Sardis


The fifth of the seven churches to receive a letter from John, Sardis was one of the great cities of primitive history and capital of the kingdom of Lydia. The site of Sardis was an “almost impregnable fortress already as it came from the hand of nature without any artificial fortification”. Sardis was located about 35 miles south of Thyatira.

Among the Greeks, Sardis had the reputation of being “the great, the wealthy, the impregnable city, against which none could strive and prevail”. An inscription on a coin from Sardis reads, “Sardis the First Metropolis of Asia, and of Lydia, and of Hellenism.”

Sardis was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 17. Ancient historians, including Strabo and Eusebius, described the destruction: “the greatest earthquake in human memory”; it “severely harmed Sardis”; 12 cities were destroyed in one night, but the “disaster was the harshest to the citizens of Sardis and brought them the largest share of pity.” Emperor Tiberius helped rebuild the city, and remitted all the city’s taxes for five years. After the earthquake, however, Sardis never recovered its former prestige. For example, in A.D. 26 Sardis lost the right to build a temple to Augustus to neighboring Smyrna.

The great Marble Road divided the city into northern and southern sections. The northern section contained most of the public buildings, while the southern section contained the residential section. The Marble Road was colonnaded, 4,600 feet long, and ran along the south side of the gymnasium area.

One of the most splendid buildings in Sardis was the Temple of Artemis. It apparently underwent three constructions beginning in the 3rd century B.C. The last construction came after the earthquake in A.D. 17.

The 1st century A.D. population of Sardis is estimated at 120,000. The city commanded a trade route leading from the Aegean islands and the coast into the interior of Asia. Sardis came under Roman control in 133 B.C. when the Pergamene kingdom passed to the Romans and became the province of Asia. But “the greatness of Sardis under Roman rule was rooted in past history, not in present conditions”. (Ramsay 2, p.367)

No city in the whole Province of Asia had a more splendid history in past ages than Sardis. No city of Asia at that time showed such a melancholy contrast between past splendour and present decay as Sardis. Its history was the exact opposite of the record of Smyrna. Smyrna was dead and yet lived. Sardis lived and yet was dead.

Twice in its history Sardis, the unconquerable city, fell because it failed to keep proper watch. Its inhabitants became overconfident in the apparent strength of their fortress. This brought to an end the Lydian dynasty and the dominance of Sardis in 600 B.C. The city’s one weak point was exploited when its defenders became careless and permitted the enemy to climb one of its sides unhindered.

Three centuries later, when Achaeus and Antiochus the Great were fighting for command of Lydia and the whole Seleucid Empire, Antiochus captured the city by surprise, using the same strategy that brought Sardis to its knees before. “The lesson of old days had not been learned; experience had been forgotten; men were too slack and careless; and when the moment of need came, Sardis was unprepared”

The history of Sardis continued in the Church:
In John’s letter, certain Christians are at the point of death but can revive if they will remember what they have already “received and heard” and repent. John warned the Christians of Sardis, “If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you” (Rev. 3:3).

The citizens of Sardis became overconfident in the strength of their city. They had not kept faithful watch. The enemy was upon them, and their destruction was sure. After learning principles of morality, the Church sunk back into the vices practiced by a pagan society: The pagans lived so on principle, knowingly and intentionally, because they held it to be right, whereas the Christians had learned that it was wrong, and yet from weakness of will and character slipped back into the evil.

Still there was in Sardis a “people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” (Rev. 3:4) There is no hint in John’s letter that Sardis would be spared, or that the Church would survive. Yet a remnant few would live because they were in the world but not of the world:
Sardis (Bible Study)

Rev. 3:1-6. “The Church in Sardis is sternly rebuked for her lack of earnestness. Unless she repents she must endure Christ’s judgment. The few in Sardis who have kept themselves unspotted from the world shall enjoy the companionship of Christ in glory”



Revelation 3:1-6
1: And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3: 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.
4: 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.
5: 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.
6: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.