Today we continue our study in Jesus' letters to seven churches, kept for us in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.  Today we study the 4th letter:

Revelation 2:18-29
Jesus said:  Write to the announcer for  the church in the city named THYATIRA:
    [quote]
I am the Son of God.  
    My eyes look-like fire.  
    My feet are as BRONZE shining.  
I tell you:
19 I know what you do.  I know about
        your love,
        your trust,
        your service,
        and your patience.
    I know-that you do more now,
        above your first activity[doing].
 20 But I have something against you:
    You let that woman named JEZEBEL spread false teachings.
        She names herself a prophet.  
    But her teaching leads my people astray,
        doing sexual sins,
        and food offered to idols, they eat that.
21 I finished waiting, waiting
        for her to change her heart and stop her sin.  
    But she refuses to change.  
22 Now, on her bed, she will suffer.
    And all those people joining her adultery,
        they must quit and change.  
    If they refuse, they also will suffer much.
23 I will kill her followers.
    Then all churches will know that
        I see and inspect in your hearts and in your minds.
    Everything you finished doing,
        I will pay BACK to you the same.

24 But you other people in THYATIRA,
        you who don't follow that woman's teaching,
        and you don't learn [quote] "Satan’s deep secrets."
I tell you:
    I will not increase your burden.
25 But what you have,
        you must hold until I come again.
26 Every person that wins
        and continues obeying Me until the end,
    I will give-you power over nations.
27 You will reign over them
        having an IRON [metal] rod.
    You will break them,
        same-as a CLAY pot, they will scatter
28 That same power I got from my Father.
    I will also give-you the Morning Star.
29 My Holy Spirit now speaks to your churches.
        Every person must pay-attention.



Before we begin analyzing that letter,
    we must review a little-bit Jesus' first three letters.

The 1st letter in Rev. chapter 2 Jesus sent to EPHESUS.
    Jesus praised them for what?
        They stood strong on God's Word.
        All religious ideas, they tested.
        They rejected false teachers.
    Jesus criticized them for what?
        They forgot to show love.

The 2nd letter Jesus sent to SMYRNA,
    Jesus praised them for what?
        They were poor.  
        They didn't have world's things.
        But they had riches in Christ.
        They suffered persecution, discrimination, and death
            for Christ.

The 3rd letter to PERGAMUM, one-week-ago,
    Jesus praised them for what?
        They also suffered persecution,
            but they still trusted Christ.
    Jesus criticized them for what?
        They accepted false teachers.
        They mixed God's Word with other religions.
        They accepted idol worship, adultery, and sexual sins.

Now we begin the 4th letter, to the church in THYATIRA.

Jesus said:
"I am the Son of God.  
    My eyes look-like fire.  
    My feet are as BRONZE shining."

That picture for Jesus
    doesn't show Him as a gentle[kind] shepherd.
Here we see Jesus as True God,
    powerful judge.
His eyes see through our false face.
    He sees into our hearts.

Jesus says:
"I know what you do.  I know about
        your love,
        your trust,
        your service,
        and your patience.
I know-that you do more now,
        above your first activity[doing].
But I have something against you:
    You accept false teachers."

Interesting...
Here we see the church in THYATIRA
    and the first church in EPHESUS,
those-two are exactly opposite.

The first church understood God's Word
    and rejected false teachers.
But this church rejected God's Word
    and accepted false teachers.

The first church became cold, forgetting to show love.
This church showed much love and service for each-other,
    and service for their community.

The first church didn't do much.
This church was really eager and active[doing].

The first church had TRUTH.
This church had LOVE.

Now, question:  
    Which is more important: TRUTH or LOVE?
    ???

That question is same-as
    if I walk into an airplane,
    and I ask the pilot,
        "Your airplane has two wings.  
        Which is more important: Right wing or Left wing?"

Silly question!  Both wings are important!
    If one wing breaks, the plane will crash.
Airplanes need both wings,
    same-as churches need both
        TRUTH and LOVE.

If we evaluate our church here,
    we can compare ourselves with which church?
        That church in EPHESUS
            that stood for truth?
        Or that church in THYATRIA
            that showed love, trust, and eager service?
    Which???

