Revelation 2:18-29
"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. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
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. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless 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 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): Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
‘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. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
What is the overall point of this passage? How would you summarize it in a sentence or two?
How does Jesus describe himself?
For what does Jesus commend this church?
What does Jesus have against this church?
What promise does he provide?
How do you think this letter applies to our church?
About Me
- Allen
- Mitchell, Indiana, United States
- I love my family, and I enjoy what I do. I am in my 18th year with the Mitchell Church of Christ. I am an endurance athlete. The parallels between endurance athletics and ministry are remarkable. They are mutually beneficial.
The Holy Trinity
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21 comments:
So how in the world are you?
We had a wonderful weekend. We left Friday afternoon and met Luke at Lipscomb. We had a really nice meal together. We then attended a volleyball match at Lipscomb, which was enjoyable.
After that we all went out to Earl Lavender's home. Luke came with with us, even though Earl is one of his professors. ha ha. We had a nice visit.
We had breakfast with Luke, did a little looking/shopping and then came home.
It was good.
I thought we had a pretty good worship assembly this morning, even though our attendance was a little low.
you saw the Lavender's? That's fun! I used to be friends with their daughter Rachel. Last I heard she was in D.C., but not sure now. Sorry I haven't contributed to the thoughts on here lately. It takes a lot of time to research and study scripture and reflect on it on your blog. My personal studies is all I've had time for lately with the busyness of life. Have a great week!
Hey P,
Good to hear from you! Rachel, now married, lives in Nashville and is a highly sought after political consultant. She did very well with her candidates in the recent election.
I met Earl back in 1984 in grad school. We suffered together for a couple of years and became the best of friends. He has had more impact in my life and ministry than anyone I know.
Now that Luke is at Lipscomb I have a lot more contact with Earl, which is a wonderful thing.
Here's an excerpt from an old sermon of mine. It is related to compromise in the area of entertainment, which we discussed yesterday.
Erwin Lutzer, in Who Are You to Judge, talks about how TV and movies are much more than entertainment. They are about education.
“...Movies, regardless of their rating and content, will shape...opinion(s) of what constitutes normal sexual behavior; the movies will influence attitudes regarding integrity, violence, and values. While they are in the theater, teens are being educated in how to treat the opposite gender, how they should dress, the value of life, and what is important in the world.”
An economics professor at the University of California Irvine released a study a saying that films with R-ratings for sex and violence aren’t good investments for the industry. He reported that R-rated movies do not do nearly as well as PG movies.Yet more than half the films released in the decade he studied were rated R. Why?
The industry says, “We only give the public what it wants.” That isn’t true, never has been, and the box office receipts prove it. The reason they produce R-rated (and now PG-13) movies is that they have an agenda. Rubel Shelly writes about that agenda: “. . .It is overtly negative toward faith, chastity, and other positive virtues. Voyeurism, sex, and foul language are stock in trade.”
One scriptwriter wrote, “We want people to laugh at adultery, homosexuality and incest, because laughing breaks down your resistence to it.” If you carefully observe movies, and even TV, you will see how an anti-Christian agenda is carried out. According to research by the American Family Association, 91% of all sex depicted on TV is outside of marriage. Equally disturbing is the violence and the use of the Lord’s name in vain.
I saw a few snowflakes this afternoon!
I went for a very cool run this morning. I couldn't run at the Park, where I could have been protected from the wind. They are having the annual deer slaugther today and tomorrow.
Terry T. likes this, because the deer run to his side of the highway. I think he sits on the front porch with a shotgun waiting from them.
For a neat article about the top two Heisman Trophy candidates, both members of the Church of Christ, click HERE.
Are you familiar with the word defenestration?
It means to throw out a window.
No kidding.
Why is it relevant? Because that's how Jezebel dies (the one in 1 & 2 kings; see especially 2 Kings 9).
See what good things you can learn here!
Impress your friends with this new word.
You remember The Artist formerly known as Prince? Did you know that he is a Jehovah's Witness?
Check THIS out. Strange (of course).
Jezebel - don't hear many girls named that these days.
