Sardis means ‘what remains’, and we see Jesus saying that there were still some good things remaining in this church, but they needed to be strengthened. This is the time of the protestant churches that grew out of the reformation.

Although the reformation started out as ‘Thyatira’, humble and faithful, eagerly searching the Bible for Heaven sent truth. During this early reformation period, this church was still Thyatira. But there came a time when they stopped seeking for truth and became proud, and stopped learning new truth from the Bible. Instead they made ‘creeds’ and decided they would not believe anything that their fathers had not believed, so Jesus could not teach them any more. He told them that even though they thought they were so good, they were really spiritually dead.

This terrible state of affairs seem to come about after the Council of Trent, which began Rome's Counter-reformation. The Protestant reformers, coming out of the church of Rome, had refused to acknowledge the Bible Sabbath, which had been kept by most of the 'church in the wilderness', and clung to the Sunday which has no higher authority than the decrees of the papacy. At this time even most of the Waldenses dropped the Sabbath so as to be in harmony with the Reformation. 

By doing this, they gave Rome the opening she needed to re-gather her forces and after the Council of Trent, the Jesuits went all over the world enforcing the dictates of the papacy as of higher authority than the Bible.

Along with the rejection of the Bible Sabbath, the ferocity of this Jesuit militia of Rome may have been one of the reasons the Protestant churches dug in and stayed on their old creeds instead of progressing to clearer truth. Soon they were just as much following tradition as had the Papacy before them.

"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, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  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." Revelation 3:3, 4.

Jesus is here telling them to remember how the reformers first started getting the wonderful light of the Gospel; it was through searching the Word of God for themselves and obeying what they found there. Those who did do this, were blessed and remained spiritually alive. They were the 'worthy' ones.

He says here, that there were a few faithful ones among them, and if they were over-comers, they would remain in His Book of Life. He warned the others that if they did not ‘watch’, He would come as a thief and they would not know it. This is exactly what happened as when the ‘Great Advent Awakening’ began to happen in the 1830s, most of the churches of the world rejected it. There are many still today, who think they are alive and just fine spiritually, but they are really dead to Jesus and His claims on their lives.

THE PROMISE: "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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Revelation 3:5, 6.

6 - PHILADELPHIA 1830-1850 AD

“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 openeth; 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. 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.” Revelation 3:7-9.

Philadelphia means ‘Brotherly Love’ and this is one of the ‘churches’ that Jesus has nothing bad to say about. This is another place where we see that Heaven does not look at things the way we do. No history book made by man would have declared that the Advent Movement and the Millerites of the 1830s-1844 were the ‘True Church’ for that time; but this is exactly what we see in this message.

Here again we see false Christians, ‘that say they are Jews and are not’. These were the ones in the popular churches who rejected the message from heaven about the end of the great prophecy of the 2300 days in 1844.

As they rejected this, they threw the true believers out of the churches and forbade them to preach about the coming of Jesus. Then when this did not stop the Advent Movement, they made fun of them and told ugly jokes. At this period for the first time in Protestant churches, they began to have church banquets, suppers, parties and fairs and all kinds of entertainment in the churches.

In the Sardis church Jesus warned that most of the church was dead or ready to die spiritually. Now most of the church became fallen, the ‘synagogue of Satan’. As they rejected the message of Jesus’ soon coming, they showed they did not truly love Jesus, and Satan came in with his ways and they welcomed him.

The true believers went through hard times as they were scorned and cast out of their churches and even sometimes their families, for believing in Jesus soon coming. But Jesus says, don’t worry, I have given you an open door and nobody can shut it. This was the door to the Most Holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. The great Day of Atonement had begun in heaven but most of the so-called 'Christian' world couldn't have cared less.

The Advent believers were disappointed terribly when Jesus did not come to earth on Oct. 22 1844, BUT they were thrilled later to learn about the door opened in heaven and how they could by faith see Jesus as He did the work of deciding who’s names would be left in the book of life and go to heaven with Him when He returns. Soon the people who are alive on earth will be judged; this will happen as they decide whether they will obey God’s Word and the commandments, or obey what men tell them to do, and disobey God.

"Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Revelation 3:10 ,11. 

Notice here Jesus talks about His soon coming, He is encouraging the little group who clung to the Bible truth they had learned and knew it showed His coming was near. They patiently kept studying after the 'Great Disappointment, when they thought Jesus was going to come on October 22, 1844 and He didn't.  Because of their patience and faith in His word, soon further study and the guidance of the Holy Spirit brought them to the truth about the 'Cleansing of the Sanctuary' and the final work for man being done in the Heavenly Sanctuary. 

THE PROMISE: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Revelation 3:12 ,13.