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. (Rev. 3:3)
Let me see if I can get you properly into the spirit of the early Hebrew church.
At the time that this vision was given to the disciple Yochanan (John) to record, there was no New Testament. The only scriptures that were available to them were the Torah (the Law of God), the Neviim (the Prophets - those early in the history of Israel, such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.), and the Ketuvim (the Writings - the Psalms and all the remaining books of our Old Testament). The first letter of each of these sections of scripture were taken to form the word TaNaK. The Tanak was all the scripture that was available and it was through the Tanak that righteous men recognized, and became disciples of, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Anointed One).
Isn't it interesting that with only the Tanak to guide them, humble hearts that were truly seeking HaMashiach were able to find Him? The New Testament had not been written, and yet there were 120 disciples waiting in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks, aka the Day of Pentecost). And on that same day 3,000 more came to know Jesus Christ as their Messiah. And yet there was no "Roman road" to lead them through. There was not a single letter of Paul written at that time. (Doesn't that make you wonder, as it does me, why the church today believes that the "Roman road" is a necessary formula for salvation, when 2,000 years ago there was no Roman road, yet thousands were saved?)
And all Peter had to do on that day of Pentecost to bring 3,000 souls to Christ was to remind them of passages from the Tanak, specifically prophetic words written by the prophet Joel and David, the former God-appointed king of Israel; comparing those words to eyewitness facts about Jesus. Thus, the Tanak was vital to their understanding, as I believe it must be to our own understanding today.
There in Jerusalem, waiting for the promise, was the early and very first church; not dead, but very much alive.
They received nothing less than what the church at Sardis had also received. It was through the Tanak that the church of Sardis "received" and it was through the spoken testimonies of eyewitnesses (not yet recorded in writing) illuminated to them by the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) that they "heard" about Yeshua who had walked among them, performed too many miracles to be held in one book, been tortured, crucified, and raised from the dead. It was because of what they had "received" and "heard" that the church of Sardis should have believed that Yeshua was now seated at the right hand of the YHWH, having sent the gift of the Ruach-HaKodesh to completely enable them to do good works that would bring glory to Adonai (the Lord); works even greater than Yeshua Himself had performed, for He Himself had said this would happen. And this very thing had happened to the 120 disciples waiting in Jerusalem on Pentecost: they had performed even "greater" works (more in number) than Jesus did.
But the church in Sardis had not done so...performed good works, that is....that brought glory to Adonai. And it could only be because they did not "do" what the Tanak told them to "do." Yeshua did everything the Tanak told Him to do because it was the heart of YHWH (God) spoken to man, but the church at Sardis decided it would be acceptable to do things a little differently than Yeshua HaMashiach had done or than YHWH wanted.
That must have been the problem because their works were not found perfect before YHWH, and yet the works of Yeshua had been found perfect before Him. If the church had been following Yeshua, specifically following His obedience to the written word of YHWH as found in the Tanak ("received") as well as His obedience to the Ruach-HaKodesh ("heard"); their works would have been perfect as well, would they not? They would have been obedient to the Word of God, just as Yeshua had been obedient.
Yeshua came to fulfill the Tanak; not to change one yod (see note below) or one tittle (Matthew 5:18) of the Tanak (because God does not change and neither does His Word), but to fulfill it, in other words to confirm its validity by being obedient to it in every way and even more to show the Spirit of God dwelled in that law; that to do the law without the Spirit of God that dwelled in the law, was to miss the mark. But He did not do away with the law, that is doctrinal error that has been passed down through the ages. This error did not come from the early church who were obedient in every way to the Law, just as Jesus had been obedient. They didn't believe obedience to the law could save them, but then again, they never had believed that. Even Abraham, the scripture says, was saved by faith, not by his works. No one who kept the law believed it would bring them eternal life, but they knew that by keeping the law they were pleasing God and identifying themselves with God. Thus, Jesus pleased God and identified Himself as being of God. So also, did the early church.
