Sardis

The city itself was on a rock hill with the acropolis containing the temple of Artemis 800 feet above the north section of Sardis. The city had rock walls nearly vertical with the only access being from the south. This limited access turned Sardis into a fortress which had been captured only twice throughout its history (and those two times, it is said, was through deception - not outright military overrun).

On the skyline of Sardis, some seven miles away, is the necropolis or cemetery of a "thousand hills" or modern Bin Tepe. It is so named because of the hundreds of burial mounds there.

1. "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.

   "And to the ANGEL of the church in Sardis write:
        HE who has

        1) the seven SPIRITS of GOD, and

These seven spirits have been and always will be before the throne. John says so in Revelation 1:4 that they are (today - present tense) before the throne. What are these seven SPIRITS?

        Sealer of my redemption - Ephesians 4:30
        Confirmer of sonship/hiership - Romans 8:14-17
        Prayer warrior - Ephesians 6:17-20
        Spirit of LIFE - Romans 8:9-11
        Minister of Glory - 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
        Occupant of the believer's body (temple) - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
        Discloser of truth - John 16:13-15

     2) the seven stars
      

John sees, in his first vision, that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches - Revelation 1:20. This indicates that the church at Sardis is being "weighed" against the things of the SPIRIT and heavenly things of worth (angels and their worship).

   says this: 'I know your DEEDS and that you have a name that you
   are ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD.

Apparently the Sardis church looks very active but much activity under a religious banner means nothing. Jesus gives us a very curious passage in Matthew 7:20-23 where people are going to claim their works (all, notice, appearing very religious or supernatural) as their tickets into heaven. Not so, Jesus says "I never knew you". All our works, including religious-appearing ones, will be tested as though by fire.... 1 Corinthians 3:12-17.