REVELATION PART 6

Rev 2:18 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

Rev 2:19 "I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

INTRODUCTION

Psychologists tell us that human personality is said to consist of roughly 4/5ths emotions and 1/5 intellect.

This means that when we make decisions they are based on 80% emotional content and only 20% intellectual.

Advertisers recognize this well known fact by appealing strongly to our emotional nature and giving us little intellectual information.

Those who will be successful in dealing with others will take into account the powerful dynamics of "feelings" if they hope to work with others.

This doesn't make "feelings" evil, but it does demand that we try and balance better the dynamics of "feelings" and "fact"!

The same gifts of emotions that God has given us can become a vehicle of misguided power in our lives.

We need the balance and checks of both.

The Church that ministers to the mind but not the heart will fail to move people to be passionate in their faith.

The Church that ministers to the heart but not the mind will drive the flock of God toward misguided and frenzied emotions, where they end up may be anyone's' guess!

The Bible clearly teaches that an over reliance on emotions can be dangerous and can create a cloud that block the paths that are clearly marked out for us to walk in God's Word.

Rev 2:18 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

Thyatira was a small rural blue collar town ... very different from Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum which were huge cities full of universities and powerful commercial centers.

This is the smallest of the 7 cities but commands the largest letter … showing God's value of something as being very different from that of man's!

Many small trade center existed in this town … a town well known for it's textile and dye industry.

In Act 16:14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

Paul's first convert in Europe, a woman named Lydia came from this town, she was a dealer of purple cloth.

It is quite probable that Lydia had been the pioneer in planting this Church, and possibly acted as it's first Pastor, at the least she was a leader within this Church.

This Church had exactly the opposite problem from the first Church Ephesus:

Ephesus had great teaching but had little to no passion ... cold emotionless doctrine.

But Thyatira had great passion, but was weak on the doctrinal and teaching end.

Like the other churches, this one was at an important crossroad.

Their passions were driving them into ungodliness, they were about to lose the good and many years of service to moral collapse.

In the absence of some of the great leaders like Paul, Lydia, and other well-grounded teachers, other misguided teachers were attempting to redirect the passions of the Church people toward immorality while comforting the people with falsehoods: such as these:

1.)"That they could and should experience Satan's temptations so that they will be wise as to how Satan operates!"

2.) "That as long as they keep their spirit pure, it didn't matter what they did with their bodies!"

The essence of the creeping errors: "God's wants you to have fun, He doesn't want us to be boring, so go to the temples of idols and party with the worshippers there ... as long as you know they are only idols it won't hurt!"

The emphasis was on pleasure ... not on truth!

Our society is a good mirror of this blue collar Church of the first century!

It is almost portrayed in everything we see on TV and print: It is our RIGHT to have fun ... the "pursuit of happiness."

All too often however, this is at the expense of character and unselfishness.

Motto goes like this: "YOU ONLY GO AROUND ONCE SO REACH FOR ALL THE GUSTO YOU CAN"

In the path of this pleasure seeking there are a host of broken hearted people left behind:

Husbands and wives who are victimized by unfaithful spouses!

Children who are ignored so the parents can have more fun, and get more!

Neighbors who are ignored unless there is some benefit to you.

People dying in sin because we need our recreation more than they need our witness!

Thyatira like many blue collar workers worked hard and played hard!

Rev 2:18 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

Jesus' introduction demonstrates the serious junction that they were at as a Church:

"These are the words of the Son of God..." they had to be reminded of who God was!

"...whose eyes are like blazing fire..." He is watching, penetrating through their pretenses!

"...whose feet are like burnished bronze." often a symbol of judgement!

They will be held accountable for their actions!

The introduction is sobering and serious, perhaps severe enough to arouse their passions back to God.

God knows the kind of language to use to get our attention, they needed their emotions stirred.

The point Jesus is trying to make is that their condition has become serious enough to warrant a warning!

Rev 2:19 "I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

God however is sensitive to not overwhelm them with correction, so He begins with praise in order to arouse their passions to want to do right first!

He begins with their strong points:

a. Their deeds: they were well known for their passion in service!

These were not cold hearted people, they could and were easily moved emotionally to feel the needs of others.

They were not indifferent to other people, as is true with many people!

They had a string of wonderful responses to difficult circumstances and a reputation as caring and loving people!

Their "deeds" were not lacking because their motivation and passion were not lacking!

Show me people who are passionate about anything and I will show you a successful cause!

Motivated people are the ones who change the world (note* -- good or bad!)