And then somewhere along the way, perhaps beginning even here in Sardis, the church stopped identifying itself with the law, turning away from "perfect" works that were obedient to the law; works performed through grace (through the Holy Spirit) by faith (in Jesus the Messiah). They began instead to do things according to what they believed was the right way to do things, following one another, following man, instead of God according to His Word. And so they failed to please God. The modern church still fails to please God because they are still following man, the traditions of man, rather than the law and the complete word of God.
What does Jesus tell the church at Sardis to do about their decision to do things "imperfectly" (their own way instead of Yeshua's, not observing or obeying the Tanak, nor listening to the Ruach HaKodesh)?
Repent.
What would He tell us to do today because we have decided to do things man's way (through the traditions of men who decided to do things a little differently than Yeshua as we choose to continue to follow man's error rather than observe and obey the complete Word of God including the Tanak being led by the Ruach HaKodesh in all of this?)
Repent.
Our own works will never be "perfect" before God until they abide (dwell in) in the completeness of His Word as illuminated to us by the Holy Spirit. The church today needs to stop doing its own works, and begin dwelling in the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to confirm the Word to them. Just as Jesus did:
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. (John 8:28)
Who better to judge whether our works (performed by His church) are of ourselves or of the Father?
Jesus warns the church at Sardis, as He does us today. But this same warning can be found in another part of scripture concerning the virgin bride. Listen to what Jesus is telling the church...not the lost...but the saved church. So as you read this parable that Jesus spoke, think of yourself and what is it that you could be missing out on because of the same imperfect works as the church at Sardis:
Let me see if I can get you properly into the spirit of the early Hebrew church.
At the time that this vision was given to the disciple Yochanan (John) to record, there was no New Testament. The only scriptures that were available to them were the Torah (the Law of God), the Neviim (the Prophets - those early in the history of Israel, such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.), and the Ketuvim (the Writings - the Psalms and all the remaining books of our Old Testament). The first letter of each of these sections of scripture were taken to form the word TaNaK. The Tanak was all the scripture that was available and it was through the Tanak that righteous men recognized, and became disciples of, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Anointed One).
Isn't it interesting that with only the Tanak to guide them, humble hearts that were truly seeking HaMashiach were able to find Him? The New Testament had not been written, and yet there were 120 disciples waiting in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks, aka the Day of Pentecost). And on that same day 3,000 more came to know Jesus Christ as their Messiah. And yet there was no "Roman road" to lead them through. There was not a single letter of Paul written at that time. (Doesn't that make you wonder, as it does me, why the church today believes that the "Roman road" is a necessary formula for salvation, when 2,000 years ago there was no Roman road, yet thousands were saved?)
And all Peter had to do on that day of Pentecost to bring 3,000 souls to Christ was to remind them of passages from the Tanak, specifically prophetic words written by the prophet Joel and David, the former God-appointed king of Israel; comparing those words to eyewitness facts about Jesus. Thus, the Tanak was vital to their understanding, as I believe it must be to our own understanding today.
There in Jerusalem, waiting for the promise, was the early and very first church; not dead, but very much alive.
They received nothing less than what the church at Sardis had also received. It was through the Tanak that the church of Sardis "received" and it was through the spoken testimonies of eyewitnesses (not yet recorded in writing) illuminated to them by the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) that they "heard" about Yeshua who had walked among them, performed too many miracles to be held in one book, been tortured, crucified, and raised from the dead. It was because of what they had "received" and "heard" that the church of Sardis should have believed that Yeshua was now seated at the right hand of the YHWH, having sent the gift of the Ruach-HaKodesh to completely enable them to do good works that would bring glory to Adonai (the Lord); works even greater than Yeshua Himself had performed, for He Himself had said this would happen. And this very thing had happened to the 120 disciples waiting in Jerusalem on Pentecost: they had performed even "greater" works (more in number) than Jesus did.
But the church in Sardis had not done so...performed good works, that is....that brought glory to Adonai. And it could only be because they did not "do" what the Tanak told them to "do." Yeshua did everything the Tanak told Him to do because it was the heart of YHWH (God) spoken to man, but the church at Sardis decided it would be acceptable to do things a little differently than Yeshua HaMashiach had done or than YHWH wanted.
