BEMA Episode Link: 179: Revelation — Waking Up in Sardis
Episode Length: 38:57
Published Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2020 01:00:00 -0700
Session 4
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wake up in the ancient city of Sardis to see her history and glory, which should help us understand the message in the letter to her church.

Revelation — Waking Up in Sardis Presentation (PDF)

Discussion Video for BEMA 179

Transcript for BEMA 179

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 179: Revelation — Waking Up in Sardis - Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 179 - Revelation: Waking Up in Sardis Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings Focus: Revelation 3:1-6, the letter to the church in Sardis, with historical and cultural context from the ancient city

This episode examines the letter to the church in Sardis found in Revelation 3, exploring the deep historical and cultural background of this ancient city. The hosts employ a text-to-context hermeneutic, demonstrating how John’s apocalyptic writing draws from Hebrew scriptures and applies them to the specific cultural realities of first-century Greco-Roman Asia. Through examining Sardis’s history of military defeats, fascination with death, devastating earthquakes, and worship of the goddess Cybele, the letter’s meaning becomes vivid and practical rather than merely cryptic or futuristic.

Key Takeaways

  • John uses a “text-to-context” hermeneutic, taking Hebrew scriptures and applying them to the Greco-Roman world of Asia Minor
  • Sardis was an ancient city with twin mountains (Acropolis and Necropolis), reflecting the city’s fascination with both life and death
  • The city fell twice to enemy invasions because guards literally fell asleep, making the command to “wake up” particularly powerful
  • Major earthquakes, especially in AD 60, devastated Sardis and inform apocalyptic imagery throughout Revelation
  • The synagogue in Sardis was the largest found in the ancient world, built inside the city’s gymnasium, raising questions about missional living versus compromise
  • The worship of Cybele involved grotesque practices during a 40-day festival attended by over one million people annually
  • The command to keep white robes unstained directly addresses the pagan practice of staining white robes with blood during Cybele worship
  • Revelation is not primarily about predicting the future but about applying Old Testament scriptures to first-century contexts
  • The tension of living faithfully at the intersection of chaos and shalom is a consistent biblical theme from Judges through Revelation

Main Concepts & Theories

Text-to-Context Hermeneutic

John’s method in Revelation involves a simultaneous and two-sided approach where he takes the text of Hebrew scriptures and applies it to the context of the Greco-Roman world. This is not random proof-texting but deliberate, culturally-informed application that would have been immediately recognizable to original readers. For Sardis specifically, John draws from Obadiah (the only Old Testament book besides Revelation to mention Sardis/Sepharad), Isaiah’s prophecies about Cyrus, and Hosea’s warnings about thieves.

This hermeneutic challenges modern readers who attempt to read Revelation primarily as futuristic prediction. Instead, it was written to address immediate, real-world situations facing first-century churches using the rich imagery and language of Hebrew scriptures.

The Geography and Identity of Sardis

Sardis was unique among major Greco-Roman cities in having two mountains rather than one. The Acropolis served as the city center and defensive position, while the Necropolis (literally “city of the dead”) was used as a massive graveyard. This geographic juxtaposition reflected the city’s cultural identity - a reputation for being alive while maintaining an obsessive fascination with death and burial.

The city was founded by the Hittites and later became home to the Lydians and Phrygians. Its economic foundation included agriculture, distinctive purple dye from regional oak trees, and gold mining from the surrounding mountains. At its height, Sardis had a population exceeding 100,000 people.

The History of Falling Asleep

Two pivotal military defeats define Sardis’s historical shame:

  1. Persian Conquest (mid-6th century BC): When Cyrus the Great laid siege to the supposedly impenetrable city, a Persian soldier observed a Lydian guard fall asleep and drop his helmet. Watching the guard retrieve it revealed a secret passageway. The Persians invaded at night and found the entire city asleep.

  2. Seleucid Conquest (2nd century BC): Four hundred years later, history repeated itself. A Seleucid soldier noticed vultures perching on an unguarded section of wall. Again invading at night, they found the residents asleep.

