THE JOURNEY Jesus Letter to the Church in Thyatira The Church in Ephesus You have abandoned the love you had at first Repent and do the work you did at first, if not, I will come to your and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent. The Church in Smyrna Imitate Jesus faithfulness Jesus knows his sheep Jesus wants and reward his people The Church in Pergamum Hold fast Jesus name, and build up your faith in Him. Repent against the sins of the world. Be a conquer in Christ Jesus. The Church in Thyatira Jesus knows our works Do not tolerate sin Conquer in the name of Jesus Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Thyatira 1
Lydia of Thyatira! One who heard us (Paul & Silas) was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us.-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? (Acts 16:11-40). Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants[ to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Introduction Jesus letters to the Churches in Asia-Minor are like the redwarning-light signal in our cars that warn us when something is about to go wrong. Like an empty petrol tang, or needing an oil change, or engine check up etc. Or the red-warning signal indicating the your mobile phone battery is about to die. Each of these Churches, in the beginning were all doing well, in their worship of Christ and their service in His Mission. However, these letters, are warning signs to these Churches that something is about to go wrong. The Holy Spirit does that with us. He gives us warning signal. But if we do not have 2
ears to hear, and spirits to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying, then we fall into dangerous situations, like with our cars breaking down or so. So it is with Jesus letter to the Church in Thyatira. Jesus not only praises the good works of the Church in Thyatira, but also warns His Church that there is sin among them, and they need to do something about, otherwise, the Church will be destroyed. Jesus letter is split into three parts, and we ll explore each part one by one. Part 1: I Know Your Works And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first" (Revelation 2:18-19). The first part of the letter reveals Jesus intimate knowledge of His people, and His Body, the Church. First, Jesus knows the context of the Church in, which is modern day Akhisar, a town inland of Turkey. Jesus uses local themes to communicate to the Christians in Thyatira. The city of Thyatira was not a well known as the other six to which these letters were addressed, but one thing it was famous for was its bronze trade, and its idol making. The Thyatira s patron deity of their bronze trade, was Apollo Tyrimnaeus. Interestingly, Apollo s image was on their local coins with the inscription son of god, that is, the Roman emperor. According to Acts 16:14, Thyatira was the home of Lydia, a "dealer in purple cloth" and a "worshiper of God" whom Paul encountered at Philippi in Macedonia. If this letter was addressed to us in IBC, in Hong Kong, would Jesus know what s going on around us in our context? I believe Jesus would have known the idols that are worshipped under the bridge in Cause Way Bay, or the idols that our communities seek blessings and good luck for life from, or the drive to be successful at all cost in order to be comfortable with our materials needs? Just like the Church in Thyatira, Jesus knowns what we are against as Christians in Hong Kong. Second, Jesus knows our works. Jesus points out to the Christians in Thyatira, that he knows them and their work very well. We see the intimacy of our Lord towards His Body. What does it mean that Christ know our works? This understanding that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knows our work goes all the way back to Genesis 4, the story of Cain and Abel offering their offerings to the Lord. Abel s offering was accepted by God, but Cain s offering was rejected, so Cain became angry at God and at Abel. The Lord then appears to Cain; The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it (Gen. 4:6-7). It s interesting that Jesus doesn t say, He knows our worship. Worship and Works, in the context of Scripture are one act. They are not two separate things or way of life. For example, I have my worship time, and then I have secular work to do. Work, in Scripture, is the continues act of our worship throughout the week and every single day of our lives. 3
When we do well in our services to our Lord throughout the week, sin is often far away from us. Doing well, with the right motive is like a security around our hearts. However, when we are unfaithful to our works, therefore to the Lord, sin is alway crouching at the door of our hearts, and it seeks to rule over our hearts. If Jesus was to walk among us now, and His Spirit is among us, we just need to have the ears to hear Him; What would he say to you, to me, and to His Body, IBC? I know he would say; I know your works? but what works would He be referring to in your and my life, and in the life of IBC? Jesus to the Christians in Thyatira said; I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first (Revelation 2:19). My prayer is that we would be people who s work is of love, faith, service, patient and endurance before our Lord as our worship throughout the week. Unfortunately there is a but. Part 2: Being Seduce But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works (Revelation 2:20-23). Jesus makes an allusion to a famous ancient villain, Jezebel. 