Revelation 2:18-29 (2)

If anything, that should remind us that God does not see strength, and size, and power the way we do. This small church in an inconsequential city in asia, is the church that the resurrected Jesus gives the longest letter.

He cares about his church, no matter whether its a church of a thousand in Washington D.C., or a church of 140 in Saint Rose, Louisiana.

It is not the longest letter because Jesus has a lot of praise to give to this church either though.

It is the longest letter because Jesus has some really hard things to say to this church.

But lets remind ourselves once again before reading.

This was written not just for the church in Thyatira,

but for every church in every generation including ours.

This letter is a gift of grace to us,

though it contains hard words of warning and correction and instruction.

So lets listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

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.’

Lets Pray

As in all the other letters, Jesus introduces himself in a way that is relevant to his hearers.

Revelation 2:18 ESV

“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.

The Roman emperor of the first century was often called “son of a god”

I think its difficult for us to grasp the power of Rome in the first century,

and what it would have been like to live in a place and time where you were expected to worship your emperor as a son of a God.

But Jesus is no son of a God like Caesar claims.

Jesus introduces himself as THE SON of THE GOD.

He is not like those Roman emperors who pretend to be divine.

Jesus really is God eternal who took upon himself humanity.

He has always been divine in the perfect harmony of the triune God.… Father, Son, and Spirit…

One God in Three persons existing before time began.

Jesus is The son of God.

His physical descriptions in this introduction speak symbolically to spiritual realities.

The flaming eyes of Jesus seem to suggest that the gaze of Jesus has no boundary or limit.

He can see it all, to the boundaries of every kingdom, and into the depths of every heart.

And as he sees the sin of the people,

His eyes burn.

For Jesus to be truly Righteous… he must burn with holy wrath against all evil.

He hates evil.

And he will judge all evil.

In daniel’s vision of the kingdom’s of men,

He sees a statute representing man’s evil kingdoms and the statue’s feet are mixed with clay so that when struck, the feet crumble and the whole statue falls.

The kingdom of man is feeble, finite, and it will fall most ultimately.

If you don’t believe the imagery just consider the ruins of Ancient Rome today.

The are is no Caesar and the strength of Rome are now seen only in archeology and tourist destinations.

Much like the kingdom we try to build for ourselves and our own glory.

It all stands on feet of clay.

Jesus however is firm,

He is immovable, and

he is ready to tread his enemies of God under the powerful unbreakable burnished bronze feet.

This picture of Jesus’ exalted state in verse 18 shows him to be the one who sees all things

and judges all things

Ceasar is not ultimate.

He is not the ultimate judge of right and wrong.

He is limited.

He is fragile.

Whereas Jesus sees all, knows all, and judges all.

But when he looks at the church in Thyatira what does he see?

What does the judge of the world see when he looks upon the church?

The first thing he sees is very positive.

Revelation 2:19 ESV

“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

Jesus begins with an encouraging word.

He sees the ministry that the Thyatiran church is doing.

He sees their love - which is so important.

He sees their faith - which is a matter of salvation.

He sees their service - which is their eager obedience to care for one another and others sacrificially.

and He sees their patient endurance - they have endured persecution, and they have not grumbled, they have not recanted, they have not given up.

#1 Jesus Recognizes Our Ministry

How sweet it is to know that our spiritual growth and our service and our ministry is not lost on Jesus.

He sees it all.

He even sees our progress.

he notices, “That your latter works exceed the first.”

The Thyatirans have not stayed stagnant as a people,

but their latter works exceed their first works…,

This means they aren’t where they once were

and Jesus affirms this as a good thing.

St. Rose Community Church has existed as a church for over 9 years.

Its my hope and prayer that the ministry yet to come will be even greater than that of what we have seen.…

because we as a church are maturing and growing and stretching as a church.

let me pause the flow of thought here for just a second and ask a question.

Are you growing in your spiritual walk?

This is how we believe salvation works at this church.

Salvation is first an act of regeneration.

When we put our faith in Jesus a miracle happens in our heart.

Our eyes are opened to his truth.

Our heart is changed to desire the truth and to desire relationship with Jesus.

And we no longer have the same taste for sin we once did.

That doesn’t mean we are suddenly perfect.

It just means we are suddenly forgiven,

and we are suddenly different.

We are spiritually alive.

And that begins a process in our lives called sanctification… the ongoing work of God in our lives to make us more and more like Jesus.

This is an ongoing miracle of God’s grace in our life

and Jesus commends it as good when your latter works exceed your earlier works…,

meaning you have progressively grown in your Christian walk and ministry.…,

God is doing that in us…, and he is pleased to see our progress

Just as he saw the progress of many in Thyatira.

but the encouragement for the Thyatira church stops here.

