There is this key point received from this study…we should not trust our own
judgment, but trust that God will reveal His judgment to us.
The mystery for this church is that the messengers must have an enlightened
viewpoint about the vast difference between being God’s people, or
belonging to the world. Each letter is a personal message from Christ. As we
study them, we should evaluate our own spiritual condition today, both as
individual believers and as a last day people. We must reason with this
message with the spiritual intensity to determine its content and conclusion,
as related to the dignity of our destiny. This is the middle message to the
churches...the heart of the messages. The text denotes that the very nature
of God is present in the Son of God, but with a distinct and subordinate
manner of subsistence. The title Son of God differs from Christ’s title in his
previous exalted appearance to John, in which he was identified as the “Son
of Man”. Though both titles underscore the deity of Christ, they emphasize
something different. “Son of Man” emphasizes the humiliation of God in
becoming a man – the perfect man who sympathizes with us in our human
suffering and weakness. “Son of God” emphasizes the deity of Christ – the
divine man who comes with the full authority and power of God. With this
title, Christ suggests a strong and less sympathetic message to come. He
has a penetrating, perfect knowledge, a thorough insight into the message
delivered. Christ knows and sees the true, innermost thoughts, and spiritual
condition of every person in a church. The implication is that Jesus makes a
dire judgment on unrepentant sinners and he will make no mistakes. This
promise of judgment has three parts, two of which are intended for her, and
one that’s intended for those she has influenced to sin and haven’t
repented. The bed of her immorality will become the bed of her
suffering. This punishment implied great suffering in the last day. And his
goings are providential concerning the commendation Christ gives of this
church, ministry, and people. This imagery portrays Christ’s work of purging
out immoral, ungodly teaching and influencers from the church, and contrasts
sharply with the feet of clay in Daniel’s vision that portray the weak miry
nature of the future world nations. Here Jesus refers to individuals in the
church are never to allow for any spiritual compromise. If ever we’ve
witnessed someone being led from the truth and were too stymied to respond,
we have sinned. It is one thing to dispute doctrine, but a very different matter
to establish one’s own views.
The first works concerns the internal grace of the Holy Spirit that was working
in the hearts of the believers in this church. Jesus sees the genuine love and
faith operating. These people also had faith - they were trusting in God
irrespective of their circumstances and that was evident in how they lived
their lives. We see that explicitly in the second category of the “works” of this
church - the external fruit they expressed. They were actually growing in
their zeal. Jesus mentions both their “service and patient endurance.” This
was a church active in ministry that arose from their love and faith. Thyatira
was suffering opposition from the enemy, but they were not complaining. And
if our last works are not greater than our first works, they are only dead works.
And if our works are dead, so then is our faith. No spirit in them. This is that
falling away.
Thyatira was a strange mix of very strong elements and some very weak
elements. How can that be? It sounds impossible…until we look into our
own hearts! The church at Thyatira illustrates that even living as a believer,
we have encounters with the nature of sin so deep and pervasive in us that,
even in a comparatively strong individual believer, serious sin is often
present alongside healthy elements. We must understand that our sin is so
evil and so tenacious that it can strongly manifest itself even in comparatively
healthy individuals. On an individual level, this is why we should never be
surprised when we see ourselves or other believers do and say things that
seem completely out of character, with what we’ve seen in the past. Sin is
so stubborn and tenacious that if we aren’t actively warring against our sin,
it can bubble up in our souls at any time and reveal this kind of inconsistency
in a believer.
Notice the similar condemnation as given to Pergamos. Why? In the last
days God’s people will experience a mighty struggle with idolatry and sexual
immorality. Yet, even though they have similar afflictions, Jesus counsels
them individually. We must not forget that each of the letters to the seven
churches in the Revelation was read to ALL the seven churches. These
letters in chapters two and three were part of a larger letter, the book of
Revelation. And this larger letter was circulated to each of these individual
churches. That means that, for Thyatira to read what Christ said to
Pergamum would have encouraged them to know that they were not
uniquely evil - other churches were struggling as well, and they could learn
from how Jesus responded to them as well. Likewise, when the loving
believers of Thyatira reads the letter to the loveless church in Ephesus, it
would have put them on notice that, the love you have now and that is even
growing, it can grow cold in a very short time. Learn from what happened in
Ephesus.
We think Balaam was a corrupt collaborator, why do we suffer the woman
Jezebel…idolatry and sexual immorality is a big deal. As a holy people, we
should hate this sin and seek to kill it. We are not to tolerate or peacefully
cohabit with sin - our own or other believers in the church. The amazing truth
is - in spite of its clear strengths, the church in Thyatira was tolerating gross,
unholy living in some of her people. They were somewhat indifferent to this.
When we become silent about things that must matter, we begin to loose life.
We are afraid we will lose our relations, so we sit idly by and allow ignorance
and even error to infiltrate the body. Faith, hope and love didn’t insulate them
from this weakness. Truth was the lacking strength needed. This woman was
that manipulative power behind the throne that influenced professing
believers to refuse to reason with the word of God. They swayed from the
word of truth. Jezebel is that church, that group of protestant organizations
that deliver counterfeit truths to the people. Rome is a church. It is the beast.
America will form an image to this church, this beast. America is a Jezebel.
Jesus indicates that those who sinned with her as a result of her teaching
are still given some time to repent. Israel was given 40 years to repent from
crucifying Jesus, to stoning Stephen, to the destruction of Jerusalem. God is
far more patient with those who have been lied to, than He is to the people
that are lying. But Jesus will eventually give the ultimate punishment to
Jezebel’s “children” or, her followers. Jesus not only gives the consequences
of his judgment, he also gives his motivation for making this judgment so
outwardly manifest: all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth
the reins and hearts. What he does, not only demonstrates his justice, but is
for the good of the other churches. But do we understand the implication of
completely adhering to truth. Jesus says he will put upon us none other
burden and we will have power over the nations. Brothers and sisters, that
truth says our greatest test is coming from those who say they worship, they
study with us. And if we do not give way to the influence of those who fail to
reason with, disregard or discard any of the word, and we persevere in
genuine faith, we have a place of authority in God’s purpose.
We must deeply grieve over sin. Are we failing in our obligation to address
the errors among us? Hearing the Spirit and the word, must convict and
convince us in all things pertaining to life, pertaining to God.
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