Глава III

Epistles to the churches: Sardician (1–6), which contains a call to repentance and a promise of reward; Philadelphian (7-13) with praise for faithfulness and the promise of the constant influence of God’s providence; and Laodicea (14–22) with exceptional censure for lukewarmness, indicating the possibility of forgiveness. Rev.3:1. And write to the Angel of the Sardician Church: Thus says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a name like you're alive, but you're dead. The city of Sardis, the main city in Lydia, was famous from the religious side for the church and cult of the goddess Cybella. On the site of Sardis there now stands a poor Turkish village with a small population 15. In Sardis at the end of the 2nd century there lived the famous apologist Melito of Sardis, who wrote an interpretation of Apocalypse 16. The Lord reminds the Sardinians that the distribution of the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit is in His power, and the bishops of all churches (seven stars), including the bishop of the Church of Sardis, are in His power and under His supervision. The Christians of the Sardinian Church, according to the verdict of God's court, only bear the name of the living, in fact they are dead - alive in human opinion and dead before the omniscience of God. Rev.3:2. Stay awake and establish other things close to death; for I do not find that your works are perfect before My God. Rev.3:3. Remember what you received and heard, and keep and repent. If you do not watch, then I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Rev.3:4. However, you have several people in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and will walk with Me in white robes, for they are worthy. Rev.3:5. He who overcomes will be clothed in white robes; And I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Rev.3:6. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. In view of this, the Lord does not find anything worthy of praise in the Sardikians and directly calls for a change in life. The state of wakefulness, spiritual alertness is the first condition for a change in life. Further words of the text indicate the subject of this attentiveness: other things close to death. Here, “others” obviously mean some good aspects of religious life, which were still supported by Sardinian Christians, but which were also already in danger of being forgotten and abandoned during the general decline in religious and moral life. The religious and moral state of the Sardinian Christians was not completely hopeless: it was necessary to kindle the Christian spirit and Christian zeal through the memory of the great Christian revealed religion. In general, the Sardinian Christian is required to repent and change his previous unsatisfactory life. Accordingly, a threat from the Lord is expressed. A Christian who has fallen into religious indifference and deadness can only be awakened by the threat of a sudden visit from the Lord (Luke 12:20). But those who have not desecrated their clothes (Isaiah 64:6), that is, the capdians who have not stained their souls with sins and crimes, as worthy of a reward for the feat of life, will walk (with Me) with their Lord, clothed in white robes. White clothing always serves as a symbol of purity, a sign of closeness to God and glorification. The symbol of the book of life is very common in St. Scripture (Isa 4:3; Rev 20:15) and speaks of the predestination of Divine omniscience, according to which the omniscient God knows all those for whom the Kingdom of God is prepared. Among them are the faithful Sardinian Christians. Their bliss will consist in communion with God Himself and His Angels (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8). Rev.3:7. And write to the Angel of the Church of Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one will open: The city of Philadelphia is one of the cities of Lydia. According to legend, the first bishop of Philadelphia was Demetrius, appointed by St. John. Currently, Philadelphia bears the Turkish name Allah Shehr (City of God) and has the appearance of a Christian city. The Lord addresses this relatively faithful church with a revelation that exclusively contains praise and approval. In His address to her, the Lord calls Himself holy, thereby indicating the inner property of His nature. In close connection with holiness is truth, which speaks of His relationship to the world and people. To these two of His Divine properties the Lord adds something new and calls Himself having the key of David. Jesus Christ's possession of the key of David means possession of the key to the gates of heavenly Jerusalem. This means that Christ has complete power to deign or not to deign the bliss of the eternal kingdom. And no one except the Lord Himself can change this verdict. Rev.3:8. I know your affairs; Behold, I have opened a door before you, and no one can shut it; You have not much strength, and you have kept My word and have not denied My name. Pointing to His omniscience, the Lord encourages the faithful Philadelphian by pointing to the open door. The opening of the door is an allegorical indication that only through Jesus Christ is it possible for a Christian to achieve the Kingdom of God. But for the Philadelphian, the door is opened not for the sake of his own strength, which he, like every person, has little, but solely because of the love and mercy of God; this, in turn, must be expressed in a firm and open organization of his life according to the commandments of the Christian religion. Rev.3:9. Behold, I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, from those who say that they are Jews, but are not so, but lie, behold, I will make them come and worship before your feet, and know that I have loved you. Rev.3:10. And just as you have kept the word of My patience, I will also keep you from the time of temptation that will come to the whole world to test those who live on the earth. The Lord encourages the Philadelphian Christians with a stern review of the Judaizers, calling them a synagogue of Satan, a people condemned for their unbelief, unworthy of the name Jews as the name of the people chosen by God. The Lord promises that by the power of their piety and the power of the example of their holy life, the