Exposing The Jezebel Spirit Series

Exposing the Jezebel Spirit

The 7 Churches of Revelation- Thyatira

CCCAG 9-8-24

-Scripture- Rev 2:18-29

Introduction

Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of traditions. A lot of it was because we lived in the Southeast corner of Wisconsin, and the family was from the northwest. Before they improved the interstates and local highways, it took over 8 hours to travel from Kenosha to Hayward or Spooner, so we didn’t get to “go home” a lot, except for one time a year-

Gun deer hunting season, which also coincided with Thanksgiving. We’d all pack the car, and then they’d find room for us kids in between the luggage, and we headed out.

The men would hunt during the day, and we’d watch TV at night.

One of the traditions we had was to watch the yearly broadcast of a very old movie, “The Wizard of Oz”.

It turned 85 years old this year- they shot that in 1939.

Has anyone not seen that movie? If so, spoiler alert coming.

It’s a movie about a young woman named Dorothy who is caught up in a Kansas tornado and carried to the magical land of Oz. She meets three people along the way, and a wicked witch, and she has to find the Wizard that rules over Oz to see if he can help her get home.

After a series of adventures and defeating the wicked witch, they finally come upon the Wizard.

They enter the room and there is a great amount of noise and smoke, and a image of the Wizard appears talking in a very loud deep voice. Suddenly, Dorothy’s dog Toto pulls aside a curtain, revealing a man operating a bunch of special effects to make himself look powerful, but in reality, his so-called powers are nothing but smoke and mirrors to intimidate everyone and make them believe he is all-powerful.

We will discover that like the Wizard of Oz, there is a being that wants to deceive us into thinking he is also all-powerful, and that his way is the right way as we talk about the church at Thyatira.

Scripture for today-

Rev 2:18-29 (CSB) “Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze: (19) I know your works?—?your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. (20) But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. (21) I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. (22) Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works, (23) I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works. (24) I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known “the so-called secrets of Satan” —?as they say?—?I am not putting any other burden on you. (25) Only hold on to what you have until I come. (26) The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations?— (27) and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery — (28) just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. (29) “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Prayer

The letter to the church of Thyatira marks the 4th church in Revelation that we have looked at in this series, and it has a few very deep and very profound truths for us to discover.

Let’s start with a very quick background on the city of Thyatira

Thyatira was a city known for it’s fashion and clothing, kind of like the Paris or Milan of the ancient world. Most of its trade came from its various shops that sold some of the finest clothing ever made at that time. It was also one of the few places in the ancient world that was able to pull off making purple dye.

Some bible commentators say that the purple outer robe Jesus wore during his last days on earth could have been made in Thyatira and was so valuable that the soldiers cast lots at the foot of the cross to see who would win such a treasure.