I'd like to contrast two historical figures, Lot the nephew of Abraham, and Jacob the son of Isaac. One leads to disaster, one leads to overcoming. The question you should ask yourself is, which path am I on today?
From James Petterson's One Year Book: "He left his city along the Euphrates River and headed north with his uncle. They crossed Iraq into Syria, and then Uncle Abe’s new God called them to move on to the land of promise. But high desert country could not sustain both the uncle’s and the nephew’s herds in the same place. After their herdsmen fought over grazing rights, they decided to split.
When his nephew chose the lush plains east of the Jordan River, Uncle Abe gasped. The cities of that region were cesspools of depravity: demonic gods, infant sacrifice, unthinkable perversions, and horrific cruelty. But Lot could only see grazing lands that would fatten his herds and markets that would fatten his wallet. The Genesis account says that he “pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12, KJV). In short, Lot kept his family outside that wicked city, but placed his tent in such a way that his wife and daughters were able to see its bright lights. Over time they were seduced from a distance. They pestered Lot to move them into Sodom until he finally acquiesced to their pressure. Eventually, Abraham’s nephew became a member of the city council. But his business interests caused him to keep his mouth shut in the face of evil, even as his wife and daughters abandoned Uncle Abraham’s God for the pleasures of Sodom.
Then angels appeared with a warning: judgment was coming, and Lot’s family must flee immediately. The angels literally dragged the reluctant family away from Sodom and Gomorrah. No one knows whether the region was hit by a meteorite or an earthquake, but huge fissures opened, and methane gasses spewed out in geysers of hot fire and liquefied salt, raining down a holocaust that turned sand into glass balls and stones into charred lumps. Lot and his daughters ran into the mountains to the east, but his wife couldn’t tear herself away from the cities she loved. Liquefied salt washed over her, instantly encasing her so that she became a pillar of salt.
The worst was yet to come for Lot. As his two daughters cowered in the mountains above, they must have thought the whole world had been destroyed. They figured that their daddy was the only man left on the planet. So they got him drunk and took turns seducing him. Could the righteous man, who pitched his tents toward Sodom, have sunk any lower than incest? His sons became the progenitors of the Ammonite and Moabite nations, taking on the immoralities that Lot’s daughters had picked up in Sodom. Lot’s tale is the sad story of a man who lost his place in the family of Abraham, then his own family, and finally his legacy. His amazingly sad story warns us that a life of small compromises eventually leads to a tipping point and a plunge into catastrophe. We would do well to remember Lot and something Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
Sow a thought, you will reap an action; sow an act, you will reap a habit; sow a habit, you will reap a character; sow a character, you will reap a destiny."
"Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." -Genesis 4:7
Lots story went all wrong. Though perhaps in the end, Lot gave his life to God, and was saved. We don't know for certain,
but I think we’ll see today that the church in Thyatira was being offered this course, of slow compromise, leading to bigger compromise. But, they were also being offered a path to righteousness.
It reminds me of the account of Jacob. He was a manipulator, plotting with his mother to steal the first born role from his brother. God was pursuing him all his life. And he fled from God. But, then one day Jacob, fleeing from his brother, encountered a staircase, in a dream, leading up to heaven. And he was astonished.
Later, he would wrestle with God, all night, perhaps wrestling between pride and obedience to God, and finally God asked Him, what is your name? Jacob, means deceiver. Jacob admitted what he was. And God then made a great nation out of Jacob. He became who he was always meant to be, a hero. But he had to admit, ask forgiveness, and repent, to become who he was meant to be, a hero.
Jacob overcame himself, his own desires, his own selfishness, and ego, and manipulations, and became a man dedicated to God. He overcame.
We'll see that these two paths, that of Lot, or Jacob, was before the church in Thyatira. Jesus gives them this message.
Revelation 2:18-29: “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
“The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like fine brass, says these things: I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and that your last works are more than the first.
“But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, but she did not repent. 22 Look! I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will put her children to death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the hearts and minds. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known what some call the ‘depths of Satan,’ I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold firmly what you have until I come.
26 “To him who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, I will give authority over the nations—27 He ‘shall rule them with a rod of iron; like the vessels of a potter they shall be broken in pieces’ even as I myself have received authority from My Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
In any scripture portion the challenge is two-fold, first we have to understand what the words written down meant to the original audience. The second challenge then is to take the words and understand how they apply to us today for us.
