The Greek word means the remains, the remainder, or the restoration. As a sign, the church in Sardis prefigures the Protestant church, from the time of the Reformation to the second coming of Christ. The Reformation was God's reaction to the apostate Roman Catholic Church, which is signified by the degraded church in Thyatira. It was accomplished by a minority of the believers, the remainder. Hence, it was a restoration by the remainder.

The seven Spirits of God enable the church to be intensely living, and the seven stars enable her to be intensely shining. To the church in Ephesus, Christ was the One who held the seven stars and walked in the midst of the seven lampstands. The initial church needed the care of Christ, and her leaders needed His keeping grace. To the church in Smyrna, He was the One who became dead and lived again. The suffering church needed the resurrection life of Christ. To the church in Pergamos, Christ was the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. The degraded, worldly church needed His judging and slaying word. To the church in Thyatira, He was the One who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like shining bronze. The apostate church needed His searching and judging. Here, to the church in Sardis, He was the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. The dead, reformed church needed the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God and the shining leaders. The sevenfold intensified Spirit is living and can never be replaced by the dead letters of knowledge (2 Cor. 3:6).

The seven Spirits of God enable the church to be intensely living, and the seven stars enable her to be intensely shining. To the church in Ephesus, Christ was the One who held the seven stars and walked in the midst of the seven lampstands. The initial church needed the care of Christ, and her leaders needed His keeping grace. To the church in Smyrna, He was the One who became dead and lived again. The suffering church needed the resurrection life of Christ. To the church in Pergamos, Christ was the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. The degraded, worldly church needed His judging and slaying word. To the church in Thyatira, He was the One who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like shining bronze. The apostate church needed His searching and judging. Here, to the church in Sardis, He was the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. The dead, reformed church needed the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God and the shining leaders. The sevenfold intensified Spirit is living and can never be replaced by the dead letters of knowledge (2 Cor. 3:6).

Many have considered the reformed Protestant Church to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead. Hence, she needs the living Spirits and the shining stars.

"The things which remain" are the things that had been lost and were restored by the Reformation, such as justification by faith, the open Bible, etc. Though these things had been restored, they were about to die. Hence, they needed to be revived. This is the actual situation of the Protestant churches.

Nothing begun in the Reformation has ever been completed. Therefore, the church in Philadelphia is needed for the completion.

A thief comes to steal precious things at an unknown time. Since the reformed Protestant churches are dead, they will be unaware of the Lord's coming as a thief in His secret appearing to His seekers. Hence, there is the need of watchfulness.

Garments in the Bible signify what we are in our walk and living. To defile one's garments means particularly to stain them with deadness. Death is more defiling before God than sin (Lev. 11:24-25; Num. 6:6-7, 9).

White signifies not only purity but also approvedness. White garments here signify the walk and living that are unspotted by death and that will be approved by the Lord. This is a qualification for walking with the Lord, especially in the coming kingdom.

To overcome here is to overcome the deadness of the Protestant churches, i.e., to overcome dead Protestantism.

Being clothed in white garments, as promised here, will be a prize to the overcomers in the millennial kingdom. What they have been walking in in this age will be a prize to them in the coming age. Every Christian needs two garments. The first is the garment of justification for our salvation, signifying Christ, the Christ whom we received, as our objective righteousness (Luke 15:22; 1 Cor. 1:30). The second is the garment of approvedness for our acceptance, signifying Christ, the Christ whom we live out, as our subjective righteousness (Phil. 1:21; 3:9). The white garments mentioned here refer to the second garment, which is needed for us to receive the reward and enter into the kingdom to walk with the Lord, that is, to reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:11-12). See note Rev. 19:8^2b.

