Revelation 3: Letters to the churches in Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea

Read Revelation 3:1-22

1. Revelation 3:1-6 SARDIS: Him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars
   1. Seven spirits: While the 7 angels attended to the churches on earth, the 7 spirits proceed before God’s throne Revelation 1:4.
   1. Seven stars: These are the 7 angels of the 7 churches, Revelation 1:20. These are not divine angels as they are mortal recipients of the letter who in turn read it out to their respective churches. This is a representative of the church who is usually a presbyter or elder or a bishop.

I understand this depiction as a reassurance to the true Church that while they have earthly or mortal beings to minister unto their spiritual and sometimes physical needs here, they also have heavenly spiritual beings who minister to them in the presence of God. Yet our Lord Jesus is the one who both the 7 angels and 7 spirits submit or report to as he is the head of the church.

The Seven stars appears to be a description of each church as the saints themselves are depicted as stars in the kingdom too Daniel 12:3.

• Revelation 3:7-13 PHILADELPHIA: The holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens

This key of David is a symbol of authority and access to the royal house of David. The one who possesses this key has the right to sit on the throne of David as king. The language here is from Isaiah’s prophecy to Eliakim the king of Judah: “And I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” Isaiah 22:22. After the reign of Zedekiah from 597BC – 587BC, no one else has sat on that throne of David to rule the house of Jacob. Ezekiel 21:26,27 prophesied that the kingdom will be ruined until the one whose right it is to possess this key of David appears. Jesus is this person and when he comes again, “32 the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32,33. Even so come Lord Jesus, amen.

• Revelation 3:14-22 LAODICEA: The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation

What a way to conclude on the titles of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen which means ‘So, be it’, and ‘Faithful and true witness’ is here used of the Lord to assure us that we can believe and put our trust in him without being afraid. This is very similar to the assurance given to John towards the end of the book: “5 Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 21:5,6.

Jesus as the beginning of God’s creation is an apostolic faith reminder that God is not coeternal with His son. It can also point us to the new creation which we all are part of where we are told that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” 1Corinthians 15:20. If we remain steadfast in our faith in the Amen no matter what, we will be revealed to the world at the last day as part of God’s glorious new creation in the new heavens and new earth, amen.