IN THE MARKETPLACE
Revelation 2:18-29
The Adulterous Church – 600AD to 1500AD
The other parts of this series are in The Bride folder.
In our last visit to the church at Thyatira we were introduced to the spirit of Jezebel and her devastating effect on the church. Today we are faced with the same things as the spirit of Jezebel is alive and is a force to be reckoned with. So what are we to do?
Let’s let Jesus tell us.
Rev 2:25 But hold fast what you have till I come.
Don’t miss the fact that Jesus did not tell them to “flee” this evil city and this evil woman and her evil doctrine. He told them to hold fast (krateesate; use strength to seize and retain) and be a Godly testimony to the city of Thyatira. He will deal with the Jezebels in this world and her followers and for the first time in these letters He makes a promise to the church.
Till I Come
He reminded them (us) that He “is” going to return (the first promise of His second coming), and in the interim they are to hang onto what they have because it is worth hanging onto; the very foundation of their salvation. But if you are like me there are those times when I don’t see Jesus in all His majesty as did John; most of the time He appears to me in much smaller ways. As the writer put it:
He may not appear to you in His full tide of glory, as the Son of Righteousness, yet if He appears to you in the feebler beams of the morning star, ever remember that what you see, thought but a glimmering, still is light, real heavenly light. Hold it, therefore, in your view.
What that tells me is that what God has given us is all we need; His everlasting promise that He has conquered death, hell and the grave and He is coming again. Our only requirement is to hang onto it and share the good news with a dying world. And we must not forget that He has given us His Spirit to help us hang on; the comforter who comes alongside to assist.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations —
Here once again the words of 1John 5:4-5 ring loud and clear. I love the word “overcomes.” It comes from the word nike, which means “victory;” prevailing to the end (telos; continue to the uttermost). And if we are victorious Jesus will give us power (exousian; authority, jurisdictional power) as opposed to potential power; the power (dunamis) that the enemy has. This is His promise to His “faithful” bride that she will join Him in His millennial rule:
2Tim 2:11-13 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
But a word of caution is needed here. Many picture the church ruling over the Gentile nations as one would view royalty; a special class. Think about that for a moment. That is what Ahab and Jezebel wanted and we just saw what Jesus thought of that. Consider this next verse and it will help you keep it all in perspective.
Rev 2:27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels‘ — as I also have received from My Father;
First let’s look at where it comes from:
Ps 2:8-9 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.
And that power will be granted to us for the express purpose of ruling over the nations. But look at the word rule: poimanei; to shepherd or tend. The word rod (rabdoo) means scepter or royalty. His bride is to shepherd the nations with His royal scepter. So what about rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces?
The answer is in the words “he” and “they.” Consider for a moment that what Jesus has been talking about in this letter is paganism and heathen idolatry. It makes sense to me that “they” are who He is referring to here. All those who have opposed Him and not repented will be dashed to pieces and He is the one who will do that. We need not take this authority too far — focus on the key word that is in keeping with the Jesus I know; poimanei. His bride is to shepherd with “The Shepherd’s” rod after He has ruled with an iron rod.
Just one last thought here. If we are going to be “shepherding” in the future don’t you think we should be preparing ourselves for that task now? Set aside the “ruling” part and focus on what a shepherd does. His rod is used to protect and correct his flock; not “dash them to pieces.” Yes we will be blessed to be part of His coming reign here on earth but we must not lose sight of what that entails.
Rev 2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
Nothing could be clearer here — if we overcome and keep His works to the end He will give us the “morning star;” Himself.
I will give Myself to him, the light of life, the light that breaks upon the world after a night of darkness and tempest. David Thomas
Rev 2:29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”‘
Once again in this letter as in the previous ones we, who have the ear to hear, are admonished to “hear” (understand) what the Spirit is saying to us.
Jezebel refers to those who speak more about commercial success than they do about the claims of Christ. The Christians at Thyatira faced temptations that were tied to their skills and how they supported their families. They were up against false teachings and social pressures from their workplace; participate or suffer the loss of work. We can take a lesson here and be reminded that the strongest challenge to the church does not occur in the public places but rather where we earn our money in order to survive. Under those circumstances then it’s fair to ask the question — how are we to survive?
We need to see our daily lives in the bigger perspective and keep our integrity and faith intact. If we worship our job — putting it in front of our Christianity — then we are asking too much from it and not enough from God. He has to be — must be — the first and only source in our life. He must be our Jehovah Jireh; our provider. The moment we put our hope, trust, confidence and faith in man or the world we are certain to fail. These are the things that take our minds and hearts off of Jesus. Worshiping the idols of Jezebel and allowing them in our midst is the first step to participation; another step down that very slippery slope Jesus has been warning us about.
The error of Thyatira is possible today. We can also have idols. We can look to a person or a church program and put our hope and trust in that person or that structure. How many times have we seen leader arise with some “special revelation from God,” some “deeper understanding” that the church doesn’t know or understand? How many times have we seen Christians become “beguiled “and follow after them, sacrificing their relationship – their marriage – with Jesus; leaning on their own understanding and not His?
I don’t want to take up more space here but look at these scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments. Think about them and meditate on the message. What God said to Israel He is saying to His church; the message hasn’t changed.
To Israel (God’s wife):
Jer 3:20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
Ex 34:15-16 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
Deut 31:16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
Hos 9:1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples, For you have played the harlot against your God. You have made love for hire on every threshing floor.
To The Church (Jesus’ bride):
Eph 5:24-28 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
Matt 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
If someone walked into the church at Thyatira they would have been impressed with its work for the Lord, its faithfulness and steadfastness. But something was missing. Today a church that is crowded with people and alive with energy is not necessarily the “real” church. It is possible for a church to be crowded because people come to hear some charismatic individual, be entertained instead of instructed in the Word of Truth or be soothed instead of confronted with the facts about sin and salvation:
2Tim 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Perhaps they belong to a Christian Club and not a Christian Congregation. No doubt those who lived in Thyatira and were very successful in business gave generously to the church; they looked like real Christians but Jesus sees beyond the surface. Jezebel taught that Christians ought to accommodate themselves to the world, which ultimately leads to spiritual infidelity that expresses itself in physical adultery. The same thing happens today when we compromise our relationship with Jesus for the world:
The Challenge:
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Answer:
Josh 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Every day as Christians we are either getting better or getting worse; these are the only two alternatives sitting before us: either we choose to become more Christ like or we don’t. There is not an option to “stand still;” standing pat where you are. Either we listen to the call of the world and compromise or we listen to the call of the Holy Spirit and the words of Jesus and hold fast to what we have until He comes!
In the beginning of this letter (verse 19) Jesus said He knew “their works” and the end of the letter (verse 26) He referred to them as “My works.” Our growth as Christians is dependent upon doing His works and not bringing the world into the mix; becoming compromised and confused. We need to remember the simple message of the Gospel and keep it that way.
Once again the words of Paul echo loudly — who has bewitched you.