They are a loving congregation

They are a serving congregation

They are a persevering congreation.

but There is something very serious lurking in the church that poses a threat to their growth as a church and as individuals.

Revelation 2:20 ESV

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.

There is a woman within the church calling herself a prophetess,

She claims to speak for God, but she does not.

And Jesus calls her Jezebel,

Now That is probably not her real name,

but Jesus calls her Jezebel because her life and teaching reflect the same life and teaching of a famously wicked OT character who fell under God’s Judgment.

That character is a pagan princess from the Old Testament named Jezebel.

King Ahab of Israel, sinned against the Lord, by taking for himself a pagan wife named Jezebel who was a worshipper of the false god Baal.

Ahab was evil enough in his own right, but Jezebel became the whisperer in his ear to destroy Israel from within.

She is famous for spreading false worship and idolatry, and even persecuting God’s prophets.

In the days of Jezebel, the prophets of the Lord had to hide in caves.

1 Kings 18:4 ESV

4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)

Jezebel wreaked havoc upon the people of God from within for years, but her judgment is just as important to note as her wicked deeds.

2 Kings tells us of her end orchestrated by the hand of God.

God annointed a military commanded named Jehu to exact his judgment.

2 Kings 9:33–37 ESV

33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. 34 Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’ ”

needles to say…, its not a good thing for the resurrected Jesus to gift you the name Jezebel.

This woman in the church of Thyatira was leading people away from God from inside the church the same way Jezebel had.

And the problem that Jesus identifies primarily… is that the church of Thyatira “tolerated it.”

Again the striking thing about this letter is that this letter is not primarily written to Jezebel.

This is not primarily to the people she has seduced into false teaching.

This is primarily a letter written to the church as a whole who has tolerated her corruption.

Jesus’ lead rebuke is that the people of God simply looked the other way while a false teacher preyed on God’s people.

Jesus’ confrontation is of a people who have not taken ownership of the health and teaching of their own church.

#1 Jesus Recognizes Our Ministry

#2 Jesus Rejects Our Tolerance

The first problem in our own spiritual life or in the life of the church is not that we run head long into sinful acts.….

Though that is a problem.

The first problem occurs when we tolerate evil as acceptable,

or at least not important enough to address in our own lives or our own churches.

The church in Thyatira is commended for their love…, but they have not made the connection between love and truth….,

between love and responsibility

between love and courage

That word tolerate means to leave something,

Or to let loose something that should otherwise be contained,

to permit something,

or allow something.

Imagine discovering that their is a poisonous snake in your bedroom,

but instead of dropping everything to get the snake out,

you say well it hasn’t really hurt anyone yet.

He isn’t really hurting anything now.

It would be a lot of work to get him out.

So just leave him be, leave him alone.

If I don’t bother him, surely he won’t bother me.

That would be insane.

Why would you tolerate something venomous and/or deadly to dwell in your home where you sleep and eat and live.

We would never tolerate a wasp nest in our bathroom,

or a rat in our pantry,

so why would we tolerate sin and temptations in our lives, or our children’s lives, or in our friend’s lives when we know how dangerous it is.

But what exactly was the problem?

what were they tolerating?

Three things are listed,

these are just sub-points

They Tolerated False Teaching

Revelation 2:20 (ESV)

20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess ….

This is a big deal.

This woman in the church was claiming to speak for God.

She was grasping for authority that was not hers.

She was impersonating the Spirit of God.

Listen church, we have got to learn to flex our discernment muscles.

We have got to settle this in our heart….

Discernment is loving.

Discernment is not the same thing as pessimism.

Discernment is not the same thing as being judgmental.

If a teacher, or a preacher, or a person confidently says God told me to say this or to do that…,

Your ears need to perk up and your discernment radar needs to go off.

Claiming to speak for God as if the authority rests in you is a serious thing.

Someone who says they speak for God rather than that they submit to what God has clearly said is a potentially dangerous person, and we must be aware.

Not all things that appear spiritual are from the right Spirit.

In fact some of the ways that Jezebel packaged her teaching comes out in almost a note of sarcasm later in verse 24.

Revelation 2:24 ESV

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.

It is likely that Jezebel wrapped her corrupt teaching in this kind of language…, that she was teaching the deep things of God… the deep spiritual things that go beyond what the apostles had taught…

and in a word, Jesus makes clear what he things about the deep things of God that the spiritual one is spreading… she is teaching the deep things of Satan.

God has not hidden his revelation from you so that you must seek out deep things.

Jesus has revealed clear things in clear words that can be discerned by anyone with the Spirit of God in their hearts and the word of God in their hands.

