Thyatira, Mail Call!
Revelation 2:18-29
Revelation 2:18-29 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
9 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
**********
I. The Authority of the Judge
The Lord begins this letter with a description of Himself as the Son of God, whose eyes are like fire and whose feet are like highly polished brass. This picture of our Lord is very suggestive. First, He wanted them to realize that they were not dealing with a prophet or even and apostle but with the Son of God himself. That should have made them and us to “…sit up and take notice.” The “eyes of flame” speak of his omniscience. He sees everything and everyone, even the “thoughts and the intents of the heart.” The “finely polished brass” is almost always associated with judgment. There was some sin in the church as we will read later and sin must always be judged.
II. The Assessment of the Judge
The Lord looks into the hearts of these believers and finds several things that He can commend. We can always find some good in a church, that is, if we have a heart to look for it. Show me a man who speaks well of his church and I will show a man who loves his church. It is easy to criticize and there are some in every church who never see the good in anything. These folks must be miserable and are to be pitied! What did the Lord see that was good?
• Their labors were known to the Lord. This
was an active energetic working congregation. They weren’t like the church that sent in their annual report to say: “We report to you that we are at peace, baptized none, received by letter none, restored to fellowship none, giving to missions none. Pray for us that we might hold out faithful to the end.”
• There love was known to the Lord. These people loved each other. Nothing can take the place of brotherly love. This does not mean that we are all cast from the same mold but it does mean that should fulfill the Lord’s commandment to love each other.
• Their ministry was known to the Lord. The church must have an outlet for its love. There are so many “Dead Sea” churches that have and inlet but no outlet. We are to go about “doing good” my friend because that’s what Jesus would do himself if he were here.
• Their faith was known to the Lord. Good works always come out of a saving faith!
• Their patience was known to the Lord. These folks were “between a rock and a hard place,” and were being persecuted but had remained faithful under the pressure.
ILL - Faithfulness is greatest with God. On that last day when we stand before Him, He will not ask, How much? How many? How big? He will ask how faithful we were with what He gave us. God’s measuring stick is faithfulness.
Tony Abram
• Their progress was known by the Lord. Their last works were greater than their first works. They were increasing in faith, maturity, fruitfulness and faithfulness. This kind of growth should characterize us and our church.
III. The Accusation of the Judge
There was one very important charge that the Lord leveled at the church. The Lord does not mince words but gets right to the source of His complaint. There was a woman named “Jezebel” in the church who was doing was dealing in the deep things of Satan. She was leading some in the church astray into gross immorality and to make matters worse the church had taken no action. Some of the greatest religious apostasies in history have been founded by women. Herschel Ford sites Christian Science, “which is neither Christian, scientific nor scriptural as an example of a cult founded by a woman named Mrs. Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy!” Like this cult, these movements mix just enough scripture in their doctrines to make them sound good but they pour out damnable and heretical teachings to lead men astray.
SPIRITUAL ORTHODOXY
When the Challenger went down nearly 20 years ago, the whole country went around draped in a dark cloud of mourning. Soon the shock gave way to outrage and scandal when it was discovered that cost-cutting and
carelessness components that didn’t quite meet the required standard had been passed through quality control. The design specifies that components must be engineered to within a particular degree of tolerance. And the inspectors tolerated imperfections outside the specifications, and people died. When lives depend on it, inspections matter. When lives depend on parts being tooled to a precision measured in millimeters, tolerating imperfections has serious consequences. Pesticides and carcinogens are measured in amounts almost too small to grasp;even a single accidental death can cause outrage and inquiry. But far too many people who wouldn’t dream of tolerating the slightest degree of "unorthodoxy" in matters which affect our physical lives think nothing at all of ingesting any number of spiritual carcinogens.
YOU BELIEVE WHAT?
Between 1976 and 1997, the number of Americans who believed in astrology grew from seventeen percent to thirty-seven percent. During the same period, the percentage of Americans who professed a belief in
reincarnation nearly tripled -- from nine percent to twenty-five percent. And crystal ball makers doubtless are glad to hear that those who put stock in fortune-telling nearly quadrupled -- from four to fourteen percent.
SOURCE: Chuck Colson 8/20/01 Breakpoint article.
IV. The Actions of the Judge
Friend, there is even an end to the Lord’s patience! He states that He has given them plenty of time to repent but they have refused to do so. There was nothing left to do but pronounce judgment.
Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
V. The Affirmation of the Judge
Finally, there is comfort for those who have overcome by faith. Here the Lord tells the true believers in Thyatira that if they will be true and hold out till He comes that they will be rewarded. They shall rule over the nations. They shall be honored when others are abased. They will have glory when others are put to shame. He also promises them the “morning star” which is Jesus Himself. All that Jesus is, is ours! We are joint heirs with Him. His blessings are wonderful, are they not? But greater to have the Blesser than the blessings! Jesus Himself is ours by faith and that is all we need.
I want to close with an illustration that I found in a book by W. Herschel Ford.
ILL – In the olden days a preacher closed the service at a country church late at night. He started out to walk quite a distance to the home where he would be staying. This was before the days of flashlights and he had no lantern. A farmer saw his predicament and gave him a flaming pine torch. But the preacher was a little leery, and said, “What if it goes out?” The farmer replied, “It will see you home.” But what if the wind blows it our?” Again the farmer said, “It will see you home.” Then the preacher asked, “What is the rain puts it our?” The farmer spoke with finality, for he knew the enduring qualities of a pine torch, “It will see you home,” he said. And it did.
Friend if we will place our faith in Jesus and stay true to Him, He will see us home too!
