03.13. The Message To Sardis

The Message To Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) In the message to Thyatira we found that great evil had come into the professing Church during this period of its history. Elements of Judaism and heathenism were adapted and a fixed system of evil teaching had grown up under the form of the wicked prophetess Jezebel who led God’s servants into spiritual fornication and idolatry. This we have seen has its full counterpart and fulfilment in the Roman Catholic system which continues today unrepentant and unchanged as to its evil character. In the Church at Sardis we have prophetically set forth a fifth period of the professing Church or Christendom. In this Assembly, and the period of time it represents prophetically, we find nothing of the great evils the Lord spoke of to Thyatira. It is evident from the message to Sardis that there has been a new and fresh beginning The Lord says, "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast, and repent" (Revelation 3:3). The Reformation

Between the periods of time in the history of Christendom, which were characterized by Thyatira and Sardis conditions, there was the mighty work of the Spirit of God which is known as The Reformation. This developed over a period of several hundred years and reached its fullness and climax in the early part of the sixteenth century. At this time the Protestant movement came into being. It is important to notice that the Church at Sardis does not prophetically represent the Reformation itself, but rather the state and condition into which Protestantism afterwards fell when the power and impulse of that mighty movement of the Spirit of God had died down.

Before considering the Lord’s message to Sardis, it will be helpful to us if we contemplate for a little some of the features of the work of the Spirit of God in the Reformation and the instruments which He used. In our previous study we spoke of John Wycliffe, born in England around 1320, who first translated the Bible into English. He was called "The Morning Star of the Reformation." John Huss, born about 1373, and Jerome (1363-1416), both of Bohemia, carried on the torch of truth from Wycliffe. Then there were the Moravian brethren who were distinguished by missionary zeal and labours. They published in the Bohemian language a translation of the Bible around 1470.

One of the greatest and most valuable accomplishments of the Reformation period was the translation of the Scriptures into the languages of the day and the multiplication and dissemination of the Bible into the hands of the rank and file of the people. During the Thyatira period the Bible was practically a lost book. It was only translated into Latin, which very few people knew, and only a few copies were in existence as everything had to be copied out by hand, for the art of printing was not yet invented. This period is known in history as the Dark Ages. Then evil flourished because the Bible was a hidden book and its light did not shine forth abroad. The Psalmist says, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple" (Psalms 119:130). When the Word of God shines out, it gives light which dispels the darkness and evil. When it is withheld, evil flourishes.

God was going to recover His truth and give the light of His Word to the people. For this the Scriptures had to be translated from the original Hebrew and Greek tongues, also from the Latin, into the vernacular of the common folk, and means devised for rapid multiplication of the translated Bible. So He raised up men of God who were able to translate the Scriptures, and He so ordered that the art of manufacturing paper was developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and that the art of printing was also invented. The first book to be printed was the Holy Bible, which Gutenberg printed in German around 1456. Now the Word of God was rapidly multiplied and placed in the hands of the people.

One of the most prominent figures of the Reformation was Martin Luther whom God used mightily to recall souls to the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures and to the recovery of the great gospel truth of justification by faith alone. Born in Germany in 1483, he saw a Bible for the first time in a library at Erfurt in 1505. After years of deep exercises of soul, he was brought into true peace with God by the words of Romans 1:17, "The just shall live by faith." Henceforth he became the great proclaimer of justification by faith as the peculiar doctrine of the Gospel and exposed the falsehoods of Popery and brought the reign of Rome to an end. In 1517 Luther nailed his theses to the Church door at Wittenberg . Therein in ninety-five propositions he challenged the whole Catholic Church, as to its sale of indulgences. In 1520 he burned publicly the papal bull which ex-communicated him from the Church and thus threw off the yoke of Rome and became an open and uncompromising antagonist of this evil system. This was a bold and courageous step and the nation of Germany rallied around God’s faithful servant and the power of Rome was broken for the first time in one thousand years.

