Message To The Church Of Thyatira

The book of Revelation is not a book that someone would write if they could or could write if they would. It's the only book in the Bible right out the gate in chapter 1 verse 3 that promises a blessing to everybody who reads it, hears it, and takes to heart what is written in it. Now we've been looking at the seven letters to the seven churches over the past few messages that I've preached.

These seven letters were not private letters to each church. Instead, they were to be shared and read amongst all the churches to serve as either a commendation or a warning to everyone. It's always nice to learn from others' successes or failures.

Those of you who grew up with siblings know the advantages of that, especially if you were not the eldest. My younger brother and sister learned quickly to adjust their future behavior after seeing me fall under the wroth and wrought of my mother. Unlike most kids, I actually learned the three R's before I went to school.

Wroth, wrought, and go to your room. As individuals go, so go churches. We can all learn from the successes or mistakes of others.

And each one of these seven letters begins with the words, I know. The Lord knows everything about us. There's no need to pretend or hide because the Lord knows us better than we even know ourselves.

Now no church is perfect. Every church has their strong points, but there's always areas that can be changed or improved. We've been looking at these seven churches in Asia Minor on the map behind me.

You'll see we've covered the first four. Ephesus, they had lots of good deeds. They had hard work and they persevered.

They wouldn't tolerate wicked men. That's the good news. The bad news was that they had forsaken their first love.

They didn't lose their first love, as we often hear someone saying. They lost, they left their first love and they changed compassion into compulsion. They moved from devotion to duty.

They moved from love to legalism. And the Lord just said, I want you to remember, return, and repent. Remember, repent, and return to me.

Go back to that first love. Church of Smyrna was afflicted and poor. They were slandered.

Some were put in prison, yet they were one of only two churches out of the seven that were not indicted about anything. We came to Pergamum last time I spoke, and although Satan had his throne there, they did not renounce their faith in him. And Satan, in a way to attack them, knowing that as Christians we cannot be cursed, he had some of them fallen to sin.

The sin of Balaam, just like Balaam did in the Old Testament. He got those people to sin so that the anger and discipline of God would fall on that church and ultimately wipe them out if they did not repent of their sins. Now today we come to the church of Thyatira, and I'm going to read through the first few verses, and then I want to pause this message and drill down and talk specifically about what idolatry looks like today, and then go back and finish the conclusion with the final verses.

But to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these are the words of the Son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Now right off the bat we have a don't mess with me statement from the Lord. Jesus is described here as having eyes of blazing fire.

In other words, he has a piercing look, laser vision as it were, to see through lies and deception and hypocrisy and expose the very secrets of a man's heart. In Psalm 90 verse 8 we read these words, you have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. That's why it's easy to come to the Lord and repent.

You know why? He already knows, right? When someone already knows it's easy to fess up, right? He sets our secret sins in the light of his presence. We continue, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Bronze here symbolizes purity, and with these holy feet Jesus is ready to trample out all the impurity in this church.

What an introduction to a letter. Already some of the congregants had a lump in their throats because they feared what was coming. But before the Lord drops the hammer, he uses an approach that we should all practice when confronting a problem in someone else's life.

In dealing with these churches that needed correction, the Lord always begins with the positive and then deals with the negative. Here's the positive verse 19, I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you're now doing more than you did at first. So far so good.

And now the negative verse 20, nevertheless I have this against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

In that congregation there was a woman referred to as Jezebel. Now that was probably not her real name, but because her actions were similar to Queen Jezebel's in the Old Testament, she is given this name by the Lord. Now the sin of Jezebel in the Old Testament was encouraging the Israelites to worship foreign gods, namely Baal and Ashtoreth among others.

But the requirement of these gods for their worship was among other wickednesses, getting involved in ritual prostitution. It was taught that committing immorality with one of the many temple prostitutes was the means of having intimacy with that pagan god. And so this woman was encouraging church members to participate in sexual immorality at the many feasts hosted for various gods in the city of Thyatira.

Now this sounds like a real head slapper and almost unbelievable that it could take place in a church, until you understand some of the background on the city of Thyatira. Thyatira was home to a number of trades. There were workers guilds for many different types of artisans.