These events make the letter’s warning to “wake up” and “strengthen what remains” devastatingly appropriate. The phrase “I will come like a thief” would have triggered immediate cultural memory of these shameful defeats.

Earthquake Devastation and Apocalyptic Imagery

Sardis experienced numerous earthquakes: AD 17, 19, 21, 24, 29, and a catastrophic one in AD 60. The AD 60 earthquake literally broke the Acropolis into thirds - one third fell backward, one third fell forward burying over 300 acres of residential area, and one third remained standing.

This disaster directly informs apocalyptic imagery in Revelation 6:12-17 (“there was a great earthquake… every mountain and island was removed from its place”) and Revelation 16:18-19 (“a severe earthquake… the great city split into three parts”). These passages were not cryptic references to distant future events but immediate, culturally relevant allusions to recent traumatic history that everyone in the region would have known about.

The Synagogue and the Question of Compromise

The synagogue in Sardis was the largest discovered in the ancient world, located inside the city’s gymnasium (university). This raises complex questions: Was this missional engagement or cultural compromise?

Evidence suggesting faithfulness:

  • No animal images on the floor (maintaining Jewish iconoclastic tradition)
  • Ornate Torah closet and Moses seat (emphasizing centrality of Torah)
  • A mikvah fountain that doubled as one of the city’s free public fountains (serving the community)
  • Bishop Melito’s later antisemitic writings never accused Sardis Jews of compromise

Evidence suggesting possible compromise:

  • Lions at the front of the synagogue (sacred animal of Cybele)
  • Roman eagles carved on the Torah reading table
  • Location inside the gymnasium rather than separate from it

The Harvard archaeological team argues this represents missional living rather than compromise - a Jewish community attempting to be “a light to the Gentiles” while maintaining core identity.

The Worship of Cybele

Cybele was the patron goddess of Sardis, a fertility deity depicted riding two lions. Her temple sat between the Acropolis and Necropolis, with doorways framing each mountain to symbolize the mythology of life, death, and resurrection. This mythology would later influence Greek-Roman worship of Artemis.

The annual 40-day festival attracted over one million visitors. The central myth involved Cybele’s grandson castrating himself as an act of ultimate devotion. Festival participants wore white robes and processed to the temple in a drunken frenzy. The “holiest” act was to recreate the myth through self-castration. For those unwilling to go that far, priests taught that getting blood from those who did on your white robe meant their offering counted on your behalf.

This makes the letter’s emphasis on “not soiling your clothes” and being “dressed in white” extraordinarily powerful. It was a direct counter-narrative to the grotesque pagan practice happening in their city.

Kings Gog and Magog

An interesting historical note: The first Lydian king was named Gugu (referred to by Hebrews as “Gog”), followed by a king the Hebrews called “Magog.” These names, often associated in modern eschatology with end-times prophecy, actually refer backward to historical rulers of Sardis, not forward to future events.

Croesus’s Gold

King Croesus was the most famous ruler of Sardis, legendary for his wealth from the gold mines. Since his treasure was never found, legend holds that he hid it in the mountains or his tomb. The hundreds of pyramid-shaped burial mounds dotting the Sardis landscape have attracted treasure hunters for centuries, with some buying permits to excavate in search of Croesus’s legendary gold.

The Small Church at Cybele’s Temple

In the ruins of Cybele’s massive temple, there stands a small circular building dating to the 3rd-4th century. Too small for corporate worship (holding perhaps 20-30 people), its circular shape resembles temples of Asclepius (god of healing). Some scholars theorize this was a Christian medical clinic established to care for those injured in Cybele worship practices.

Whether historically accurate or not, the image is powerful - a church literally built on the corner of a pagan temple, reminiscent of Jesus’s words at Caesarea Philippi about building his church on the gates of hell.

