01.03. CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 3.
SARDIS.
Revelation 3:1. “And unto the angel [messenger] of the church in Sardis write.”
“Sardis” signifies “Things remaining,” to which allusion appears made in the second verse; “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain.” This fifth church corresponds with the fifth parable in Matthew 13:44 — “the treasure hid in the field.” The field is the world; and the treasure, those precious souls given to Christ in the eternal counsels of the Father, and purchased by Him— “Who gave Himself a ransom for all.” He not only loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, as symbolised by “the pearl,” but He purchased the field or world for the sake of the treasure contained in it. On the ground of redemption, He has a claim to all creation. He is “a propitiation, not for our sins only, but also for the whole world.”
“These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars.” This fifth era in the Church’s history brings us to the time of the Protestant Reformation. The typical foreshadowing will be found in the reign of Jehu (2 Kings 9:1-37 2 Kings 10:1-36). In the title assumed the Lord Jesus asserts His proper claims, for the fulness of the Spirit resides in Him; He is the sole depository and the sole dispenser of the gifts of the Spirit; no one but He has a right to say, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” and He is Lord of the harvest. Every Spirit-taught and heaven-enlightened messenger belongs to Him: sole proprietor and sole Lord.
“I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” The Protestant Reformation, though founded on the revival of the truth of justification by faith alone, was in the main an outward reformation—like that of Jehu. A vast number of professors separated from the Church of Rome on the profession of the truth; but there was no separation between the living and the dead. They remained as treasure hid in the field, without being separated and manifested as such.
Revelation 3:2. “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” The grand essential truths, revived by Protestantism, are among the things which remain; but they need to be watchfully guarded, lest they languish. . The work of the Protestant Reformation was a great and glorious work, accomplished so far by the energy of the Holy Ghost; but it stopped short of full perfection. Carried far, but not far enough; trees cut down, but the roots left; outward corruption of doctrine purged, but much of the secret leaven left.
Some men may regard it as perfect; but it is not so in the estimate of Jesus, nor in the sight of God.
Revelation 3:3. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard; and hold fast, and repent.” Not simply what thou hast received and heard, but how. See 1 Thessalonians 2:13 : “Not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God.”
Acknowledging the supreme and only authority of the sacred word—the Bible and the Bible alone, was the religion of Protestants. Not the Bible and tradition; not the Bible and the fathers; but the Bible alone, and the Bible in its integrity, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. All Scripture being given by the inspiration of God, and infallibly inspired.
Hold fast, a word especially in season at the present time when the foundation truths are being assailed; and the Scriptures themselves are treated as though they were only of human authority. “And repent,” that is, of all and every departure from this principle.
“If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” To be overtaken as by a thief, is not the proper portion of the Church. The Son of Man will come as a thief to the world that lies in darkness. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,” says Paul, “that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Nevertheless, if believers refuse to watch, the coming of the Lord will take them by surprise. Every living believer will be changed and caught up when the Bridegroom comes; but the previous comfort, profit, and blessing of the hope will be lost by those who neglect to watch.
Revelation 3:4. “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white [garments]; for they are worthy.”
There may be individual piety, and separateness of spirit, in the midst of an outward and worldly state of things. Such will have the special companionship of their Lord.
Revelation 3:5-6. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment [garments]; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” The overcomer is not contented with walking blamelessly in the midst of evil, but rises superior to the evils condemned and forsakes them.
Human registers may contain the names of many spiritually dead amongst those who are registered; but the names of the overcomers remain in the Lamb’s Book of Life, never to be blotted out. And those who witness a good confession for Christ on earth, in practical separation from the evil around, Christ will confess before God and the heavenly hosts.
PHILADELPHIA.
Revelation 3:7. “And to the angel [messenger] of the church in Philadelphia write.” The church in Philadelphia corresponds to the sixth parable in Matthew 13:45-46 : “The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” This is explained in Ephesians 5:25 : “Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it;” again, in 2 Corinthians 8:9 : “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.” The church in Philadelphia represents a work of the Spirit of God of deep and spiritual character, foreshadowed by the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Chronicles 29:1-36, 2 Chronicles 31:1-21, 2 Chronicles 34:1-33, 2 Chronicles 35:1-27).
Philadelphia signifies brotherly love; and brotherly love is one of the special features of the acting of the Spirit of God as formative of the Philadelphian church. The characteristic truths of the church in Philadelphia, formative of this condition, are—the person of Christ: His holiness, truth, and Lordship, and His relationship to the Church as Bridegroom; and the Church’s relationship to Him as His Body and His Bride.
