Revelation 2:18-20 Greg Bahnsen Words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire 12 of 63

Up to this point that you'd like to start with this morning, it might be a convenient time to catch up on some of those lingering questions you might have. Give you a second to kind of wake up here and refresh your memories if you do. While you're thinking, we're going to be looking at the letter to the church of Thyatira, which is found in Revelation chapter 2, beginning at verse 18. But before reading that and getting into it, I want to see if I can't catch up on previous matters. You may have nothing, I reiterate. The lessons can't be that clear, but maybe you'll warm up later. Let's start reading at verse 18 in chapter 2. Then you'll notice here that we have one of the longest, I think it's the longest letter to the seven churches to be found in Revelation 2 and 3. And yet it's written to the smallest church. The smallest church, the least significant church in many ways, at least socially, economically, politically. And yet it receives greater treatment, longer treatment than any of the others. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write these things, saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass. I know thy works, and thy love and faith, and ministry and steadfastness, and that thy last works are more than the first. But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who callest herself a prophetess. And she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time that she should repent. And she willeth not to repent of her fornication. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. And I will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts. And I will give unto each one of you according to your works. But to you I say to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teacher teaching, who know not the deep things of Satan, as they are wont to say, I cast upon you none other burden. Nevertheless, that which ye have hold fast till I come. And he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers, as I also have received of my Father. And I will Give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. Thyatira, the church to be found on the road between Pergamum and Sardis. It's interesting because in our previous lesson we read the letter to the church of Pergamum. Our upcoming lesson will be to the church, the letter to the church at Sardis. And so geographically as well as conceptually. In the letter we find Thyatira between Pergamum and Sardis. Thyatira was a commercial center situated in the Caicus and Hermus valleys of Asia Minor. It was economically dominated by trade guilds. It was a union city. In fact, for a person to work in Thyatira, it was virtually necessary that he be part of one of these trade guilds. The trade guilds were more than our unions today. They had a great deal of social intercourse in the trade guilds. People would gather together for communal meals as an expression of their oneness within the trade guild. The trade guild obviously had religious connotations. That's why the Christians couldn't be part of them in Thyatira. And so here, this trade guild dominated city of Thyatira, especially the trade of wool dying was, was prominent in thyatira. In Acts 16, verse 14, we read of Lydia, whom Paul had met in Philippi, Lydia being from Thyatira. And Lydia's occupation was what, without looking up Acts 16, those of you know your New Testament history, what did Lydia do? She was the seller of purple, right? So obviously Lydia came out of this trade dominated city, the wool dying city of Thyatira. And that's reflected kind of an incidental, you know, harmony. We see here in the New Testament what we know from ancient history and what the New Testament just incidentally reflects upon, harmonize with one another perfectly. Now, Thyatira, the thing that's most important about it is this trade domination, the guild domination of it. However politically, you might want to know that Thyatira was a Macedonian colony established in Asia Minor in the sequel of Alexander the Great's destruction of the Persian Empire. It was colonized for the Greeks. It was intended to be a Greek city. And this took place, oh, about 280 B.C. in that general range. In that decade, it was colonized by Seleucus Necator and had previously been called other names. Not only was it known as Thyatira, but previously it had been called Fallopia and Euhippia. And so it had quite an interesting political and nominal background in terms of its name and political situation. The principal deity and this is going to be important in terms of what Christ tells the church at Thyatira. The principal deity of the city was Apollo. Apollo the sun God. And Apollo employed in his service in Thyatira, the cult of Artemis or the Diana, as we know that cult from Ephesus. Diana was a goddess of light by night. Light by night. And Apollo of course is the God of. That's right. So you see here you have the deities of light, the light bearing deities are worshipped there in Thyatira. Now, subsequent church history. Now I'm going to talk about the third century A.D. now this is after the time that John wrote to the city of Thyatira. But in the third