Influences, Choices, Consequences, or Results
Revelation 2:20-21 20 “Yet I have this against you: You are permitting that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants that sex sin is not a serious matter; she urges them to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to change her mind and attitude, but she refused.”[1]
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4. The Complaint: Allowing a Jezebel to Teach Sexual Immorality & Idolatry (Revelation 2:20–21).[1] |
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E. The Message to Thyatira: The Church That Is Compromising & Permissive (Revelation 2:18–29) |
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1. The
recipients a. The messenger of
the church b. The Thyatira
churchDS1 2. The
speaker: Jesus |
18 And
unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of
God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; |
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3. The
commendation for deeds or works a. For love &
faith b. For service &
perseverance c. For expanding
ministries |
19 I
know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and
thy works; and the last to be more
than the first. |
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4. The Complaint:
Allowing a Jezebel to Teach a. They Tolerate a False Prophetess b. They Tolerate False Teaching, Sexual Immorality,
& Idolatry
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20 Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou
sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach
and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed
unto idols. 21. And I gave her
space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. |
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5. The
warning: To the compromising & corrupt a. To Jezebel: She
will be cast into a bed of suffering |
22.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her
into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. |
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b. To Jezebel’s
followers: The same fate c. The purpose for
the warning 1) To honor Jesus 2) To execute
justice |
23 And
I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I
am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of
you according to your works. |
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6. The
counsel: To the faithful a. There will be no
other burdens or demands made upon the faithful |
24 But
unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this
doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will
put upon you none other burden. |
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b. They must hold
fast |
25 But
that which ye have already hold fast
till I come. |
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7. The
promise: To the overcomers a. They will be
given authority & power over the nations |
26 And
he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give
power over the nations: 27 And
he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they
be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. |
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b. They will be
given the Morning Star, Christ Himself |
28 And
I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches.[2]
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4. The Condemnation (Revelation 2:20–21)
“Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee” (Revelation 2:20). In spite of their good record,
they still had a very serious problem in the church. That problem had to do
with a woman in their church who was a rascal [a deceiving prophetess for
hire-a whore]. She is called “Jezebel”
in our text; however, that name is probably not her actual name but is a
symbolic name that spoke of her character being like that of the Old Testament
Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, who, during the time of the prophet Elijah, was such a
corrupter of Israel.
• The consenting for Jezebel. “Thou sufferest
that woman Jezebel” (Revelation 2:20).
The people tolerated evil in the church. That is done so often today. It is
often done in the name of love. But you cannot tolerate evil. When evil becomes
strong, it will not tolerate righteousness.
• The conceit of Jezebel. “Calleth herself
a prophetess” (Revelation 2:20).
Evil does not hesitate to boast and to exalt itself in position and character.
Jezebel needed the prestige to do her dirty work, and being recognized as a
prophetess would help. Evil likes to hide itself under the guise of nice names
in order to be more effective in its wicked influence.
• The counsel of Jezebel. “Thou sufferest
that woman … to teach” (Revelation 2:20).
Jezebel was permitted to teach in the church. How often churches have appointed
teachers that should never be allowed to be in the position of a teacher. An unholy
character will produce an unholy creed and will corrupt people.
• The craftiness of Jezebel. “Seduce”
(Revelation 2:20). Jezebel was crafty and
deceived the people in her teaching and, by crafty methods, built up a
following. Sin makes itself attractive to deceive and defile.
• The corrupting by Jezebel. Two
areas are cited where she especially corrupted the people. First, she corrupted the people in the area of sex. “Commit
fornication” (Revelation 2:20).
Her moral standards were low. In her teaching, she cleverly justified
immorality. That is going on today in many churches in the sanctioning of
divorce, which produces adultery. Second,
she corrupted the people in the area of separation. “Eat things sacrificed unto idols”
(Revelation 2:20). Separation is unpalatable
to the flesh. But unless one practices separation, there will be defilement.
Eating meat sacrificed to idols will soon lead to idol worship and the foulness
involved in that. The Israelites were defiled by the Moabites/Midianites
through Balaam’s counsel, which opposed separation in this area, as we noted in
the previous letter.