The entire verse is the Lord's promise to the overcomers. It will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom after the Lord comes back. That a name is erased out of the book of life indicates that that name has already been written in the book of life. The book of life is a divine record of the names of those who partake of the blessings that God has prepared for them. The names of all the saints chosen by God and predestinated to partake of these blessings are written in this book (Luke 10:20). These blessings are in three stages:
1) in the church,
2) in the millennial kingdom,
3) in eternity. The blessings in the stage of the church, such as forgiveness, redemption, regeneration, eternal life, the divine nature, etc., are the initial portions. All God's chosen ones whose names are written in the book of life have a share in these initial portions to begin their spiritual life. If they cooperate with God's supplying grace, they will mature in life in the church age, and this earlier maturity in life will constitute a prize with which the Lord will reward them at His coming back. That prize will be the entrance into the millennial kingdom and participation in the divine blessings in that stage, such as the joy and rest of the Lord (Matt. 25:21, 23; Heb. 4:9-11), the reign over the nations (Rev. 2:26-27; 20:4, 6), etc., which God has prepared as an incentive for His chosen ones to go on with Him in the church age. However, many of His chosen ones, after receiving His forgiveness, redemption, eternal life, divine nature, etc., will not cooperate with His grace and will not go on with Him. Hence, they are unable to mature in life in the church age and thus will not be ready at the Lord's coming back to enter into the millennial kingdom and share in the divine blessings of that age as a prize. Therefore, during the millennial kingdom their names will be erased from the book of life. After being disciplined by the Lord and growing in life unto maturity during the millennial kingdom, they will share in the divine blessings in the stage of eternity, such as the eternal priesthood with God's eternal presence, the eternal kingship (Rev. 22:3-5), the New Jerusalem, the tree of life (Rev. 22:14), the water of life (Rev. 22:17), etc. At that time their names should again be written in the book of life. This means that all God's chosen ones whose names are written in the book of life and who have been brought into the participation of the divine blessings in the stage of the church "shall by no means perish forever," (John 10:28) that is, they shall by no means lose the divine blessings of eternity. But some, those who do not cooperate with the Lord in the church age, will be dispensationally disciplined by the Lord during the millennial kingdom and will miss the divine blessings in that stage.

Lit., scroll.

In the kingdom age the Lord will confess the name of the overcomer because the overcomer's name will not have been erased out of the book of life but will still be written in it. This implies that if the believers are not overcomers, in the kingdom age their names will be erased out of the book of life (see note Rev. 3:5^3c) and therefore will not be confessed by the Lord.

The Greek word means brotherly love. As a sign, the church in Philadelphia prefigures the proper church life recovered by the brothers raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love was a reaction to the dead reformed church. This reaction will continue as an anti-testimony to both apostate Catholicism and degraded Protestantism until the Lord comes back.

To the church of brotherly love, the Lord is the Holy One, the true One, by whom and with whom the recovered church can be holy, separated from the world, and true, faithful, to God.

To the recovered church, the Lord is also the One who has the key of David, the key of the kingdom, with authority to open and to shut. The Lord uses this key to deal with the recovered church.

As the One who has the key of David and who opens and no one will shut, the Lord has given the recovered church an opened door, which no one can shut. Since the recovery of the proper church life began, in the early part of the nineteenth century, until now, a door has always been opened wide to the Lord's recovery. The more organized Christianity tries to shut the door, the wider it is opened. In spite of much opposition, today the door is open worldwide. The key is in the hand of the Head of the church; it is not in the hand of the opposers.

This indicates that what pleases the Lord is not our doing much for Him but our doing our best for Him with what we have.

The Lord's word is the Lord's expression, and the Lord's name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord's word and become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord's word to some extent, has denied the Lord's name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. The recovered church not only has returned in a full way to the Lord's word but also has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord's word is apostasy, and to denominate the church by taking any name other than the Lord's is spiritual fornication. The church, as the pure virgin espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband's. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church life there are no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (Rev. 2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (Rev. 2:24); there is only the pure word of the Lord. The recovered church has no denominations (names); it has only the unique name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The deviation from the word to heresies and the exalting of many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure word from all heresies and traditions and the exalting of the Lord's name by abandoning every other name constitute the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church. This is why the church in the Lord's recovery has the revelation and presence of the Lord and expresses the Lord in a living way, full of light and with the riches of life.

