Burn! “Hang on to the End!”

Revelation 2:18-29

RCC, July 30, 2017

18“To the angel of the church in Thyatirawrite:

These are the words of the Son of God,whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel,who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.21I have given her timeto repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adulterywith her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,25except to hold on to what you haveuntil I come.’

26To the one who is victoriousand does my will to the end,I will give authority over the nations—27that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepterand will dash them to pieces like pottery’[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father.28I will also give that one the morning star.29Whoever has ears, let them hearwhat the Spirit says to the churches.

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Let’s HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES!

A family was moving across the country. Time and budget didn’t allow for a trip to find a new home, so they trusted searches online. Square footage. Number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Location, location, location. All the photos looked fantastic. Days and thousands of miles later, they parked the moving truck in front of their new home and burst through the front door. Immediately, the family was hit with the stink of CAT. And not just A cat, presumably many cats from the overwhelming smell. The interior of the home felt damp and heavy.In the flight path of the airport. In their first half-hour in their new home, at least a dozen planes roared overhead as they took off or landed. The dream home was more like a nightmare. Ah, reality!

Been surprised that reality doesn’t align with first impressions? I met a family several years ago with great kids. Helpful. Obedient. Respectful. “What an awesome family!!” I was a little jealous of the behavior. And then I got to see reality. Sort of arrogant. Kind of judgmental. Bit of a superiority complex all the way around. Disappointing when reality doesn’t line up with those first impressions.

And that’s what Jesus sees in this church from Revelation. But let’s begin with what He knows about this little church. He knows a lot. He knows that in a lot of areas, the church seems great. There’s a five-point checklist:

  • Love. There are sacrifices being made. People are putting other’s needs ahead of their own.
  • Faith. “Wherever God leads. God always provides. He will make a way.”
  • Service. Food and goods are collected and distributed to those in need. No one goes without. A whole host of busy ministries.
  • Patient endurance. Talk of hope. “Never give up! Let’s focus on the future! Our best days are ahead of us!”
  • “Greater works.” There are accomplishments and achievements. He knows that they do more and better now than at first.

From all outward appearances, this is an awesome church!

Jesus describes Himself to Thyatira as having burning fire eyes, flashing lightning eyes, and feet that shine better than polished gold.

Why are His eyes burning with fire? For starters, there’s no other set of eyes like these in the universe. It uniquely identifies Jesus as God’s own Son. He is the bright, shining, radiant, brilliant Son of God. It also concerns judgment. Jesus sees everything that’s going on. He has the power to see everything, to cut through all the fluff that fools everyone else. “The Lorddoes not lookatthethings people lookat. People lookattheoutward appearance, buttheLordlooksat theheart”1 Samuel 16:7. It’s an important message for this church in Thyatira. It may look great on the outside, but there’s a whole lot of bad going on inside the church that the One with flashing lightning laser-eyes clearly sees. And hates. And judges.

Do you remember Jezebel from the Old Testament? She’s the queen of wicked women in all of scripture. We read about her in 1 Kings 16 through 2 Kings 9. She was married to King Ahab. She brought all sorts of evil to Israel. She conspired and stole property from the neighbor for her husband. She threatened prophets of God. She had prophets murdered. Horrible sacrifices. Idol-worship. She personally funded pagan priests and priestesses. She urged her husband, the king of Israel, to abandon everything that was good and godly, there was never a king as evil as Ahab. And this woman is the type Jesus describes in Thyatira.

Right there in the middle of this really great-looking congregation, there is a Jezebel woman, dragging the church down, deeper into sin, and farther away from God. Jesus talks about Balaam and the evil impact his teaching has had on God’s people. He even uses the same phrases from the previous message. And this Jezebel—whoever she is—is just as bad. She is teaching and seducing the people away from the truth. And the worst part? The believers in Thyatira are tolerating it.

Here’s the message of hope for anyone and everyone caught in temptation and sinful living: I gave her time to repent.“Jesus doesn’t want to lose anyone, so He is waiting for the right moment to return. He wants anyone and everyone who will turn to Him to do just that. Peter writes, ”But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,as some understand slowness. Instead he is patientwith you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:8-9. It’s been a while, and the reason is that our Father wants people to come back to Him. That promise should be a relief to us, but also a motivator—that time won’t last forever, so we must act!

“I gave her time to repent of this immorality and she doesn’t want to repent.” She wants to continue in her behavior, unchanged.

We become aware of our sin. God gives us opportunity to change. We refuse. God sends consequences—suffering to bring about a change of heart and mind. In the end, Jezebel refuses, and so there will be a miserable end for her anyone who is her “child,” brought up in this falsehood, those who accept it as right and true.

There’s one more thing here that Jesus knows: Us. God searches or examines the inmost thoughts, feelings, purposes, of the soul, literally the kidneys and hearts. He knows what is going on inside us. He knows if we’re faking the whole Jesus thing and are really into deeper, darker, scarier things.

The burden for the true and faithful? Seize it. Grab hold of it and don’t let go. For those who hold fast to His work, God will give a couple of special blessings:

They receive the mark and authority of the King. Jesus quotes Psalm 2:9. Those who have this authority will tend like a shepherd, given an iron shepherd’s staff. Jesus is sharing his rights to the crown with those who have remained faithful.

He also promises the “Morning Star.” What’s that? Probably Jesus Himself.Rev. 22:16 says He is the “Bright and Morning Star.” If we hang on to the end, we take a further “step” into Jesus. These already have Him, but they will have Him in an incrementally new way, too. Contrast of bright shining light blazing out of darkness. It is a promise of more good yet to come, even for those in the middle of murky, swirling darkness. There is a bright, shining future ahead with a bright, shining Savior for all those who will hold on to the end.

A light shining in a dark place. That’s the job of a lampstand, isn’t it? Carry the light you’ve been given. Don’t have to create the light, just continue to give what you’ve received.

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