Revelation 3:1 1And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: This is what the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your deeds, that you have a name that of life, but you are dead.
The next church in the series was located in the city of Sardis. Sardis lay 50 miles east-northeast of Ephesus, atop a steep promontory 1,500 feet above a fertile valley, linked to the mountains by a narrow strip of land and ringed by cliffs. It was one of the most powerful cities in the sixth century B.C., but by the time of the Roman Empire, in the middle to late first century A.D., its significance had waned. It was wealthy and famous, with much jewelry found in cemeteries. Gold and silver coins were first made there. It had a large temple to Cybele (Greek Artemis), who was believed to have the power to restore the dead to life. The city thought itself safe from invasion because of its location, which is was to some degree, but at least twice in history (sixth and third centuries B.C.), it was conquered by invaders.
Jesus, as the author of this letter, commands an angel to communicate the contents of this letter to the church. Angels are God’s messengers (angelos) to humanity. Jesus is described with images from chapter 1. The seven spirits could be interpreted as the sevenfold Spirit, referring to the Holy Spirit. The seven stars represent the seven churches. Jesus was in their midst through the Holy Spirit. His sovereignty is evident in that he knew what was going on. The church could not hide, nor could it assume its secrets were unknown.
From the outside, this church looked like it was doing well. In modern terms, it looked successful, with a nice building, many activities, trained musicians, paid staff to run the sound system, a paved and full parking lot, and even multiple satellite campuses, all of which can be useful for ministry but mask the spiritual condition of the people. Something critical was missing in this church: life. From outside observations, the church seemed to be thriving, but its spiritual condition was horrible. They may have misunderstood what the church was about. Outward appearance is not what makes a group of people the church. The church is made of born-again, Spirit-filled believers in Jesus. A “church” can look alive on the outside but be dead on the inside, but it is more of a social club than the people of God. If something is not growing, it begins to die. Death eventually is the result. When a church reaches this point, something crucial is missing. The rest of this short letter will describe the problem for the church in Sardis.