Those who worked with leather had their own guild. Garments and dyers of linen, purple linen specifically, like Lydia in Acts 16. She was a seller of purple cloth.

She was from the city of Thyatira. She was more than likely part of a guild. She might have even been a satellite office for one of those guilds.

There were guilds for potters, bakers, workers of brawn, tanners of leather, and slave dealers, just to name a few. And these guilds would be the equivalent of our labor unions today. But Christians in that city faced a dilemma.

In order to be employed or to run your own business, you had to be a member of your own specific guild. And each guild had its own false god, which was worshipped at regular meetings where meat sacrifice to idols was served and people indulged in sexual immorality. Now there's nothing wrong with being part of a guild back then or a labor union today or any other kind of membership we can have.

But back then the challenge lay in the fact that if you did not attend one of these meetings and worship like the rest of your tradesmen, you'd be ostracized and possibly even lose your job or your business. And so this woman, Jezebel, was teaching people in the church that it was okay to commit immorality and eat the food offered to the guild gods, especially if it meant keeping your job. Her message was simple, go along to get along.

And I think what strikes me most in this passage is not the immorality and the idolatry of certain members of the congregation, but God's patience and willingness to not discipline them immediately for their godless actions. Verse 21, I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she's unwilling. We don't know how much time the Lord had given Jezebel and her followers to repent, but there's a good chance that this had been going on for some time, possibly even a few years.

And here's the life lesson, never assume that God's patience means we have God's permission to keep living the way we do. Slide 22, so I will cast her on a bed of suffering. Now there seems to be a bit of irony in here.

God is saying, Jezebel, you like beds so much, I'm going to cast you onto a bed, but it's going to be a bed minus your lovers. The words of sickness that are italicized there actually don't appear in the Greek. It literally says in the Greek, so I will cast her on a bed.

Translators added the words of suffering as conjecture to try to make sense of that. However, in light of Jezebel's unwillingness to repent, it's likely that this bed refers to the torment of hell which awaits those who refuse to repent of their sins while on this earth. This is what the Lord was speaking about in Isaiah 50.

It's a messianic prophecy if you read that whole chapter. And there He warned the Israelites who had rejected the Messiah and were living by their own rules. And He warned them by saying these words, and I quote from Isaiah 50 verse 11, this is what you shall receive from My hand.

You will lie down in torment. It's the same sense as what the Lord is talking here about in Revelation 2. Verse 22 continues. Let me just keep that.

Verse 22 continues, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely until they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Now the moral of the story is this. God is patient, but just because He has us on a long leash doesn't mean He won't eventually yank that chain and lay us flat on our backs if we don't hear His word and come back to Him in repentance. Verse 24, now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets, I will not impose any other burden on you.

We don't know what those deep secrets of Satan were, but suffice it is to say that in every age there is forbidden knowledge that Christians have access to, more so today than ever before. Some of that forbidden knowledge is actually true, but some of it is pure deception from Satan himself. And I just want to warn you, I've warned before, but let me mention this again, to warn you about books and online teachings that's available regarding deliverance ministry and the role and activities of demons in people's lives and in this world today.

Now the scripture talks enough about this and spiritual warfare, etc., in so much that we have, as scripture says, we have everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. However, many of these books and seminars provide knowledge that has not come from the Bible, but has come through information gleaned by people talking directly with possessed people to demons residing in those who are possessed or interviewing those in the occult. The same applies to the study of aliens and UFOs.

You say, Mark, do you believe in these phenomenon? Yes, I believe that Satan masquerades as an angel of light according to 2 Corinthians 13, 14, and that just as angels sent from heaven can appear to people in physical form to help Christians according to even Hebrews 1, 14 alludes to, are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit eternal life? I have spoken firsthand to people, not hearsay, who have told me that angels came out of nowhere to help them, to save their lives, and then disappeared when they looked around to see where they were. Many stories like this, I don't have time to talk about that from the pulpit this morning, but just as angels can appear in physical form, so demons can appear as any kind of entities they want, and they appear to deceive and instill fear and false beliefs in the unsaved, and they even have conversations with them, supposedly coming from spacecrafts and that, and I'm not saying these people didn't see these things. I am saying that Satan, there is another dimension, and that is secret knowledge, and there are certain things we should not delve into, and I've heard people on podcasts and read with respect to these phenomenon saying that they have communicated directly with these entities, and then wrote down this forbidden knowledge which God never intended us to learn about.

