In Revelation 1:4 we read. “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia.” Asia, back then, was a Roman province within the Roman Empire which bordered the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Today that land is located in Western Turkey. The cities where these seven churches existed are mentioned in Revelation 1:11, “to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” In chapters 2 & 3 we have a letter written to each church with the words of the Lord Himself. In them He writes of the “spiritual conditions” that characterized them. He would start by commending them for “the good” that He saw and then He would write of “the bad” that He saw and would then exhort them according to their condition. In Chapter 2 we the letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira and in Chapter 3 we have the letters to Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. We won’t read the whole chapter; we will cite certain verses with brief comments. I pray we will listen to what the Lord has to say and apply the truth to ourselves. We know the Lord wants us to do this for each letter ends with the words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (3:6, 13, 22).

To the church at Sardis (verses 1-6) the Lord says, “I know your works, that you HAVE A NAME THAT YOU ARE ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD…you have A FEW NAMES in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for THEY ARE WORTHY.” This church was made up of those who “professed faith in Christ and said they had eternal life”, but most of them were not true believers. We know that because Jesus said “you are DEAD.” Most of them were still “DEAD in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). They were “religious” and went through the motions of serving and worshipping the Lord; they had “a form of godliness but were denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Thankfully there were “a few” who had been “made ALIVE in Christ” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5) and were undefiled in their walk in the Lord. To those the Lord exhorts “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain” (verse 2). The Lord promises the overcomer blessing in verse 5.

To the church at Philadelphia (verses 7-13) the Lord says, “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have A LITTLE STRENGTH, have KEPT MY WORD, and have NOT DENIED MY NAME” (verse 8). Here was a zealous and vibrant church who received nothing but praise from the Lord. They knew they were “weak in themselves” but were committed to “keeping His word” (learning and obeying the truth) and to “not denying His name” (refusing to be disloyal to the Person of Christ by preaching the gospel even when being persecuted and not associating with anyone or any fellowship that dishonored His name). To these “weak but faithful believers” the Lord opened doors of service (verse 7) and promised them they would never go through the coming “hour of trial” (the Tribulation Period described in chapters 6-18).

To the church at Laodicea (verses 14-22) the Lord says, “I know your works, that you are NEITHER COLD OR HOT. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because YOU ARE LUKEWARM, and neither cold or not, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (verses 15-16). This church was, for the most part, made up of those who weren’t “openly rebellious to Christ” but they weren’t “on fire for the Lord” either; they were in a state of INDIFFERENCE to the Lord. Laodicea means “people’s rights” and they were taken up with their “own interests and not the interests of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 2:21). The Lord was nauseated by this “lukewarm condition” of not only indifference and selfishness, but by their pride as seen in verse 17, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor blind, and naked.’” Sadly, this condition is seen all around us in many of today’s churches, where they boast of their large and beautiful church building and their large numbers which include many wealthy people. In verse 18 the Lord pleads with them to come to Him for salvation or He will ultimately reject them when He comes to take true believers home to heaven (John 14:2-3 with Matthew 25:6-12). Thankfully there were some there who were saved, yet the lukewarmness of the majority had rubbed off on them and thus the Lord says to them “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (verses 19-20). The Lord desires to have intimate fellowship with His redeemed but we must take heed to His chastening love (see Hebrews 12:7-11) and repent of our own self-interests and complacency. By “repenting” we are “opening the door of our heart to commune with Him.”  (DO)  (656.1)