Sleep is a time of rest when our bodies shut down, our senses tune out and we disconnect from the world until we wake again. In reality, when we are asleep we are actually quite vulnerable as we are no longer aware of what is going on around us. Nevertheless, sleep was created by God for a specific purpose and it is a blessing from God that restores and refreshes our bodies in a way that nothing else can.

But what does it mean to be spiritually asleep? Is being spiritually asleep good for us in the same way physical sleep is? The short answer is no! But I do believe that there are certain similarities to physical sleep, in that when we are spiritually asleep, we make also ourselves vulnerable because we lack awareness of what is happening around us. 

In Revelation 3:2-3, Jesus urges the church in Sardis to ‘Wake up!’, He asks them to repent and finish the work they have begun, otherwise his return will be a shock to them. I believe Jesus is still speaking those words to his bride, the church, today. 

1 Thessalonians 5:2 reads similarly to Revelation 3:3, in that, it again states that the Lord will come like a thief in the night. But Paul clearly states in verse 4 that, we his Christian brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise us like a thief. He continues, calling them “children of the light.” 

Biblically, light is a symbol of revelation, so part of what it means to be children of the light is that we walk as those who have the revelation light of God illuminating the path before us. Without revelation from God (from the word and the Spirit), we are blind, in darkness and asleep to the Spiritual reality that is all around us. 

When we were saved, we came into the light. We had a revelation of Jesus Christ and his salvation for our lives. “The fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:9), we now no longer belong to the darkness or are to have anything to do with “fruitless deeds of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). Paul implies being spiritually asleep is to re-associate with darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5-7). 

Paul calls us to be awake and sober in 1 Thessalonians 5:6. The Greek word for sober can be translated as sober-minded and self-controlled but in other places in the Bible, it is also translated as the word ‘watch’. I feel that particular use of the word fits well here as it gives meaning to what it is to be awake. To watch is to be vigilant, we don’t just sit back and relax – we are alert and aware of what is going on around us.

We have been brought from death to life (Colossians 2:13), but if we remain spiritually asleep, we are essentially choosing a position akin to the deadness we have escaped from, instead of engaging with the life that is now ours in the Spirit. Jesus says to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3:1, that they have a reputation of being alive, but that actually, they are dead.

Being spiritually asleep is like reverting back to being spiritually dead because our spiritual senses are shut down in the darkness, we are not awake and able to engage with the resurrection life and truth Christ has given us. Instead in our slumber,  we remain oblivious and therefore naive, lacking revelation knowledge.

In both Revelation 3 and 1 Thessalonians 5, we find a specific warning to the church at Sardis and the church at Thessalonica, that they will not know when the date of the Lord, Christ’s return to earth, will be if they do not wake up. Too many times have I heard these verses quoted in part and as an excuse that we cannot know when Christ will return. Yes, he will come like a thief in the night, but only those who are asleep will be surprised by Christ’s return. The unsaved world is dead/asleep, but as Christians, Christ exhorts us to wake up and be aware of the spiritual temperature of the world around us.

To be awake and alert, is to have our finger resting on the spiritual pulse of what is going on in the world, being sensitive to shifts and changes as they are ensuing. But how do we leave our spiritual slumber behind and become spiritually awake like this? 

First do as Jesus suggests in Revelation 3 and repent of falling spiritually asleep. Then position yourself as a child of the light, engaging with the revelation found in the word of God and living by the truth you find here. Specifically focus on the end time prophecies about Christ’s return, so that you need not be surprised when he does appear. 

Furthermore, begin to engage with and listen to proven and tested prophets, God’s anointed mouthpieces that share their revelation. Surely test what they say by what you read in the word but also, don’t leave it at just hearing what God has said to others, ask Him to speak directly to you.

Inquire of the Holy Spirit yourself next time you are reading or watching the news – “Holy Spirit, what is going on here?”. Seek a spiritual narrative of world events, not just what you get told on the TV. All of heaven is open and available to us, but we have to engage. Open up your ears to hear, your eyes to see and your heart to understand all that God wants to show you. Wake up!