Now when this Jezebel said, God told me, she outed herself real fast, because she was teaching what God had very clearly forbidden.

Not only were the church in Thyatira tolerating her false teaching…, they were tolerating the sin that it led to in the church.

Revelation 2:20 (ESV)

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 …

They Tolerated False Teaching

They Tolerated Sexual Sin

Jezebel was teaching that the people in the Thyatiran church could blend their sexual ethic with that of their city.

She was teaching that they were free to be like the city they lived in.

They were free to be flexible with sexuality.

She appealed to the people’s desire for sin and inclusion with the outside world.

And with fiery eyes, Jesus sees and is enraged.

He sees this and he is against this.

But why? Why is Jesus so against sexual immorality?

Isn’t this a question of our day as well?

If two people love each other, why does it matter what they do?

If its not hurting anyone why does it matter?

Why can’t people just be true to themselves?

Well primarily because Jesus has a very good plan for our sexuality.

The Good God of the universe created and designed the world.

He created Male and Female to be physically and emotionally different from one another and made for one another.

God designed physical intimacy to be the joyful, pure, good, expression of one man’s commitment to one woman in the context of a promise in marriage.

It is supposed to be a beautiful thing, a wonderful thing, a selfless thing,

an act that carries with it no shame, no guilt, no unintended consequences,

BUT in our sinfulness, we take a good thing God designed for the self-giving relationship of marriage…

and we make it an evil thing designed for selfish gain that results in self-destruction.

Jesus is AGAINST any sexual act done outside of the context of the commitment of marriage.

Sex within marriage is a blessing that brings life,

Sex outside of marriage is a curse that brings destruction.

It destroys your soul from the inside out

and it inevitably destroys your relationships and the people you say you love.

If you are dabbling with the sin of pornography in your life today…,

If you are dabbling with sex outside of marriage right now…

If you are thinking about moving in with a boyfriend or girlfriend to perpetually live in this kind of sin.

You are letting the venomous serpent into the room and you are turning the other direction as if it won’t eventually bite you.

I want to give the strongest of warnings.

Even if no one else knows.

Jesus sees it.

And Jesus is against it.

And you may think there will be no consequences…,

but the consequences will be far more than you could have imagined If you continue down this road with out confessing and without getting help from a church who will love you by not tolerating this destructive force in your life.

God’s plan for you and for your sexuality is so so so much better than cheap destructive sinful shameful sex in rebellion against God according to the teachings of the Jezebel.

They Tolerated False Teaching

They Tolerated Sexual Immorality

They Tolerated Idolatry

The pressure in the 1st century for Christians to blend their religion with the idolatrous practices of the Roman empire was beyond most of our imaginations.

There were no atheists in the first century

There was no separation of church and state in the first century.

As we discussed earlier, the Roman Empire exalted the Roman Emperor as a son of a god.

Imagine living in a world where all of your friends and extended family mingled into every gathering a time for feasting and worship of a false God.

Imagine that every funeral, wedding, baby shower, and business transaction was commemorated with the worship of a false god.

Imagine that there was a social pressure placed on you that if you did not worship the multiple deities of Rome, then they would grow angry with you and your family.

What if the world around you blamed you when the crops wouldn’t do good,

and when their health would fail,

or when the family business suffered,

all because you are making the gods angry by not worshiping them.

The pressure from the outside was incredible and in some places it was life threatening.

How tempting it must have been to just go along with the culture around them,

and participate In a little in pagan worship.

All the while you have a Jezebel in the church whispering that its ok.

This is always the struggle of the church in every culture and in every generation.

Are we going to assimilate with the cultural expectations, or are we going to be set apart as a counter-cultural group of people who pursue Christ himself and his vision for our lives.

Jezebel was teaching it was ok to be Roman and to eat the food sacrificed to idols.

We don’t live in a culture making animal sacrifices to false deities…, but we do live in a culture that is not distinctively Christian….

What would Jezebel teach us to do?

Where would she say we should compromise and just blend in?

What kinds of idolatries would she stamp her approval of in our lives?

Maybe we don’t see it because we are so used to it.

We have tolerated it for so long its just a part of normal life.

but this letter was written to the churches to warn us.

Jesus does see it.

He sees straight into our hearts with fire eyes,

He sees what we worship most,

He sees where in the name of comfort and convenience and self-preservation we have just succumbed to toleration.

#1 Jesus Recognizes Our Ministry

#2 Jesus Rejects Our Toleration.

So what will Jesus do…

Revelation 2:21–23 ESV

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.

#3 Jesus Extends Mercy Before He Executes Judgment

What a wild acknowledgment in verse 21.

