Any questions to start?
Sardis:
Bible Knowledge Commentary – Only a small village called Sart remains on the site of this once-important city. Archeologists have located the ruins of a Christian church building next to the temple.
Faithlife Study Bible – A military stronghold in antiquity, Sardis had a reputation for being impregnable, though in fact it had been conquered twice in its history. Archaeologists have uncovered a massive temple there dedicated to Artemis.
Verse 1 – Seven spirits and seven stars:
Remember that we’re not sure exactly what the seven spirits of God are, but they are likely the full representation of the completeness of the Holy Spirit.
Remember that the seven stars represent the angels of the seven churches, which are in some way representatives of the churches.
Verse 5 – Book of Life:
We can gather from the Bible that the Book of Life contains names of those redeemed by Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:3 – “Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.”
Revelation 13:8 – “All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.”
(other references in Revelation)
Daniel 12:1 – “At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape.”
Philadelphia:
Bible Knowledge Commentary – The city of Philadelphia was 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It was located in an area noted for its agricultural products but afflicted with earthquakes which destroyed the city several times, most recently about a.d. 37. The city was named for a king of Pergamum, Attalus Philadelphus, who had built it. “Philadelphus” is similar to the Greek word philadelphia, meaning “brotherly love,” which occurs seven times in the Bible. Only here is it used of the city itself. Christian testimony continues in the city in this present century.
Faithlife Study Bible – Philadelphia Like the church in Smyrna, the Philadelphian church receives praise from the Lord. The city was known for its commercial and agricultural importance, particularly its grape crops. Its patron deity was Dionysus, god of wine.
Verse 7 – Key of David:
See Isaiah 22:22 – “I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.”
Jesus is called the “Son of David” elsewhere. David was the one promised and chosen by God, indicating blessing and promise.
The blessing and promise will only come through the lineage of David. The key is through David, or the better David, the Son of David, Jesus the Messiah.
Jesus is the key of David. He is the Messianic fulfillment, and He has all authority and power.
Verse 9 – Synagogue of Satan:
See the Digging Deeper from chapter 2. (https://fbcbartow.org/sermons/digging-deeper-revelation-2/)
Verse 10 – Hour of testing:
Those in the Church of Philadelphia would be spared from “the hour of testing” that was coming. This certainly sounds like a worldwide tribulation of sorts.
This could have been a partial fulfillment of a greater tribulation that would come later.
Bible Knowledge Commentary – Christ was saying that the Philadelphia church would not enter the future time of trouble; He could not have stated it more explicitly. If Christ had meant to say that they 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 required.
We must not ignore that this is worldwide, as Jesus says, “whole world.”
Could this be a hint of a pre-tribulation view of the rapture?
Could this promise be specific to these Christians but not all Christians? Could this refer to some other sort of worldwide suffering, but not the tribulation?
Verse 12 – Pillar in the temple of God:
Obviously, we’re not going to become pieces of architecture. Rather, we will be fully immersed in the kingdom of God, and we will be immovable.
Faithlife Study Bible – We will have permanent residence in the new temple of God.
Verse 12 – New name of Jesus:
Trait #1 – New identity: A new name may imply a new revelation about all who Jesus is, His identity, or character.
Trait #2 – Who He is in Glory: Something known only to the Father and later to those who conquer.
Trait #3 – Reinforced in Revelation 19:12 – “His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.”
So, we’re not sure what the name is, but we will likely know it later if we belong to Jesus.
Laodicea:
Faithlife Study Bible – Laodicea was known for its banking, clothing industries, and medicine.
Bible Knowledge Commentary – The wealthy city of Laodicea was located on the road to Colosse about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia. About 35 years before this letter was written, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake, but it had the wealth and ability to rebuild. Its main industry was wool cloth.
Verse 18 – Gold, clothes, ointment:
As stated Sunday, the gold likely referred to godly riches, the white clothes likely referred to righteousness and victory, and the ointment on the eyes likely referred to seeing as God sees (in some things).
Remember that the industries of Laodicea were banking, clothing, and medicine, corresponding to the gold, white clothes, and ointment.
Further, Laodicea was famous for a black wool which would have contrasted with the white clothes that Jesus mentioned.
Verse 21 – Sitting with Jesus on His throne:
Observation #1 – There seems to be shared authority with Jesus.
See 2 Timothy 2:12 – “If we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us.”
Observation #2 – Sitting with Jesus seems to be part of the reward for conquering/faithfulness.
See Revelation 20:6 – “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
Observation #3 – Humans were originally given authority to rule, but some of that authority was lost when sin came into the world.
Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.’”
So, we will not be exactly as Jesus is, but we will be like Him in some ways, and we will share some things with Him, including at least partial rule with Him.
Other questions?
Summary:
From the Bible Knowledge Commentary: “The letters to the seven churches are a remarkably complete treatment of problems that face the church today. The recurring dangers of losing their first love, of being afraid of suffering, doctrinal defection, moral departure, spiritual deadness, not holding fast, and lukewarmness are just as prevalent today as they were in first-century churches. Because these letters come from Christ personally, they take on significance as God’s final word of exhortation to the church down through the centuries. The final appeal is to all individuals who will hear. People in churches today would do well to listen.”
