(7) He is the Spirit of the fear of the LORD. (1) He will attest to the Deity of Christ as the Spirit of the LORD (Yahweh) rests on Him. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord…” (Isaiah 11:2–3a, NASB95) In these two verses we see the Holy Spirit’s sevenfold purpose or role when Jesus Christ reigns as King on the earth. This sevenfold role is described in Isaiah 11:2-3, where Isaiah writes, “ The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. During the millennial kingdom, when Christ reigns on this earth for 1000 years the Holy Spirit will have a different role, it is a sevenfold role in relation to Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Paul describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit at this present time, as our seal and pledge in Ephesians 1:13-14, “ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14, NASB95) The Holy Spirit seals us in Christ the moment we believe and He is given to us as a pledge of our future inheritance in heaven. We know Him as our teacher, our counselor, and our comforter. Right now, we know the Holy Spirit as the One who indwells the believer at the moment that a person places their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. This description of the Holy Spirit describes His sevenfold governmental role during the millennial kingdom. The author identifies himself as, “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this:” (Revelation 3:1a, NASB95) The risen, glorified, and exalted Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God…” We saw this description of the Holy Spirit back in chapter one, verse four where the Seven Spirits are described as being before the throne of God the Father. Let’s begin by looking at the description of the author and then the church and finally a little background on this city. The author again begins this letter as He has begun each of the previous letters by identifying the church that was to receive the letter, the city where the church was located and a description of the author. THE AUTHOR, THE CHURCH, THE CITY (Revelation 3:1a) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:1–6, NASB95) He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. So remember what you have received and heard and keep it, and repent.
Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. “ To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word. Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 3:1-6 our passage of Scripture for this morning. Let’s pray and get into our passage for this morning. Sardis was an important city in her time connecting the city of Smyrna with the east as an important trade route passed through this city.
The letter to the church in Sardis that we will look at this morning is a short letter, but it is a sad letter in that this letter begins with rebuke and condemnation instead of encouragement by way of commendation. Last week we finished up chapter two and this morning we begin chapter three. These letters were written to seven churches in Asia Minor that were in existence at the time when John recorded them, but they have significance for the church in all ages. This morning we begin the fifth of the seven letters dictated by our Lord to the apostle John.
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