Letters From the Lord: Thyatira

Introduction:

We are continuing our series in Revelation 1-3 today.

In chapter 1, we got a very detailed description of our glorified Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we enter into chapters 2-3, we begin reading the seven letters to seven churches, authored by Jesus and written down by the Apostle John.

The letters from the Lord were for the churches of that day but they still apply to us today.

In these letters we see what Jesus desires for His church.

We learn what things in the church make the Lord glad and bring glory to Him and what things in the church grieve Him.

Jesus has some good things to say about His church but also some hard things that can sting. But He tells them and us these things because He loves us and wants the best for us.

We’ve read the letters to Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum.

Today we are going to look at the Letter From the Lord to the church in Thyatira...

Revelation 2:18–29 (NASB)

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. 25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The good:

(v. 19) 19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.

Many in the church loved Jesus and their love for the Lord and each other, their faith in the Lord and service to God was growing.

The bad:

(v. 20-21) 20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality...

They had allowed false teaching to persist and many had embraced that teaching. As a result they were engaged in self gratifying sin. They were consuming and indulging in acts of immorality. The one emphasized here the most was the sexual immorality. There was likely fornication in the church (sex outside of marriage), for sure “adultery”, if they were like churches today, there was homosexuality, and no doubt there was lust, and other sexually immoral sins.

And worse still, those living in sexual immorality were doing so defiantly, refusing to repent, even after being given time to do so.

The ugly (consequences):

(v. 22-23) 22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence...

This bed of sickness could have been hyperbolic, but it also could have been speaking of sexually transmitted diseases or God even inflicting them with plagues or other forms of sickness that were life threatening.

What happened? How did this happen in the church?

20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

Lies were creeping into the early church and the same old lies, have been prettied up, cleverly hidden and embraced by people in the church and even entire churches.

Revelation 2:2, 6 (NASB)

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false… 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Revelation 2:14–15 (NASB)

14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

The big problem in Thyatira were the lies, the false teachings being embraced by the church.

In this letter Jesus is telling the church to stop tolerating the lies and He is telling His church, today, the same thing.

The lies in Thyatira were primarily resulting in sexual immorality.

You may not have been paying attention, but sexual immorality has become more and more acceptable in the American church.

According to a recent Pew Research Study on sexuality:

57% of professing Christians believe sex outside of marriage is ok. (Fornication) 38% of Evangelicals.

54% of professing Christians believe homosexuality should be accepted in society. (36% of Evangelicals)

42% of professing Christians believe pornography isn’t sinful. (51% of Christians watch porn at least once a month. In professing Christian men that number is closer to 70%.)

This same study determined that in professing Christians between the ages of 18-29, these percentages are 20-30% higher.

We need to hear what Jesus is saying to the churches!

Four dangerous lies many have believed that are leading people astray and into sexual immorality.

1. I can keep it a secret.

(v. 8 ) 8 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:

Psalm 44:21 (NASB)

21 Would not God find it out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

Acts 1:24 (NASB)

24 ...“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men...”

Matthew 9:4 (NASB)

4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

Luke 12:2 (NIV)

2 “...there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known.

Jesus knows your lustful thoughts and desires.

He knows who has same sex attraction.

He knows your browser history and you’ve been looking at.

The Lord sees the immoral sexual acts people commit behind closed doors.

(v. 23) 23 ‘...all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

2. I can do it and still love Jesus.

(v. 26-28) 26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

John 14:15 (NASB)

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

We cannot claim love Jesus and embrace the things He hates.

1 John 1:6 (NASB)

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth...

1 John 2:3–4 (NASB)

3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him...

1 John 2:15 (NASB)

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him...

1 John 5:3 (NASB)

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

It isn’t that we never sin, we just aren’t characterized by sin. We don’t live or embrace immorality.

1 John 1:9–2:2 (NASB)

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

If you think you can live in sexually immorality and still be loving Jesus, you’ve bought into a lie straight from the pit of hell.

3. Love is love.

Many in the Church of Thyatira did love the Lord. In fact, Jesus said their love, faith and deeds were all growing. But they were tolerating false teaching and it had led many in the church astray into sexual immorality and it perverted their love and twisted it into something that wasn’t really love at all and it was causing great harm and terrible consequences.

(v. 19-20) 19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

The lie, “love is love”, is one of the reasons some pushed for the legalization gay marriage. “As long as we are married, its ok”.

Wrong. First off, no matter what you call it, if it isn’t one man and one woman, committed to love and be faithful to one another for a lifetime, it isn’t marriage.

Genesis 2:24 (NASB)

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Second, love isn’t defined by man, love is defined by God.

1 John 4:7–8 (NASB)

7 ...love is from God... 8 ...[because] God is love.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8a (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails...

Churches that put up those LGBTQ+ rainbow flags might think they are being loving but they aren’t. They are in dangerous territory. When we affirm that which God condemns, we have abandoned the faith and are in great danger or incurring the righteous wrath of God.

(v. 22-23a) 22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence...”

The church of Thyatira was there and Jesus came to the to call them to repentance before it was too late. And sadly, it was too late for some of them.

4. I am not supposed to judge.

Matthew 7:1–6 (NASB)

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB)

7 ...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

John 7:24 (NASB)

24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

(v. 20) 20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray...

Revelation 2:2 (NASB)

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false...

1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9–13 (NASB)

1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst...

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

In Closing:

How should we respond to this letter from the Lord?

The instruction:

(v. 24-25, 29) 24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. 25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.

29 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

FIRST, hold fast to the truth of Scripture so that you will not believe the lies of Satan.

Genesis 3:1 (NASB)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NASB)

3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Stand firm on the truth of God’s word and pursue Him.

Pursue true biblical love and grow in your faith.

Judge all things by the Word of God… starting with yourself and make sure the lies of Satan are not tolerated in your life or anywhere else in the church.

SECOND, we need to stop tolerating immorality. First in our own lives and second, in the church. We are supposed to be encouraging one another to follow Jesus faithfully and keep each other lovingly accountable.

(v. 21) 21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.

Stay away from sexual immorality. Flee from it!

2 Timothy 2:22 (NASB)

22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Hebrews 12:1–2 (NASB)

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus...

We need to lovingly confront sin and call those in the church that are living in sin to repentance. But if they persist in that sin and refuse to repent, we cannot just tolerate it and allow it in the church. We people a guilty party in their sin as well.

Paul gives us an example of what it is supposed to look like in 1 Corinthians.

Some in the church of Thyatira were outright embracing the lies and participating in sexual immorality, glorifying Satan rather than Christ. Others in the church were allowing the wickedness to go on among them. They were tolerating the lies and and the sin. We cannot do that same.

God wants us to rid ourselves of sexual immorality in our own lives and in His church.

The promise:

26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

Do you have a true, real, genuine love for the Lord Jesus That’s the only way to overcome. Through Christ we can be made righteous. His work on the cross is what we need. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and surrendering to His control is the only way to keep oneself in the will of God.

Do you believe that ?

Are you living it?

You can today.

As I pray, if what I pray resonates with you too, you pray the same thing. Let’s listen to the Lord and ask Him to help us today.

Let’s pray.

Memory Verse of the Week:

2 Timothy 2:22 (NASB)

22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Discussion Questions:

What does this Scripture teach us about God?

What does this Scripture teach us about man?

Do you see any commands to obey or principles to apply?

Do you see any promises to claim or blessings to enjoy?

Do you see any truths to meditate on or Gospel messages to share?

Did anything else in the passage stick out to you?