After Luther’s courageous and firm stand before the august assembly of over five thousand of the great ones of the day at the Diet of Worms in April 1521, he was carried off by friends to the Castle of Wartburg where he was secretly kept in safety for nearly a year. Here he commenced the greatest and most useful of all his works, the translation of the Bible into the German language. He published the New Testament in September 1522 and a second edition appeared in December 1522. It spread from one end of Germany to the other and to many other countries, and was read by almost everybody throughout Germany . It became the book of the people, a national book, the Book of God. The Reformation was now placed on the solid foundation of the Word of God. By 1533 fifty-eight editions of the New Testament had been printed. By 1530 the whole Old Testament had been translated by Luther with the help of Melanchthon and other friends and published. Now the complete Word of God was in the hands of the people in their own tongue and God Himself could thus speak to the hearts and consciences of men.

We should also state that previously the Bible was translated into various languages by individual reformers in different countries. An Italian version appeared in 1474, a Bohemian around 1470, a Dutch in 1477, a French in 1477, and a Spanish translation in 1478. Thus the Spirit of God wrought and heralded the approach of the coming Reformation. Now through the work which God wrought by Luther and the awakening in the German Empire, the revival of the Gospel and the work of the Reformation spread and deeply affected the general state of Europe . Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, France and the British Isles were affected by this movement of God’s Spirit and "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed," as in the days of Paul at Ephesus (Acts 19:20).

However, the Papal party of Rome continued in hateful opposition to the reformers and determined to exterminate by fire and sword the Lutherans. The first Diet of Spires was called in June 1526 and a second Diet was convened in the same place in the spring of 1529. The immediate extinction of the heresies of the Reformation by the sword was the avowed purpose of the Roman party at the second Diet. The German princes united and protested and then presented in writing a noble manifesto of remonstrance and protest. On this account the Reformers were designated The Protestants. Thus the term originated which is still used to denote all Churches and groups which protest on principle against the doctrines, rites and ceremonies of the Church of Rome. The principles of the protest of the Reformers at Spires and that of the Confession of Augsburg of 1530 were embodied in the national constitution of Germany and the German princes pledged themselves to defend these beliefs by the armed might of governmental power. Now Protestantism assumed a political form and the moral glory of the Reformation declined. National Churches were formed in various countries with evangelical creeds as part of the government’s statesmanship, and political power to back them up. When the political element entered and soon dominated, when the outward aggressive action and protection of the Reformed Churches fell into the hands of the princes of governments, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17), was exchanged for the carnal sword and the arm of flesh, and there was no further spiritual advancement after that. The glow and fervour of the truth of God and the first flush of blessing soon passed away and a cold, lifeless formalism and empty profession set into Protestantism. The Lord was not depended upon, the Spirit of God was grieved and there was no longer the power of the Spirit of God manifest as in the previous days.

Thus the words of the Lord to Sardis, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1), aptly describes the state of Protestantism when the power, bloom and impulse of the Reformation had died down and dead formalism and empty profession, devoid of spiritual life, had set in. This is the state and condition of Christendom in the period which Sardis prophetically sets forth. With this brief outline of the Reformation as a background before us, we will be better enabled to understand the message of the Lord to Sardis and to enter more fully into the significance of its details which shall occupy us in our next studies. The word " Sardis " is thought to come from a Hebrew word "saird" which means "a remnant." A remnant has been drawn out of the awful system of evil that developed during the Thyatiran period, out of the Jezebel system of Romanism. But, as we saw in our previous study, many joined themselves to this true remnant of Protestantism for political and other reasons, and it was now in the main a lifeless profession which the Lord characterized as having "a name that thou livest, and art dead." The Presentation Of The Lord

