Sardis

The church in Sardis (3:1–6) had become dead in spite of its reputation. Twice before the city’s acropolis had fallen because Sardis had fallen asleep and let down her guard. Cyrus defeated Croesus in 546 b.c., and the Cretan general Lagoras captured it for Antiochus the Great in 218 b.c. Greek cities maintained a list of citizens in a public register. When someone committed a criminal action and was condemned, he lost his citizenship and his name was then erased from the register. The believers who perserved would never be blotted from the eternal book of life. Sardis was noted as a textile center, producing wool to make the himation, the most common outer garment for men and women in the Greco-Roman world. The color white in Revelation always denotes purity and worthiness. Hence white garments would be a suitable reward for the victors.