century Thyatira, the church of Thyatira becomes a stronghold of Montanism. Now those of you who are not seminary students, maybe even some of you who are, might want to be reminded that Montanism was one of the earliest heresies and cults of the ancient church. The Montanists had an. Well, there are three things that you might want to remember about them and I think they're all kind of interesting in light of what the church of Thyatira was originally told by Christ through John. Montanism was known for its apocalyptic expectation that the heavenly Jerusalem was soon to descend. Montanism held to the end of history being momentary. We have people who hold that kind of view today as well. They believe that the end of the world is imminent, that the return of Christ is imminent. Not only did the Montanist hold to that apocalyptic view that and expect that the heavenly Jerusalem at any moment, but they were a cult of enthusiast. Now that is a technical phrase. When I say I mean technical term, an enthusiast doesn't mean simply that they were enthusiastic about what they did. That meant they had certain charismatic and ecstatic expressions of their religion. Especially ecstatic prophecy was emphasized among the Montanists. And thus they called themselves because of their ecstatic utterances, because their religious enthusiasm. They called themselves the Pneumatics, which as translated into perhaps a little better English, the spirit filled ones. The Spirit filled ones. And so they were an elitist cult as well. They had the spirit, they were filled with the Spirit. They had ecstatic prophecy. They expected the end of history momentarily. And finally they practiced many ascetic traits. They were people who were withdrawn from the world. They didn't believe in indulgence and bodily things and physical things and cultural matters. They were really retreating from the world. Well, why do I bother to bring that up? Well, I think if you're listening if you're awake this morning, you're going to see that we have people who meet that very description today, don't we? They may not be called Montanist, but those who consider themselves the elite, spirit filled, who are retreating from the world, who are ascetic in their outlook on life. And they're ascetic because they're expecting the near end of history. Well, that by way of background then, the city of Thyatira in its subsequent history, the problems that the church in Thyatira had. Eventually John says to the angel, to the pastor of the church in Thyatira write these things, saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire and his feet are like unto burnished brass. The description of Christ here is very interesting and we want to take some time, especially on that title that Jesus designates himself by the Son of God. These things saith the Son of God. Where else can we find the description of Jesus as the Son of God in the Book of Revelation? Anybody know? Well, Revelation 19 gives us an interesting description of Christ as riding upon a white horse. You'll notice that when he's given a designation in verse 13, he is called the Word of God. So where you might expect him to be called Son of God, again, he's not there called it. The title Son of God apparently is found only here in the Book of Revelation, which is very interesting because of the author of the book. John the Apostle is the author of the Book of Revelation. And yet, if you think of one book in the New Testament that emphasizes the sonship of Jesus Christ to God, that Jesus is the Son of God, it's the Gospel of John. In fact, that phrase constantly appears in John's epistles. And of course his gospel is preeminently the Gospel of the Savior's sonship. But here is the only place in the Book of Revelation that we find it. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? I want to do a little study of that this morning because we hear it enough in the pulpits of our conservative and Bible believing churches that I think that perhaps it's good to refresh our memories as to how the scripture uses the designation and what the implications and connotations of that phrase are. And of course, as everybody knows, designates that Jesus is the divine Messiah. Jesus as the Son of God is the divine Messiah. Let's take each element of that. He is divine and he is the Messiah. That Jesus is the Son of God means. Well, taking the phrase Son of God is clearly a title for the Messianic king. Let's begin our study then at Matthew 6:16, verse 16. Matthew 16:16. And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. You see how Peter explicates the phrase the Christ says, you are the Messiah, which is to say, the Son of the living God. When Jesus is called Son of God, then the Bible means that he's the Messiah, he's the Anointed One, he is the Christ of God's choosing. Look at John, chapter 1, verse 49. Nathanael answered him, rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. And so the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel. That's what it means to be the Son of God. John 11:27. She saith unto him, yea, Lord, I have believed thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, even he that cometh into the world. And then John 