“What the Church is to Christ comes out especially in the parable of the pearl. It is a pearl of great price, for it is precious to Him as the purchase of His blood; pure and perfect as the workmanship of the Holy Spirit. For those who compose His body new, and will be presented to Him as His Bride hereafter, are spiritually and eternally one, having been baptized by one Spirit into one body, and made to drink into one Spirit, and are exhorted to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What the Church is in the flesh as too often seen in outward manifestation, is symbolised by the corruptible flesh of the oyster, in which naturally the pearl is embedded. But what the Church is spiritually in the estimate of God, and to the heart of Christ, is typified by the exquisite beauty and purity of the pearl; and by-and-by it will be presented by Christ to Himself a holy church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
“These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no one shutteth; and shutteth, and no one openeth.” The Lord Jesus was holy in His person, holy in His character, holy in His experience and work—and though made sin for us, Himself knowing no sin—and like the sin-offering under the law, though it was called in the abstract “sin,” yet it was also declared to be “holy of holies.”
“He that is true:” the faithful and true Witness; the truth; the centre and substance of the truth of God. The brotherly love of Philadelphia is pre-eminently “love in the truth, and for the truth’s sake,” that truth centering in the person of the Lord Jesus.
“He that hath the key of David:” the rightful heir of David’s royal throne; the root and the offspring of David; He who in due time will ask for and obtain the sovereignty of the whole earth (Psalms 2:1-12).
“He that openeth, and no one shutteth; and shutteth, and no one openeth:” not only King in the future, but Lord in the present; all authority being given to Him in heaven and upon earth; and, while waiting till His enemies be made His footstool, sovereign Lord in His own Church. Philadelphia owns this; and disowns all authority in the Church but His, and that which comes from Him. He alone the opener, and He alone the one who shuts.
Revelation 3:8. “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no one can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.”
“I know thy works.” The Lord Jesus not only looks for the right profession and confession of His name as the Holy, the True, and the Sovereign One, but He looks for corresponding practice, in conformity with His holiness, truth, and Lordship. And that they should not only have a name to love, but that brotherly love should be carried out in deed and in truth.
Then comes that word— “Behold.” This word only occurs once besides in these addresses to the churches, as in Revelation 3:20 : “Behold, I stand at the door.” In the address to the church in Philadelphia it occurs three or four times. It is a word calling for special notice and attention—mark well! The first “Behold” here is a word to the Philadelphian church. It is a word to those who have love in the truth towards the whole brotherhood of faith; to those who hold the unsullied holiness of the Son of Man, His truth, present Lordship, and coming kingdom. To such He says, Take notice— “Behold, I have set before thee an open door;” they may go into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to every creature. It is remarkable, in these days especially, how in all the earth, barriers to the spread of the truth have been broken down. In former times, had the door been opened, false doctrine and human authority might have been proclaimed. Now, the Lord of the whole earth gives a free passport to His servants throughout His whole dominions. To such He says, look not at the apparent obstacles, but behold the open door which I have set before you; the way is open, enter. The reason— “For thou hast a little strength.” Not “thou art strong,” but “thou hast strength”—little, it may be, but real—the strength of Jesus made perfect in weakness through the energy of the Holy Ghost. A child’s arm is on the lever; but that lever is faith, and the fulcrum the Rock of Ages. The arm of faith lays hold on God, through Christ, and brings in omnipotence.
Archimedes in vain wished for such a fulcrum, by which to move the world; but faith through the testimony of the Spirit—the enemies themselves being witnesses— “turns the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
“And hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.”
Strict adherence to the word of Christ both as to doctrine and precept, and a testimony and practice which fully owns and in nowise contradicts the name of Christ, as the Holy, the True, and the Sovereign One; these are the characteristics of the Philadelphian church, composed of such concerning whom the Lord can testify that they are faithful to His truth and name.
It is a spiritual and internal work widely diffused, and carried on in the energy of the Holy Ghost, which while it honours the Head, tends at the same time to unite, harmonise, and benefit the members of the body of Christ. It is the antidote to sectarianism, and not a sect.
Revelation 3:9. “Behold, I will make [give] them [to be] of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie.” The first “Behold” directs attention to the present period, and to the open door. The second “Behold” refers to a subsequent time—the time of strong delusion, after the Lord’s coming for His Church, in the interval between His coming for her and His appearing in glory with her.
It foretells the result of that which is now going on in Christendom, under the guise of formalism and sacerdotalism. Those who now falsely take Jewish standing by returning to the weak and beggarly elements of an outward ritual, and calling themselves God’s people without regeneration of the Spirit, will be given over to form the apostate Church, Babylon the Great, the habitation of devils (Revelation 17:2).
“Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that have loved thee.” This third “Behold” refers to a further subsequent period, when, on the Lord’s manifestation, He comes to be admired in His saints, who will appear with Him in glory, and when the love wherewith He loves His own will be publicly apparent (John 17:22).
Revelation 3:10. “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience [or endurance], I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall [is about to] come upon all the [habitable] world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” The church in Philadelphia has fellowship with Christ in His patient expectation—first of receiving His Bride, and then His kingdom; and this on the authority of His word— “the word of My patience.” And the church in Philadelphia has the assurance, from the Lord’s own lips, of exemption from the very hour of the coming great temptation, when the signs of the man of sin—the lawless one—will be sufficient to deceive, if possible, the very elect; the promise of being kept, not merely from the craft and power, but from the hour—the time itself.
Revelation 3:11. “Behold, I come quickly.” This is the fourth “Behold.” This marks the era of the Philadelphian church: He is coming quickly; the end draws near. It is not simply the cry made “Behold the Bridegroom cometh,” arousing the Church from her slumbers, to trim the lamps and go forth to meet Him, but the announcement of the Bridegroom Himself, that He is already at the door, with His hand on the knocker (Luke 12:36).
“Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man [no one] take thy crown” [thy stephanos, or victor’s crown]. The little strength, the word, the name, the patient expectation, and the promise of exemption from the coming hour of temptation— “Hold fast.” These surrendered, the victor’s crown is forfeited. Never was there a period in which this exhortation was more needed than at the present, when not only the special hopes of the Church, but the very foundations of divine truth are assailed (2 Peter 3:1-4).
Revelation 3:12. “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God; and he shall go no more out.” The overcomer in Philadelphia stands firm, and holds fast. For the characteristics being internal, real, and spiritual, the Lord finds fault with nothing.
Instead of being given over to form part of the synagogue of Satan, the overcomer is made a pillar in the temple of God: not simply a stone—all believers are living stones built up a spiritual house—but a pillar, like Peter, James, and John, conspicuous and sustaining. And his steadfastness on earth will be recompensed by a permanent abiding in the glory.
“And I will write upon him the name of My God.”
“My God:” he shall have the stamp of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ upon him. The writing—the handwriting of Christ Himself, clear, legible, and apparent.
“And the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God.”
Christ will cause the overcomer in Philadelphia to be distinctly recognised in time and in eternity as belonging to the Bride, the Lamb’s wife, which is set forth in emblem as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem; divine and heavenly in its origin, and associated with Him in His kingdom and glory.
“And I will write upon him My new name.” To the overcomer in the church in Pergamos, Christ promises to give a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written (Revelation 3:12). He Himself when He is manifested in glory, appears as having a name written “which no man knew but He Himself” (Revelation 19:12). In this honour Christ associates the overcomer with Himself.
Revelation 3:13. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Oh for the opened and anointed ear, that the faintest whisper might be distinctly heard, received, held fast, and acted on!
LAODICEA.
Revelation 3:14. “And unto the angel [messenger] of the church of the Laodiceans [or in Laodicea] write.”
Laodicea probably means “righteous people.” This seventh and last church corresponds with the seventh parable in Matthew 13:1-58 :—the parable of the net.
There are two things which characterise the last stage of the Church’s history—outwardly, increased activity in Gospel work; inwardly, self-righteousness, spiritual pride, and lukewarmness as to the truth and authority of Christ. The historical types are Manasseh and Zedekiah (2 Chronicles 33:1-25, 2 Chronicles 36:1-23).
“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning [or head] of the creation of God.” (See Colossians 1:15-18.) The Church having dispensationally failed in its testimony for God, this testimony is taken up and secured by Christ, “the faithful and true Witness,” and the upholder of all things.
Revelation 3:15. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.” The Church is placed on the earth with a solemn charge, with precious truth; and in the midst of perishing souls, lukewarmness, half-heartedness, will not do, especially as the latter end draws nigh. The world is intensely in earnest. Satan and all the powers of darkness, knowing that their time is short, are acting in concert.
God is in earnest, Christ is in earnest, the Holy Ghost is in earnest. The day for decision is come; and anything bearing the appearance of half-heartedness or lukewarmness is intolerable to the mind of the Lord Jesus.