1 Kings 16-22 tells the story of Jezebel and her husband, king Ahab. Jezebel, a non-jew, was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre/Sidon and the high priest of the cult of Baal. The cult of Baal, was a cruel, sensuous and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Ahab, married Jezebel and ruled over Israel, one of the saddest chapters in the history of God s people. Jezebel introduced the Israelites to the worship of Baal. She didn t marry Ahab because she loved him. She married Ahab with one sole purpose, and that was to destroy the worship of the one true God among God s people. Not only that Jezebel introduce the Israelites to the worship of Baal, but she did everything within her power to rid Israel of all evidences of the worship of the one true God. She ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord, and replaced their altars with those of Baal (1 Kings 18:4,13). However, Elijah was used by God to deal with Jezebel, and rid of all the Baal priests. With this allusion in mind, Jesus writes to the Church in Thyatira, stating that their problem is this; First, you have tolerated the spirit of Jezebel, and you are now been influenced by her teaching and seduction. There have must been an influential woman, among the Christians in Thyatira that lived like Jezebel. Jesus is reminding the Christians in Thyatira of what happened to the nation of Israel when they tolerated Jezebel and her teachings in 1 Kings. 4
It seems that, within the young and muddled Christian community, some had become convinced that their spiritual freedom could appropriately be expressed both in sexual license (we still see this in cults today, where a so call prophet seduce people into sexual immorality), and in attendance at pagan shrines, cult meals. The ultimate sin of Jezebel is replacing God with an idol and taking on that idol s way of life. The ultimate concern for Jesus, is that this whole approach is an absolute disaster. The Church has no business compromising at any point with pagan worship and the practices that reflect and embody it. How about us? Perry So, last Sunday, preached on the indictment of beauty, materialism and the obsession, whether is with our children, or some other thing. Idol in our case, is anything, that diverts our attention from or replacing God for an idol. Jesus said thou shall love (or Worship) the Lord your God, with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. Second, Jesus said to the Church in Thyatira;... I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works (Revelation 2:23). There is a sense of urgency in the content of Jesus letter. Sin, is one of the greatest distraction, that distracts the Church from being Kingdom builders. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:4; that God has chosen us before the foundation of the world to live holy and blameless lives before him. If Jesus was to walk among us now, and He searches our hearts, and mind, what would he say to us regarding God s place in our lives? Is He the center, on only the center of our lives? Is He in the throne of our hearts? Is He the only God that we worship? How would we respond to Him who searches mind and heart, and reward us accordingly to our faithfulness to Him? If there are things in our lives that are stopping us from truly worshiping God, then we need to repent. Even to this, Jezebel-like lady within the Church in Thyatira, Jesus gave her grace, time to repent. He does so with us. But not all the Christians in the city of Thyatira were impacted by this Jezebel-like lady. Part 3: Hold Fast But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:24-29). The authority which the Lord possesses, with which he can do all this, is summed up with a reference to Psalm 2, one of the great royal Psalms in which the Messiah is given authority to rule the nations 5
with a rod of iron, and smash them in pieces like a clay pot. Here, verses 26-27, this royal authority is to be shared with those who conquer. As frequently in Revelation, Jesus intends to make His people a royal priesthood. What is required at the moment, for those who have not been drawn away by the teaching and practices of Jezebel, is that they hold on fast or tightly. That is a word for all Christians, that might be involve in Christian communities may have embraced the ways of the world, and have turned it into God-given. For those who remain faithful and have hold fast until Christ return, are promised by Jesus to receive the morning start. In Revelation 22:16, it is Jesus Himself who is the morning star, we probably have here another hint of the level of intimacy which he offers to His people. He will share His very identity with them, as we have just seen Him do with His royal authority. But the morning star, is a sign of the special vocation of Christians, not least those holding on when other around them seem to be compromising, under pressure, with local pagan practices. Christian witness is meant to be a sign of the dawning of the day, the day in which love, faith, service and patience will have their fulfillment, in which idolatry and immorality will be seen as the snares and delusions they really are, and in which Jesus the Messiah will establish his glorious reign over the whole wold. Conclusion In closing, Jesus letter to the Church in Thyatira is the red warning signal to our worship and service to the one True God. Jesus indicates two major red warning signal within three three different groups mentioned in his letter; The first group are the Jezebels, the one s who seduce God s people from worshiping the one and only true God, and replace him with idols. The second group are those who have tolerated and have been seduced by the sins of Jezebels. The third group are those that have held fast to Christ and to His work in regards to their worship and service of the one true God. To this group, Christ will give them authority to rule of the nations, and the morning start, or Himself. Jesus letters are also addressed to us, His Body, and the Spirit of Christ is here among us. If any of us fall within the first and second groups, the grace of God is extended to us calling us to repent. To turn from the idols that have replaced the worship and service of Him. 6
Jesus says to you and I today; The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:26-29). 7