Examples & Applications

Modern Missional Living

The synagogue in Sardis models the tension every faithful community faces: How do you engage your culture without being absorbed by it? The Sardis Jews didn’t isolate themselves on a mountaintop but built their worship space inside the city’s educational center. They made their mikvah a public fountain, serving the broader community. Yet they maintained distinctive markers - no animal images, emphasis on Torah, proper worship furnishings.

This mirrors the “shephelah” tension discussed earlier in BEMA - living at the intersection of chaos and shalom without compromise. Modern believers face similar questions: How do we engage workplaces, universities, and cultural institutions while maintaining distinct identity? The answer isn’t withdrawal but intentional presence with clear boundaries.

Reading Revelation Properly

Most modern readers approach Revelation as a cryptic roadmap to future events, leading to endless speculation about “end times.” This episode demonstrates a radically different approach: Revelation addresses real churches facing real situations in the first century, using Old Testament scriptures and contemporary cultural references.

When modern readers encounter earthquakes or references to Gog and Magog, they immediately think “future.” First-century readers thought “Sardis AD 60” and “Lydian kings.” This doesn’t preclude secondary application to future events, but it grounds interpretation in the text’s primary meaning - what it meant to its original audience.

The Danger of Falling Asleep

Twice in 400 years, Sardis fell because guards fell asleep. The command to “wake up” wasn’t metaphorical advice for generic spiritual alertness - it was a devastating cultural burn referencing their most shameful historical moments.

Modern application: What are the specific areas where our communities have historically “fallen asleep”? What are our cultural blind spots that have led to repeated failures? The call to wake up is always contextual and specific, not generic.

White Robes and Cultural Counter-Narrative

The festival of Cybele explicitly encouraged staining white robes with blood as an act of worship and participation in others’ sacrifices. Against this backdrop, the promise to those who “have not soiled their clothes” and will “walk with me, dressed in white” becomes a powerful counter-narrative.

Modern believers live in contexts with their own destructive cultural narratives - consumerism, nationalism, individualism, sexual exploitation. The call is the same: maintain distinctive identity (clean white robes) while walking into dark places bringing light and hope.

Building Churches at Cybele Temples

Whether historically accurate or not, the image of a medical clinic built in the corner of Cybele’s temple illustrates radical missional engagement. Christians didn’t just condemn the horrific practices; they offered healing care to victims.

Modern application: Where are the “Cybele temples” in our communities - places of destruction and exploitation? How do we build redemptive presence there? This might mean medical clinics at sites of addiction, counseling centers near red-light districts, or job training programs in economically devastated areas.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

Old Testament Background Passages
  • Obadiah: The entire book, particularly verses 1-9 and 19-21, which directly mention Sepharad (Sardis) and contain language John echoes
  • Isaiah 45:1-3: God’s words to Cyrus about opening doors, leveling mountains, and hidden treasures
  • Hosea 10:7-8: The call to mountains and hills to “fall on us,” echoed in Revelation 6
  • Jeremiah 25:15-29: The cup of wrath filled with wine of God’s fury, referenced in Revelation 16
Archaeological and Historical Studies
  • Harvard’s archaeological project at Sardis and their findings about the synagogue
  • The relationship between Cybele worship and Artemis worship in Ephesus
  • The role of gymnasia in Greco-Roman education and Jewish interaction with Hellenistic culture
  • Earthquake patterns in first-century Asia Minor and their impact on apocalyptic literature
  • The history of the Lydian kingdom and Persian conquest
Theological Themes
  • The concept of “reputation versus reality” in spiritual communities
  • The relationship between primary and secondary meanings in biblical prophecy
  • Hermeneutical approaches to apocalyptic literature
  • The tension between cultural engagement and compromise (missiological implications)
  • The symbolism of white robes throughout Revelation and biblical literature
Comparative Studies
  • How does the letter to Sardis compare with other letters in Revelation 2-3?
  • What is the relationship between the shephelah tension (from Joshua/Judges) and the Sardis situation?
  • How do other New Testament texts address the same tension between engagement and compromise?
  • What parallels exist between Sardis’s situation and modern Western church contexts?
Historical Context Deep Dives
  • The role of earthquakes in shaping religious and apocalyptic thinking in the ancient world
  • Mystery religions in the Greco-Roman world and their influence on early Christianity
  • The Jewish diaspora in Asia Minor and their community structures
  • Roman imperial cult practices in Sardis and surrounding cities
  • The development of Christian medical care in the early church