• The contempt by Jezebel. “I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not” (Revelation 2:21). God in grace gave Jezebel time to repent, but she refused. This showed Jezebel’s contempt for God. God’s action here showed (1) that no sinner is too great a sinner to repent, (2) that what Jezebel was doing was sin, and (3) that God is not unkind to punish people for their sins because He has given them ample time to repent. Those who go to hell have no one to blame but themselves.[4]
4 (Revelation 2:20–21) Church—Backsliding—Teaching,
False: there is the Complaint. The complaint immediately arouses our
interest, for the name Jezebel is used. The church is charged with allowing a
Jezebel to teach in the church. This means two things.
1. The
church was tolerating a false prophetess to teach within the church. Note
that she called herself a prophetess. She claimed that God had called and
gifted her to teach and proclaim the truth. Therefore, the church appointed her
as a teacher and gave her the right to teach within the church.
2. The
church was tolerating false teaching, seduction, fornication, and idolatry.
This is exactly what is said in the verse.
a.
First, Jezebel, the false teacher, was
actually teaching in the church. Contrary to Christ and the Word of
God, the church was allowing her to spread her false teaching.
b.
Second, Jezebel, the false teacher, was
being allowed to seduce the Lord’s servants. She was arguing, presenting
reasonable arguments, deceiving, misleading, and beguiling the servants and
followers of the Lord. And the church was allowing it.
c.
Third, Jezebel, the false teacher, was
seducing the believers to commit fornication,
that is, all manner of immoral acts. How could such teaching be allowed within
the church? By very insidious teaching, and note: the teaching has
continued on down through the centuries, so much so that it now infiltrates
many churches. She was teaching …
·
That believers could not separate
themselves from the world, not entirely, not without becoming exclusive and
snobbish.
·
That believers needed to be sensible in
dealing with the world and its functions: they needed to be participating in some of the world’s functions in order
to be friendly, keep their jobs, secure promotions, help their businesses, keep
from being considered fanatical, and win the lost.
·
That believers could reach the world
more easily by associating and fellowshipping with the world.
·
That if a person really worshipped God,
he would be acceptable to God even if he did not know about Jesus Christ; that
Jesus Christ is not the only way to God; that He is not the only Savior.
· That believers should attend the social functions of neighbors and fellow workers and not be exclusive and separatists.
Remember:
Thyatira was renown for its trade guilds or unions. They were the center of
much of the city’s social and business life. Therefore, if believers did not
attend these, there was a possibility that it might affect their employment and
relationships with their neighbors. The argument of the false teacher, Jezebel,
had a strong appeal. It would take a strong-minded minister and teacher to
proclaim a life of separation in such a situation.
What happened, of course, was
that many of the socials became drunken and immoral parties. Believers who were
present were attracted to the opposite sex and caught up in the immoral affairs
just like everyone else. Believers were having immoral affairs, committing
fornication.
Naturally, the believers did not
want to be misfits, so they would be sociable and drink and dance and
participate in the activities of their neighbors. The end result was bound to
happen: believers were caught up in the drunken immorality of the world. They
had normal human desires just like all human beings; therefore, they were
attracted to the opposite sex, and some became involved in immoral affairs,
committing adultery. Remember why: all because of the false teaching of
Jezebel that believers must not separate themselves from the world, that they
must be sensible and reasonable and not cut themselves out of the necessary
business functions, socials, and pleasures of the world.
d. Fourth, Jezebel, the false teacher, was seducing believers to commit idolatry. Some of the functions of the trade guilds and unions were usually held in the temple precincts of false gods. Sometimes the socials involved a simple thank-offering to the god, much like our offering of thanks at meals. The very first piece of meat was laid upon the altar to the god. Then the rest of the meat was served to the guests. Some of the believers were participating in these functions, actually participating in the functions that gave thanks to false gods. (See—1 Cor. 10:14–11:1; Ro. 14:1–23)
Thought 1.
Remember what idolatry is. An idol is anything that a person puts first in his
life, anything that consumes a person’s mind, heart, soul, and body. An idol is
that to which a person gives himself. Therefore, an idol can be …
• a job
• money
• position
• possessions
• pleasure
• sports
• business
• family
• self
• sex
• knowledge
• power
Some church members were apparently putting their jobs and social acceptance before God. They were attending the social functions to be socially acceptable and to secure their jobs and to prosper in the world. But the inevitable happened: they were influenced by the world and caught up in the compromise of the world. All because of some Jezebel, some false teacher in the church.
