“And 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. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Here the problem is solved. The persons here described have had light that would have prompted them to altogether different works, if they had followed the light and had strengthened the things that remained that were ready to die. The light which was glowing in their own hearts when Jesus spoke to their souls, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” they might have kept alive by helping those who needed help. {TM 352.1}

»Og skriv til menighedens engel i Sardes: »Dette siger han, som har Guds syv ånder og syv stjerner: Jeg kender dine gerninger, at du har ord for at leve og er dog død. Bliv vågen og styrk det, der er tilbage, men som var ved at dø; thi jeg har ikke fundet dine gerninger fyldestgørende i min Guds øjne.« Her er problemet klaret. De personer der her er beskrevet har haft lys der ville have tilskyndet dem til helt andre gerninger, hvis de havde fulgt lyset og havde styrket de ting der påmindede at de skulle være klar til at dø. Lyset der glødede på deres egne hjerter da Jesus sagde til deres sjæle, »dine synder forlades dig«, må de have holdt i live ved at hjælpe dem der behøvede hjælp.