The Church that Provoked Jesus
Revelation 2:18-29
June 19, 2016
I truly hope that the study of these churches
Has proven as valuable to you as it has to me.
Even now studying through them for the fourth time, I am amazed at how relevant and convicting the messages given to these churches continues to be.
And this morning is no different.
The message to the church at Thyatira
Is so RELEVANT and so TIMELY and so NEEDED.
But for this church I find it important to do a little THEOLOGICAL WORK
Before we get into the study of the church.
You are going to clearly see that
No church has angered Jesus like the church at Thyatira.
This is the church that gets to see the fire in His eyes.
• Jesus was heart-broken over Ephesus
• He was filled with pride regarding Smyrna
• He was concerned about Pergamum
BUT HE IS TICKED WITH THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA
Aside from the specifics that Jesus mentions
I THINK IT IMPORTANT THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHY.
Understanding the issue at Thyatira
Requires that you understand what it means to be saved.
I want to begin by reading:
Romans 6:15-23 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Without diving into the background too much, it is enough that you are aware that there was a group of people called the ANTINOMIANS
Who basically believed that grace was a license to sin.
Paul annihilates that notion here.
And reminds the Romans as to what salvation actually is.
Salvation is when God moves a sinner enslaved to sin
To the position of a son who is set free from sin
And enslaved to righteousness.
The best ever living illustration of this is found in John 11 when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Sinners are dead in sin
Jesus calls them out
And the expectation is that those to whom Jesus grants life will choose that life and not seek to return to the death that once held them captive.
The great imagery is found in the statement Jesus makes
Just after Lazarus steps out of the tomb.
John 11:44 “The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
That is a picture of salvation.
When we are lost we are literally slaves of sin.
• Now because sinners also crave sin, it doesn’t always feel like slavery, but that’s precisely what it is.
• It is a lifestyle of gratifying the flesh that leads to judgment, and sinners don’t realize that they are enslaved until it is too late.
The grace of God is that which opens our eyes to the danger
And then grants us deliverance through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
And the filling of God’s Holy Spirit.
This is what Paul was referring to in Romans 6.
You were set free from your slavery to sin, why in the world would you return to it?
AND IF WE HAD TIME we could continue on by walking through
Romans 7 and 8 where Paul describes the bondage he was in
And how Jesus finally set him free and made him alive.
• Paul describes how Jesus came and made Himself our sin offering so that we
might be set free.
• He then describes how God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us so that we would
no longer crave the evil things of this world and be lured back into slavery.
AND WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT
ALL OF THIS COMES WITH AN EXPECTATION FROM GOD.
Romans 8:12-14 “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
In short, God didn’t send His Son to die for you
And then send His Spirit to dwell in you
So that you could continue to live like you lived
Before you were saved.
That would be like Lazarus immediately putting the grave clothes back on
And walking back into the tomb.
Those who see the salvation of Jesus as a freedom to sin
Have totally missed the point.
The salvation of Jesus is a freedom to live righteously.
HOWEVER…
It is important that you know that living righteous is NOT AUTOMATIC.
There is war; there is a battle.
Galatians 5:16-24 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
The war is between your flesh (which is your old sinful nature)
And God’s Spirit who has moved in to guide your life.
The two do not agree with one another.
• The flesh loves sin, the Spirit loves righteousness
• The flesh loves self, the Spirit loves others
• The flesh loves comfort, the Spirit loves sacrifice
The call to the believer is to yield to the Spirit and kill the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”
Romans 13:12-14 “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
That is really the call of the believer.
It is called SANCTIFICATION
It is the process of becoming on the outside
What Jesus has already made us on the inside.
And this is God’s will for the believer.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
In fact the night before Jesus died, this is what He prayed for believers:
John 17:15-19 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”
Jesus died to save you from sin,
His prayer for you is that you now live free from sin.
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL…
We also know that there is a TEMPTER.
All the tempter does is offer the flesh what the flesh wants.