So who is this Jezebel in the letter to Thyatira? It's probably a bold, maybe well-intentioned, woman who is saying that "it's no big deal" to be a part of the trade guilds. Of course the trade guilds were tied to idols and pagan worship which included eating meat offered to idols and fornication. [I wonder if their meetings were well attended?]
Like the Nicolaitans in Pergamum (and Ephesus) she was misrepresenting Paul's concept of Christian liberty, and there was a Gnostic twist to it as well. The Gnostic part said, essentially, that what you do with your body doesn't matter as long as your heart is right. Jezebel knew these "deep secrets of the Lord," which Jesus sarcastically calls the "deeps secrets of Satan."
Why was Jezebel (not her real name) teaching these things? Because the Christians who were refusing to compromise their faith by partipating in the trade guilds were suffering greatly. They were being socially isolated and economically boycotted.
Enter Jez who says: "This suffering is not necessary. We are free in Christ. Go and participate! I know the deep secrets of God and know in my heart that it is OK to do this."
Jesus does not see it this way! Wow, he really really does not see it this way! Read his threats directed toward Jez and her pals.
So here I am trying to figure out what in our culture and time parallels what Jez was teaching.
Any ideas?
The principle is compromise, but I'm not sure about a practice of the modern church that parallels eating meat offered to idols and fornication in the name of idolatry.
We had a really good class last night. Lots and lots of thoughts and discussion.
We still had trouble coming up with a modern parallel to meat offered to idols.
Maybe the issue here is "soft" love that tolerates too much. This is opposed to the Ephesian church which lost its love.
How do we strike the balance between loving/accepting vs. faithfulness to the standards of holiness that God expects from us?
The dangers are that we will become so "loving" that we, in the name of love, accept just about anything. The other side of this is that we can become so concerned about morality and purity that we become unloving. You see what I'm saying?
How do you strike the balance between being true to the Word in all areas and being loving?
I think we might be back to the "hate the sin but love the sinner" thing. What do you think?
Well, I think I am going to delve into the issue of homosexuality on Sunday.
Why?
Because I think it is an issue where we can see the difference between "soft" love and "lost" love.
Churches of soft love embrace all of homosexuality and see no problem with any of it.
Churches of lost love become very mean and hateful toward any aspect of homosexuality.
Interestingly enough, THIS article found its way into my Google Reader today via an RSS feed.
That kinda sealed the deal for me, as far as bringing up the issue on Sunday.
I've decided to put here some excerpts from a previous sermon about homosexuality.
The Bible is clear about this issue – it is contrary to God’s way and will. There are several passages in the Old Testament that condemn it and say that it is a sin worthy of the death penalty. But keep in mind that in the same context there are other sins that also are considered as punishable by death. For example, and this is not exhaustive, a person could be put to death for lying in a death penalty trial, for being a stubborn son, for adultery, for witchcraft, for Sabbath-breaking, and other things.
We are more interested in what the New Testament has to say about it. What did Jesus say about it? Absolutely nothing, which is an argument made by those who favor a homosexual practice for Christians. Jesus also did not say anything about wife abuse, kidnaping, rape, incest, or a host of other things. The argument is not valid. In the Jewish context in which Jesus ministered, it is was a given that homosexuality was contrary to God’s will.
The most explicit teaching is found in the letters written by Paul.
1 Corinthians 6:9,10 — Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
This is an interesting list! It seems mostly about sexual sins, but Paul includes some other things, such as slander. It is clear that homosexuality is an unacceptable practice in the eyes of God. There is another passage that is extremely important for understanding this issue: Romans 1.
Go read Romans 1:18-32 and come back after while...
Here's more from a previous sermon:
A summary of Romans 1:18ff:
This is a picture of depravity. Right in the middle of it, and seemingly the focus of it, is homosexuality. The thing that is significant is that Paul seems to make the argument from God’s creative intent. It should be obvious from nature that God loves and cares for us. And it is obvious from nature what God’s intention is for human sexual relations. Homosexuality is a perversion of God’s intention.
