Thyatira--The Church Of Toleration And Compromise Series

THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION

THYATIRA—THE CHURCH OF TOLERATION AND COMPROMISE

TEXT: Revelation 2:18-29

Revelation 2:18-29 KJV And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; [19] I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. [20] Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. [21] And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. [22] Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. [23] And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. [24] But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. [25] But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. [26] And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: [27] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. [28] And I will give him the morning star. [29] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

I. INTRODUCTION—TOLERATION

-One of the key buzzwords of our world today is toleration. To be tolerant is one of the most highly prized goals of personal or self-actualization. . . or so the so-called academically and culturally elites are saying.

-We are to tolerate, to allow, to include, and to facilitate those who do not necessarily have the same ideas or beliefs that we may have. One of the definite things that we are to stay entirely away from is being judgmental or discerning. If you display any kind of thoughts or beliefs that would push back against any kind of sin, you are to be treated as a leper, a backwoods hillbilly that has never glimpsed the light of day.

-To even hint at the fact that Jesus is the only way to be saved is to be an extremist, a fundamentalist, or a radical. For that matter carnal spin doctors both inside and outside of the church are doing their best to make us more tolerant.

-They would make us believe that the church needs to be more inclusive, pluralistic, and broad-minded to such a degree as the most politically correct worldling out there.

-What does toleration do?

• It makes the church more worldly.

• It makes the church less doctrinal.

• It makes the church less confident in the Scriptures.

• It weakens the power of the Cross.

• It leads to the world loving the church instead of hating it as they did in the 1st Century.

• It will cause a church to become hungry for the things of the world.

• It minimizes sin.

• It reduces the great call that God has for holiness.

• It places an emphasis on material goals rather than spiritual goals.

-But there is also a great paradox to those politically and religiously correct pundits. . . they push for Christians to be tolerant and yet their intolerance toward Christianity knows no boundaries at all.

-That is why the homosexual agenda pushes against Christian bakers, florists, and photographers who refuse to make wedding cakes, provide flowers, and take pictures of their gatherings.

-You see those intolerant of Christianity wanting to remove the Ten Commandments from public properties, the Bible from a variety of public venues, and any expression of Christianity at all from every area of the public square.

-So would think that this concept is a new one but it is as old as the world, as old as humanity, and it was the problem of the church in Thyatira. They did everything in their power to tolerate the world. . . The KJV uses the word “sufferest” in Revelation 2:20 concerning Jezebel. Generally, when you see that word “suffer” in some areas of the Scriptures it can be understand as “allowed or tolerated.”

II. THYATIRA—THE CHURCH OF TOLERATION

-We come now to the fourth church along the postal route in Asia Minor. Pergamos was the northern-most of the seven cities and as the Roman road curved east, the downward southeast turn led to Thyatira.