Revelation 3:6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Before merely skipping past verse 6 since we have covered it several times now, I would like to briefly relate God’s penchant for instructional repetition. God inspires the writers of Scripture to repeat something several times, and that for good reason. We easily forget, gloss over, or outright ignore something staring us plain in the face.
Revelation 3:5 “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.
Verse 5 cinches the truth revealed in the previous verse. Those who are worthy and walk with Christ in white are not made worthy by human effort, but by divine interposition. This is the crux of what John meant when he wrote, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right (authority) to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,” John 1:12, 13.
Revelation 3:4 “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.
We arrive at the deplorable spiritual state of the church in Sardis. The Lord attests that there are only a few in Sardis that have not defiled their garments; that is, conducted themselves carnally. Jude says of such people, “But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh,” Jude 23.
Revelation 3b 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.
This language hearkens back to Matthew’s Gospel. There our Lord informed the apostles, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming,” Matthew 24:42. He also specifically says to the apostles, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect,” Matthew 24:44.