What about some of the modern, scientific studies and claims concerning homosexuals being born that way? First of all there are no conclusive studies at all that say that; that is a myth. It doesn’t take an Einstein, however, to see that some people, both male and female, seem to have physical features and tendencies that make you wonder.
I think a far more important and great factor in homosexuality is the relationship that a child has with his/her mother and father. This emphasizes how important it is that we follow God’s creative intent in the covenant of marriage. We must love our spouse and our children, showing them affection and attention. This is beyond the scope of what we can talk about today, but it is area where you can read and learn a lot.
The bottom line is this: if you have homosexual tendencies, then they must be controlled, just as any other urge that is outside of God’s will must be controlled. I think most married men, if not self-controlled through the Spirit of God, would be very adulterous. All of us, in order to be acceptable to God, must control something.
And now for the conclusion:
If God’s intention is marriage as a reflection of His nature, and if homosexuality is a perversion of God’s creative intent, then we need to be strongly opposed to homosexual marriage. Additionally, we need to be opposed because it will destroy the very definition of marriage creating culture chaos.
As we close, we need to realize that there is great love, mercy, and forgiveness available to all of us, including homosexuals. In Paul’s statement the Corinthians, read earlier, he concludes in a most powerful way.
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
God can and will forgive anyone of anything, when he or she turns to Him. God is the Creator, the Redeemer, and will be Lord of all.
Let me offer one more thing, and then I'll be done for today (perhaps).
The Bible seems to have a lot to say about sex, and our culture (and most others) are obsessed with it.
Have you ever wondered why? Why is God so restrictive and protective of human sexuality?
I think the answer is found in what Phillip Yancey says in this quote.
In one sense, we are never more Godlike than in the act of sex. We make ourselves vulnerable. We risk. We give and receive in a simultaneous act. We feel a primordial delight, entering into the other in communion. Quite literally we make one flesh out of two different persons, experiencing for a brief time a unity like no other. Two independent beings open their inmost selves and experience not a loss but a gain. In some way. . . this most human act reveals something of the nature of reality, God’s reality, in his relations with creation and perhaps within the Trinity itself.
This powerful thought comes from Yancey's Rumors of Another World, which is worth reading, by the way.
Human sexuality in the context of marriage is an insight and reflection of who God is and what he enjoys. Read Genesis 1 & 2.
God does not want us cheapening it or perverting it.
This is most likely off subject but after working outside all morning I came in and was watching Oprah. It was a program about how women of the world beautify themselves and what is perceived as beautiful. In India women worshiping their idol will cut their hair and the leaders sell it to the US where it is made into hair extensions widely used in the US because Indian hair is very beautiful. They think they are offering it solely to the idol not knowing what will happen to it. Have never used them but little did I know about where they came from. Some women sell their hair but the price is very small and is sold here at a very inflated cost. The obsession of the Iranian women have with plastic surgery to their noses has caused many of them who cannot afford the surgery to wear bandages on their noses as a status symbol. It was amazing to me the obsession, now all over the world it seems with outward appearance and the total neglect of inward beauty. It was all so shallow. I wonder what God thinks as He observes us and our lack of values based on His word. Are we lemmings? Where do we stop and say enough and still keep a balance by not offending or driving others away? When do we say nothing and wait for a better opportunity to speak knowing it might not come again. The last thing I would want to do is be an arrogant, offensive Christian but at the same time we do need to stand for the things that are really important. It's easier to walk away and ignore everything around us. I think of the churches in Revelation and the choices they needed to make by not working in a trade that was offered as sacrifice to an idol. I still struggle like most, I think with the balancing. Sherron.
I like the idea of you talking about homosexuality and where the church stands... i also like the idea of talking about sexual relationships outside of marriage. I think this is just as big of an "issue" as homosexual relationships.
I think there is this disregard of what the bible says about premarital relationships either because we dont trust what God is saying or we dont believe that He says it because he does love us and wants to protect us from the mental anguish we will surely feel after the premarital relationship has ended.
I also think so much of our younger generations have been exposed to these relationships that we've come to think they are ok and we wont get hurt by them. And that is where satan wins by making us fall short of God's glory and leaving us in despair and regret.
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