"And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1). The Lord presents Himself to Sardis as the One that has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. The Spirit of God speaks of power, for the Lord told the disciples, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me" (Acts 1:8). The seven Spirits of God would indicate fullness of power, so the Lord would remind the Church at Sardis that He has fullness of power and that fullness was available for them in the Spirit of God. In Revelation 5:1-14 the Lord is seen as the Lamb "having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth" (Revelation 5:6). The Church is composed of believers "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22), and is the sphere of the Spirit’s operations and power. But the Assembly at Sardis showed no sign of the Spirit’s activity. It was cold, formal and dead. The Spirit of God had been grieved, neglected and set aside. The arm of flesh had been relied upon by the Protestant movement of this Sardis period as the power to combat the evils and power of Rome, instead of counting upon the power of the Spirit of God. In the beginning the reformers were empowered by the Spirit of God, but as the Reformation continued they made the great mistake of leaning on the arm of secular governments for protection and help. The Spirit of God had raised up a testimony against the evil in the professing Church, but He was not counted on or depended upon to maintain this testimony. Kings and princes of governments were tired of the heavy yoke of Rome and were glad to get rid of it, so joined in with the Protestant movement because of natural animosity against this evil system. Thus men not born of the Spirit of God or led by the Spirit became a vital part of the Protestant movement of this Sardis period and it soon became a lifeless profession devoid of spiritual power.

Because of all this the Lord presents Himself to Sardis as the One who has the seven Spirits of God, fullness of power. If they needed strength and power in the great conflict against evil, it was available for them in the Spirit of God. The same is true for the Church of God today, and for the individual believer. We can "be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16). The professing Church today is characterized by the same neglect of the Spirit of God and leaning on the arm of flesh as was true of Protestantism in its early days, so the Lord’s words to the Church in Sardis are of practical application in the present time also. The Lord also says that He has the seven stars. We noticed in our earlier studies that Revelation 1:20 says: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." They are the messengers, or those bearing responsibility in the Assembly and set therein to give heavenly light. He would remind us that He is the One who gives gifts to His Church and that all who would be instrumental lights for Him must connect everything with Himself and own His authority and count upon Him for every need. He has the seven stars. All true ministry must come from Himself by the Spirit of God. Do we need teachers to teach the Word of God? Do we need pastors to shepherd and care for the flock of God? Do we need evangelists to preach the Gospel? Are overseers needed in the local Assemblies? Yes, all these gifts and ministrations are needed in the Church and are to be had from Christ, the living Head of the Church. He can and does raise up such and we are to look to Him for them instead of establishing a ministerial system as Protestantism has done. The Lord would cause the Assembly at Sardis and ourselves today to realize that, though there is failure and lack of power in the Church, there is neither failure nor lack of power or ministry with Himself. All fullness abides in Him for His Church, but He must be counted and depended upon in faith to receive of His fullness. The reader will remember that we pointed out in the introduction to these studies the contrast between the presentation of the Lord to Ephesus and to Sardis . In Ephesus the Lord presents Himself as the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, but here to Sardis He does not say that He has the seven stars in His hand. The reason for the difference is that in the time of Ephesus, the period following the apostles, the Lord was owned as the Head of the Church and relied on as such. But this was not true of the Church in the Sardis period, and neither is it true of the professing Church today. Christ is not owned as the living and only head of the Church. Men are given that place and looked to instead of the living Lord of glory. The stars are not seen and owned as being in the right hand of the Lord. The real failure of Protestantism has been, and is, in not giving the Lord Jesus Christ the supreme place of authority and headship and depended upon as such. The Lord’s Censure

"I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1). This is the Lord’s estimation of the works and state of Sardis, of the professing Church of the Sardis period, yea, of Protestantism. He who has eyes as a flame of fire that can pierce through everything, and He who alone can fully perceive and give a right estimate of every action and work has this to say about the works of Sardis .

It surely is not a commendation that the Lord gives here, as we have seen He always gave first in His messages to the previous four Churches in connection with the words, "I know thy works." It would seem that there is practically nothing of commendation in the Lord’s message to Sardis . The only word of approval He could give was the recognition of the little remnant in verse four "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy." These few the Lord could commend for their separated walk, but the general state of Sardis was displeasing to Him and He could only speak words of censure, exhortation and warning to this Church as a whole.