The Lord's word is the Lord's expression, and the Lord's name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord's word and become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord's word to some extent, has denied the Lord's name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. The recovered church not only has returned in a full way to the Lord's word but also has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord's word is apostasy, and to denominate the church by taking any name other than the Lord's is spiritual fornication. The church, as the pure virgin espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband's. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church life there are no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (Rev. 2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (Rev. 2:24); there is only the pure word of the Lord. The recovered church has no denominations (names); it has only the unique name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The deviation from the word to heresies and the exalting of many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure word from all heresies and traditions and the exalting of the Lord's name by abandoning every other name constitute the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church. This is why the church in the Lord's recovery has the revelation and presence of the Lord and expresses the Lord in a living way, full of light and with the riches of life.

See note Rev. 2:9^5e.

See note Rev. 2:9⁴.

The Jewish synagogue holds on to Judaism, which comprises the mediatorial priests, the ordinances of letters, the material temple, and the earthly promises. The recovered church has subdued Judaism by exposing its error and stubbornness in holding on to the above four things and has caused the Jews to know that the Lord has loved her.

The word of the Lord's endurance is the word of the Lord's suffering. The Lord today is still bearing rejection and persecution by His endurance. We are the joint partakers not only of His kingdom but also of His endurance (Rev. 1:9). Hence, His word to us today is the word of endurance. To keep the word of His endurance, we must bear His rejection and persecution.

Trial here undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, as indicated by the fifth trumpet, the sixth trumpet, and the seven bowls of the seventh trumpet (Rev. 8:13; 9:1-21; 11:14-15; 15:1; 16:1-21). The trial also includes the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets at the beginning of the great tribulation. The Lord promised the recovered church that He would keep her out of the hour of trial (not only out of the trial, but out of the hour of trial) because she has kept the word of the Lord's endurance. This promise of the Lord, like His promise in Luke 21:36, indicates that the saints who keep the word of the Lord's endurance will be raptured before the great trial, implying that those who do not keep the word of the Lord's endurance will be left in the trial.

In this epistle the Lord brings the church in His recovery into the sensation of His coming, because she loves Him.

The recovered church has gained the crown already. However, if she does not hold fast what she has in the Lord's recovery until the Lord comes back, her crown may be taken away by someone.

To overcome here is to hold fast what we have in the recovered church.

In Rev. 2:17 the overcomer will become a transformed stone for God's building. Here the overcomer will be made a pillar built into the temple of God. Because he is built into God's building, he shall by no means go out anymore. This promise, as a prize to the overcomer, will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom.

That the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord's new name are written upon the overcomer indicates that the overcomer is possessed by God, by the New Jerusalem, and by the Lord; that God Himself, His city (the New Jerusalem), and the Lord Himself all belong to him; and that he is one with God, with the New Jerusalem, and with the Lord. The name of God denotes God Himself, the name of the New Jerusalem denotes the city itself, and the name of the Lord denotes the Lord Himself. That the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the name of the Lord are written upon the overcomer indicates that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into the overcomer. The mentioning of the New Jerusalem as a prize to the overcomer indicates that this promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom. The New Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom will be a prize only to the overcoming saints, whereas the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth will be the common portion of all the redeemed for eternity.

The Greek word means opinion, judgment, of the people or of the laymen. As a sign, the church in Laodicea prefigures the degraded recovered church. Less than one century after the Lord recovered the proper church in the early part of the nineteenth century, some of the recovered "assemblies" (called such by the Brethren) became degraded. The degraded recovered church differs from the reformed church, signified by the church in Sardis, and from the proper recovered church, signified by the church in Philadelphia. It will exist until the Lord comes back.

In addressing each of the seven churches, the Lord referred to what He is and what He does, respectively, according to the situation and condition of each. Here, in addressing the church in Laodicea, He referred to Himself as "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God." Amen, from Hebrew, means firm, steadfast, or trustworthy. The Lord is the firm, steadfast, and trustworthy One. Hence, He is the faithful and true Witness. This indicates that the degraded church in Laodicea is not firm, steadfast, trustworthy, or faithful and true as the Lord's witness. The beginning of the creation of God refers to the Lord as the origin or source of God's creation, implying that the Lord is the unchanging and ever-existing source of God's work. This indicates that the degraded recovered church has changed by leaving the Lord as the source.