You see pictures of the ruins and remains of Thyatira on the screen. Located in the bustling town today of Akhisar, Turkey.
So we consider the context of this letter. Thyatira was a small town community. It wasn’t like Pergamum or Ephesus. It was a smaller city. It was a city known for the production of textiles, and of bright colors like reds and purples.
It was also known for blacksmiths, bronze smiths, silversmiths, and there were guilds, labor unions in the area that held a great influence in the area.
Worship of Apollo was common in the area as well. Apollo in the Greek mythology was considered the “son of Zeus” so the son of the gods. So we begin to understand why Jesus spoke this way to the people.
The church in Thyatira would’ve been challenged to worship Apollo along with the rest, and if they didn’t many of them lost their jobs in the guilds.
Jesus starts the letter by saying: “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like fine brass, says these things: I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and that your last works are more than the first.” –Revelation 2:18-19
God lists the following characteristics which please Him: Love, service, faith, patience, and persistence.
This is our first point today, here's how to do it right!
They even have Greater works than before – they were building on past victories.
Would God say the same of you, looking at your past and present? What about your future? Do you have plans to build on past victories?
Next Jesus says: “But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, but she did not repent.” –Revelation 2:20-21
Point Two: Tolerating evil is a slippery slope (you permit)
Notice God’s generosity, he gives Jezebel time to repent.
Who is Jezebel? In the Old Testament, she was the wife to Ahab, the single most corrupt king of Israel. Jezebel was constantly influencing Ahab toward evil. He lead Ahab to worship Baal. After Elijah's victory at Mt. Carmel, she threatened to kill Elijah. Jezebel led the nation astray, through her influence over Ahab, but her end was terrible, she was finally defeated, and killed by her own slaves.
So you had a church in Thyatira that was tolerating a false teacher in their midst, allowing evil in their midst.
Tolerance for evil: We do this in America. We tolerate so much evil. Because we think it makes us “tolerant” and “accepting” and “inclusive.” We had been in America in the late 1800s fairly exclusive, but slowly we became more and more inclusive to other religions, more and more inclusive to ideologies, more and more inclusive to different lifestyles, and so tolerant and open that we allow just about anything in our country. And we thought to ourselves, look at us, so tolerant, so open, so considerate of other perspectives, which sounds good, looks good on paper, but then slowly, you start to see the foundations of the society crumbling, you see social norms being changed, you see different philosophies taking over the minds of young people, and pretty soon the country is a big mess, because there is no shared philosophy of life. Everything becomes so fragmented it's impossible to hold together.
For a country, we want freedom and liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of personal autonomy.
It's different in the body of Christ. Yes, we have freedom, liberty, free speech and so on, but, we can't allow false teachers to work their way in. False teachers must be apposed, and removed if necessary.
Next, the Lord says: “Look! I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will put her children to death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the hearts and minds. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.” –Revelation 2:22-23
Point three: God is the one who searches hearts and minds.
God knows our thoughts, our emotions, our actions. He cares about all these things. And if we slip into sin, he wants us to repent quickly, and stay free.
For those who refuse to repent, they will often go off into “great tribulation” a time where they enter sorrows and pains and difficulties, and they’re brought low again, to teach them to repent.
It’s a cycle I’ve seen play out in peoples lives. As they resist God’s leading, he begins to cycle them through sorrows, to bring them to humility again, so they may repent.
He knows our hearts and minds ,and he tests us. To make us beautiful, like gold.
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known what some call the ‘depths of Satan,’ I will put on you no other burden. But hold firmly what you have until I come.” –Revelation 2:24-25
Point four, hold firmly to the end. Don’t go off into empty philosophies which are just the deep things of Satan. Instead, stand firm.
Stay true. No other burdens are required. Just stand firm to the end. Don't give up! Keep going, all the way to the end. All your life.
“To him who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, I will give authority over the nations—He ‘shall rule them with a rod of iron; like the vessels of a potter they shall be broken in pieces’ even as I myself 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.” –Revelation 2:26-29
And last portion, point number five is the reward for the overcomer.
Just like each letter to the churches, Jesus concludes it with rewards in heaven for those who stand firm to the end.
I will give authority he says. The morning star is a gift for those who stand firm. Authority, power, dominion. We Christians have little power in this world, from a worldly perspective, but, the word says we’ll share in the authority of Christ.