We really need both, right?

Now, we continue reading Jesus' letter:
"But I have something against you:
You let that woman named JEZEBEL
    spread false teachings.
    She names herself a prophet.  
But her teaching leads my people astray,
    doing sexual sins,
    and food offered to idols, they eat that."

The problems we saw in the PERGAMUM church one-week-ago,
    here we see the same problems,
but here the problems are worse.

Jesus named one woman leader as "JEZEBEL."  Who is that?

You maybe remember in Old Testament, a queen, wife of King AHAB.  That queen was not Jewish.  She spread idol worship through Israel, worship for a false gods name BAAL and ASHERAH.

That religion really was a sex cult, with temple prostitutes.  Many people "enjoyed" that religion more than worshipping the Lord God of Israel.  Worshipping BAAL was "fun."  That religion destroyed Israel.

Jesus uses that evil queen's name, JEZEBEL, for describing that woman leader in the church.

That leader encouraged Christian people to worship idols for other false gods, and accept open sexual sins, same-as their culture.

Jesus said,
"I finished waiting, waiting
    for her to change her heart and stop her sin.  
But she refuses to change.
Now, on her bed, she will suffer."

Jesus has mercy.  He has patience.
He wants to forgive that woman,
    but she refuses to see that she is doing anything wrong.

That fire in Jesus' eyes says, "Enough!"

That woman destroyed the church with her teaching.
And that woman destroyed people with her bed.

First she used that bed for sin.
Now she needs that bed for her sickness.

Yes, it seems right for Jesus to use that bed
    for teaching the woman
    and for teaching the church
that He will not TOLERATE that false teaching, that open sin,
    in His church.
And if they wake-up and confess their sins,
    He will eagerly heal them and forgive them.

Jesus Himself already suffered and died on the cross for us.
He is always ready to forgive us.

Jesus said,
    "All churches will know that
        I see and inspect in your hearts and in your minds."

If Jesus wants, He can ignore problems in our church,
but we will never learn what is good, and right, and true.

Jesus loves us.  That means sometimes He must discipline us.  He lets us experience trouble.
That helps us wake-up, and turn back to Him.

Now, not all people in TYATIRA accepted that false teacher.

Jesus said,
But you other people in THYATIRA,
you who don't follow that woman's teaching,
and you don't learn [quote] "Satan’s deep secrets."

Christian people,
    We don't need to learn about evil
        to know what is good!
    We don't need to study false teachers,
        to learn the Truth.
    We don't need to experience specific sins
        to understand how sin destroys us.
    We don't need to fill our eyes
        with all the garbage that comes to us every day
        through cable TV and the Internet.

Jesus said,
"I will not increase your burden.
But what you have,
    you must hold until I come again.
Every person that wins
    and continues obeying me until the end,
    I will give-you power over NATIONS.
You will reign over them."

Question:  ?Is Jesus here telling us that our country will have political power and military[army] power over other countries??

No.

Who is our real enemy?
    IRAQ?
    TERRORISTS?

No, our real enemy is in the spirit world.
Our real enemy is the devil and his angels.

Notice that Jesus says, victory will happen when?
    In end times, when He comes again.
All political power will melt-away under God's reign.
And all the devil's power will become destroyed,
    locked in hell forever!

Jesus said,
"I will also give-you the Morning Star."

What's that?

Wrong question.
It is better to ask:  Who is that?

In Revelation, the last chapter, Jesus says:
    "I AM the bright Morning Star."

When Jesus says, "I give-you the Morning Star,"
that means Jesus says, "I give you Myself!"

Jesus told the false teachers in the church:
    "Everything you finished doing,
        I will pay BACK to you the same."
That means,
    if we try to earn fellowship with God
        through our "good works,"
    we will fail.

But every one trusting in Christ, His Word, His promise.
    you receive Christ Himself,
        His Life and His Salvation.

We pray:
Lord Jesus Christ,
please search through our hearts
    and find anything false and teach us Truth.
Find anything sinful in us,
    and help us to honestly confess that.
Help our hearts wish for life that is
    good and pure.
Help our church hold Your Truth
and eagerly serve in Your Love.
Amen.