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The Epistle to Sardis

1And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3Remember 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. 4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 3:1–6

The seven spirits are elsewhere identified as the eyes of Jesus, the Lamb (Revelation 5:6). He sees our insides, and knows what we are really like. The seven spirits are also paired with the seven stars (Revelation 1:20): the angels, or messengers, who are the bishops of the Spirit-filled churches, who are meant to act as the watchful eyes of Jesus.

The bishop of Sardis and most of his church are asleep, not watchful. They will be caught out by Jesus' coming and will suffer great loss.

They are also fully asleep: dead. Their dead bodies have soiled their garments (Numbers 19), which are their works. They are doing outwardly good works—they have a garment on, and the name of being alive—but they have soiled their garment by their own death. This is why their works are incomplete: they have outwardly good works, but those works have not been perfected by living faith.

Those who are alive and remain so will be granted eternal life, never to fall asleep again. They will also be clothed in perfectly white clothes, as their good works are perfected by their faith, like Joshua in Zechariah 3, never to be defiled again. Jesus, who sees their inmost being with His seven spirit-eyes, will proclaim their real name, Alive or Faithful, before the heavenly courtroom. The rest will be found to be dead underneath their soiled garments.