Sardis
Rev 3:3
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
To whom does Jesus come as a thief?
Those that dont watch.
Those that are asleep
Those in darkness
The spiritually drunk
What does the thief do?
Steal our garments
Break into our house
Expose our nakedness
Expose our shame
What are our garments?
What we wear. Either:
What is on the earth - old man - self -fleshly man
Or that which is in heaven - new man - Christ
What are examples of the fleshly/earthly old man?
fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth, lying , Col 3
sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
envyings, drunkenness, revellings Gal 5
What are examples of new man from above? Or Christ?
heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; patience forgiveness, love Col 3
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. Gal 5
And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
Whose job is it to take off the old man AND put on the new man? Ours
What is the garment swapping process called in our life? SANCTIFICATION
Is this process supposed to stop in our life? No
Did it stop in the life of Sardis? Yes
How do we know? Jesus says in Rev 3:1-2:
"thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead. Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine perfected before my God."
Example of an individual like Sardis
Heb 12:14-15
14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest there be any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled;
We can fall short of the grace of God..
Root of bitterness = fleshly = the old man = that which is upon the earth'
Should have been put to death or put away
It wasn't put away, therefore corruption set in
Heb 12:16-17
16 lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. 17 For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind in his father, though he sought it diligently with tears.
So Esau doesn't take off the fleshly garments that he wears. He keeps them on and in essense stops the sanctification process that the Holy Spirit had started.
His own root of bitterness (or flesh) sabotages the inheritance that he was to receive as the first born son. And his father rejected him, even tho Esau sought the forgiveness of his father.
Esau is representative in the Bible as those Christians that squandor the inheritance of the first born son. Like Sardis
So if you wonder why God hates Esau?
Mal 1:3
but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.
So like Sardis, God would have desired that Esau put off the old man and put on (or leave on) the new man. But he didn't.
Sardis was mercifully shown their true condition before it was too. I'm not sure what they did with it.
So what might be the point of Jesus coming as the thief on day 7 to steal garments and exposed shame and nakedness?
Rev 3:4
4 But thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy.
Few names that did not defile their garments…
Few that did not pollute or soil their garments…
They did this:
2Co 7:1
Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
What does it suggest about the rest of those in Sardis? Their garments are defiled.
Those that did not defile their garments shall walk with Jesus in white.
Walk with Jesus? What might this mean?
Walk - to walk; to make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities
Examples of "walking with Him" or "walking with Jesus". Some good, some bad.
Joh 6:66 Bad
Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Joh 12:35 Both
Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
1Jn 1:6 Bad
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Odd way of saying this:
"We DO not the truth?"
1Jn 1:7 Good
7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we walk in darkness, does the blood of Jesus still cleanse us?
Is this "cleansing" progressive?
Rev 16:15 Bad
(Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.)
**If they keep their garments, what color can we assume they are?
White
Those that put on Jesus (as a garment) do not defile their garments or allow their garments to become defiled.
And they walk with Jesus in white and are worthy.
Leukos - light, bright, brilliant from whiteness, (dazzling) white
Instances of leukos:
Jesus garment at transfiguration
Angels
These overcomers here in Sardis
Jesus' hair in Rev 1:14
Cloud that Jesus sits on in Rev 14:14
Multitudes standing before the throne in Rev 7:9
The color of the horse in Rev 6:2
The color of the horse in Rev 19:11 that Jesus is sitting on
Color of the stone that overcomers from the church of Pergamos we're given
Color of God's throne in Rev 20:11
Color of the garments of the two men in Acts 1:10 who appeared to the disciples as Jesus was being taken up into a cloud/heaven.
Rev 3:5-6
5 He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and 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 to the churches.
Vs5 Sardis is challenged to overcome.
What are they overcoming? Not watching, not having their works perfected, falling asleep?
If they overcome, they will receive something from Jesus, usually something found in Rev 19-22.
What do the overcomers receive?
Arrayed in white garments (either Rev 19:7-8 or Rev 19:14)
Rev 19:7-8
7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Or
Rev 19:14
And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.
Name is not blotted out of the book of life (Rev 20:12 and Rev 20:15)
Rev 20:12
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15
And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
***I guess you can lose your salvation***
and I will confess (profess) his name before my Father, and before his angels
*Not sure where this is found in Rev 20-22. Maybe it is a reference to Jesus reading out the names of those in the book of life. If your name wasn't found in the book of life, you are cast into the lake of fire?
Each church is told "he that hath an ear to hear"...
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