Note that
Jesus Christ had given this false teacher, this Jezebel, a period to repent.
This means that she knew down deep within her heart that she was teaching
contrary to God’s Word. But she refused to change; she refused to repent.
“If ye were of the world, the world
would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn.
15:19).
“And with many other words did he
testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Ac. 2:40).
“Thou therefore which teachest another,
teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost
thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit
adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that
makest thy boast of the law, through breaking of law dishonourest thou God? For
the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written”
(Ro. 2:21–24).
“And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Ro.
12:2).
“Knowing therefore the terror of the
Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are
made manifest in your consciences” (2 Co. 5:11).
“Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2
Co. 6:14).
“Wherefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Co. 6:17–18).
“And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ep. 5:11).
“Now we command you, brethren, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother
that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Th. 3:6).
“No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be
a soldier” (2 Ti. 2:4).
“By faith Moses, when he was come to
years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season” (He. 11:24–25).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 Jn. 2:15–16).[5]
“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.” (Rev. 2:20) NIV
Thyatira
had the opposite problem that Ephesus had. Whereas the Ephesian church had been
good at dealing with false teachers but had lacked love, the church in Thyatira
had lots of love but had become tolerant of false teachers. And, as was
happening in Pergamum, the church in Thyatira was tolerating false teaching
that was attempting to compromise with the pagan society.
In this case, the problem was Jezebel, who
calls herself a prophetess, a woman from among the believers who
claimed to have the gift of prophecy. She may indeed have had unusual gifts,
but she was using her influence to teach positions that were contrary to God’s
Word, misleading the believers. Like Balaam, she was leading the people into
sexual immorality and idolatry (Rev. 2:14–15),
probably by teaching that immorality was not a serious matter for believers.
Her name may have been Jezebel, or John may have used the name Jezebel to
symbolize the kind of evil she was promoting. Jezebel, a pagan Philistine queen
of Israel, was considered the most evil woman who ever lived. She had led
Israel’s king, Ahab, into Baal worship and eventually had spread that idolatry
throughout all of Israel (see 1 Kings 16:31–33;
1 Kings 19:1–2; 1
Kings 21:1–15; 2 Kings 9:7–10; 2 Kings 30–37).
“Jezebel” was being tolerated in
the Thyatiran church—perhaps her manner was so manipulative and persuasive that
many did not notice, or perhaps no one realized the severe danger into which
she was placing the entire church.
Jezebel was somehow misleading
the believers with her teaching, which seems to have had much in common with
the Nicolaitans and the followers of Balaam (Rev. 2:6,
Rev. 2:14–15). The teaching was misleading
about sexual
immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. She had
been able to give convincing teaching about compromising with society. The two
issues probably tied in with the guilds in Thyatira. Most of the people in the
city were tradesmen, so they belonged to various guilds. These guilds (such as
potters, tentmakers, etc.) each had an area in the city and a guild hall, which
functioned as a center for the guild’s religious and civic activities. Usually,
the guild would hold a banquet at the hall once a week, and these banquets
would often be centered on idolatry—featuring meat sacrificed to idols and,
most likely, some form of sexual license as part of the revelry. Jezebel was
probably encouraging the believers, mostly tradespeople themselves, to continue
to take part in their guilds’ activities as their civic duty. A refusal to join
the guilds and take part in their activities would mean certain economic
hardship. Jezebel suggested a way of compromise. Christ was pleased neither
with this woman’s teaching nor with the fact that the church tolerated her.
“I gave her
time to repent, but she would not turn away from her immorality.” (Rev. 2:21)
NLT
God, in his mercy, had given Jezebel time to repent of her wicked ways, but she would not turn away from her immorality. Consequently, God was going to punish her with sickness and suffering. The reference to those who commit adultery with her may refer to both being involved in sexual immorality and idolatry through her teaching. Those involved would also be punished unless they turned away from all their evil deeds.
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STAY AWAY |
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Jezebel
was promoting sexual immorality (Rev.2:20).