That must have been the problem because their works were not found perfect before YHWH, and yet the works of Yeshua had been found perfect before Him. If the church had been following Yeshua, specifically following His obedience to the written word of YHWH as found in the Tanak ("received") as well as His obedience to the Ruach-HaKodesh ("heard"); their works would have been perfect as well, would they not? They would have been obedient to the Word of God, just as Yeshua had been obedient.
Yeshua came to fulfill the Tanak; not to change one yod (see note below) or one tittle (Matthew 5:18) of the Tanak (because God does not change and neither does His Word), but to fulfill it, in other words to confirm its validity by being obedient to it in every way and even more to show the Spirit of God dwelled in that law; that to do the law without the Spirit of God that dwelled in the law, was to miss the mark. But He did not do away with the law, that is doctrinal error that has been passed down through the ages. This error did not come from the early church who were obedient in every way to the Law, just as Jesus had been obedient. They didn't believe obedience to the law could save them, but then again, they never had believed that. Even Abraham, the scripture says, was saved by faith, not by his works. No one who kept the law believed it would bring them eternal life, but they knew that by keeping the law they were pleasing God and identifying themselves with God. Thus, Jesus pleased God and identified Himself as being of God. So also, did the early church.
And then somewhere along the way, perhaps beginning even here in Sardis, the church stopped identifying itself with the law, turning away from "perfect" works that were obedient to the law; works performed through grace (through the Holy Spirit) by faith (in Jesus the Messiah). They began instead to do things according to what they believed was the right way to do things, following one another, following man, instead of God according to His Word. And so they failed to please God. The modern church still fails to please God because they are still following man, the traditions of man, rather than the law and the complete word of God.
What does Jesus tell the church at Sardis to do about their decision to do things "imperfectly" (their own way instead of Yeshua's, not observing or obeying the Tanak, nor listening to the Ruach HaKodesh)?
Repent.
What would He tell us to do today because we have decided to do things man's way (through the traditions of men who decided to do things a little differently than Yeshua as we choose to continue to follow man's error rather than observe and obey the complete Word of God including the Tanak being led by the Ruach HaKodesh in all of this?)
Repent.
Our own works will never be "perfect" before God until they abide (dwell in) in the completeness of His Word as illuminated to us by the Holy Spirit. The church today needs to stop doing its own works, and begin dwelling in the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to confirm the Word to them. Just as Jesus did:
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. (John 8:28)
Who better to judge whether our works (performed by His church) are of ourselves or of the Father?
Jesus warns the church at Sardis, as He does us today. But this same warning can be found in another part of scripture concerning the virgin bride. Listen to what Jesus is telling the church...not the lost...but the saved church. So as you read this parable that Jesus spoke, think of yourself and what is it that you could be missing out on because of the same imperfect works as the church at Sardis:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:1-13)
This same lesson for the church is repeated in various forms in other parables. Take a quick look at Matthew 25:29-46 and Matthew 22:1-14. They contain the same warning, but described in different parable form...and the warning is to the church, NOT to the lost.
We will explore the meaning behind the warnings to the church when we continue this study sometime after the holidays.
[Note: yod is the tenth letter of the aleph-bet, the Hebrew alphabet. It is the smallest of the Hebrew letters. It is a mere dot. The first dot with which the scribes first start writing a letter, or the last dot that gives a letter its final form...is a yod. (Likutei Maharan). In Jewish tradition: "since the yod is used to form all the other letters, and since God uses the letters as the building blocks of creation, yod indicates God's omnipresence." Such was the reverence given to the Word of God by the Hebrew nation. The modern church lacks the understanding of the importance of even one yod of God's Word.
[Note: yod is the tenth letter of the aleph-bet, the Hebrew alphabet. It is the smallest of the Hebrew letters. It is a mere dot. The first dot with which the scribes first start writing a letter, or the last dot that gives a letter its final form...is a yod. (Likutei Maharan). In Jewish tradition: "since the yod is used to form all the other letters, and since God uses the letters as the building blocks of creation, yod indicates God's omnipresence." Such was the reverence given to the Word of God by the Hebrew nation. The modern church lacks the understanding of the importance of even one yod of God's Word.
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