"Thou hast a name that thou livest." There was much orthodoxy and correctness of doctrine in the creeds of the Protestants. Much truth was expressed and owned as facts, and is still found among some Protestants today, but there was no spiritual life. It was, and is today, a cold, formal, lifeless, orthodox thing without the power of the Spirit of God. There is the appearance of life, but He who pierces through the outward covering of formalism says, Thou art dead. The name and outward profession belies the actual condition. There was a name to live, but it was only a name, a profession without spiritual life. Protestantism that began with the Reformation, which was in the power of the Spirit at first, now was in the sleep of death. It settled down in worldly associations and had a reputation of life, but without spiritual vitality.

Such was Protestantism after the freshness and impulse of the Reformation passed away, and such is Protestantism, and worse, today. The evangelical movements of the day are outside the recognized organizations of Protestantism and are not properly represented by Sardis . It was the formation of National Churches, supported by the State, which enrolled practically everyone, regardless of spiritual life or regeneration by the Spirit of God, that characterized the Protestant movement in the Sardis period and helped bring about this lifeless profession of dead orthodoxy which is still with us today. The Call To Watchfulness

"Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God" (Revelation 3:2). The assembly at Sardis had not been watchful, other wise the condition of lifeless profession that prevailed would not have developed. The result of this lack of watchfulness was that the things which remained were drooping and ready to die out. There had been activity of spiritual life, but now only forms of life remained and these were languishing and needed strengthening. So the Lord calls this assembly and the church of the Sardis period to watchfulness and activity in the Spirit, also to repentance, as we shall later see. The call to watchfulness and to strengthening the things which remain is a practical word for the church at all times. In Mark 13:33-37 the Lord spoke to the disciples and exhorted them four times to watch. "Take ye heed, watch and pray . commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore . And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." The apostle Paul warned the elders of the church of Ephesus about men that would arise, "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them," and then exhorted, "Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears" (Acts 20:30-31). The enemy of our souls is ever busy to corrupt and destroy and has many subtle ways of working. It was while men slept that the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat as our Lord foretold (Matthew 13:25). May we heed His call to watchfulness, individually and collectively, and seek to strengthen the languishing testimonies to His Name that remain. Let us not seek to tear down and just criticize, but to labour to build up and strengthen what is of God. "Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

"I have not found thy works complete before God" (N.Tn). This is the Lord’s estimation of the works of the Sardis period. Though there had been a work of God during the Reformation time, there was much incompleteness that characterized the teaching of the Reformers. There was a great lack of Scriptural fullness on the great doctrines of divine revelation. There was gross fundamental blunder about what they called "the sacraments" - retaining baptismal regeneration and the error of consubstantiation as to the Lord’s supper. There is not a trace of the true doctrine of the church of God in the history of the Reformation. The exalted truths of the epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, where the characteristics of the Church and this present dispensation of grace are set forth, were unknown to the mass of the Reformers.

Then as regards Christian practice, believers were put under the law as their rule of life, and remain so even today in Protestantism, whereas Christ Himself is the rule of life for the Christian. The universal doctrine of all Protestant bodies is to put souls justified by faith under the law as a rule to live by. The effect of this is a ministry of death, for the law is called "the ministration of death" in 2 Corinthians 3:7. Souls under the law never enjoy settled peace and the walk is enfeebled.

Thus there is an incompleteness of works. The believer has in Christ a complete sacrifice, a perfect conscience ("hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience"), and is "perfected for ever" by one perfect offering (Hebrews 10:10-22). This is practically unknown in Protestantism, for the pure and full Gospel is not preached when grace and law are mixed together.