So to be forewarned is to be forearmed. We need discernment. It's nothing wrong with having a general sense and idea of what's being said out there, but when we make it our goal to start studying these things, we have to get into areas of forbidden knowledge, and we have no reference point without the scripture, and the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29 29, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Verse 25 says, only hold on to what you have until I come. First Corinthians 4 6 says, do not go beyond what is written. We need to balance everything we hear with the Word of God, and those things that we can't, we need to say, Lord, some of these things are secret things, some are even forbidden knowledge.

I'm not going to go beyond just a general understanding of this, and I'm going to stick to your Word. Now before I conclude with the final verses of our passage, I'd like to talk about idolatry and how it pertains to us today. You know, for years, and possibly you've thought about this in the past too, that I always thought that idolatry had something to do with bowing down to worship, to idols, and images of wood, and gold, and silver, and whatnot, and I didn't think that Christians in the 21st century really struggled with that.

I figured that's a sin of the past, that's a sin of the Israelites and those foreign nations, but as we just read, it was a very real sin in some of the New Testament churches as well. Two of the seven churches, the church of Pergamum, which I just preached on, and the church of Thyatira today, both of these churches were indicted because of idolatry. And when you do the math, two out of seven, that's about 28.6% of the churches still struggled with idolatry.

And what we learn early on in the Bible is that man's propensity is to fall into idolatry. That's why the first two of the Ten Commandments deal with one, having no other gods before me, and secondly, not to make or bow down to them. And just as God's people in the Old Testament and New Testament fell into idolatry, so we, in our times, must constantly battle the temptation to fall into idolatry or to repent of it if we have.

Simply put, idolatry is a matter of the heart. In Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 3, here is proof of this. God is speaking and He said, Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces, should I let them inquire of me at all.

Here's a definition of idolatry, any desire, possession, or person that is more important to me than God. And the seeking of anything, pleasure or person, to give what only God can give. Now, our hearts can attach themselves to all kinds of things, even good things.

In Jeremiah 17 9, we read, the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? We don't even understand the ways that we can deceive ourselves. We can be idolaters at our heart.

I've been. I'm constantly asking Lord, am I making this an idol in my life? And sometimes I deceive myself and say no, and it's really a yes. And the Holy Spirit has to convict me to repent of that.

So let's look at a few examples, although there are limitless possibilities. As a matter of fact, every possibility of idolatry can be summarized under one term, the term self, which is better understood by another word, selfishness, which in other words, it's all about me, myself, and I. One of the first ones, and I'm sure you second guess this, is going to be money. Matthew 6 24, Jesus said, no one can serve two masters.

Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Now, as we know in Scripture, there's nothing wrong with money itself, because it's the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil.

It's the love of money. It's the desire. It's like Rockefeller once was asked, how much money is enough? And he said, just a little bit more.

So how much money do we really need to be happy? The Apostle Paul says, if we have food and clothing, that's enough. How much more? And it's the desire, and it's not just money, it's the things money can buy. It's just getting a little more, something that's just a little better.

Like, maybe the Lord says, be content with such things as you have. Be content with your house. Be content with that old jalopy you're driving.

I'm not saying, there's nothing wrong with getting a new house, a bigger house, a new car, better, I'm not saying. The issue is, it's a matter of the heart, and what could be wrong for me, because I am making this an idol in my heart, may be right for you. Do you understand that? This is where churches fall into legalism, because they say, what's right for me, has got to be right for you, and what's wrong for me, has got to be wrong for you.

And the issue is, no, it's in our hearts. Right? That's why I can't judge you for some of the things God has told me not to do. Because in my heart, I'll attach myself to it, and I can't do that.

In Colossians 3 verse 5, it proves that this is a matter of the heart, with respect to money, and wanting more, and more, and more, and better, and better. And as you get older, by the way, when you have lots, then you know what the idolatry becomes? Security, in my old age. Nothing wrong with security, but if in my heart, I am putting that, I need that security, I need a little bit better return on my investment, I need to do this, that, and the other thing.

