Revelation Sermon - 7
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Revelation: The Two-Timing Church
Revelation 2:18-29
1. Introduction – The letter to the church in Thyatira is the longest of the seven letters.
a. It is also the hardest one to interpret because we don’t know a whole lot about the historical situation in Thyatira.
i. But with the little we do know, we can understand what Jesus said to this church, how the 1st century Thyatiran church understood it, and how we today can apply this letter to our lives and our church today.
1. I believe this letter to Thyatira is quite relevant to our 21st century church.
a. This letter introduces a major theme that is going to be worked out through the rest of this letter.
i. This short letter to the Thyatiran church introduces the question, “Who or what are you going to worship?” “Who or what is going to be first in your life?”
2. The City – But before we dive into what Jesus said to this church, let me introduce you to the historical situation of Thyatira.
a. What’s it’s deal? What’s going on in it? Well, like I said, we don’t really know a lot about this ancient city. It’s the least known, least important and least remarkable of the seven cities.
i. What we do know about Thyatira is that it had an unusually high number of trade guilds.
1. Trade guilds are kinda like our modern-day unions – only guilds were much more intense.
b. There was a guild for pretty much any profession you can think of: woodworkers, linen workers, dyers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronze smiths, just to name a few.
i. And in the ancient world, it was next to impossible for someone to make it financially unless he was a member of a guild.
1. To not join a guild meant risking financial loss.
c. But these guilds were not only about business – to join a guild also meant to participate in the social activities of the guild.
i. And that’s where things get problematic for Christians – because the social activities of the trade guilds were tied with worship of other gods.
1. The guilds shared feasts – at which the god Apollo was praised, the patron god of Thyatira.
a. And these feasts often ended in drunkenness and debauchery.
d. Could a Christian participate in a feast where idolatry and drunkenness and fornication were the accepted thing?
i. Yet not join a guild would mean risking financial disaster. What was a loyal disciple of Jesus to do? Can you feel the tension for Christians in Thyatira?
3. Jesus Son of God – So what does Jesus say to his church in this city?
a. Well, let’s start by looking at the way Jesus introduces himself.
i. We’re going to look at the eyes like flames of fire and feet like polished bronze at the end of the sermon today – for now, I want to focus on the title Jesus uses – the Son of God.
b. Why does he describe himself this way? This is the only time in the entire book of Revelation that Jesus is called the Son of God – why does it happen in the letter to the Thyatiran church?
i. Well, like every other city we’ve looked at so far, idol worship was quite prevalent in Thyatira.
1. But there weren’t hundreds of false gods worship here, just 2.
c. The god Apollo, the god of sunlight, the patron god of Thyatira, and the Emperor of the Roman Empire.
i. Apollo was acclaimed to be the son of Zeus and Zeus was called the most high god.
1. In fact, the Thyatirans believed that the Emperor was the incarnation of Apollo, and so they acclaimed both Apollo and Caesar to be the son of god.
a. The emperor Domitian, who was reigning at the time John was given this Revelation, named his son ‘son of god.’
ii. So, with all these false claims of deity and sonship – false claims about Apollo or Caesar or Zeus or Domitian’s son – here’s Jesus speaking to his disciples in Thyatira and saying…
1. “I’m the Son of God. None of these imitators on earth are who they claim or have been proclaimed to be.” I’m the risen and victorious Son of God – I’ve got eyes like flames of fire and feet like polished bronze.
a. I’m standing in the middle of my churches and I know what’s going on in them.
4. The Church – And look at what Jesus the Son of God says to this church. He starts with familiar words, “I know…”
a. I know all the things you do. Jesus actually gives this church high praise. “I see your love, faith, service and endurance.”
i. In fact, Jesus sees that some in this church are increasing in their love, faith, service and endurance.
1. What a wonderful compliment. What a wonderful example for us to follow.
b. Shouldn’t we as Christians, as a church even, shouldn’t we seek to increase our love both for God and for fellow human beings?
i. We should be increasing in our faith, trust and reliance on God.