Remember - Hold Fast - Repent

"Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent" (Revelation 3:3). The Lord recognizes that there had been a work of grace in the Reformation period. Much truth had been heard and received. There was now the light of the open Bible and all Europe had been stirred by the Reformation. People crowded into halls and listened four to five hours at a time to discourses from the Bible. The truths of the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures, justification by faith and liberty of conscience were among those heard and received. But now these truths that had been recovered and rejoiced in were fading from memory and conscience. Protestantism was now living on its fame acquired by her successful conflict with the papal system of Rome, living on her name and forgetting the precious truths that had been revealed to her. The Lord therefore calls Sardis to remember how she had received and heard, to hold fast to the truths given forth by the Spirit of God, and to repent as to her declension and fall from her former condition. This was the way of recovery and restoration which the Lord in grace set before Sardis . He would lead them to repentance by reminding them of how they had received the Word, of the heartiness, fervour, zeal and love with which they had received the truth when the light of the open Bible had shined upon them and delivered their souls out of the darkness of Catholicism.

Another point to observe here is that the Lord holds individuals and assemblies responsible according to the light received. Sardis will be judged by the light it received at the Reformation and according to the privilege of the light of an open Bible. What declension and apostasy one finds in Protestantism today, where in many places the Bible is no longer believed to be the inspired and infallible Word of God, and the doctrine of justification by faith is regarded as a relic of a past age. What judgment will befall such.

Applying the words of the Lord to Sardis to ourselves individually today, how searching is the call to remember how we have received and heard, and to hold fast and repent! How much precious ministry we have heard during our years! Do we prize and value the truth of God made known to us and do we hold it fast? Or do we prefer earthly and temporal things above the revelation of Christ and His Word? Many things in our lives show that we do not value the truth we have heard and received. Therefore the call to repent in self-judgment is the word of the Lord to us personally, Judgment Threatened

"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" (Revelation 3:3). The Lord had counselled the assembly to watch; now they are threatened with judgment if they do not do so and recover themselves from their fallen state. He would come upon them as a thief unexpectedly. This is very solemn, for the Lord will come upon the world "as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Sardis is thus warned, that if she does not watch and repent, she will be treated as the world and judged by His coming upon them as a thief, unexpected and unwelcomed.

What a sad thing when the professing Church, yea, Protestantism with its great name, is reduced, in God’s estimation and judgment, to the level of the world. The church in the Sardis period was one with the political powers and was thus identified with the world. It would therefore have to share the world’s judgment when He comes in sudden surprise as "a thief in the night." The present state of Protestantism is no better, but worse than after the Reformation, and the Lord’s warning of coming judgment is of solemn present application. To the faithful remnant in Thyatira the Lord spoke of Himself as "the morning star" and called upon them to "hold fast till I come" (Revelation 2:25; Revelation 2:28). How lovely is the way He presents Himself to them as regards His coming. To the true believers who look for their Lord and Bridegroom to come again, He will appear as "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16) and translate them into the glory of His Father’s house (John 14:2-3). But to the world and the professing church that does not know Christ and is not looking or waiting for His coming again, He will come as a thief with sudden destruction and judgment. The Lord’s words to Sardis, as to His coming upon them as a thief, shows that they were not looking for Him to come again. Surely this is true of present day Protestantism at large and of the world. They are not looking or waiting for the Lord to come again, and His coming will be unwelcome and unexpected as the coming of a thief. But the word to the true child of God is, "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day (the day of the Lord) should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light" (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5). May we be as the Lord exhorted his disciples in Luke 12:35-36 : "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord." The Remnant

"Thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy" (Revelation 3:4). As in Thyatira a faithful remnant was marked out by the Lord, so in Sardis there were faithful individuals whom the Lord distinguishes from the professing mass as pleasing to Himself. They had not defiled their garments by association with the world as the rest in Sardis had, but maintained personal purity by separation from the evils about them. Holiness of walk and conduct characterized them as they kept themselves, not only from the evils of the world without, but from the contaminations within the sphere of God’s professing people. They were thus separated ones, though few in number and unpopular down here, but personally known to the Lord and worthy to walk with Him in white. They had learnt what James describes as "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is . to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27 ).