All of a sudden, where your treasure is, what did Jesus say? There your heart will be also. Let me reverse that. Where your heart is, that's because of where your treasure is.

If you're always thinking about it, that has become an idol in your hearts. Colossians 3 verse 5, put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature. Sexual immorality, preach it.

Impurity, preach it. Lust, preach it. Evil desires, preach it.

And greed, which is idolatry. Greed, which is idolatry. Another word in the Greek is covetousness.

Sometimes it's used interchangeably in the New Testament. But to covet something. You know you can be a greedy person, and you can be the poorest person in this world.

If you're not content, if I'm not content with such things as God's given me, even if I have nothing, I'm poor as a church mouse, I can still be greedy. Do you understand? Because it's a matter of the heart. It's what's going on in the heart.

So moving on from money, let's talk about food. Philippians 3 verse 18, for as I have often told you before, and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction.

Their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. There it is, the mind.

It's a matter of the mind and the heart. What am I thinking about every day, every moment? What consumes my thoughts? What makes me happy? What makes me feel content? What makes me feel secure and good inside? We can eat to live, or we can live to eat. First Corinthians 10 31 says, so whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

And anything we take into our bodies can be an idol, as we depend on it to bring us comfort instead of the Lord. Food, alcohol, smoking, vaping, various drugs. These can become crutches that people lean on instead of depending on the Lord for their inner peace, strength, and a sound mind.

So not only can money and food become an idol, people can be idols. I think this is one of the biggest forms of idolatry, personally speaking, in the church today, worldwide. A boyfriend, or a girlfriend, a friend, a wife, a husband, a counselor, an authority figure, can be an idol in our lives if they keep us from obeying, or spending time with the Lord, or with his people, or keep us from trusting and depending in the Lord for our deepest needs.

Idolatry is us trying to gain our joy or fulfillment in anyone or anything outside of Jesus. Psalm 85 6 puts it this way, God asks the question, or the psalmist asks the question rather, will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you? We're not to find our joy and fulfillment in people. Why? Because like us they are sinners, and they will let us down.

And even if they don't sin against us, they do not have the capability of meeting the many needs of our souls. Here's a telltale sign that I'm a people idolater. People idolaters are often grumpy.

Husband or wife, could it be that you're grumpy because you're trying to find your happiness in what your spouse or kids say, or do, or don't say, or don't do? You're grumpy because they often don't meet up to your standard of perfection. If a person has grown up in a difficult, abusive, or perfectionistic home, it's not uncommon for them to mimic these patterns later on in their dealings with others in their own home, or work, or church. Subconsciously they view others through the same unaccepting lens and scrutiny that they were under growing up.

And just as their parents made an idol of them, trying to get some kind of fulfillment from their compliance to an annoying standard of perfection, so they likewise make idols of those around them, and the result is miserableness, both for them and for the people who have to put up with them. Now having said this, it is possible to have grown up in a loving, accepting home, yet we are still critical and harsh with others. If this is the case, then our sin is the sin of pride, which by the way, is still idolatry.

Because in 1st Samuel 15-23, we read these words, God says, arrogance is like the evil of idolatry. Pride and arrogance are like idolatry, because when we are judgmental towards others, we sit in the seat of Christ and set ourselves over them as if we were a god in their lives. And I often wonder if the Lord doesn't allow us to become disappointed in other people, our families, our church, or jobs, or school, or even our own progress spiritually to show us where we are really seeking our joy.

You know, since we're all sinners, no one can ever please us apart from the perfect Lord Jesus Christ Himself. I love Psalm 73-25, we read, whom am I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you. That's how we know we're free from idolatry.

When we get up in the morning, when we spend time with the Lord, Lord, there's nothing I desire more than you. You are my pearl of great price. Romans 1-25, that famous passage that talks about idolatry and God handing people over, it says, what's the summary? God says, here's how they fell into idolatry.

Listen to this, it's, I missed this, I never saw it until I was preparing this sermon. They worshipped and served, created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. The word rather than is the definition, it's the defining point, it's the point of demarcation, the point of departure from which we move from serving God into serving ourselves and others in idolatrous pursuits.