Obviously you should never listen to the tempter,
He will only make the battle that much more difficult.
So, as a church you would think that the goal would be
To come together and encourage one another
In our common battle against sin.
You would think that we would:
• Confront our sinning brothers
• Encourage one another with the truth
• Bear one another’s burdens
• Expose temptation and the work of the enemy
• And basically do whatever we can to help our brother not stumble
That’s what a church ought to look like isn’t it?
That’s what a church ought to be doing isn’t it?
Well with that backdrop, I think you’re ready to see
Why the church at Thyatira was making Jesus so mad.
5 things this morning.
#1 THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:18a
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:”
Thyatira was different than the three previous cities we looked at.
• Ephesus and Smyrna were port cities with implied immorality.
• Smyrna and Pergamum were Roman loyalist cities with extensive Emperor worship.
• All three of those cities were major religious centers for false religion
That really wasn’t Thyatira at all.
That’s not to say there wasn’t idolatry or immorality, there was.
It’s just that those things aren’t what the city was known for.
Thyatira was a working man’s town.
The fabric industry was big there as was the dying of fabrics.
You may remember the lady Lydia whom Paul led to the Lord outside of Philippi.
Acts 16:14 “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”
Thyatira was a working man’s town and neither persecution, nor pagan worship, nor emperor worship were terrible threats there.
The issue at Thyatira was what is known as the “TRADE GUILDS”
If you wanted to keep a job or run a business you had to be a member of a guild. (similar to a modern day labor union)
The problem was that
• Each guild had its own symbolic patron deity in whose honor feasts were held.
• At those feasts sacrifices were made to idols, and the meat was eaten.
• Things like drunkenness and immorality ensued.
I really think the best analogy to what went on in Thyatira
Is what we would call being a “Good Ole Boy”
The pressure then came for Christians to participate in all of these feasts and immorality if they were to maintain a job or a livelihood.
It was a battle against WORLDLINESS.
The Church
#2 THEIR LORD
Revelation 2:18b
“The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:”
Again we get a unique revelation of our Lord to the church in Thyatira.
And quite frankly, this one might be the Most Terrifying.
Here Jesus reveals Himself as THE JUDGE
All of the titles and analogies used here indicate
The One with ultimate authority, insight, and judgment.
John 5:22-23 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
And that is precisely what the “eyes like a flame of fire” indicate.
He sees all and He is angry.
The “feet…like burnished bronze” indicate
His dispensing of judgment on the guilty.
Jesus will spell all this out a little clearer later in the letter.
(2:23) “And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”
I see and I judge.
Obviously there isn’t much comfort coming here
From the revelation of Jesus to the church in Thyatira.
The Church, Their Lord
#3 THEIR EVALUATION
Revelation 2:19-23
Instead of separating what they do well from what they do wrong,
I opted to look at them together, namely because I am not convinced that the commendation given here is a full-hearted one.
“I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.”
But if you’ll notice He doesn’t give any specifics as to what those “deeds” where.
• He told Ephesus about their testing false teachers…
• He told Smyrna about how rich they were…
• He told Pergamum about their faithfulness in the days of Antipas…
But He gives no specifics for Thyatira.
It really reads more like Jesus just being courteous
Before He gets to the real issue.
“You have done this well and this well and this well, and you have shown improvement…BUT…”
Thyatira is a church, and they aren’t all bad,
But it is obvious that their failure
Greatly out shadows their successes.
It is a reminder that none of us are just trying to do the bare minimums.
Luke 17:7-10 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'”
If you employ a person to mow the grass and then pay them for mowing the grass, you really shouldn’t have to give them a plaque and throw an awards ceremony.
And that is true with the followers of Jesus.
Things like “good deeds” “love” “faith” “service” and “perseverance”
Are really just kind of expected, not necessarily rewardable.
Remember what Paul told the Corinthians?
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Paul is there speaking of genuine believers who are saved and who will go to heaven, but they will do so without reward because they only did the bare minimum.
