Pastor Dan Nickerson – April 2nd, 2021
(Revelation 3:1-6)…..“And to the angel of the church in 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. 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 andrepent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 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. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
The city of Sardis was the capital of the Lydian empire founded out of the Hittite empire sometime in 12 B.C.. This city used to be called Hyde in the early years and came to be known as the city of Sardis. It was a rich but sinful city, and what is really amazing is that coins were invented in this city in 660 B.C.. The city of Sardis was famous for three things: (1) Military might. (2) Its place on a trade route. (3) It’s command of the plains of Hermus which were very fertile.
Sardis endured many wars, usually victorious because of its geographic location, it was located on an outcropping with a 1500 feet sheer drop around the cities edges where only a small land bridge connected the outcropping with the rest of the country. This made it difficult to invade, yet the city was captured several times throughout history, the most notably by the Persians in the 6th century B.C. who scaled the cliffs to take it captive. Eventually, though the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), and under Rome it became a center for dying wool and producing carpets and garments, bringing the city and its people great wealth.
King Croesus (of the Lydian empire) was said to carry $600,000,000 out of the city when Cyrus king of Persia invaded the Lydian kingdom (and the city of Sardis). It had some famous men who came from there, Thales the first Greek philosopher, Xerxes the great general, and Aesop who wrote all of those fables.
There was a temple there to Caesar and to the Empress Livia where the people worshiped Caesar as the son of god (small “g” – Zeus) and Livia as the mother goddess, of which this goddess-mother-son cult had its roots Babylon. It was in this that the worship of the Babylonian cult of “Magians” in Pergamos that had its roots tied to Nimrod and Babel (Genesis 11:1-4). Remember “Pergemos” means height, elevation, and fortify, much like we see in the Tower of Babel.
History says that Nimrod married his mother Semiramis who’s name means “gift of the sea.” Babylonian mystics taught that Semiramis floated to shore from the sea as an egg and attracted doves that hatched her. The name ‘sammur’ when translated into Hebrew becomes ‘Shinar.’ Therefore Semiramis’ name is also Shinar. According to this pagan teaching Semiramis became pregnant by a supernatural beam of light and gave birth to a son named Tammuz. Semiramis being a “gift of the sea” and becoming pregnant from a beam of light she becomes known as the Queen of Heaven. Semiramis was a master in cultist deception and gave birth to a new religion in the land of Shinar referred to as Babylonian goddess worship. It’s interesting to note some of the things that Semiramis taught her loyal disciples. Semiramis taught that the Great Serpent was the rightful lord of the universe whose throne had been temporarily usurped by God. According to her, the serpent created man “in his present miserable state, but promises that a child would one day be born of a divine mother which child would supplant God, become a god himself, and return ruler-ship of the earth back to the serpent.” Semiramis’ promoted worship of the ‘heavenly host,’Satan’s army of fallen angels. At the top of the Tower of Babel was an area dedicated for such pagan adoration. It’s interesting to see the connection between the secular humanist Nimrod and the goddess worshiping that has found its way into the culture and religions of today and has become a mixture of paganism and mother-son worship
The city fell into obscurity when Constantinople become the dominate city of the region. Notice how Jesus proclaims Himself to Sardis. He proclaims His Deity! Jesus describes himself as He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. There is a sevenfold description of the Holy Spirit which could be in view here, this can be a reference to (Isaiah 11:2) where the Spirit of the Lord is described as the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear. Adding those six to the title “Spirit of the Lord” gives us the sevenfold Spirit described in the fullness of His operation.
There is another possibility as well that comes from (Zechariah 4:1-10), where the passage refers to the Spirit of God in terms of His fullness, in terms of His omniscience, and in terms of His testimony. This description is also repeated as to some of its features in (Revelation 4:5) (Revelation 5:6). In either case, the emphasis is on the fullness of the Holy Spirit, His Deity.
Jesus also says, “And the seven stars,” the seven messengers, the seven leaders of the church. He is also in possession of them, they are to speak for Him to His church, the very responsibility of every pastor, and elder of His church body. Jesus appears as One who has everything the church needs to succeed. His Spirit has all the power the churches need. His Word has all the direction His churches need. This is a message the modern church needs today. People are trying every method under the sun to reach sinners and to do the work of the church but all the power we need is found in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and in the Word of God
What we need is not a new method but a new desire to seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit and do everything according to the teachings of the Word of God. You might notice that there is NO commendation for this church. Notice that Jesus tells them, “I know thy works,” He comes as One who sees all and knows all. He does not commend their works and He does not condemn their works, He merely tells them that He knows everything they are doing (Psalm 139:1-16) (Hebrews 4:12-13). He knows everything you and I do and He knows why we do it, that is a sobering thought. Apparently their works gave them the reputation that they were alive, and that they had a good name. A good name is important to have (Proverbs 22:1), but reputation isn’t everything. Jesus will judge by what others can’t see in us (Romans 2:12-16).