It's rather than. Jonah 2-8 says, those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Clinging to worthless idols, it's interesting, He doesn't list what they are because idols can literally be anything.

Now back to our passage, verse 26, to him who overcomes, overcomes what? Idolatry. And does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. Well, what does that mean? Authority over the nations is referring to the Millennial Kingdom, the thousand years on this earth where Christ will reign in Jerusalem and those of us who are with Him, who He brings to work to help Him during the Millennial Kingdom.

We will be given roles and responsibilities here on this earth, we are going to reign with Him. And proof of that is in the next verse, which is a direct quote from Psalm 2 verse 9, here it is in verse 27, He will rule them with an iron scepter, He will dash them to pieces like pottery, just as I have received authority from my Father. In other words, Jesus is saying here, just as I have been given authority by my Father to reign in the Millennial Kingdom, so I will give you authority to rule with me during that time as well.

Four times in Revelation, we read the promise that we will reign with Christ. Just looking at one of those verses is Revelation 5 10 and we read, you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth. Verse 28, I will also give Him the morning star.

Well, what is the morning star? Let's let Scripture interpret Scripture and I'm going to quote from Revelation chapter 22 16, Jesus says, I Jesus have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root to the offspring of David and the bright morning star. So here's the incentive for us overcoming idolatry in our lives.

One day we will not only be given a share in Christ's rule on the earth, we will be given a share of Christ Himself. I love the story in Genesis 15 verse 1 where God is speaking to Abram. Remember He promised him blessings, tremendous blessings for thousands of years.

And He says this in verse 1, do not be afraid Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward. In other words, Abram, your reward is not going to be all the possessions in the land that you'll have. Your great reward is me.

Can you imagine a marriage where a husband sends all kinds of gifts to his wife? Flowers and chocolates and nice clothes and a new car every year and spa gift certificates and did I mention chocolates? But imagine after all those gifts he's never home with her. Would any wife be satisfied with that kind of arrangement? Would not any wife prefer her husband's presence over all these possessions? And that's the point here. When we get to heaven and then reign with Jesus during the millennium, would we be happy to live in our beautiful mansion and enjoy the most beautiful of sights and sounds if we never saw Jesus? We would not.

Jesus is not just going to give us an eternal home and eternal blessings in heaven. He's going to give us the pearl of great price which is Himself, His presence, His love, His fellowship, His communion, His embrace. I want Him to hug me, to let me know that He's forgiven me for all my wickednesses.

We're going to walk with Him and talk with Him and He'll tell us that we are His own like that hymn says. It's not going to be about all the gifts. It will be about the giver of the gifts.

It will be about having the best friend of in the world for eternity. We will be given the morning star. Verse 29, he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

He who has an ear to hear, is that you? Let you hear, let me hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Has the Lord been speaking to any of us this morning? I love Psalm 103, 8 to 12 because it summarizes the love and patience of the Lord in situations like this. Remember Jesus wasn't talking to the heathen pagans out there.

He was talking to His church. And in verse 8, let me just read verses 8 to 12 of Psalm 103 in closing. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Amen and amen. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come to You in Jesus' name. We come to You like the prodigal son and say, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against You. I'm not worthy to be called not only a servant, but Your child.

And Lord, Your response was, You embraced them. You held Him. You forgave Him.

You blessed Him. You gave Him more than He could imagine, though He didn't deserve it. And that's us this morning, Lord.

Lord, we come and we lay down our idols in heart and home, whatever they might be. And we ask, Lord, that we would be able to say, Whom have I in heaven but You? And being with You, I desire nothing on the earth. Lord, fill our hearts with the love that You have for us.

And Lord, may everything else just pale in comparison to knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. Lord, do that in and through us. We love You.

Thank You so much. Lord, we just ask today as we leave, we would realize that You are our pearl of great price. I will never leave You.

I will never forsake You, says the Lord. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Bless us as we leave.

Bless us as we teach others and our families and approach them with the same love and mercy and compassion that You've had on us. For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who is not merciful. God, have mercy on us and may we show that same mercy towards others around us.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.