That is Thyatira.
They did the bare minimums and Jesus recognized it.
The problem is their failures that are greatly over shadowing it.
So Jesus gets to the problem…
(20) “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
Here we have another reference to an Old Testament villain.
• Pergamum had some who held to the teaching of Balaam,
• Thyatira has a woman like Jezebel.
It’s rather unlikely that this is her name,
But from Jesus’ perspective it might as well be the same woman.
Do you remember Jezebel?
• You will remember that after Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king,
• But he was foolish and the kingdom was split
• Israel fell into idolatry almost immediately with one bad king after another.
• But the worst king to ever sit on the throne of Israel was clearly Ahab.
Let me show you why:
1 Kings 16:29-33 “Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him. It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”
Ahab married the daughter of a pagan king
And she spread a terrible influence throughout the land.
She introduced baal worship and all sorts of pagan practices.
• In 1 Kings 18:4 she is given credit for killing nearly all the prophets of God.
• In 1 Kings 19:1-2 she places a bounty on the head of Elijah.
• In 1 Kings 21 she is responsible for killing Naboth simply because her
husband wanted his vineyard.
Her life is summed up:
1 Kings 21:25 “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”
• And ultimately God issued a prophetic death in which she would die and be
eaten by dogs…and it happened.
Jezebel is easily seen as the most wicked woman of the Old Testament.
She incited more rebellion and idolatry in Israel than any other person.
Whoever this woman in Thyatira was; Jesus compared her to Jezebel.
Jesus explained her like this:
She “calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
She was a self-proclaimed spokesperson for God.
(Take a lesson here and recognize that not everyone who claims to hear from God and speak for God actually does.)
Thanks to the charismatic movement
There is a new rise of self-proclaimed prophets hitting the air waves
And I shouldn’t have to tell you how dangerous this is.
We believe God spoke in Scripture, we are not looking for new revelation.
Jeremiah 23:28-32 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”
Just understand that true prophets proclaim the word of God.
We know that to be the Bible.
Jezebel was a self-proclaimed prophet
Who spoke from her own imagination.
And her preaching was having a devastating effect
On the believers in Thyatira.
“she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray to that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
We don’t know specifically what she taught,
But we do know what her teaching produced and it wasn’t holiness.
• Maybe she told believers it was ok to participate in the guilds.
• Maybe she told them it was ok to participate in the immorality to keep their job.
• Maybe she convinced them that God wanted them to be happy and wealthy and a little immorality doesn’t hurt.
Look the prosperity gospel gives us all that junk today.
Seeking to convince selfish people that
God actually wants them to get everything they can from the world.
When Jesus told us NOT to store up treasure here.
And Paul told us to fix our eyes on things above, not on earthly things.
And John told us:
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
And James told us:
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
We are never called to get all we can out of this life.
We are called to sacrifice this life for the next.
It is clear, that Jezebel was teaching just the opposite.
Her teaching was absolutely undoing
The very purpose for why we were saved.
• God sent His Son to die in our stead that we might be free from sin.
• God sent His Spirit to dwell in our hearts that we might have victory
over the flesh.
• Jesus’ desire is to present His bride holy and blameless and without
spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
• AND JEZEBEL WAS UNDERMINING IT ALL.
Worldliness is the exact opposite of Christ expects from His church
And that is precisely what the church at Thyatira was falling into.
What did Jesus think about her teaching?
(21-23) “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”
Jesus had obviously already confronted her and told her to stop,
The problem is that she said, “No”.
She didn’t want to, she loved her sin and the benefits of it.
So Jesus said, I’m about to punish her.
• And everyone who is buying what she is selling is about to go “into great tribulation”
• And all the little preachers who are follower her lead (“her children”) I’m about to “kill” them “with pestilence”)
And by doing so I’m going to send a message
To every church around that
“I am he who searches the minds and hearts;
and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”
Jesus said that He’s about to clean house
And make an example out of Jezebel and her followers.