20:31. But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing ye might have life in his name. And so when Jesus is called the Son of God, we are to understand here that he is the Messiah. He is the King of Israel, he is the chosen One, the Anointed One, the one who is to rule over God's people. And this title, Son of God, is used at very important crucial junctures in the life and ministry of Jesus. And it is used especially to designate the fact that as Messiah, as king, he has been exalted to power so that he might subdue the world under God's direction. That is used to refer to the dominion, especially of the Messiah. Notice the Annunciation. I'm going to go through the Annunciation, the baptism, the temptation, the witness of the evil spirits, the transfiguration, the trial and the resurrection, and then finally, the apostolic reflection upon the ministry of Jesus Christ. And we'll see at each one of these crucial junctures, this phrase Son of God is used to indicate that he is to subdue, that he's had dominion over the world. Luke 1. Excuse me. Verses 32 and 33. Luke 1 32, 33. Here we have the Annunciation of Christ's birth. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. The dominion, you see, of the Son of God is being emphasized here as Messiah, as Son of God, he is to rule. Ok, we go from the Annunciation, then to the baptism of Jesus in Matthew the third chapter, verses 13 to 17, Matthew 3, 13, 17. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and thou comest to me. But Jesus, answering, said unto him, suffer it now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon him. And lo, a voice out of the heavens saying, this is my beloved Son. In him I am well pleased. And so at the baptism of Jesus, the divine voice from the heavens, the startling declaration of God is that Jesus is the beloved Son. Jesus is the Son of God, the Son of the Most High. And what is the voice from heaven alluding to? This is my Son. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Of course, that is an allusion to the second Psalm, Psalm 2 in the Old Testament. We're going to be studying that at some length later on in our lesson. But I just want to point out here that the illusion that the baptism is to the second Psalm and the second Psalm teaches that the Messiah is to be given worldwide dominion, that he's to reign, you see, throughout the earth. And God says, this is my beloved Son. This is the one in whom I am well pleased. This is the one to whom the promises will be fulfilled, in whom the promises will be fulfilled that God shall rule over the earth. Okay? At the annunciation, that theme has been found. At the baptism of Jesus, that theme has been found. And then look at the temptation of Jesus. In Matthew, chapter 4, Matthew 4, Satan comes to Jesus and he wants to tempt him. Now, Satan could have taken any number of approaches. There are any number of avenues by which Satan could have tempted Jesus. But you notice the specific route. The most important and relevant route is that Satan takes is he says, if you are the Son of God, he's tempting him. Just as Satan wanted to tempt. And Satan did tempt successfully. Adam and Eve in the garden. Satan now comes in the wilderness to Jesus and he wants to tempt him. And he says, if you are the Son of God, he's challenging the word from heaven, isn't he? See, God has said from heaven, this is my beloved Son. Satan says, well, if you are the Son of God. As though there was some question about it, as though it would. Just hypothetically, the case. Verses 9 and 10, I think, are rather important in the temptation sequel Matthew 4, beginning at verse 9. And he said unto him, all these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Verse 8. I should have read before that to give you the context. The devil took him up to an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and. And said that he would give these to Jesus if Jesus would fall down and worship him. Verse 10. Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Satan comes with the presumption that Jesus might not be the Son of God, might not be the Messiah if you are the Son of God. And then the presumption of Satan is just magnified all the more when Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of this world. Now, this is an interesting passage. I think a lot of people, especially premillennialists, get misled by this. They forget to see that it's the deceiver who was talking and making such promises. And their assumption is, since Satan is offering the gift of the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, the kingdoms of the world are in the possession of Satan that he might give them to Jesus. But now, is there any good reason to think that the one who is a liar from the beginning, the one who presumed to challenge the word of God in the garden, the one who said that Adam and Eve would become as gods, only to find out that they didn't become as gods. Is there any reason to think that that tempter, that liar, that seducer, really has the kingdoms of the world to give? I doubt so. You see, Satan is presumptuous in thinking he can challenge Jesus as the Son of God. And he's presumptuous to think he can offer such gifts to the Messiah. Jesus recognizes the