Sexual immorality is serious because sex outside marriage always hurts
someone. It hurts God because it shows that we prefer to satisfy our desires
our own way instead of according to God’s Word. It hurts others because it
violates the commitment so necessary to a relationship. It hurts us because
it often brings disease to our bodies and adversely affects our
personalities. Sexual immorality can destroy families, churches, and
communities because it destroys the integrity on which these relationships
are built. God wants to protect us from hurting ourselves and others; thus,
we are to have no part in sexual immorality, even if our culture accepts it.
[6]
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Influences, Choices, Consequences, or Results
A point to make concerning (Revelation 2:20-21) is our awareness of our
associations and their influence of them upon our lives. For example, we often
grow up with neighbors who become life-long friends and companions. We can say
the same about our family members; they are our companions, friends, and
closest confidants. We share our lives with certain people, and for good or
bad, we become like them; it is said we take on the character of our nearest five
friends. Thus, when looking at our associations, we can see their character in
ourselves.
How is it that we can pick out flaws in others so easily? It is because we see in others what we despise within ourselves. We recognize our flaws quickly and are equally quick to condemn them because we intuitively know the harm they are doing to us. Our relationships reveal our hearts in that our desires are fulfilled in others through their behavior, which we secretly desire to fulfill ourselves. We can choose to associate with those of moral character that are contributing members of society. Alternatively, we can choose to associate with those that are a tax on society, detrimental to our communities and our well-being. We all know the results and consequences of different choices, but are we willing to make the hard choice of self-discipline, foregoing our pursuit of personal pleasure? Knowing that our dominant associations and relationships reveal our heart’s desires speaks to either being a tax on society or a contributing member. Are you a tax or a contribution? Are your associations a positive or negative influence in your life? Only you know the answer to your associations helping or hurting your well-being.
To discover the overall
influences in your life and whether they are helping you on your journey to
your ultimate destination, think of the following example. People generally
desire to live a long life, achieving a retirement that will enable them to
enjoy a life of leisure in their twilight years. However, many people from
youth do not learn the lessons of delayed gratification, sacrificing one’s
immediate desires for pleasure to the time of life when one can enjoy the
fruits of one’s labor. Someone has said, “If you fail to plan, you have planned
to fail.” The importance of this quote applies to all of our physical lives,
but more importantly, it applies to our spiritual life and eternal destination.
When one arrives at their twilight time of life, to the sunset of life
hopefully well-lived, one hopes to have the ability to look back on all one has
accomplished with the ability to say that he or she contributed to live positively
and was not a tax on society. Also, that one has a life that others can look at
or examine and say, “I valued that person, I truly enjoyed our relationship,
and I will miss them.” Therefore, looking at your current relationships, which
include your work and all that you consume concerning media, like what you
view, read, and listen to, like that of music, influences us and is either
helping us accomplish our end goal or not. Asking if the way you are living
your life now is helping you on your journey to accomplish what you have
pictured in your mind’s eye for your years in “retirement” will help in the
process of your life choices. If how you live currently is not helping you but
hurting you as a roadblock to your end goal, then you need to make a change. The
importance of thinking in this manner cannot be overstated.
As we continue through the book
of Revelation, please remember that God knows our future, and He continues to
plead with us to choose His way and will. God knows what is best for us and has
a plan for our lives that includes our eternal destination with Him. God does
not desire for us to be separated from Himself but desires for all to come to
repentance. God does not desire anyone to perish but that all should be saved
through faith in what Christ Jesus did on the cross at Calvary, paying the
penalty for our sins freely, allowing us to receive eternal life with Him if we
accept His death on the cross by faith. Revelation
2:21 says, “I gave her time to change her
mind and attitude, but she refused.” Why did the church of Thyatira receive such an
indictment from our Lord? Because Jezebel, that false prophetess whose
influence taught the people of the church to give in to the immediate
self-gratifying pleasures of sin, blinded them to the fact that our choices
have consequences and or results.
Do not live like there is no tomorrow, for we all know that yesterday’s choices influence today, and today’s choices will influence tomorrow.
Influences, Choices, Consequences, or Results
Revelation 2:20-21 “Yet I Have This Against You, You Are Permitting The Teaching Of Sexual Immorality, & Idolatry.”
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The
Living Bible, Paraphrased.
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
DS
Deeper Study
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[4] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical
Bible Expositor: Revelation.
Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[5] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
NIV
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
NLT
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights
reserved.
[6] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible
Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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