Revelation Chapter Three Breakdown

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Starting this next chapter we see Yeshua has moved on to the next church. This church claims to be alive, but they are not.

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

Sardis does not do works that are considered good to YHWH.

3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

They have forgotten the message given to them by the Apostles and turned to sin. They are commanded to repent. They are told to watch for the signs given in order to not be taken by surprise 

by Yeshua at His return. If they do not watch, they He will come upon them as a thief.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

This is quite interesting to me. I hear from almost every ministry says this verse from 1 Thess. Means no one will know when the return of Christ will take place. However, if we continue reading in 1 Thess. as well as taking into account Revelation verse we can see believers will know when He is to return. There will be signs that have already been spelled out for us. “If you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief,” is saying if you do watch, I will not come upon you as a thief.

4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

There are only a few men in Sardis who are still considered worthy and will walk with Yeshua.

5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Those who overcome sin and persecution will walk with Yeshua and his name will not be removed from the Book of Life. Yeshua will confess the names of the overcomers.

6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Those is Sardis should take heed of this message.

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Philadelphia has an open door due to the fact they have followed His Law and have not denied the name of Yeshua.

9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

Philadelphia will have those who claim to be Jews but are not come to them and worship at their feet.

10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

This church will be kept from the hour of trial, which comes upon the whole earth. They will be kept from this because they kept His commands. All those who have not kept the commands will need to be tested and thus will have to go through these tribulations.

11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Yeshua is coming quickly and this church must keep doing what they have been, keeping His commands, in order to not lose their crown.

12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Those who continue to keep the Law of God through the end will be made a pillar within the temple of YHWH. He will not have to go out from the presence of YHWH ever again. This man will have the name of YHWH, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of Yeshua written on him. This is interesting considering we will see there will be believers who live outside the temple as well. I would suggest this church will be the Bride of Christ. I make this suggestion based on the idea the original temple had the high priests who dwelt within it, and they were the ones who were in charge of the commandments and had to keep men accountable to them. Since this church is keeping the commands, they will be the ones who will know them better and be put into that position of power.

13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

Those is this church must pay close attention to this prophecy.

14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

Now to the church of Laodicea. This church is neither hot for God, nor deny Him. But they should choose one or the other.

16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Because they are impartial toward Him, they will be spewed out and removed from YHWH.

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— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

These people have a faith in YHWH, but also in themselves. They do not realize they need Him and disregard His law.

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

YHWH rebukes and chastens all those He loves, and this church needs to repent and become zealous for His law.

20 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.

Yeshua stands at the door and knocks waiting for anyone who will open it to Him. If anyone lets Him in within this church, he will be with Him.

21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

The overcomers in this church will be granted a place on the throne with Yeshua.

22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

Those in this church who hear this message should take heed of it.

Now that we have covered all seven churches, it has become incredibly clear to me we are seeing many of these very same things in modern day ministries. It is quite amazing. Let’s check it out.

1.       They have forgotten where they went astray from God’s Law and must repent. They are commanded to go back to His Laws. This group aren’t even sure where they went wrong and do not know they need to return to His Law.

2.       This church is going through persecutions and poverty. The people are facing hard times, but are still called rich because they are still keeping His Law.

3.       They keep the doctrine of Balaam. They sin by eating things sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. On top of that, men also held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, something Yeshua hates. Which was keeping the pagan holidays.

4.       They commit sexual immorality and eat unclean food. They have a Jezebel prophetess in their congregations which teaches them in these sinful ways.

5.       They do not do works that are considered good to YHWH. They have forgotten the message given to them by the Apostles and turned to sin. They are not considered faithful because they will be taken off guard on the Day of the Lord. If they do not watch, they He will come upon them as a thief.

6.       This group has an open door due to the fact they have followed His Law and have not denied the name of Yeshua.

7.       They are neither hot for God, nor deny Him. These people have a faith in YHWH, but also in themselves. They do not realize they need Him and disregard His law.