1. We should be increasing in our service – finding ways to meet needs.
a. And patient endurance is what we need to face the trials of life.
c. In many ways, this is a church we should be seeking to emulate…but…
5. I Have This… - But this wasn’t the perfect church, far from it. Because much like we saw last week with the church in Pergamum, the Thyatiran church was allowing a false teacher to spread her lies in their church.
a. In fact, even though Jesus had some lofty praise for this church, he also gives them the longest and harshest rebuke.
b. So what’s the problem in Thyatira? Well, Jesus says that this church is tolerating Jezebel.
i. No doubt, the woman who is spreading lies in Thyatira isn’t really named Jezebel, but this false prophetess is spreading the same kind of lies as the historical Jezebel.
c. And who is Jezebel and what did she do? Her story can be found in the book of 1 Kings 16-22.
i. Jezebel was the wife of Israel’s King Ahab – and she was a wicked woman.
1. Jezebel was the daughter of the king of Tyre, a nation that worshipped Baal.
a. And Jezebel brought worship of Baal with her to Israel and her husband, the king, accommodated her by building temples dedicated to Baal throughout Israel.
ii. It’s not that Jezebel was opposed to worshipping YHWH, she just wanted YHWH to be one God among many.
1. She had any prophet of YHWH who spoke up against Baal worship killed and she sponsored 850 false prophets of Baal living in Israel.
d. The Jezebel of 1 Kings brought with her a spirit of compromise; a both/and concept of worship.
i. The Jezebel of 1 Kings thought and taught that one could worship and follow both YHWH and other gods.
e. And the Jezebel of Revelation 2 taught the same thing. There was a spirit of compromise and tolerance in the Thyatiran church.
i. There was a teaching that you could go the guild feasts on Saturday night, with all its idolatry and adultery and then to church on Sunday and worship Jesus.
1. The false prophetess of Thyatira was teaching a compartmentalized Christian life.
a. Much like the Jezebel of 1 Kings – she was teaching a both/and Christianity – that one could worship both Jesus and the gods at the guild feasts.
f. Jezebel was advocating a compartmentalized Christianity – one set of values for one sphere of life, another set of values of another sphere in life, and yet another set of values for another sphere of life.
i. But compartmentalization just doesn’t work, because when we live with a both/and idea of Christianity is leads to spiritual adultery. We become a two-timing Christian.
1. Try as we might it simply doesn’t work – it cannot work. Jesus isn’t supposed to be Lord of just one part of your life – he is to be Lord of your entire life. And we live by his values and priorities in all facets of life.
a. In any compromise arrangement it will inevitably be our relationship with Jesus that gets short-changed.
g. The Church in Thyatira wanted it both ways. Jesus and other gods.
i. Jesus and the benefits of the trade guilds. Jesus and economic success. Jesus and the social acceptance that comes with the guilds.
6. What About us? – But before we judge the Thyatirans for their compromise, we must take a long hard look at ourselves and realize we compromise and compartmentalize too.
a. Compartmentalizing is the means by which we worship God on Sundays but we allow poison into our minds on Mondays because we think of it as only ‘entertainment.’
i. By compartmentalizing, we maintain the allusion of a both/and Christianity – sing the hymns and songs on Sunday, but worship money or work or stuff the other 6 days.
1. We have to learn the same lesson as the Thyatirans. We must learn that Christianity isn’t a both/and concept – not Jesus and other gods, whatever shape or form those gods take.
b. We must realize the Christianity is either/or. Either your follow Jesus with your whole self, or you don’t.
i. Either you trust Jesus to provide you with your daily bread, or you don’t.
1. Either Jesus is the only God you serve, or he’s not.
c. And what the letter to the Thyatiran church introduces is a theme that the rest of this book will expand on:
i. Who will you follow: Jesus or the trade guilds? What is of uppermost importance in your life: the success of your business or the vitality of your relationship with Jesus?
1. What will take precedence in your life: the values and priorities of this world or the values of priorities of Jesus?
a. The rest of the book of Revelation will ask that question – and it will lay out clearly the consequences of following the ways of the world – and the rewards and benefits of following Jesus.
