Shepherds Bible Revelation Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

1. And unto the angel of the church in Sar’-dis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits
of God, a nd the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

#Sardis is a merchant town. The word means “mother of gods” or, if you would have it so, the mother
of false gods, so, in a sense, they are dead to the truth.

2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy
works perfect before God.

3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou
shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, a nd thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee.

# W ithout repe ntance and love for Him, there is no knowledge of the season of His return, but if His
servants watch closely, He will give them knowl­edge of the approximate time of His coming.

4. T hou hast a few names even in Sar’-dis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk
with Me in white: for they are worthy.

5. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name
before My Father, and before His angels.

#The Christ in the overcomer brings abo ut the state of purity that calls for “white raiment”.
Understand, the overcomers in this book are the “first­fruits”.

6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the chur­ches.

7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is
true, he that hath the key of David. He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man
ope neth;

#The “ke y of David is the knowledge of the true genealogy of Christ as oppo sed to the true genealogy
of the false christ. It is being able to dis­tinguish between the “wheat group” and the “tare group”. It is
the knowl­edge of to whom the truth is written and what their destiny is to be. No man can shut,
deceive, or sway the mind w hen the truth of the true Christ resides in his heart.

8. I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast
a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.

# He has opened the door. In other words, He has given the full truth. The knowledge concerning the
identity of the Kenites and their false- god will protect the elect, who will not deny His name by
accepting the false christ.

9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do
lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
 # He recognizes those who claim to be God’s chosen people, but in fact, are the children of Satan. He
explains who they are in the 13th chapter of Matthew in the parable of the tares. Note that He says
they will worship at our feet. This is an act of love. It is a love brought about as we teach and lead
them to the fullness of Christ in the millennium; a love for the Christ that is in us.

10. Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
which shall come upo n all the wor ld, to try them that dwell upo n the earth.

11. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

#Hold fast to the truth of Chr ist, so that no man can deceive you.

12. H im that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, a nd he shall go no more out:
and I will write upo n him the name of My God, a nd the name of the city of My God, w hich is new
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God : and I will write upo n him My new na me.

# The phrase “My new name” refers di­rectly to Revelation 14 :1. Thos e who do not receive the mark
of the beast in their minds will have Yah­veh’s seal in their foreheads. He will place it in their minds.
In other words, we will see the contrast between the deceived, those who believe in the false christ,
and the undeceived, those who believe in the true Christ.

13. H e that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

14. And unto the angel of the church of the La-od—i—ce’-ans write: These things saith the A’- men,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

#Notice that the Father is not saying either in error or not in error in this particular verse. He is
referring to the middle-of-the-roaders. It’s possible to fit many of the churches of today into this mold.
They are deceived by the political situation and political beast. They flow through life trying not to
step out of line, whether that step be right or wrong. They won’t even stand up for Jesus if it will hurt
the cash flow. He tells us in the next verse how He will handle these folks.

16. S o then because thou art luke warm, a nd neither cold nor hot, I will spe w thee out of My mouth.

17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

#Underline the word “blind”, because they are blind to the truth. He has sent them a delusion. They
think they are rich, but they are spiritually poverty stricken. They are stripped naked because they ha ve
not the cloak of the truth.

18. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, a nd that the shame of thy nakedness do not appe ar; and a noint thine eyes with
eyesaive, that thou mayest see.

# He wants you as His own. Here He gives counsel as to how you may be spiritually r ich and c lothed
in pur­ ity.

19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
 # How many times do we tell our own children that we are punishing them because we love them?
It’s not diffi­cult to understand what our Father means in this verse.

20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.

# Most church doctrines today take this verse and make it look as though Christ stands at your door
365 da ys a year. In Greek, however, it says “when I knock, you will hear My voice and then ope n the
door”. When He calls, you will answer. Some Bible scholars, Ginsburg, for one, think it is almost
blasphemous to picture Christ in the Spirit, standing at each door and begging for a continuous space
of time.

21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, e ve n as I also o vercame, a nd
am set do wn with My Father in His throne.

#Understand the love and tenderness in this verse. You, the firstfruits, will be there with Him, as He
sits do wn with the Father.

22. H e that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

# All seven churches have now been covered. It gives us a great deal to think about as we equate their
prob­lems with present day problems. We know that more so than ever we must be on our guard,
because the time soon approaches. As we continue this study of Revelation, we pray that God may
bless us in accepting His truth.