only way the kingdoms of the world will come to him is. Is by obedience to every word of God. And so he says. Thus it is written. Jesus stands by the written word of God. And as the one who will be the one who perfectly fulfills the law, Jesus will inherit the kingdoms of this world as the Father appointed unto him in the second psalm. So we see the theme at the annunciation. We see the theme at the baptism. We've now seen the theme reiterated at the temptation. And notice the witness of the evil spirits. This witness of the evil spirits is especially to be found on their lips in the Gospel of Mark. Mark puts a special emphasis on that. But while that's true, I think one of the clearest expressions of it is found in the Gospel of Luke. Look at Luke 4:41. And demons also came out from many, crying out and saying, thou art the Son of God, and rebuking them. He suffered them not to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. You see, when the demons recognized the Messiah has come, the coming of the Messiah means the coming of the Messianic kingdom, and the coming of the Messianic kingdom means the destruction of Satan and all his host. And so when they cry out, recognizing the Christ, the one who is to destroy them, they designate him the Son of God. In Luke 8:28 we find this reiterated. And when he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus? Thou Son of the Most High God, I beseech thee, torment me not. And so the evil spirits are tormented, and they are put into havoc at the possibility that Jesus not just the possibility, but the actuality that Jesus is the Messiah come into the world, the one who will now gain the kingdom and rule over the earth at God's appointment. The annunciation, the baptism, the temptation, the witness of the evil spirits have all been to this effect. Notice also the transfiguration in Matthew 17, verse 5. While he was yet speaking, speaking. Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold a voice out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. Of course the message is the same as the message at the baptism of Jesus Christ. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The allusion to the second Psalm that Jesus is the Messiah of God's choosing, of God's anointing, and that Jesus will rule over the world nations. That's been the message of the annunciation and the baptism and the temptation, the witness of the evil spirits. It's the message of God at the transfiguration. Notice also at the point where we might think Jesus is weakest, that is trial. The message of Luke 22, verses 67 to 70 Luke chapter 22, beginning at verse 67, if thou art the Christ, tell us. But he said unto them, if I tell you, you will not believe and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from henceforth shall the Son of man be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, ye say that I am. And they said, what further need have we of witness? We've heard it from his own mouth. Are you the Christ? Jesus then alludes to Daniel's prophecy. He says, you'll see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of high. They say, well then, are you the Son of God? Is this what you claim? And Jesus says, you've said it out of your own mouths. That's right. And then notice the apostolic reflection upon the life and ministry of Jesus Christ as well. Romans 1, verses 4 and 5. The closest thing to a systematic theology of the New Testament. In the Book of Romans, Paul summarizes his message in the opening verses of chapter one, verses four and five of that summary, say, who is declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness? By the resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord. By his resurrection, Jesus was declared Son of God with power. He is the Messiah now you see, exalted to God's right hand, now given all power and authority in heaven and earth. And notice verse 5. Through whom we receive grace and apostleship unto obedience of faith among all the nations. For his name's sake, Jesus is exalted Messiah. And for that reason all the nations are to obey the faith. That's the purpose of Paul's apostolic calling. We find another reflection of the importance of Jesus sonship In Acts the 13th chapter, verses 32 and 33, Acts 13:32, 33. And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus. As also it is written in the second psalm. Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Isn't it fascinating how the second psalm is specifically alluded to here and applied to the resurrection? It's applied at the baptism, it's applied at the transfiguration, it's applied at the resurrection. Thou art my Son. This day have I begotten thee Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus has resurrected. Messiah has power and authority in heaven and earth according to Matthew 28, so that he can send the church into the world to disciple the world nations for him. Let's look at one more. Well, two more passages, I guess. Hebrews chapter one, Hebrews one. I want to read the first five verses and then verse 13. Additionally, Hebrews 1, 1, 5, 13. God, having of old times spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of These days spoken unto us in his Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds who, being the effulgence of his glory in the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they for unto which of the angels said he, at any time thou art my Son, Son, this day have I begotten thee. Now you see, the second psalm is applied to the ascension of Christ. As the Son he is appointed heir of all things. Jesus has ascended on high, sits down after this purification of sins at the right hand of God, and by sitting down at the right hand of God, he receives a name which is better than the name of any angel. To which of the angels has God ever said, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? Verse 13. But of which of the angels hath he said, at any time sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. You see, now he's referring to Psalm 110, another promise to the Messiah, that all of his enemies shall be made the footstool of his feet, that he shall put his foot upon the neck of all of his enemies and rule over them. Jesus is to be heir of the world. Jesus is to disciple the nations. Jesus is to rule to earth's remotest ends. Jesus is to be the exalted King who conquers the world by God's appointment. That's what it means, that Jesus is the Son of God. Now, we usually think of the Son of God simply referring to the divinity of Jesus, that he is deity, that he is God himself. But by Son of God, the New Testament, as our study has shown us this morning, points out, that he is the Messiah of God's choosing and the Messiah who is to have dominion over the world nations. That was the message at the Annunciation, the message at the baptism, the message at Christ's temptation, at the witness of the evil spirits, at his transfiguration, at his trial, at his resurrection, at his ascension, and at the apostolic reflection upon his life and ministry. It's just a pervasive thing, and it's one which I hope we won't forget, we won't effuse, we won't suppress. As we read the New Testament. When you apply Son of God, that title Son of God to Jesus, you mean that he is exalted. That he is the Messiah, that He is the king of Israel and He is the ruler over the earth. Of course, that Jesus is such a Messiah does rest upon his deity. We wouldn't want to reflect, we wouldn't want to neglect that the phrase Son of God refers to his deity. And I don't mean to deny that in the slave look at Matthew 11:27. We read this just a few minutes ago, but I want to look at it and then verse 28, following Matthew 11:27 all things have been delivered unto me of my Father, and no one knoweth the Son save the Father. Neither doth any know the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal him. I'm sorry, this isn't the passage I was thinking of previously, but Jesus is making the point here that he has a unique epistemological prerogative, that he has a unique prerogative with respect to knowledge. He alone can reveal the Father. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father. No one knoweth the Son save the Father. Neither doth any know the Father save the Son. And he to whomever the Son willeth to reveal him. See Jesus as the Son of God, has this unique standing with God the Father. He is divine. Then verse 28 says, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Verse 28 is parallel to Isaiah 45:22. Let's look at that quickly. Isaiah 45:22 look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for for I am God and there is none else. Jesus says, come unto me ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Isaiah 45 says, look unto me all the ends of the earth. Jesus is the Messiah, but he's Messiah. That Messianic work rests upon his Deity, and thus he can bid people to come to him, even the ends of the earth, that they might find their rest. And that Jesus is the Son of God clearly does express equality with God, and therefore his deity, as John the 10th chapter points out. Let's look at John 10. Then, verses 33 and 36. The Jews answered him, for a good work. We stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Verse 36. Say ye of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world. Thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son, Son of God. See, Jesus is referring to this title, Son of God, as he applies it to himself. And the Jews are going to execute him. They're going to stone him for blasphemy because he makes himself equal with God by means of that designation. Well, there are other things that I'd like to pursue in the lesson, but I'm afraid time will get away with us if we don't leave it at that. So the title Son of God is one which you cannot take lightly. You just can't assume, assume that, you know, you've got all the connotations. It's a very, very rich phrase. It's very important and has a lot of connotations and implications. That Jesus is the Son of God means, of course, that he is divine, that he is equal with the Father, that he has divine prerogatives, that he is unique. But it also means that he's the Messiah of God's choosing, that he's the king of Israel and he is to have dominion over the world. Now, in Revelation chapter two, which is where we began this morning, we've been everywhere else in The Bible, Revelation 2, going back to that the church in Thyatira and to the angel. The