"They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy." Such is the precious promise of the Lord to these faithful ones in Sardis, and to all who endeavour to walk in separation from evil and keep themselves unspotted from the world which has Satan as its god and prince, be it in the commercial, political or religious aspect. This promise shows how much He appreciates such fidelity to Himself, and the reward is that of closest association and identification with Himself. They had preserved their integrity and moral purity here, and would walk with Him there in robes made white in the blood of the Lamb. Their distinguishing recompense in glory is thus related to the moral separation and purity which they maintained down here. Such faithfulness to the Lord will not be forgotten, but marked out forever above. May these precious words of Christ encourage believers today to walk in separation from all that is displeasing to the Lord and not of Himself.

It is noticeable that in the message to Thya tira the Lord addressed the faithful remnant with the words, "as many as have not this doctrine" etc., while to Sardis He says, "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments." Would this indicate that there were more faithful ones in the godly remnant of the Thyatiran period than in the remnant of the Sardis period? Are we to gather from the words "as many", said to Thyatira, and the words "a few names", spoken to Sardis, that there were, and may still be today, fewer godly, separated souls in formal Protestantism than in the Roman system of the Thyatiran period? This implication would seem to be there. At any rate, there were only a few in Sardis who were found pleasing to the Lord. The surprise is that there were not more separated ones in the midst of the Protestant movement that had rebelled against the corruptions of Thyatira.

Fifth Parable

We have been pointing out a similarity in the parables of Matthew thirteen to what we find in the seven Churches. Sardis is the fifth Church. And the fifth parable in Matthew 13:1-58, "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field" (Matthew 13:44). This parable pictures the Lord Jesus Christ giving up all and buying the world, the field, with His blood that He might have the treasure hid therein, His saints individually, or, as some believe, Israel . The similarity of this parable with Sardis seems to be in that of the treasure hid in the field. Amidst the great professing mass of lifeless Protestantism that was walking with the world, there were these few hidden ones of the remnant who were true believers. They were like a treasure buried in the field, known and valued by their Lord.

Promises To The Overcomer

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; 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" (Revelation 3:5). A threefold reward is promised to the overcomer here. (1) He would be clothed in white raiment. (2) His name would not be blotted out of the book of life. (3) The Lord would confess his name before His Father and before His angels. Those who would remember how they had heard and received and held fast and repented and acquired the condition of those who had not defiled their garments, would thus be manifest as overcomers and be brought into the class of the faithful remnant who shall walk with the Lord in white. The white garments, which the Lord promises to clothe the overcomer with, are the appropriate and public recognition by the Lord of the pure character of their walk down here. In Revelation 19:1-21 the wife of the Lamb is seen arrayed in "fine linen, clean and white," and this, the explanation that follows says, "is the righteousnesses of saints" (Revelation 19:8, N.Tn). The Lord thus assures that every act of faithfulness of the overcomer, which led to separation from unholiness here, shall have its future recompense in an eternal display in His presence. The second promise to the overcomer here is that his name would not be blotted out of the book of life. This raises the question as to what the book of life is and whether it is possible to have one’s name blotted out of it. Careful study will show a distinction between the book of life mentioned here and the "book of life of the Lamb," or "the Lamb’s book of life" which Revelation 13:8; Revelation 21:7 speak of. These are two different books or records. The book of life seems to be a general registry of profession, where a name may be enrolled, but upon investigation the title to such enrolment may prove false and it will have to be erased. Of old the thought of being blotted out of God’s book has been expressed. Moses, in a wonderful moment of intercession for sinful Israel, said to God, "if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." To his plea Jehovah replied, "Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:32-33). In Psalms 89:28 David requests for the enemies of the Lord, "Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous" (N.Tn). Then in Revelation 22:19 the following warning is given that, "if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city," etc.