Comprehension Questions

  1. How does John’s “text-to-context” hermeneutic work, and why does he specifically draw from Obadiah when writing to Sardis? (Answer: John takes Hebrew scriptures and applies them to Greco-Roman contexts. He uses Obadiah because it’s the only Old Testament book besides Revelation that mentions Sardis/Sepharad, and its warnings about thieves, hidden treasures, and those dwelling on heights perfectly fit Sardis’s history and geography.)

  2. Explain the two historical military defeats of Sardis and how they relate to the letter’s command to “wake up.” (Answer: Sardis fell twice - once to Persians in the 6th century BC and once to Seleucids in the 2nd century BC - both times because guards literally fell asleep, allowing enemies to enter undetected. The command to “wake up” and the warning “I will come like a thief” directly reference these shameful historical events.)

  3. What evidence exists both for and against the idea that the Sardis synagogue represented compromise with pagan culture? (Answer: Evidence for compromise includes lions sacred to Cybele, Roman eagles on the Torah table, and location inside the gymnasium. Evidence against includes no animal images on floors, proper Torah furniture, the mikvah fountain serving the community, and Bishop Melito’s later failure to accuse them of compromise despite being highly antisemitic.)

  4. How does the worship of Cybele and the practice of staining white robes inform our understanding of Revelation 3:4-5? (Answer: The annual Cybele festival involved over a million people wearing white robes attempting to get blood on them from those who castrated themselves, believing it counted as their offering. Against this backdrop, the promise that faithful believers will “not soil their clothes” and will “walk with me, dressed in white” becomes a powerful counter-narrative to this grotesque pagan practice.)

  5. How does understanding the AD 60 earthquake in Sardis change the way we read apocalyptic imagery in Revelation 6 and 16? (Answer: Rather than seeing these passages as cryptic predictions of distant future events, they become immediate cultural references to recent trauma. The Acropolis literally split into three parts, burying hundreds of acres. First-century readers would have immediately connected “the great city split into three parts” with Sardis’s recent devastation, making Revelation culturally relevant rather than cryptically futuristic.)

Summary

Episode 179 powerfully demonstrates that Revelation becomes infinitely more meaningful when we understand the historical and cultural contexts of its original audience. The letter to Sardis isn’t a cryptic message about the future but a laser-focused address to a specific church in a city with a rich, complex history.

Sardis was a city defined by contradictions - a reputation for being alive while obsessed with death, an “impenetrable” fortress that fell asleep twice, a center of education and wealth alongside grotesque religious practices. The Jewish community navigated the difficult tension between cultural engagement and faithful identity, building the world’s largest synagogue inside a Greco-Roman gymnasium while maintaining distinctive practices.

John masterfully weaves together Old Testament texts (particularly Obadiah, Isaiah, and Hosea) with cultural realities (military defeats, earthquakes, Cybele worship) to create a message that would have landed with devastating clarity for first-century readers. The commands to “wake up,” “strengthen what remains,” and keep white robes unstained weren’t generic spiritual advice but specific calls addressing their precise historical and cultural situation.

The episode challenges us to read Revelation not as a crystal ball into the future but as a sophisticated application of Hebrew scriptures to real churches facing real challenges. It also confronts us with the timeless tension of living faithfully at the intersection of chaos and shalom - engaging culture without being absorbed by it, building churches at Cybele temples while maintaining distinctive identity. May we be those willing to walk into dark places dressed in white, bringing light, care, love, and hope into the worst chaos imaginable, never forgetting the importance of not staining our robes.

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