Revelation 3:4 (WEB)

Passage

Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Nearby Context

Revelation 3:2 Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.

Revelation 3:4 Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 3:6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nevertheless", "names", "sardis", "defile", "garments", "walk", "white", and "worthy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nevertheless" and "names", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Remember therefore how you have received and..." into verse 5's "He who overcomes will be arrayed in...", so "nevertheless" and "names" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "nevertheless" and "names" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.