Jesus gave her time to repent, but she refuses.

What a gracious and merciful thing for Jesus to do.

She did not have to keep going down that road.

There was an alternative.

There was another path.

path Jesus did not have to provide.

He could have executed his judgment immediately and it would have been a righteous thing to do.

Yet he gave time to repent.

Jesus does not have to put up with your sin.

He doesn’t have to give you the grace of this sermon or this church or this moment where you could turn away from your sin and turn toward him.

but he graciously gives it.

By his grace he extends the opportunity for mercy before he executes his judgment…, but make no mistake… he will execute his judgment.

Without repentance, every sinner faces the consequence of their sin.

And in this case the consequences were severe, they were going to show themselves in Jezebel’s life.

She was going to be thrown onto a sickbed.

and her children would die…,

now it may be that children here in verse 23 is a reference to her spiritual offspring…,

that is those who are following after her as their spiritual guide.

The judgment would extend beyond Jezebel herself and to all who follow her teachings..

There may have been some who have been doing so in secret…, but a judgment is coming where there will be no more secrets.

Revelation 2:23 ESV

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.

Jesus wants all the churches to know that he sees everything, mind and heart…

There is no such thing as secret sin.

How many of you saw the picture circulating the internet this week of a wealthy CEO getting caught on camera in an adulterous relationship with one of his employees?

One minute, they thought their sin would never find them out…,

and in the next their whole world changed as what was in the dark was suddenly broadcasted before the terrible and relentless judge called the internet.

The photo is going viral with memes and and jokes…,

but take just a moment to feel what those individuals feel…,

the shame and exposure,

nothing hidden that they once believed was safe and fun…,

One day we all will stand before God totally exposed.

Every sin committed in secret,

and every subtle idolatry of the heart.

No where to hide.

Right now God has given us time to repent…, but one day that time will run out.

And on the day when all is exposed…,

the question will be…, is that sin that is exposed already paid for…, or will we have to pay for it ourselves.

The difference will be where we stand with Jesus.

Revelation 2:24–29 ESV

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.’

#4 Jesus Exalts the Repentant

Jezebel and her followers show no desire to change, no willingness to listen to God’s voice.

The rest of the Christians in Thyatira however are different.

They are conquerors

They are as we should be.

Listen to the list of ways Jesus describes them:

They hold to the teaching of Jesus

They do not hold to the teachings of Satan.

They keep Jesus’ works until the end

They have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Its not that they are perfect (no one is) but they are repentant

When they hear the voice of God giving them instruction, they listen.

These are the true Christians…,

These are the ones whom Jesus says he will exalt as conquerors.

Jesus promises that in the end these Christians will be exalted victorious over all of God’s enemies.

The script will be flipped.

Instead of being under the authority of the Roman persecutors..., they themselves will be exalted above them to sit where Jesus sits…, to reign with him and rule with him.

It is interesting how Jesus holds out motivation for our holiness.

He wants us to see the seriousness of sin’s consequences….

But he also wants us to see the magnitude of our reward in Jesus our Lord.

We will more than conquer if we listen to the voice of God.

He will exalt us like royalty ruling with Christ over all our enemies.

Jesus will give to us the whole world and all the nations as an inheritance.

But most importantly Jesus will give us himself.

Look at verse 28.

Revelation 2:28 ESV

28 And I will give him the morning star.

Fast forward to the end of Revelation.

What is the morning star that Jesus promises ?

Revelation 22:16–17 ESV

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

The bright morning star is Jesus himself.

It is an eternal life lived in the shine of the glory of Jesus forever and ever,

Where our every thirst and our every need will be satisfied forever and ever and ever.

Why don’t we tolerate false teaching, and idolatry, and sexual immorality?

Ultimately because we believe what Jesus offers us is better.

Life with Jesus now is better.

Life with Jesus for eternity is better.

And we will conquer all darkness only by our repentance and our faith in the bright and morning star of Jesus himself.

He searches our hearts.

he sees our sins.

but he died on the cross for us anyway

and he is giving us opportunity to repent and believe and be with him forever.

the fact that Jesus can see all things is a frightening thing,

but it should also be a comforting thing.

Its frightening because he sees our sins…,

It’s comforting because that means that even though Jesus saw all the sins we would ever commit….

He died on the cross for us anyway.

He loved us anyway.

I can’t out sin God’s grace.

I can’t surprise Jesus with my failings.

He sees them and he graciously calls me out of them.

The question is how will I respond?

Confess your sin

Repent While There is Still Time

Reject the false promises of jezebel…, and Live for the true promises of Jesus.

Let’s Pray and respond.

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