Or, origin, source; that is, the originating source.

Lit., boiling. So in the next verse.

Lit., boiling. So in the next verse.

To be spewed out of the Lord's mouth is to be rejected by the Lord and to lose the enjoyment of all that the Lord is to His church.

The degraded recovered church boasts of her riches (which are mainly in the knowledge of doctrines). She does not realize that she is poor in life, blind in sight, and naked in conduct. Therefore, she needs to buy gold to make herself rich, white garments to cover her nakedness, and eyesalve to cure her blindness, as mentioned in the next verse.

In the eyes of the Lord the degraded recovered church is
1) wretched because she is proud of being rich in the vain knowledge of doctrine, but in reality is sorely poor in the experience of the riches of Christ;
2) miserable because she is naked, blind, and full of shame and darkness;
3) poor because she is poor in the experience of Christ and in the spiritual reality of God's economy;
4) blind because she lacks true spiritual insight in the genuine spiritual things;
5) naked because she does not live by Christ or live Christ as her subjective righteousness, as the second garment in her daily walk.

Buying requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church must pay a price for gold, white garments, and eyesalve, which she desperately needs.

In the Bible our operating, working faith (Gal. 5:6) is likened to gold (1 Pet. 1:7), and the divine nature of God, which is the divinity of Christ, is typified by gold (Exo. 25:11). By faith we partake of the divine nature of God (2 Pet. 1:1, 4-5). The degraded recovered church has the knowledge of the doctrines concerning Christ but not much living faith to partake of the divine element of Christ. She needs to pay the price to gain the golden faith through the fiery trials that she may participate in the real gold, which is Christ Himself as the life element to His Body. Thus she can become a pure golden lampstand (Rev. 1:20) for the building of the golden New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:18).

In figure, garments signify conduct. White garments here signify conduct that can be approved by the Lord. Such conduct is the Lord Himself lived out of the church, and it is required by the degraded recovered church for the covering of her nakedness.

The eyesalve needed to anoint their eyes must be the anointing Spirit (1 John 2:27), who is the Lord Himself as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The degraded recovered church needs this kind of eyesalve also for the healing of her blindness. For the three items mentioned in this verse, she must pay the price.

Lit., boiling. Dead, vain knowledge and doctrinal forms have made the degraded recovered church lukewarm. She needs to repent of her lukewarmness and be zealous, boiling, burning, that thereby she may regain the enjoyment of the reality of Christ.

This door is not the door of the hearts of individuals but the door of the church. The Lord as the Head of the church is standing outside the degraded church, knocking at her door. The degraded recovered church must realize this!

The door is the door of the church, but the door is opened by individual believers. The church in Laodicea has knowledge but does not have the Lord's presence. The Lord is dealing with the whole church, but the acceptance of the Lord's dealing must be a personal matter. The Lord's dealing is objective, but the believers' acceptance must be subjective.

The Greek word denotes taking the principal meal of the day at evening. See note Rev. 2:7^5d.

Here to overcome is to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the degraded recovered church, to pay the price to buy the needed items, and to open the door so that the Lord can come in.

To sit with the Lord on His throne will be a prize to the overcomer, that he may participate in the Lord's authority and be a co-king with Him in ruling over the whole earth in the coming millennial kingdom.

The seven churches not only signify prophetically the progress of the church in seven ages, as we have seen, but also symbolize the seven kinds of churches in church history: the initial church, the suffering church, the worldly church, the apostate church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church. The initial church had its continuation in the suffering church; the suffering church became the worldly church; and the worldly church became the apostate church. Hence, the first four churches issued eventually in one kind of church, that is, the apostate church, the Roman Catholic Church. Then the reformed church, as a reaction to the apostate church, came into existence as another kind of church, a church not fully recovered. Hence, after this, the recovered church was raised up as a full recovery of the proper church life. This can be considered the third kind of church. Through the degradation of the recovered church, the degraded recovered church came into being. This can be counted as the fourth kind of church. These four kinds of churches will all remain until the Lord comes back. Undoubtedly, only the recovered church can fulfill God's eternal purpose, and only she is what the Lord is after. We must take the Lord's choice.