An active but over tolerant church
Text Revelation 2:18-29 Time 25/07/10 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
We have begun to look at the seven letters to the seven churches found in Revelation 2 and 3. We have looked so far at the first three letters – those to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. That leaves Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. To remember the names try ESP-TSP-L or ESPecially Top SPeed Limit.
Most of the churches receive some praise and some blame, though Smyrna receives unmixed praise and Laodicea only condemnation. For Sardis it is more blame than condemnation and for Philadelphia more praise than blame. The order praise and blame wise is -
Mixed, Praised, Mixed/Mixed/Mixed more Blame, Mixed more Praise, Blamed
This morning I would like us to move on to the letter to the church in Thyatira found in Chapter 2 verses 18-29. To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
We travel another 40 miles south next to Thyatira, halfway between Pergamum and Sardis. The city seems to be the smallest, least significant and most obscure of the seven places represented. Someone has noted how interesting it is that the least important place gets the longest letter! Christ's perspective is not the same as ours.
Despite its obscurity Thyatira was quite a prosperous town. A lot of trade went on there and archaeologists have found a lot of evidence of various active trade guilds. It was, of course, Lydia's home town. She was converted in Philippi but may well have been involved in some way in the establishment of a church back in her home town of Thyatira.
Thyatira was not Smyrna but, as with Ephesus and Pergamum, on the whole the church was prospering but, as we shall see, had a particular outstanding problem that needed to be dealt with. Once again a consideration of what Christ writes to this particular church will help us to think through what the situation is here too and see how we are doing. So
1. Consider the character of Christ, his penetrating gaze and unstoppable progress
Once again we begin with a description of Christ drawn from what has already been said in Chapter 1. These are the words of the Son of God, it says whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Later on the Lord says I am he who searches hearts and minds and no doubt that is what the idea of eyes like blazing fire is meant to convey. Feet like burnished bronze is more difficult to follow and commentators differ. Perhaps it is best to see it, however, as speaking of his unstoppable progress in doing his will, especially in dealing with sinners. It is quite a frightening phrase really and fits with I will cast her on a bed of suffering and I will strike her children dead and I will repay each of you according to your deeds and He will rule them with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery.
There is comfort in the I knows of these chapters but it is also a challenge. The Son of God sees it all. He knows exactly what is going on. It is important that we never forget that. Not only does he see what is going on but he is able to take things forward at his own pace and he is able to test it all, as in a furnace – and not everything will survive! Such thoughts ought to fill our minds as we consider these things.
2. Consider a New Testament church with some good points. Are they seen in us too?
1. Are we performing good deeds?
The one whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze knows firstly all about the deeds of this particular church - I know your deeds he says in verse 19. Clearly these are good deeds and he knows about them. The obvious question for us is what about our good deeds as individuals and as a church? Undoubtedly we are justified by faith. However, real faith never remains alone. It always leads to good deeds. That's how it was with the believers in Thyatira and that's how it should be with us. Is it?
2. Are we showing love and faith?
In particular Christ commends the believers in Thyatira for their love and faith. It is like the church at Thessalonica, of which Paul said in his first letter (1:3) We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love. We might tend to put this pair that way round – faith then love - as it is faith that leads to love. However, no doubt in the church in Thyatira it was their love that stood out. Whereas the church in Ephesus was first and foremost a sound church and Pergamum was perhaps a faithful church, with the Christians in Thyatira it was their love that stood out. They were loving and kind to one another and it extended beyond themselves to outsiders too. It was love rooted in genuine faith in God. They really trusted in him.
Now there's a challenge for us. Are we characterised by that sort of loving attitude? Is our faith lading us to love and our love based on a true faith? This is how it should be.
3. Are we serving and persevering?
The missing element here, of course, is hope. Faith, love and hope. It is covered here though when Christ goes on to speak of their service and perseverance. We saw something similar last Wednesday when we were looking at the opening of Titus 2 where Titus is told to encourage the older men to be sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 is similar – speaking not only of your work produced by faith and your labour prompted by love but also of your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because the people in Thyatira were filled not only with love and faith but also hope they were people who served and who endured in their serving. That again is the sort of church we really want to see here – a loving, faithful, serving church that endures despite the obstacles and the difficulties that are bound to come.
4. Are we doing more than at first?
The fourth and final thing to notice here is that and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Clearly this was not just a church that was marked by love and faith and hope but a church that was really going forward. They were now doing more than they did at first. The phrase is a little cryptic because we do not know the background. It's implication is clear, however - they are going forward. They are not standing still or backsliding. Increasingly they were seizing opportunities to do good.
Here is the challenge for us then as a church and as individuals – to do more for Jesus. You come Sunday morning, how about Sunday evening and midweek? You spend time in prayer, how about spending some more time? You are helping with one aspect of church life, why not another?
3. Consider the flaw in this church. Are we guilty of a similar failing?
So lots of good things to say about Thyatira. However, it isn't all good news. In verse 20 we read Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. It appears that there was a woman in that church and she was having a really unhelpful influence there. She was enticing God's people into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. Her name wasn't Jezebel in fact, of course, but just as Jezebel had led Ahab into sin and been such an opponent to Elijah so this woman was causing similar problems in Thyatira. And yet the good people of the Thyatira church were doing nothing to stop it! You tolerate that woman Jezebel says the Lord. How on earth did that happen? It wouldn't have happened in Ephesus for sure! This can be the downside of being a loving church, I suppose. Sometimes we can be too tolerant of things that are in the end detrimental to the kingdom and leading people into sin. Clearly, on the one hand, we must be loving and kind to all sorts of people, yet on the other we cannot do anything that promotes evil.