church in Thyatira writes, these things, saith the Son of God. These things saith the one who is to rule over the world nations, who is the divine Messiah. And then a description follows after the phrase son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass. That description comes From Revelation, chapter 1, verses 14 and 15. As is customary. The way Jesus is described in the Letters of the Seven Churches is based upon the description given in Chapter 1. In this type of description, flaming eyes and burnished brass feet is to emphasize the majesty of his person. In Revelation 19:12, a similar designation is given. And his eyes are like a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems. And he hath a name written which no man knoweth but he himself. He is a majestic person. He has many diadems. He has flaming eyes. Those eyes, like flaming fire, are to detract from the luminary gods of Thyatira. The gods of Thyatira are the gods of the sun and the moon, the gods of light. But Jesus, you see, who is the light of the world, has flaming eyes. He detracts from the gods, the false gods of Thyatira. He sees everything, his eyes. It's almost as though if you wanted to use a modern equivalent, it might be that he has X ray vision. He has flaming eyes. He has burning eyes. They burn through anything he sees everything, and he judges all. His eyes flash with anger at the sin of men, and then his feet are like polished brass, burnished brass. They take swift pursuit after all evil, and they tread it down and they crush it Jesus has flaming eyes and burnished feet. Lets look at some Old Testament references that are parallel to this. Daniel 7:9 I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. Daniel 10:6 his body also was like the barrel, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as flaming torches, and his arms and his feet like unto burnished brass. And the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude in Ezekiel 1:7 the cherubim being described their feet are straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like burnished brass. Again, John is familiar with the designations of the Old Testament, and he uses them readily in describing Jesus as the exalted Messiah. We've seen the title of Christ being used, and we've seen his description. From here we come to a commendation of the church at Thyaratia. Notice how they are commended. I know thy works, and thy love, and faith, and ministry, and steadfastness, and that thy last works are more than the first. You see the works of the Christians at Thyatira. Thy works are enumerated in a series of very praiseworthy Christian qualities. They are noted for their love they are noted for their service they are noted for their faithfulness, their fidelity they are noted for their steadfastness. In that connection, 2nd Thessalonians 1:3,5 is very similar, 2nd Thessalonians1:3:5 we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, even as it is meet for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth, so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions, and in afflictions which ye endure which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer the very same four qualities love, service, faithfulness, and steadfastness are found here and Paul, in speaking of these phrases, says that it's a manifest token that they are worthy of the kingdom of God. And so the church of Thyatira is known for these commendable Christian qualities. And especially Jesus summarizes their commendation in saying that their last works, their later works, exceed or are greater than the first works. That is, they are showing growth and progress in their Christian lives. It isn't just that they have these four commendable qualities, but they're showing these qualities more and more and more. Their later works are greater than exceed even their first works. Well, who does that make you think of when we say that? Just the opposite of the Ephesian situation, isn't it? In the letter to the church at Ephesus, in chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, we had already read this. But I have this against thee that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works. Or else I come to thee and will remove thy candlestand out of its place, except thou repent. Jesus says to the church at Ephesus, you've left your first love. You're not progressing, you're regressing, and you must get back to your first works. But here at Thyatira, Jesus commends them. They don't need to get back to their first works because their later works are greater than their first works. They are progressing in their sanctification. Can Jesus so commend us? And can Jesus say this of St. Paul's Church? Do our first works need to be returned to and order for us to be commended? Or can Jesus commend us that our later works are even greater than our first works? That we haven't left our first love, but that we have grown and grown and grown, that we've progressed in our sanctification, and we are daily becoming more and more like the Messiah himself. Well, that's quite a commendation, let me tell you. It would be worthy of any church. It would be something that any church should be proud of. But Jesus not only has commendation, he has condemnation. He not only commends the church, but he rebukes it. Verse 20. But I have this against thee. Notwithstanding this commendation, there are offsetting defects in the church. I have this against thee that you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and seduces my servants to commit fornication and to eat things, sacrifices, sacrifice to idols, and I give her time that she should repent, and she would not to repent of her fornication. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. And I Will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am he that searches the reins and hearts, and I will give unto each one of you according to your works. Thyatira was lax with respect to its teachers. Thyatira progressed, you see, in its love and its steadfastness and its fidelity and its service. But it was very lax when it came to those who taught in its midst. It permitted false teachers to speak and to disrupt the church and to mislead. Refused, you see, to deal with heresy. Where Ephesus was strong, Thyatira was weak, you see. Ephesus was very strong. Jesus commends Ephesus because it's tried the false teachers and has not endured them. Thyatira hasn't done this. Thyatira allows the false teachers to get away with this. Thyatira does not judge those who are pseudo teachers. It's interesting because we said just a moment ago that where Thyatira was struck, Ephesus was weak. Ephesus was strong on doctrinal discernment, but very weak when it came to the works of love. And Thyatira, very strong in the works of love. Terribly weak and lax when it comes to doctrinal discernment and trying false teachers. I think that clearly illustrates the error that we find so often in reformed circles of the view that's called the primacy of the intellect. By that I mean there is a view that says the most important thing, the thing that must be straightened out first of all, and then everything else automatically follows, is we must get our minds in shape. We must be thinking. Correct doctrine, the intellect comes first. And then if we're thinking right, if our intellect is set straight, then of course the works of love and the proper emotions and the proper response and praise will be there. Now, I'd be the last one, especially as someone who teaches is my occupation. I'd be the last one to say that the intellect is not important. But to say that the intellect is primary and that somehow the intellect is more important in man than his emotions and his obedience and his affections and all the rest is clearly wrong. One mustn't go to the other extreme either, of saying what's really important is that a man feel right, that he be enthusiastic to see that his heart be made right in this metaphorical sense of heart being the emotions and the will, that he do the right things. It isn't so important whether you think right doctrine, but that you live in terms of right behavior. Now, can you read the letters to the seven churches Incredibly, hold either of those positions. Here's Ephesus, so strong in its intellect, in its doctrine, and so weak in its life. And here's Thyatira, so strong in its life and so weak in its doctrine. Now, we don't hold to the primacy of the intellect or the primacy of the emotions. We hold that the whole man must be sanctified. The whole man must come under the rule of God's word. Both pure doctrine and pure living must be simultaneously pursued. Not one before the other. Not one is more important than the other, but both at the same time. Because, you see, they each mutually affect the other. Poor thinking poor. Poor doctrine is going to lead to poor living, and poor living is going to lead to poor doctrine. One will not understand the word of God correctly if he doesn't repent of his sins and doesn't show Christian sanctification. On the other hand, a man can't be sanctified if he doesn't understand what God's commandments require of him. And so the whole man must be sanctified and sanctified simultaneously. You can't have one or the other. You can have one before the other. And so you have churches that fall into the error of Ephesians. And you have churches, on the other hand, that fall into the error of Thyatira. Wouldn't it be nice, Wouldn't it be God glorifying? And wouldn't it be advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ if we had churches that, rather than falling into the era of Thyatira or the era of Ephesus, synthesized the strength of both. A church that tried the false teachers and would not endure them. And yet a church that had not left its first love, but progressed so that its latter works exceeded even its former works. We're just about out of time. Let's say a little bit about this false teacher that is especially allowed to teach in Thyatira. I have this against thee that thou allowest the woman Jezebel. And I can't help but in this day of woman's liberation, remind you, it's a woman that's a trouble. Here in Thyatira, you see, this Jezebel assumes to herself the position of being a prophetess. She assumes that she can teach the church that she's in such a position now. Of course, you could have a man teach the same erroneous doctrine. So the point is not just that she's a woman, but it's accentuated by the fact that where Paul says, I suffer not a woman to speak in the churches to teach, to have authority over men. In the churches. Here you have Jezebel exercising such teaching authority over the church. I don't believe that the person to whom the phrase is applied, Jezebel, the name is applied. I don't believe that that's really her name. I think that probably this is a very strong way of condemning whoever it is that's being referred to. For Jezebel is a name for proverbial wickedness, isn't it? Who was Jezebel in the Old Testament? That's right. Ahab's wife, certainly not known for her righteousness. She had a violent life, a terribly wicked life, and she died in the same way. This woman, this Jezebel, this wicked person, has designated herself a prophetess. In the Old Testament, Jezebel supported idolatry in the midst of Israel. Notice that this Jezebel is promoting idolatry in the midst of the Christian church. Her seductive teaching is especially condemned in a city that was known primarily, as I said at the beginning of today's lesson, for its strong trade guilds, for its unionism. In this city of thyartyre, the strong trade guilds made it extremely difficult for people to earn a living without belonging to the guild. But to belong to the guild meant to commit yourself to the God or goddess or gods and goddesses of the guild. Membership in the guild involved attending the communal meals, the religiously communal meals of the guild, going to the guild banquets and eating idolatrous meat, and engaging in loose sexual practices. This is all known from history that you see there had to be this communion of the. Of the false, of the heathen. The communion had its expression in sexual practices and eating meat sacrificed to idols. And if you were to have a job, you had to be a member of such a union. Jezebel condoned Christians in participating in these things. Jezebel said, such idolatry and fornication is all right. After all, you've got to have a job. Jezebel compromised, and therefore she receives this name according to the background of the Old Testament, Jezebel, who promoted idolatry among God's people in Israel. The issue is how far can the Christian go in adopting contemporary standards and practices? When does expediency supersede principle? Jezebel obviously felt that engaging, in Luke's sense, sexual practices, eating meat, sacrificed to idol, both of which are condemned by the Jerusalem Council of the Christian Church, Acts 15. Both of these practices condemned by the church, Jezebel says, take an easy attitude toward that. Don't Be too uptight about that. You can get by and still be a Christian and you can maintain your job. When does expediency begin to supersede principle? We could have a whole hour lesson just with modern contemporary illustrations of the same threat to the Christian church that we see when we as Christians are always being imposed upon to compromise our principles for the sake of contemporary standards, for the sake of the status quo in America as we know it, for the sake of our society's ways of doing things. When does being a Christian then take its expression? When do you see, see the transforming, the light generating and darkness dispelling influence of Christianity if we allow such Jezebels to teach in the church? The issue comes down to this today, whether we are going to retreat from our society, become like the Montanist you see, who can't endure the influence of the world and so retreat from the world, become very ascetic and expect the kingdom of God to come in momentarily in some apocalyptic way. Are we going to retreat from our society? Are we going to compromise with our society? Be like Jezebel? Are we going to reconstruct our society? I think it's rather clear in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus says, you're the salt of the earth and therefore you are to preserve the earth. You're the light of the world, and therefore you're to dispel its darkness. And Jesus gives us the pattern of such preserving and such dispelling when he goes on to say, don't think I've come to abrogate the law of God, I've come to confirm it. Jesus says the blueprint of righteousness is there, and he gives us the work of reconstructing our society. We'll have to finish this letter next week, but that's probably a good note to end on and something you should reflect upon. The church at Thyatira is so small, yet Jesus designates himself to this church alone, the Son of God, the one who is intended to have dominion over all the earth. And he condemns those who are compromising with society. He condemns the Jezebelites. We know later the Montanists won't compromise with society. They'll retreat from society. Well, the call to us today, and the call, as we'll see at the end of this letter next week, is that we should have rule over the nations in the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus says to him who overcomes, I give to him to rule the nations with me. And so let's be called to that end, not to retreat. Not to compromise, but to reconstruction and dominion. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would forgive us of our many sins today, that you'd forgive us for our looseness and our lax behavior.