7. Application – So how do we succeed at this? With all the distractions and temptations around us – how can we make sure we are wholeheartedly devoted to Jesus?
a. How do we succeed? By fixing our gaze on Jesus. Or as one author I read this week wrote – we succeed by carrying a picture of Jesus around with us.
i. If we lose sight of who Jesus is – we’ll lose the desire and strength to remain loyal to him.
1. So what picture should we carry with us? What does Jesus look like?
a. Well, if we look closely, Jesus gives us a clear picture of himself in this letter to Thyatira. Look at the 5 facets of this picture – and then keep this image in your mind.
b. First, the title that we’ve already look at today. Picture Jesus as the Son of God.
i. And as the Son of God, Jesus is the perfect and final revelation of the unseen God. The Living God is just like Jesus the Son.
c. Second – Jesus says he the one who has eyes like flames of fire. The image at once should terrify and comfort.
i. It terrifies because his eyes are bright and radiant. His eyes penetrate the darkness of our lives with penetrating insight.
1. His bright eyes expose the hidden corners – he knows the deep things of our lives.
a. Nothing we do, say, think or feel escapes his notice.
ii. But the image of flaming and penetrating eyes also brings comfort because they penetrate in order to cleanse us. They shine to bring healing.
1. Jesus looks at you and through you in order to free you.
d. Third, look at Jesus, the one with feet like polished bronze.
i. Feet so pure and so strong they can tread upon all evil and trample it into nothingness.
e. Fourth – Jesus is patient. V.21 says that this Jezebel was given time to repent. Jesus gave her time to turn it around.
i. He gives us time to turn around. His judgments are not hasty – he waits for our response, but he will not wait forever.
f. Fifth – The next feature of this picture of Jesus is that he is a rewarder.
i. V.23 says he gives to each whatever they deserve.
1. In other words, Jesus is saying, “If you do the deeds of Jezebel, you will inherit the consequences of her deeds.” Jesus calls it a bed of sickness.
ii. But if we do the deeds of Jesus, we will inherit the consequences of his deeds – being one with him and sharing in the love and joy of the Father.
1. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!
g. And the amazing promise in v.27 is if we are faithful to Jesus in this lifetime, we will rule with him in the next.
i. What a glorious promise! Those who obey him now will rule with him then. So then why do we feel any pressure to compromise? With a promised reward like that?!
1. Why let other lords take precedence over Jesus? What can they offer you? Why fear the forces or power of this world?
a. Those who are loyal to Jesus in this age will rule with Jesus in the next age!
i. Jesus promises the overcomers a reward of epic proportions.
h. Jesus also promises the overcomes the morning star. In the last chapter of Revelation Jesus refers to himself as the bright morning star.
i. Do you see this amazing promise? He’s promising the overcomers…himself!
i. The morning star appears when night is at its darkest – when dawn is still hours away.
i. But when the morning star appears you know that night cannot stop the coming of dawn.
1. It’s just a matter of time before light wipes away the darkness.
a. Jesus says he will give himself to those who remain faithful to him. He is the bright morning star. And even though we may still live in darkness and experience hardships in this life…
i. We know that the morning star has made its appearance – and the night cannot hold back the light.
1. And when we keep this picture of Jesus with us – we will remember that the struggle is almost over, and the night will soon be wiped away.
j. Either/or – but when we stare into the face of him who is everything we long for… do we really have a choice?
i. Looking at this picture of Jesus can you really say, “Sorry Jesus, but in this part of my life I am going to obey a different lord?”
1. Can you really say that after seeing how breathtakingly beautiful Jesus really is?
a. We see that Christianity isn’t a both/and, but it also isn’t really an either/or decision either…because Jesus is all we are ever going to need.
8. Conclusion – We succeed in this life, we stay faithful to Jesus in this life – amid the temptations and distractions and the pressure from this world – we stay faithful by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus…by carrying this picture of Jesus around with us.
a. For next week read about the church in Saris. 3:1-6. Ask “What leaps out at me?” and “What puzzles me?”