I think there are lesser examples of this sort of thing happening right now. In New York there is a Reformed church pastored by a man called Tim Keller. One would question some things that Keller does but he is basically orthodox. Nevertheless they recently invited Bishop N T Wright to speak, even though he is the main proponent of a false view of justification. You may know the name of John Piper, an influential and popular Reformed pastor in America. He is involved with various conferences and for his next one has invited Rick Warren, the author of The purpose driven church to be one of the speakers. Warren promotes pragmatism and can be guilty of bending Scripture to suit his purpose. He has said “We let the unchurched needs determine our programs; the unchurched hang-ups determine our strategy; the unchurched culture determine our style; the unchurched population determine our goals.” No-one can really understand why Piper has done this but I would guess that with him, like Keller, it is the same sort of imbalance that existed in Thyatira, where love and faith and doing more are distorted so that they lead to unbiblical toleration of what is false.
4. Consider Christ's wrath against perverters of the gospel
In verses 21-23 we have a series of statements concerning Jezebel and her followers.
1. Consider his patience
He begins by saying (21) I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. This situation has been going on for some time now and it seems that all is well. That is not the case. We must always remember to consider things in the long term. God is very patient but his patience can run out if there is no change.
2. Consider his wrath
In verse 22, 23 he says So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. The references to a bed and to committing adultery with her and to her children are all graphic ways of picturing what was going on. This woman was encouraging idolatry and it involved sexual immorality. Punishment was going to follow for this – suffering, intense suffering, even death. This is the future unless there is repentance. Now again, we do not know the exact circumstances but clearly Christ had plans to exercise his wrath against this people in a very decisive manner and would do so if there was no repentance. We can say something similar today. It is very important indeed that we do not tolerate heresy or fall into it. Yes, we want to be loving and kind and it is very nice to be popular and liked but some things cannot be tolerated. We cannot condone heresy, things that are going to lead others into sin. It is a very difficult line to tread.
We have in our hymn books hymns by Stuart Townend and Graham Kendrick. I feel slightly uneasy about it because some of the things these men promote are quite wrong. It could give quite the wrong impression, as if we think the Charismatic movement is a good thing. We certainly must take great care not to tolerate what is false.
3. Consider his purposes
Don't miss the purpose of all this 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. It is the exaltation of Christ that is the end in view and when we look at it like that then being intolerant where we should becomes an obvious must. We cannot play around with these things.
5. Consider this call to hold on to what we have until Christ comes
Next, in verses 24 and 25 we read Now 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): Only hold on to what you have until I come. Although there was a group in Thyatira that had clearly gone for Satan's so-called deep secrets the rest had refused to do that. The guilty have now been given a clear warning. As for the rest, they must hold on to what they have until Christ comes. It is interesting how this is put. Christ says (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. Sometimes there can be an over-reaction when we get into these sorts of issues. We can start coming up with man-made rules to keep us on the right track. The Pharisees were notorious for laying burdens on the people that were eventually impossible to lift. We must not go to extremes and become intolerant of anyone who does not agree with us on everything. Rather, we must hold on to what we have – the faithful record here in the Bible – until Jesus Christ comes again.
6. Consider the call to hear the Spirit and the promise here for those who overcome
Finally there are in verses 26-29 the words To him who overcomes which is defined here as doing Christ's will to the end – going on then in the faith.
The pattern is different to what we have had before in that the phrase (29) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches now starts to come at the end of the section not at the beginning. It is there to remind us that the Spirit of Christ gives these words and they are for all who hear and understand.
There are two promises. To the one who overcomes Christ says
1. I will give authority over the nations - He will rule them with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery - just as I have received authority from my Father. The quotation is adapted from Psalm 2 and refers to Messiah's future triumph. Here the point is made that just as Christ has received authority from his Father so he gives authority to believers over the nations. How do they exercise this authority? On earth it is limited but when we bring the gospel to people and they are admitted to our churches or when we discipline those who appear not to be believers we are exercising authority. One day, as Paul reminds us, we will share in Christ's judgement at the end of the world too. Such a fact reminds us that we cannot remain neutral but must exercise our authority and make judgements. We must say, I will use a hymn book with the hymns of Stuart Townend and Graham Kendrick but they are errant brothers and we will not sing their songs or condone their teaching if it is false. We will read John Piper books but we will be very careful and distance ourselves from some of his statements and decisions. As for outright heretics like the health and wealth gospellers and the Roman Catholic church, while recognising that true believers may be caught up in these movements the teachers and the movements must be condemned uncompromisingly.
2. I will also give him the morning star. This is a little more difficult but in Revelation 22:16 Jesus himself is called the bright morning star. He is the star out of Jacob prophesied in Numbers. We are talking about having Jesus himself then to lead and guide us. If you have that then you have all. It is hard to show love and faith and hope and yet to avoid tolerating evil. How we must look to Christ always!