Philadelphians will turn their hearts to themselves and to true faith in God. God's mercy towards the Philadelphians will also be expressed in their liberation from temptations, which should soon befall the entire universe and everyone living on it. By liberation we most likely mean the weakening of disasters and liberation from exceptional persecution. The Philadelphians are praised for having preserved the word of (My) God's patience, that is, the words of Divine revelation, calling all believers to patiently wait for His coming. For this, the Lord promises to strengthen them during the coming disasters and help them endure them without compromising their salvation. – According to history, this Divine promise has been fulfilled: the city of Philadelphia today still remains predominantly a Christian city. Rev.3:11. Behold, I am coming quickly; keep what you have, so that no one takes your crown. Rev.3:12. He who overcomes will I make a pillar in the church of My God, and he will no longer go out; And I will write on it the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. These predicted temptations will soon come as a terrible visitation of God to the world, and therefore the Philadelphian Christians must be especially vigilant in maintaining their moral virtues, otherwise the devil may deprive them of their promised reward (crown). – In particular, as a reward, the Philadelphian is promised that he, as the conqueror, will be a pillar in the church of God, that is, only the conqueror will receive the place prepared for him in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34), that only he will be, as it were, a necessary accessory to this church. Then, says the Philadelphian, the name of God, the name of His city, the name of the new Jerusalem will be written on you, that is, then you will know how great your Lord God is and how merciful He is to you. It will be obvious to others, as if it were written on your fair brow. Rev.3:13. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Rev.3:14. And write to the Angel of the Laodicean church: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: The city of Laodicea, in Phrygia, was a rich city and was famous for the fertility of its soil and the fine wool of its sheep. But the wrath of God fell on Laodicea, and it was completely destroyed by the Turks in 1009. Now all that remains of the ancient city are sad ruins 17 . It is to this church, in whose members the Lord does not find anything worthy of praise and approval, that He turns with the words: “Thus says the Amen.” The use of this epithet contains a threat, or at least a warning, so that the Laodiceans are not mistaken as to the justice of what is to be said: all this is spoken by Him who is the purest truth, the unfailing truth. Rev.3:15. I know your affairs; you are neither cold nor hot; Oh, that you were cold or hot! Rev.3:16. But because you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Rev.3:17. For you say: “I am rich, I have become rich, and I have need of nothing”; but you don’t know that you are unhappy, and pitiful, and poor, and blind, and naked. In addressing the Laodicean there is only blame and no praise. You are neither cold nor hot - this is how censure begins. The words “you are not cold” mean one who, although belonging to the society of Christians, is not at all involved in divine grace. The further words: “you are not hot” show that this cold Christian is not a true Christian, that there is much in him that is lacking in the perfection of the Christian title. A lukewarm person is not a true Christian, nor an inveterate pagan, nor an obvious sinner; he is indifferent to Orthodox teaching and to ungodly heresies. The lukewarm person is in a state of forgetfulness, self-delusion, spiritual sleep and therefore does not see or feel the danger of his position. In his self-delusion and carelessness, the lukewarm has gone so far as to claim that he is rich and has no need for anything. But he is rich only in the sense of this world; in fact, he is unhappy, and pitiful, and naked. He absolutely has nothing good that would cover his sinful soul in the eyes of God. Rev.3:18. I advise you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may become rich, and white clothing, so that you may be clothed and so that the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and anoint your eyes with eye salve so that you can see. Rev. 3:19. Those whom I love, I rebuke and punish. So be zealous and repent. The Laodicean must buy and acquire gold from the Lord Himself, that is, earn for himself from God His omnipotent grace and especially love, which is the first and most precious gift of the Holy Spirit. Through this Divine grace, in the sacrament of repentance, the pure garment of justification is acquired; Deities Grace also heals spiritual blindness, just as callurium (eye ointment) cures ordinary eye disease. The Lord God, threatening the Laodicean Christians, does not, however, deprive them of hope. Whom He loves He rebukes and punishes; His love has never abandoned anyone, and for everyone there is hope of correction. Rev.3:20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” this is an expression of God’s true love for people. The Lord does not restrict human freedom; He meekly appeals to people either through His revealed word, or through the inner movements of the human conscience and the human heart. By knocking, the Lord expects the sinner to voluntarily and willingly open the door of his heart. The Lord now comes Himself to man for his bliss until the end of his life; and then the man himself will come to Him for the supper of the Kingdom of Heaven after his death. Rev.3:21. To him who overcomes I will give to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. By the throne of God we mean coexistence with Christ in His Kingdom. The quality and greatness of the reward obviously lies in the promise of possible closeness to the Lord God as the source and giver of all good. Jesus Christ was awarded by God the Father the complete glorification of His flesh, and so will a Christian be glorified if he follows the example of the hero Jesus Christ through repentance and the cross. Eusebius Istor Tser 4, 13, 26 Norov 92–93 Christ Thu 1843 483. You might be interested in: