In Revelation 2:26 and 27 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers of this stage. In verse 26 He says, “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” To overcome here means to overcome Catholicism. The overcomers, the rest in Thyatira, do not have Jezebel’s teaching (v. 24), have not known the deep things of Satan, hold fast the Lord’s testimony until He comes (v. 25), and keep the Lord’s works until the end. “My works” in verse 26 refers to the things the Lord has accomplished and is doing, such as His crucifixion, resurrection, and intercession, in contrast to the works of the apostate church under the influence of Satan.
In verse 26 the Lord says that to the one who overcomes He will give authority over the nations. This is a prize to the overcomers of reigning with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom (20:4, 6). This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome the apostate church will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom.
In verse 27 the Lord, speaking of the overcomer, goes on to say, “And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father.” In the millennial kingdom the ruler will be a shepherd. In Psalm 2:9 God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations. Here Christ gives the same authority to His overcomers.
In 2:28 we have another aspect of the Lord’s promise to the overcomer in this stage. He says, “I will give him the morning star.” The morning star here refers to the coming Christ. At Christ’s first coming, the wise men, not the Jewish religionists, saw His star (Matt. 2:2, 9-10). At His second coming, He will be the morning star to His overcomers, who watch for His coming. To all the others, He will appear only as the sun (Mal. 4:2). Only the hidden overcomers, those who enjoy Christ as the hidden manna, will see the hidden Christ appearing as the morning star to those who love Him.
“Sardis” in Greek 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, signified by the degraded church in Thyatira. The Reformation was accomplished by a minority of the believers, the remainder. Hence, it was the restoration by the remainder.
To the messenger of the church in Sardis the Lord says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and you are dead” (Rev. 3:1). The reformed Protestant Church has been considered by many to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead. Hence, in her dead condition, she needs the seven living Spirits and the shining stars. In name the Protestant denominations are living and are better than the Catholic Church. Actually, the Protestant denominations are dead.
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