He complains of a want of earnestness, want of life. “You are in a medium condition—not altogether indifferent to the truth of My name, yet there is no corresponding zeal. You have the banner of the truth, but it is not kept floating in the breeze. You are not altogether like the worldly ones, nor are you altogether decided for Me. You do not go to places of fashionable amusement, neither do you frequent the prayer meeting. You do not, with the sceptic, altogether deny the inspired word, neither do you maintain it in all its integrity. The cross is not altogether set aside, but the Divine glory of the work and the infinite value of the atoning sacrifice is not insisted upon. The evil of sin is not altogether denied, but the enormity of its guilt and the solemnity of its eternal doom are kept out of sight. You are not entirely ignorant of Scriptural truth, but you need life and reality put into the truth you have.”
Revelation 3:16. ‘‘So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will [am about to] spue thee out of My mouth.” This does not touch for a moment the security of individual believers in Christ, but it foretells the rejection and setting aside of the Church’s dispensational testimony on earth. As the Jewish testimony was set aside, in order to bring in the witness of the Church, and the natural branches broken off that the wild olive branches might be graffed in, and the Gentiles put in the place of testimony for God, in like manner, if the Gentile Christian testimony becomes a failure through want of earnestness, this also will be set aside, and Israel again become God’s witnesses in the earth. (See Romans 11:13-25.)
Revelation 3:17. “Because thou sayest, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;’ and knowest not that tbou art wretched, and miserable [or pitiable], and poor, and blind, and naked :
Revelation 3:18. “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear: and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
Laodicea has Philadelphian truth, without Philadelphian faithfulness and power. The principles of truth which are formative of Philadelphia are held doctrinally, and, instead of practically influencing the character and life, become the dogmas of a sect. The completeness of the Church in Christ is seen, without a corresponding sense of personal emptiness, weakness, and nothingness. “Never look within,” is the watchword. The blessedness of the eighth of Romans is gloried in, but the application of the seventh of Romans to the believer is denied. In Laodicea experimental truth is at a discount. Hence the counsel of the Lord is to bring in His Divine all-sufficiency into the emptiness of the creature; to put on Christ practically, in spirit, character, and walk, so that what is natural may not be seen; and, instead of glorying in Pentecost as a thing merely of the past, to seek and to obtain from Christ the anointing with “fresh oil”—the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ for daily need, and the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” for fresh discoveries of Divine truth.
Revelation 3:19. “As many as love [fondly love], I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.” The rebukes and chastenings of the Lord are proofs of His unchanging love. They are designed to lead to repentance, and to increasing zeal, earnestness, and devotedness.
Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” This is the first and only “Behold” in the address. A solemn and important fact is called attention to— “Behold, I stand at the door.” Awake to the fact that Christ Himself is outside the Laodicean system.
Instead of the open door of Philadelphia, there is a closed door, and so effectually closed that Christ Himself in His members is shut out. The three epsitles of John are strikingly characteristic of the last times of the Church. In the first epistle the doctrine of Christ is clearly stated. In the second epistle the truth of Christ is guarded— the door is shut against those who bring not this true doctrine (2 John 1:10-11). This is Philadelphian faithfulness. In the third epistle the faithful holders of the truth are shut out; and not only so, but also those who would receive them (3 John 1:10). The full truth comes out in this address to the Church in Laodicea: Christ Himself is virtually excluded.
Under the profession of zeal for truth and church “ground,” there may be real lukewarmness as to the person of Christ. But while Christ is outside He is knocking (see Song of Solomon 5:2); and when His voice is heard, and the door opened, He will admit the individual into the closest communion with Himself. It is not here so much Christ knocking at the door of the impenitent sinner’s heart, though that may be true in its place; but it is the expression of the Lord’s desire to be admitted into more intimate communion with those He loves. And this intimate communion with Christ according to the prayer in Ephesians 3:16-19, “strengthened with might by God’s Spirit in the inner man,” Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, and all saints admitted into this holy fellowship of brotherly love, this the true antidote to Laodicean lukewarmness.
Revelation 3:21. “To Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with My Father in His throne.” The overcomer, rising superior to the lukewarmness of the age, and to the widespread indifference to vital truth, contends earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. He repents at the voice of Christ, and substitutes zeal for his Lord for party spirit. In the consciousness of his own emptiness he opens his heart and soul to the fulness of Christ; then opens the door to Christ Himself, and to those who are faithful to Him. Fellowship with Christ in His kingdom and glory when He sits on His own throne is the privilege of every true believer; “for it is a faithful saying, if we suffer we shall also reign with Him.” But to the overcomer Christ gives the promise, and by the witness of the Holy Ghost within He gives the earnest and the foretaste, thus enabling him to realise beforehand the joy of the coming kingdom.
Revelation 3:22. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” This still small voice of the Spirit is only heard in the silence of the soul, in the solemn presence of God, the world shut out, and the busy din of the professing Church equally excluded.