and His angels as written forever in the book of life.

Rev. 3:6 Our Lord again expresses to the believer priest hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. We are to hear the voice of the Spirit speaking through the Word of God the message of Christ to His church today, we are to remember, repent and obey, just as it was written to the church in Sardis.

Rev. 3:7 Our Lord and Savior addresses the church at Philadelphia as “He who is Holy, who is true, who has the key of David, Who opens and no one will shut, and Who shuts and no one opens” Our Lord is telling us that He is the only One able to open or shut a door, which as stated by Jesus Christ that no one else will be able to open or shut at any time. The holiness of Christ is a frequent truth in Scripture [Ref. 1 Pet. 1:15], and being Holy He is worthy to judge the Spiritual life of the church as well as the believer priest. The key to the house of David in Isaiah 22:22 were given to Eliakim who had access to all of the earthly wealth of the king. Our Lord tells us here He has the key of David and has access to all of the spiritual treasures of heaven for His own.

Rev. 3:8 we see here the Masters minority (believer priest’s) at work for their Lord. They had little power as man reckons power, but it pleased God to make the fullness of His power available to the faithful, even though they were small in number and lacking in social prominence. Christ assures us the believer priest, the faithful few, that He can use us and that He keeps a door wide open for us. We are to be Christ’s flaming evangelists. “Power belongs unto God” the Father [Ref. Psa. 62:11], God the Son [Ref. Mt. 28:18], God the Holy Spirit, and to all who are indwelt by the spirit [Ref. Acts 1:8].
Our Lord who can testify tells us these people were true to the gospel, they were loyal to the Word of Christ. They did not yield to the majority who raised doubts and speculations about His Word. We live in a time when to doubt the Bible is looked upon as a mark of intellectual cleverness. Our Lord will not blame us for having little strength, but if we have little faith and little regard for His Word He cannot tolerate. Christ tells us we (believer priest’s) that we are to receive the Word of God, believe that Word of God, love that Word of God, and obey the Word of God. For us God’s Word should be a treasure, a holy thing, we are to keep and guard it, even under great disadvantages. Our Lord who can testify tells us these people were true to His name. Believer priests are to be loyal to the Scriptures; we are to be loyal to the Christ of the Scriptures. The “Name” “onoma” (name with authority, character-called name) of Christ in Scripture stands for all that He is. His full name is “Lord Jesus Christ.” He is Lord (Master), Jesus (Mediator), Christ (Messiah). In the New Testament the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is invested with all that the name “Jehovah” implied in the Old Testament. That name suggests His deity, honor, glory, majesty, holiness, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence as the attributes of God.
Sinners are saved through faith in His name [Ref. Mt. 1:21; John 1:12; 20:31; Rom. 10:13], and in His name only [Ref. Acts 4:12]. Conversely, all who have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God are “condemned already” [Ref. John. 3:18].

Rev. 3:9 Our Lord and Savior shows us here that there will be an accounting for the opposition of the truth. They were Jews who brazenly claimed to be Christians, but their actual character is revealed in no uncertain terms. Our Lord tells us they are “of the synagogue of Satan.” This makes four churches of the seven in which Satan is found [Ref. Rev. 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9]. As in the case of Sardis, these enemies of the gospel are identified as being with the synagogue of Satan, the literal opponent of the assembly of Christ’s own. These of Satan boast they are the people of God but are written off as imposters and liars. Our Lord tells us we who are true to Christ and His word need not attempt to vindicate ourselves nor seek vengeance against Satan’s emissaries who are in our midst. Such false apostles and deceitful workers will present themselves as ministers of righteousness, but their “end shall be according to their works” (Ref. 2Cor. 11:13-15). These are the tares of whom our Lord spoke in His parable [Ref. Mt. 13:24-30; 36-43]. Paul declared to us also, “The mystery of iniquity is already at work” [Ref. 2 Thes. 2:7]. We believer priest’s can afford to wait the vindication of God’s time [Ref. 2Tim. 4:14]. Some of us may not live long enough to see the enemy sit at our feet, but God will see to it in His time. When our Lord comes again, His ancient people will know how He “Loved the Church,” and gave Himself for it” [Ref. Eph. 5:25].

Rev. 3:10 Our Lord gave the church another promise to those who have been willing to endure patiently. The promise says, “I will also keep the believer priest from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who have made their god the world [Ref. Rev. 6]. Christ could not have stated it more explicitly. If our Lord had meant to say that we would be preserved through a time of trouble, or would be taken out from within the Tribulation, a different verb and a different preposition would have been used in the Greek text. The combination of the verb “keep” “terein” with the preposition “from” “ek” means to “keep us from” the hour to come. The expression “the hour of trial” (a time period) makes it clear that we will be kept out of that time period. Those who will be in this time period of testing are referred to as “them who dwell upon the earth, that is, earth dwellers, those who have had no interest in Heaven but who have settled down in the earth” (those worldly). Our Lords promise to deliver His own in safety out of the Tribulation, as He holds the key to the door of deliverance.