All these Scriptures indicate the possibility of the Lord’s blotting one’s name out of the book of life, which is a general book of profession of divine life. God always takes people up on their profession and holds them responsible accordingly. It is a book of life the Lord is speaking of, and if it becomes manifest that persons are not characterized by divine life, but are dead as the mass in Sardis were, their names may be blotted out as no longer entitled to remain on the register. The Lamb’s book of life contains names written therein before the founding of the world, as Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8 tell us: "written from (the) founding of (the) world in the book of life of the slain Lamb" (N.Tn). This is the book of the counsels and purposes of God, who knows the end from the beginning and wrote therein, before the course of human responsibility began, the names of all who were chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid (Ephesians 1:4). These are true, born-again believers in Christ, whom He calls, justifies, and glorifies (Romans 8:30 ), and works in their hearts by His Holy Spirit that has sealed and marked them off as His own forever. The Lamb’s book of life is the record of reality and out of that book no name is blotted out. The book of life is the record of the true and false confessors of Christ. Those who have only a false and lifeless profession will have their names blotted out of that book. Those in Sardis who overcome, by hearing the call to repentance and reality of life in Christ, are assured that their names will not be blotted out of God’s book of life. How comforting and assuring is the promise to the overcomer.

There is another comforting thought in this promise. Those who seek to be true to Christ and in obedience to Him are compelled to stand apart from evils and religious corruptions. This incurs the anger and opposition of religious leaders and such an one’s name may be blotted out of human Church registers. The Lord assures such an overcomer that, though man may blot out his name and excommunicate him as an evil one, He will not blot out his name from His book of life. The third promise given to the overcomer in Sardis is, "I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Not only will the Lord keep the overcomer’s name in His book, but He promises to confess that one’s name before His Father and His angels. It is like a commanding general that gives reports of the battle to headquarters of the commander-in-chief, and mentions for recognition the names of those who were outstanding in duty. Such names come up for honourable mention and reward. How cheering to the soldier, who under fire of great difficulty has remained at his post of duty, to have his name thus cited before his superiors and commander-in-chief. But such a mark of earthly honour and distinction is not to be compared with the unspeakable honour and favour of grace that will be bestowed upon the overcomer by the Lord when He confesses his name for faithfulness and obedience and recognition before His Father and His angels. May we value the Lord’s approval, recognition and promise of reward and honour, and be satisfied to be little thought of here, but stand as true overcomers for Christ. The Call To The Hearing Ear

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:6). The message of the Lord to the Assembly at Sardis closes with the call to the individual that has an ear to hear, to heed and consider what the Spirit says to the Churches. This appeal to the individual ear is a manifestation of the intense yearning of the Lord over His saints, and of His eager desire that His words of warning, reproof and exhortation might find an entrance into their hearts and produce a full response to His faithful love. The Lord always looks for those who have opened ears to hear and consider what He has to say. He once called people unto Himself and said, "Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand . If any man have ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 7:14-16). All have ears that can hear, but who has an ear to hear and heed what the Lord has to say? To such who have opened ears and hearts the Lord appeals, even today in this day of Laodicean indifference. There is much for present day believers to hear, heed and lay to heart of the Lord’s words to Sardis .

"Unto The Churches" May we call attention at this point to the words, "what the Spirit saith unto the churches." This phrase is found in each message to the seven Churches in connection with the call to hear what the Spirit has to say. Notice, it is not what the Spirit saith unto the Church, to the particular Church addressed, but "unto the Churches." What the Lord had to say to each Assembly was to be heeded by the hearing ear in all the Assemblies. What the Spirit spoke to each particular Assembly is thus designated as addressed to "the Churches" and was for the concern and the exercise of heart of all, not just for the local Assembly spoken to. This shows that there is a local and a corporate responsibility in the Church and that there is no such thing in Scripture as independency of Assemblies. The teaching of some, that each Assembly is an independent unit, responsible only to the Lord for its own affairs, and having no responsibility as to the affairs of another Assembly, is unscriptural and not in harmony with the call of the Lord to each of the seven Churches in Asia to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." The primary responsibility, of course, rests with each local Assembly, but responsibility as to maintaining the holiness of the Lord’s house, etc., does not end with the local Assembly. There is also a collective and corporate responsibility of Assemblies as members of the One Body of Christ.