That is severe to say the least!
I told you Jesus is passionate about the purity of His church.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN THYATIRA?
Look back at the first part of verse 20.
“I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel…”
• Here is a woman that Jesus has so much disdain for that He is not about to leave her untouched.
• He’s already warned her and He’s about to eradicate her,
• But He is most upset with the church at Thyatira because they weren’t doing anything about her.
They TOLERATED her.
“tolerate” is the same word used of Ephesus back in verse 4
When Jesus told them they had “left” their first love.
The church in Thyatira just left her alone.
• They allowed her to preach
• They allowed her to teach
• They allowed her to spread her message of worldliness and depravity
• They never corrected her
• They never rebuked her
• They never challenged her
AND JESUS WAS FURIOUS!
Thyatira was weak.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 1:18-20 “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”
Paul told Titus:
Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
Someone had to stand up against this heresy and no one would
So now Jesus was on His way to bring judgment to that church.
Believe me when I tell you that
He does not allow this stuff to spread unchecked.
Jesus was angry.
The Church, Their Lord, Their Evaluation
#4 THEIR COMMAND
Revelation 2:24-25
This is actually one of the saddest commands
Given to any of the churches.
Jesus looks at those who do not agree with Jezebel.
(They haven’t rebuked her or silenced her, but they don’t agree with her)
Jesus here calls her theology “the deep things of Satan”
• Satan is a liar and the father of lies
• Satan is a deceiver and a manipulator and a slanderer
But at his core Satan is filled with selfishness and ambition.
It was his selfishness that led him to be removed from heaven
And his temptations are filled with this same selfish ambition
He loves to whisper in your ear
How you are being cheated or mistreated or that you deserve better.
Prosperity gospel preachers even train people to think that it is actually God who is telling you those things instead of Satan.
It is dangerous stuff.
While not everyone in Thyatira believed it, no one did anything about it.
So what is the command from Jesus?
NOTHING
“I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”
• It was too late for action.
• It was too late to deal with it.
• They were about to have a lot of funerals in Thyatira because no one would stand up.
And now Jesus wasn’t even asking them to anymore.
Just sit there until I come deal with it.
Can you hear the disappointment?
It is the fulfillment of Isaiah 63
Isaiah 63:1-6 “Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. “I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me. “I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
Ezekiel 22:30-31 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. “Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.”
That was Thyatira.
The church that loved the world, tolerated heresy,
And was told to just sit back and do nothing
Until Jesus came and destroyed the sinners.
I don’t think Thyatira is an example we would want to follow.
#5 THEIR EXAMPLE
Revelation 2:26-29
Here we have it again, the call to all the churches.
We are asked to overcome and if we will Jesus says that “To Him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.”
Jesus is obviously promising authority to rule the world.
• What else could “authority over the nations” mean?
Jesus is promising intimacy with Himself
• Since He is “the morning star.”
SO WHAT IS HE SAYING?
• The call today is to overcome worldliness and it’s damning influence.
• It is the call to stand against the heresy of false doctrines that promote worldliness and turn grace into a license to sin.
• It is the call to forsake this life for the sake of the next.
And if you will Jesus will let you rule the next.
If you’ll forsake this world Jesus will give you the next one.
If you’ll forsake yourself Jesus will give you Himself.
BUT YOU CANNOT EXPECT
To spend your life chasing the world and the lusts that it offers
And expect that Jesus is going to allow you to have both.
Do you want tribulation?
Do you want judgment?
Then just keep seeking the world.
Keep gathering around you that multitude of teachers
Who will tell you what your itching ears want to hear.
But if you want glory in the next life…
If you want Jesus…
Then it’s time to turn your back on the flesh
And turn your back on the world and run whole-heartedly for Jesus.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
This, after all, is what Jesus intended for the church to be.
And when the church forgets that point, Jesus is furious,
And He promises to judge His church accordingly.
