“Revelation 2:18-29”

Friday, December 01, 2017

“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: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 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. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 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. 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. 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. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 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; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Less is known about the city of Thyatira than any of the other seven churches of Asia, but even so, Jesus had more to say to and about the brethren there than He did any of the other six churches He wrote to. The most famous resident of that city to Bible students is the first recorded convert in Europe. “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.’” (Acts 16:14-15).

The Lord heaped some of the most highly favorable praises upon the Thyatiran Christians that anyone could ever hope to receive. They excelled at “deeds” of “love,” they were faithful in their “service” to God and brother, and they had the “perseverance” to withstand trials and turmoil with their faith in tact (verse 19). And, much more than merely holding their own, they seemed to be growing spiritually by leaps and bounds! Jesus said to them, “your deeds of late are greater than at first”! Surely there was no way for the Lord to be critical of such outstanding brethren as these, right? Well, He did have one thing “against” them, and it was a pretty huge issue.

They tolerated “the woman Jezebel” (verse 20). Just as king Ahab’s evil wife stirred his heart up to do evil (1 Kings 21:25), a “sister” in the church at Thyatira influenced the brethren there to engage in the prevailing customs of the wicked culture. And, instead of correcting her, the members and leaders of the church “tolerated” her. They compromised their faithfulness and their spiritual standing with God by allowing this woman to persuade some of the brethren to “commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” “Refusal to join in these feasts often meant a man would lose his job, his trade, and become an outcast.” (Harkrider) She taught the brethren to go along in order to get along with the wicked world, and the brethren went along with her teaching in order to not cause a ruckus.

A faithful church of Jesus Christ must enforce God’s disciplinary measures against unruly brethren and openly sinful apostates in order to fulfill its purpose, maintain its purity and recover the straying. The Apostle Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, instructed God’s people how to deal with brethren who engage in blatant immorality in the Lord’s church. “In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus… 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… Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) Consider also what Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:6. We simply cannot socialize with erring brothers or sisters in Christ, or turn a blind eye to their transgressions, and then hope and pray that a broken and contrite heart will lead them to the repentance and transformation that pleases God (Psalm 51:17).

God calls us to repentance, and He gives us “time to repent” (verse 21). But he does not give us unlimited time, and eventually we will reap the consequences of the “wild oats” that we sow (Galatians 6:7-8). Sooner or later the pursuit of pleasure will become “the bed of sickness” and the pain of “great tribulation” (verse 22). “The Lord searches the minds and the hearts” (verse 23), and nothing we do can be hidden from His sight, and He will give to each one of us according to our deeds.

As to the situation in Thyatira: “The Lord recognized their teaching for what it is—of Satan. He had called certain jews a ‘synagogue of Satan’ (2:9), emperor worship the throne of Satan (2:13), and now He charges the teachings of Jezebel and her followers as being ‘the deep things of Satan.’” (Hailey) Instead of pursuing pleasures of the world by plunging headlong into the depths of Satan, we should focus our hearts on delving into “the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10), as revealed by His Holy Spirit through His perfect word. If we keep the Lord’s deeds to the end (verse 26), He will give us “the Morning Star” (verse 28). “As the morning star signals the beginning of light as a new day dawns, so faithful saints are promised the morning of victory through Christ when the dark night of persecution and temptation is over (22:16).” (Harkrider)

Please read Revelation 3:1-6 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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