Revelation 3:2

Wake up and strengthen what remains, which is about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars addresses the angel of the church in Sardis, immediately after declaring them dead despite a reputation for life, and immediately before warning of coming like a thief.

The words — γρηγορῶν (grēgorōn), "watching," is a present participle that frames the command as an ongoing posture, not a one-time act; στήρισον (stērison), "strengthen," is an aorist imperative directed at what remains, implying the rest is already lost.

The thread — The "coming like a thief" warning appears again in Revelation 16:15, where the blessed one is the one who remains awake and clothed; 1 Peter 4:7 pairs the nearness of the end with the same demand for sober-mindedness.

Why it lands — It names the specific failure: deeds incomplete in the sight of God, not merely a general moral lapse. The reader is asked to identify what still remains in their own life and act on it now, before the window closes.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Cross-references

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
Mark 13:33 Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come.
2 Chronicles 25:2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.
Matthew 25:13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Luke 22:31 Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat.