May 27th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

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The letter to the church at Sardis, found in Revelation 3:1-6, is next on our tour of the seven churches in Revelation.  Sardis was one of the greatest cities in the ancient world, wealthy and placed in an ideal location.  It’s history is sobering, however.

John MacArthur notes:

Sardis was located about thirty miles south of Thyatira in the fertile valley of the Hermus River.  A series of spurs jutted out from the ridge of Mouth Tmolus, south of the Hermes River.  On one of these hills, some fifteen hundred feet above the valley floor, stood Sardis.  Its location made the city all but impregnable.  The hill on which Sardis was built had smooth, nearly perpendicular rock walls on three sides.  Only from the south could the city be approached, via a steep, difficult path…

Its seemingly impregnable location caused the inhabitants of Sardis to become overconfident.   [pg. 110]

At two different times in history this fortress-like city was conquered – both times because the ruler and inhabitants felt so confident in their secure location that they failed to keep even one man as a guard to watch the steep walls, looking only to the most accessible path to the city.  Enemy invaders painstakingly scaled the walls one-by-one, coming into the slumbering city.

Several hundred years later, the city having been rebuilt by Rome, this letter should have hit home.

I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.

Revelation 3:1-3

Like the citizens of Sardis, slumbering unaware as their enemies captured their city, the church at Sardis needed to WAKE UP.

This letter is a powerful reminder to us as 21st century believers that we can far too easily be lulled to sleep – we begin feeling safe in our comfort zones, we place our trust in circumstances or wealth or people, and we drop our guard.  ”That would never happen to me.”  ”Our church isn’t like that.”  Feelings of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness convince us that our fortress is secure.  We take refuge in our own names rather than remembering Proverbs 18:10 – The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Spiritual warfare rages on – the question is not IF there is a battle, but whether or not we are prepared.  The church at Sardis was caught unaware, and as we will discuss tomorrow, the diagnosis was grim.

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