God clearly states that their record indicates an INCREASING of works through the years unlike Ephesus whose works had decreased from lack of passion.

This was very much a PENTECOSTAL Church with passionate worship and work!

If the Church hadn't been they would have found it hard to reach their community!

Rev 2:20 "But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead My servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

Rev 2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

Rev 2:22 "Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.

Rev 2:23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

But I have this complaint against you.

All was not well! Passion needs careful monitoring to keep it moving in the right direction.

Their passion for people had actually created a interesting problem, loving sinners created a toleration toward sinners who were bent on their destruction!

They had come to tolerate a woman leader here called symbolically "Jezebel"

It is unlikely that this was the woman's real name, not many Jews would have honored the birth of a daughter with a name like this!

It was not so much that this leader was a woman, Lydia had played a similar role in this Church's establishing, it was the direction this woman had taken them in her leadership!

Jezebel In the Old Testament: She was Ahab's wife who encouraged Israel to be passionate followers of Baal and to be passionate against the True God!

She took whatever pleased her, even killing a man named Naboth just to give his vineyard to her whiney husband Ahab.

Her passion was pleasure, her own!!! A high price would be put on anyone that took away her pleasure.

The teaching this woman had started in this Church was very simple:

To learn the limits of Satan's powers they were suppose to go out and experience as much sin as possible, unhealthy knowledge was the goal, but through undisciplined passion!

She encouraged the Christians to participate at the local temples with the feasts celebrating demons so the people in town would identify with them, and by this build relationships with them.

She told them not to worry what they do with their bodies as long as they keep their heart right, so entrapping many of them to wicked habits that they later couldn't break!

Satan still uses this lie today:

You can drink as much as you want, you won't become an alcoholic!

You can break God's laws of morality by sleeping around and it won't hurt you as long as you really love the person! (what a joke!)

First seek your own happiness then you can help others be happy!

This stuff is from the PIT OF HELL! SATAN IS A LIAR! You can't live on both sides!

This "Jezebel" and her teaching is very much alive today!

Today we have teaching that all "normal" people have sex outside of marriage, that it is o.k.

That we need to have "fun" in life, and just throw aside God's laws in the process!

Christians are falling for this mentality ... ignoring sin in their lives!

We excuse sin by telling ourselves, "these passions are normal.. we can't help it!"

Passion directed properly is wonderful, it is a gift from God, but used against God's teaching it is a death trap!

Watch out for Satan's seductions!

When passion becomes more important than what's right, we are on dangerous ground!

When the Church cannot grow without entertainment that tickles the passions in us, we are running close to sensationalism!

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't worship in a passionless Church, but when I can't feel good about God or myself without an emotional high, I am in trouble!

When I judge others based on emotions or myself I'm heading for trouble!

When I judge God on the basis of what I feel or don't feel I'm in trouble!

When we will only do what we are moved to do, not do what we know is right to do, we are in trouble!

The bed of suffering mentioned here is simply the consequences of living by emotions alone with no thought about consequences of right and wrong, this will lead to severe consequences in this life!

WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LIVE BY EMOTIONS ALONE!

Sensationalism will not build the Kingdom of God ... spirituality will!

It is easier to live by feelings than by faith but not wiser!

Rev 2:24 "But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you

Rev 2:25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.

Rev 2:26 To all who are victorious, who obey Me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.

Rev 2:27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.

Rev 2:28 They will have the same authority I received from My Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

Rev 2:29 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches.

This was the message to those who were not just driven emotionally!

They were asked to keep on the right path where they were at, God asked no greater burden from them!

God was asking them to NOT TO SELL OUT!

HOW LIKE MANY IN THE WORLD TODAY, THEY SELL THEIR BODIES AND THEIR SOULS FOR SOME IMMEDIATE PLEASURE and lose out on a precious gift called SALVATION and eternal life!

These saints were not unemotional, but they had their emotions guided by the clear teaching of God's Word.

So, God is not against emotions, but they must be connected to truth!

In fact, God adds nothing to them because they had both!

They were to hold on "until He comes" a promise of something better to come!

The idea here is endurance: “who obey Me to the very end”

The promise is that they will RULE! They will rule the nations

Those whose emotions serve them will rule, those who are slaves to their emotions will be ruled over!

Then an interesting promise by God is made in verse 28: "I will also give him the morning star"

This is an obvious reference to Jesus!

The promise is to receive Christ for all eternity, a great reward for keeping in check their emotions now!

"He that has an ear.. let him hear what the Spirit says!"