I want you to think about your spiritual life for a moment. How would you rank your spiritual life? Is it backsliding? Is it stagnant? Or is it growing? We're going to again use the Book of Revelation and a letter that Jesus wrote to the church in Thyatira to examine our own spiritual purity and maturity. This is a warning to all of us today to check our hearts.
Warnings come to us in a number of ways. Some fall into the category of obvious or unnecessary. For example, do we really need a printed warning telling us not to use a hair dryer in the shower? Some warnings come with a sigh of relief. You will understand this one if instead of a speeding ticket, a police officer ever let you go with a warning. Some warnings catch our attention immediately. When the highway sign says, bridge out ahead, or the doctor tells you your current health habits are leading to heart disease, we certainly change directions, or at least we should.
How seriously we take these warnings can also depend on who is giving us the warning. We may not take it very seriously if the warning comes from a neighbor about our health, but if it's our doctor, we listen more carefully. Of course, when a warning comes from God himself, we should definitely sit up and take notice. That was the experience of the church in Thyatira. They needed a change of course, and Jesus warned them what would happen if they failed to change. Let's take heed of this warning ourself today.
Prayer.
Thyatira was not a large city in comparison with the other cities Jesus addressed in Revelation 2-3. It was poorly defended and often overrun by invading groups, but what Thyatira had going for it was its variety of merchants and manufacturing trades. It's probably best known for its purple cloth - the same purple cloth that Lydia sold in Acts 16:14, which is still produced and sold in that area today. Like the city, the church and Thyatira was small, but it was an active Church.
Once again, Jesus knew of the good works in this church but he also had some concerns as well. Read Revelation 2:18-19 - “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.”
Notice that Jesus first addresses the church by identify Himself as the son of God (v. 18). So, Jesus was stressing to them His deity. But He also described Himself as a warrior whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze.
What this is saying in symbolism is that, as the son of God, Jesus' eyes are able to pierce through any facade that people put up and get right to the heart of what is happening - that's what Jesus did in this letter. With feet like fine bronze - a term the local bronze workers would have identified with - Jesus is able to trample any sin under his mighty foot.
After Jesus stresses His authority and power, He first commends the believers for their love, faithfulness, service, and endurance (v.19). He told them that their current works, those things they were doing to expand the kingdom of God, were greater than the first things they did. In other words, their love and faithfulness were growing, and their service and endurance were increasing!
This church’s love wasn't just the casual expression of love we often use to describe our love for certain foods. It was agape love, a selfless Love that spoke highly of what these believers had for Christ. As a result, they lived out those actions to individuals around them. Love was the motivation behind their service, just as they're faithfulness was the motivation behind their endurance.
When we have the same kind of love for Christ these believers had, others are going to see it through our service to Him in every aspect of our lives. We would be wise to learn from this early Church of the ways they loved and served others. They had great faith and they kept on growing in that faith. What this should tell us is that a growing faith is evidenced in our actions. You can't fake caring for someone. If you care, it shows. But if you don’t care, that shows, too.
Now that Jesus has commended the church, He continues in Revelation 2:20-21 – “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.” In spite of all the things Jesus just commended these believers for, they were tolerating immorality and idolatry in the church.
The key player behind these sins was a woman Jesus identified by the name Jezebel, which was likely not her name but more of a reflection of her character. This woman was behaving just like wicked Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament who actively promoted the worship of Baal among God's people (1 Kings 16:31).
Jezebel called herself a prophetess, one who spoke for God. But she was spreading false teachings that were contrary to God's word. Jesus says that in His grace, He gave her time to repent (v. 21), but she refused to do so. So, His judgment was coming against her - and it would be severe. But Jesus’ condemnation wasn't just against the false prophetess Jezebel. His condemnation was also against those in the church at Thyatira who had tolerated her teachings.
Those teachings included the belief that it was acceptable for Christians to indulge in sexual immorality and idolatry. Unbelievers in Thyatira thought immorality and idolatry were acceptable practices, and her teaching communicated that it would be okay for God's people, too. So, the church was tolerating the message that a Christian could serve God and still do things that were contrary to his word and purpose.
Now if we think about it, aren't we encouraged today to tolerate a lot of things that go against the clear teaching of God's word? Because of that, many churches today could be condemned for the same thing for which the church at Thyatira had been condemned.
Some Churches today allow teachings that contradict God's word when it comes to sexual immorality and idolatry. Many teach, for example, that homosexuality is okay. Others teach that wealth is a sign of God's blessing, so it's acceptable to chase after as many material possessions as possible. God's word is our standard. In it, God outlines what is pure and worthy of our pursuit and what is unrighteous.
Revelation 2:22-23 – “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.”
These two verses should remind us that God is the ultimate judge of our hearts and minds and that there will come a day when we all will have to stand before Him and be judged for what we have done. The church at Thyatira was allowing immorality and false teaching to persist. When God's judgment comes against such sins like these, and it will, it sends a clear message to others. In this message from Jesus, it's clear the message was for other churches as seen in verse 23 when it says then all the churches will know.
As Christians, we belong completely to God, who is a just God. He is the one who will judge our minds, as well as our hearts. He's the one who knows everything we think and sees everything we do. That's scary, isn't it? It is by our choices and discernment that we will receive our rewards or our condemnation. As Christians, we shouldn't allow immorality or idolatry anywhere near the church. We should always be working towards being recipients of God's rewards and not his condemnation.
If you fall into this category, and most all of us do, we need to ask God to reveal to us any sin that we might not have confessed. Then simply confess it to God and repent today. That means stop doing what you were doing, turn from the old way, and turn to God. We are very fortunate that we serve a God who will forgive us of our sins if we just ask.
Sometimes it might be difficult to discern between truth and false teachings. I can tell you that reading your Bible is a good way to equip yourself to identify truth from deception.
Revelation 2: 24-25 – “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.”
Jesus told the believers at Thyatira to hold on to the truth and not give in to the lies and deceptions of Satan. It wasn't just a command for that day or the next week. He told them to continue holding on until He comes again and returns to earth.
We in the church today need to listen to that same message. We are to stand strong. We are to hold on to the truth regardless of what the popular opinion is or what is perceived as being politically correct. We’re to remain faithful until the day Jesus calls us to our eternal home with him. You might remember what Paul said in 2 Timothy 2: 15 – “Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.”
So, again, how do we avoid the deception of a Jezebel? We have to stick to the gospel. We have to pray “Lead us not into temptation.” We have to remain in God's Word. His word is truth and it's by His word that we can discern what is not true.
And I am talking about more than just casually reading the Scripture. We need to be diligent in our study of God's word to ensure that we are correctly teaching the word of truth. You see, Satan is the master deceiver and his lies can sound believable. But anything that veers away from God's word is not from God. And if it is not from God, if it is apart from Jesus, then we will be living in spiritual darkness.
Revelation 2: 26-29 – “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.”
So, Jesus promises two things to the church at Thyatira. If we stay the course and hold on to the truth of Christ, Jesus says he will give us authority over the nations. The Bible tells us that God has given Christ the ultimate authority over all the nations, and He will share this rule with those who persevere and overcome. But He also promises the morning Star.
We know from astronomy that Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Moon. The planet is often called “The morning Star” because we can see it right before the sun rises, signaling the new day ahead.
But the true morning Star is Christ Himself. We are told that in Revelation 22:16 – “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the Root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
He is the morning star that appears the brightest just before the dawn, when the night is the darkest. That means the greatest thing Christ promises to give us is Himself. Nothing is greater - and we need nothing more - than a personal, abiding relationship with Jesus Himself.
And this, my friends, is the message that our world needs to hear. As dark as our world is today, we can still remain faithful to Christ and reflect the light of Him to those around us. We have to remain faithful to the gospel of Christ and to share it faithfully with those who are walking in darkness. We have to stay pure in the doctrines and beliefs that the Bible teaches us.
In our world today, many are doubting God and turning away from Him. So how can we strengthen our faith and remain faithful? We only need to remember that Christ will one day return and rid this world of all sin, immorality, and suffering. That truth alone should strengthen us until the day He returns.
Do you know Him? Have you accepted Him? You can by simply asking Jesus to come into your heart and change you. Won’t you at least try my Jesus? I know you’ll like Him. You’ll never regret becoming His friend. You can do this right now as we pray.
