Revelation Chapter Three, Sardis

Revelation 3:1a “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:

The Lord turns His attention to Sardis and reveals Himself thusly: as He who has the seven Spirits and the seven stars. We know that the seven stars represent the seven angels Jesus is currently addressing, Revelation 1:20. He also refers to the seven Spirits, seen later before God’s throne, Revelation 4:5.

My NIV has a footnote in it that also names the seven Spirits of God the seven-fold Spirit. Seven is the Scriptural number of completion or perfection, so this particular Spirit is a perfect Spirit, being the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the first member of the Godhead specifically mentioned in Scripture, Genesis 1:2. In Genesis we read that He is the Spirit of God, and in Revelation we learn that Christ has the Spirit, also see Romans 8:9. Here we have a subtle but clear confession that Jesus is God by virtue of relationship to the Holy Spirit.

After speaking about the Holy Spirit, Jesus mentions the stars once more. He did this with Ephesus at the beginning, but the wording differed. He reminded Ephesus that the stars–or angels–resided in His right hand. They functioned in the strength and grace of the God who created them. They were holy angels, tasked with the messages and missions God ordained for them. We know that angels are spiritual beings, and it seems meaningful that Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit before them; He has primacy, being God and being Master and Creator over the angels tasked with governing His church. Christ is tersely asserting ownership over the seven angels. They are His angels first and foremost.

There is a branch of study called angelology, which of course is the study of angels. People are fallible, sinful beings, and we are all easily distracted and misled by things we ought not to be fixated upon. Perhaps this was not an issue in Sardis, but Scripture is replete with references about angelic worship or fascination, beginning in Genesis chapter six, when the sons of God went into the daughters of men and begot the giants. The church of Colossae was contending with false teachers that advocated angelic worship, alarming Paul and prompting him to issue a warning to them. “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up (made arrogant) by his fleshly mind,” Colossians 2:18. Whether Sardis did succumb in any part to this error, it is wise to make sure our focus as Christians is the Lord Jesus Christ alone. There are many ways to leave our first love; this is just one avenue.

To further cement the simple truth that angels are not meant to be elevated as such in our thinking, we may cite their testimony about worship’s proper place. “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God,” Revelation 22:9, also see Hebrews 1:14. The angelic messenger that accompanied John said this when the apostle tried to worship at his feet, overwhelmed by the glory of the revelation he witnessed.

Satan erred when he believed his creaturehood wasn’t inferior to God’s immortality. Yes, God alone has immortality, being the only Being in existence to have no beginning. God simply is. The Lord seemed to be impressing upon Sardis that He holds and controls the angels. Even the fallen angels must still obey Him and periodically come before His throne, as was evidenced twice in Scripture, 1 Kings 22:19-22, Job 1:6, 2:1. Satan is God’s chained dog, going no further than God permits, knowing that he is doomed and desperate to take as many down with him as possible before the end. Much will be said concerning the angels–holy and fallen–and the roles God sets them to throughout Revelation. But we may take this truth to heart: they are His angels; He holds the holy angels in His right hand. He reserves the fallen angels for the Lake of Fire and their final doom, Matthew 25:41.