The Church that Tolerates Sin

Introduction

Revelation 2:18–29 ESV

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself 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.’

Explanation

Introduction to Thyatira

Being neither a large city nor an important center of commerce, Thyatira was a very insignificant place when compared with the wealth and status of other three cities we have just mentioned.

With a growing local economy, Thyatira was home to many local industries including bakers, painters, tanners, potters, coppersmiths, along with all of the trade guilds whichformed to support these industries.

To belong to one of these particular trades also meant belonging to the appropriate guild associated with that trade. Much like a modern labor union, a baker didn't bake, and a painter didn't paint, a shoemaker didn't make shoes, unless they belonged to the local guild.

But belonging to one of these guilds, often times meant participating in pagan feasts, various temple rituals including prostitution, and fertility rites.

Guilds may have identified with a pagan deity in order to invoke that deities' blessing upon a local industry.

Guild meetings were probably held in the temples devoted to that deity.

Guild members may have been encouraged to participate in all kinds of ungodly behavior to honor the pagan deity to whom the guild was devoted.

Therefore, the problem facing Christians in Thyatira is very difficult. While they were not being arrested and persecuted by government or religious leaders, they faced another subtle yet powerful form of pressure—join the local guild in order to work, even if that means participating in paganism. There were people within the church at Thyatira who saw nothing wrong with Christians participating in such activities.

Slow and steady compromises.

Sometimes, it isn’t big sins, but slow and steady compromises.

The Strength of the Church at Thyatira

Verse 19: This is a church marked by five essential characteristics – hard work, faith, service, perseverance, and love. That is quite a list.

One might expect Jesus to double down and explain each of these five essential virtues, but He doesn’t.

One ought not think these characteristics were not pleasing to God.

He moves quite quickly onto the over-arching problem in the church.

You may not think this is fair. Why doesn’t Jesus say more about the good then the bad. The good deeds/qualities reverse your bad ones.

A ship, no matter how well built, will still sink if a leak on it is left unaddressed.

You are on an airplane, and there is a hole on one side. The flight staff, the pilot, the food, the on board entertainment don’t counter the face that the plane is going down.

What are your congregations tolerating - concerning sin?

The Weakness of the Church at Thyatira

Verse 20: But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

The single, defining, bad characteristic of the church at Thyatira—and it is quite counter-cultural for the sort of problems that we would think of today—they were tolerant.

That woman Jezebel

Jesus refers to an incident in the Old Testament to inform this church about the precise nature of their sins.

Jezebel, as you may know, was the princess of Sidon and the wife of Ahab.

During that time the people of Israel were seduced into the worship of Baal. (See 1 Kings 16:29-33.)

In 22 Kings 9, however, Jezebel is mentioned as the source of the "witchcraft and idolatry" then present in Ahab's family.

Jezebel was killed when her servants threw her down from a window and her body was eaten by dogs.

Therefore, the story of Jezebel is symbolic of what someone was actually teaching in the Thyatiran congregation.

Undoubtedly that wasn’t the woman’s real name, but she was some kind of false prophetess.

This woman was leading Christ's people into the arms of the harlot, even as the original Jezebel deceived Israel into the worship of Baal.

In this case, the Jezebel of Thyatira fancied herself as a prophetess of sorts—claiming to reveal the secret things of God through means of predictive prophecy. She was actively encouraging the Thyatirans to participate in paganism, probably that associated with the local trade guilds, which likely involved sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols.

Whether this woman in Thyatira was formally or informally teaching her false teaching, she was a spiritual danger.

If Satan cannot conquer Christ's church through the sheer power of governments or spiritual forces, he will attempt to do so through the introduction of destructive false teaching (which is depicted throughout Revelation as seduction).

Verse 21: I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Even in the midst of Jezebel's grievous sin, God’s graciousness is on display.

Through whatever means—perhaps through the preaching of the word, perhaps through the leadership of the church—Jesus has warned this woman Jezebel about the consequences of her actions.

But despite this display of God's kindness which should lead her to repentance, the Jezebel of Thyatira would not repent.

She continued encouraging Christians to participate in paganism.

And not only will Jezebel not repent, the Thyatiran church has not cast her out. Therefore, Christ warns this congregation in no uncertain terms that he will come to them in judgment.

The Thyatiran church did not cast this false teacher out.

IV. Seeing and Hearing Jesus

See the description of Jesus (v. 18)—The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. This represents a God of grace, but also, a God of judgement. The eyes are eyes of fire and full of retribution. The feet are bronze to represent the wars fought with bronze. Thyatira had a huge bronze-making industry, so this detail would have caught their attention.

Heed the Warnings of Jesus.

About the false teacher and her followers: Revelation 2:22-23 “22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”

Because the church at Thyatira has not confronted the false teacher in their midst, Christ warns them that he will come to them in judgment.

Not only does Jesus threaten to bring sickness and suffering upon this woman, he will also punish all those who commit spiritual adultery with her as well.

And just as the original Jezebel was cast from her own window and killed, so too, Jesus threatens to bring death upon this woman and upon all those who continue to follow her now that they have been duly warned.

This threat of temporal punishment is not an isolated case in the New Testament.

In Acts 5; we read of how God struck Ananias and his wife Sapphira dead, because they lied to the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 11; we are warned of God's judgment upon all those who do not discern Christ's body in the Lord's Supper.

And here too, we see the threat of temporal punishment for disobedient Christians who commit spiritual adultery.

Why does Jesus make this threat?

He does not do this because he is cruel or because he is a tyrant.

He does it to protect the purity and sanctity of his church.

Jesus himself says to the Thyatirans: Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

God will do what it takes to prepare a spotless and radiant bride for his son.

He will protect the church by whatever means he deems appropriate.

About so-called prophets (v. 24)

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan....

This reference to the so-called "deep secrets of Satan" is probably a metaphor playing upon the familiar phrase the "deep things of God," which this Jezebel probably claimed to be revealing to the Thyatirans through her self-proclaimed prophetic office.

Perhaps she was practicing a kind of "secret knowledge" to people through her prophecies. But in actuality she was not revealing the deep things of God—she was revealing the deep things of Satan, leading people astray.

Hear the call of Jesus (vv. 24-25)… “to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.”

Jesus calls his people not to become burdened by the yoke of false teachers.

Jesus does not lay additional burdens on his people.

Jesus's yoke is easy and his burden is light. (See Matt. 11:30.)

Jesus has set his people free and they should not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (See Gal. 5:1.)

Jesus calls his faithful followers to hold on to the gospel until he comes at the end of the age.

Hope in the promises of Jesus (vv. 26-28) Revelation 2:26–28 “26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.”

Jesus promises the one who overcomes the temptation to over-tolerance he will give him authority over the nations.

He is quoting from Psalm 2, which we read earlier in the service, a messianic psalm, anticipating the rule of the Messiah over the nations. So this authority given to the Church is a derived authority. It’s first of all the authority given to King Jesus over the nations and it means that you will participate with Him in the end of the age in the exercise of this authority. It’s a shared authority. It means, and here’s why, see, each of these promises are geared toward the temptation the church is facing. It means, Thyatira, it means church in the West, you may think you are going to be a cultural outcast now, but I’m telling you, if you’re faithful, you will have authority over the nations later. If you stand with Jesus now, Jesus says I can’t promise what your life will look like in the present, but I can promise that in the end you will wear a crown and you will crush the enemies of Christ under your feet.

Some of us are probably uncomfortable with the language from Psalm 2, and verse 27 here, “rule them with a rod of iron, earthen pots, broken in pieces.” It sounds so militaristic, so triumphalistic. We don’t want an iron scepter, trampling like pottery. But might it be that this sort of language makes us feel uncomfortable because so few of us have actually suffered the way that these Christians were suffering? The main reason we may not be interested in a strong Christ who provides a final, decisive victory and vindication is perhaps because we live such neutered, culturally- acceptable lives that no one would think to oppose us. We would never feel the need to be vindicated.

Jesus promises the one who overcomes the temptation to over-tolerance that he will receive the morning star.

This mention of a morning story is probably another allusion to the Balaam story. Numbers 24:17 “17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

Revelation 22:16 says, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you the testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star.”

V. May it be so of our church.

For the Church

How should the church respond to false teaching and false teachers?

Understand the seriousness of guarding the truth.

The health of churches and their capacity to fulfill the commands of Christ demands sound doctrine and practice—it is the good warfare we are called to fight (1 Tim. 1:18-19a; Jude 3)

Too many people have made shipwreck of their faith through embracing and promoting false doctrines (1 Tim. 1:19b-20)

The church is the household of God and there is a way in which we ought to conduct ourselves (1 Tim. 3:15a)

The church is a pillar and buttress of the truth—it is our responsibility to guard that truth (1 Tim. 3:15b)

Church leaders must intentionally entrust true doctrine to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2;Titus 2:1)

Church leaders must know how to rightly handle the Scriptures—it is the standard by which God deems them approved or not approved (2 Tim. 2:15; Titus 1:9).

What about Christian unity?

We can have unity in diversity. John Owen wrote on Purity and Unity in the church.

However, when it comes to the core doctrines of the faith and even our convictional distinctives as Baptists, we must uphold what we believe.