Bible Study Book Availability Update 12/2/2024

 

MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA

Revelation 2:18 Amplified Bible

18 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in [a]Thyatira write:

“These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes [that flash] like a flame of fire [in righteous judgment], and whose feet are like burnished [white-hot] bronze:

Jesus describes Himself to the church in Thyatira as having eyes that flash like flames of fire and feet like burnished bronze. He reminds us that He administers righteous judgment with power. He gives us a picture of His glory similar to what Ezekiel saw in his visions. We must never lose focus on the entirety of Who He Is and who we are in His sight. As He speaks to the church in Thyatira, He reveals several components of His character.

Revelation 2:19 Amplified Bible

19 ‘I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your last deeds are more numerous and greater than the first.

He knows everything. Here He speaks of their deeds, love, faith, service, patient endurance and growing levels of service. He tells them that He is pleased with these things. He knows us too. He knows if our deeds are done with the right motive and He knows if our deeds are for our own glory instead of His. He knows when our motives promote self-interests instead of His purposes. He knows the sincerity of our love and the depth of our concern for others. He knows when our love results in tolerance and when our love results in sharing Truth. He knows our faith in Him and He knows when faith is difficult, when we lose our focus. He knows when we serve humbly for Him, and when we serve to put ourselves in the limelight. He knows when we endure patiently and when we grumble in suffering. He knows if we are growing in our relationship with Him or if we are stagnant and satisfied with the status quo. The question we must ask ourselves, since we know that He knows, really knows, everything about us including the deep hidden things of our hearts, is, “Does He see me serving His purposes, loving sincerely, having strong faith, enduring suffering with patience, and growing daily in my relationship with Him?”

Revelation 2: 20 Amplified Bible

 20 But I have this [charge] against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit [acts of sexual] immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.  

If you have read the previous posts about the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum, you are seeing a pattern of false teaching, idolatry, and sexual immorality. I feel like I am repeating myself, but if Jesus repeats the same thing, and I repeat what He said, maybe I’m not doing a bad thing. When I tell a story to friends or family, I often say, “Have I told you this before?” because I don’t want them to think (as my mother-in-law used to say) “a few fries short of a happy meal.” Jesus is repeating to make a point that these sins are wide-spread and serious. Two thousand years later, these same sins are widespread and serious. We need to be aware and vigilant that we aren’t deceived by the devil’s lies.

Revelation 2: 21 Amplified Bible

21 I gave her time to repent [to change her inner self and her sinful way of thinking], but she has no desire to repent of her immorality and refuses to do so.

He is willing to show grace and mercy to anyone who will repent and turn to Him. I like the explanation in the Amplified Bible “to change her inner self and her sinful way of thinking”. We know that we are powerless to change ourselves. The only way to change our inner self and our sinful way of thinking is to submit to Jesus as Savior and Lord, and allow His Spirit to work in our lives to make us more like Him. Then the sad part: people reject Him, have no desire to repent, and refuse to do so. This breaks my heart. If you have friends and family who do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord, I know your heart is broken too. Peter teaches us that “God is not slow, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all will come to repentance.” I pray this daily. I cling to these words for the people I know and love who have no desire to repent and accept God’s gift of salvation.

Revelation 2: 22-23 Amplified Bible

22 [b]Listen carefully, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her [I will bring] into great anguish, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children (followers) with [c]pestilence [thoroughly annihilating them], and all the churches will know [without any doubt] that I am He who searches the [d]minds and hearts [the innermost thoughts, purposes]; and I will give to each one of you [a reward or punishment] according to your deeds

Aren’t these verses heart stopping? We teach our children not to put their hands in fire or on a hot stove, to not go with strangers, to look both ways when crossing the street. But if they disobey us, they suffer the consequences. God warns us and wants us to repent, but if we don’t, we suffer the consequences. I know that these verses sound harsh from a sinful human standpoint, but God is completely loving and completely just. He is also all knowing. He knows our hearts. He knows who will repent and who will continue to refuse to acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord. Any punishment God administers is fair and just. Our choices decide if we receive His grace and mercy or His justice.

Revelation 2: 24-25 Amplified Bible

 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the [e]depths of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you, 25 except to hold tightly to what you have until I come. 

My husband used to talk about “used to be-s”. People who used to teach Sunday School, sing in the choir, be a deacon, be a preacher, but have left the church and live as if they never knew God at all. It’s pretty easy for us to judge these people when we are comfortable with where we are. I could very easily have become a “used to be” when my husband was forced to retire because of his health. He was sick, I’m not denying that, but ever since God had called him to preach, he had said he wanted to die at the pulpit preaching God’s Word. When he was forced to give up the call Jesus placed in his heart, he lost his purpose, and he died without the support of the church family he had served for ten years. I believed that God also called me to be a pastor’s wife. I also lost my purpose. I understand that sometimes holding tightly to what God has called us to do is difficult, and requires a purposeful determination to be steadfast and not led astray by the attacks of the devil from without or within. The people in Thyatira were being attacked from outside by false teachers and culture in which they lived, and from within themselves because of our sin nature, and probably because they were converts from pagan religions.

Revelation 2: 26-29 Amplified Bible

26 And he who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] and he who keeps My deeds [doing things that please Me] until the [very] end, to him I will give authority and power over the nations; 27 and he shall shepherd and rule them with a rod of iron, as the earthen pots are broken in pieces, as I also have received authority [and power to rule them] from My Father; 28 and I will give him the [f]Morning Star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Some of this I don’t understand, and will not attempt to write something that would probably be wrong, but let’s focus on what we do understand. The only way to overcome sin, false teaching, idolatry, sexual immorality is by believing that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is our only hope. The only way to do the things that please Him is to submit to the work of His Spirit in us, as we grow more like Him through an intimate personal relationship with Him. Jesus has received power and authority from the Father to rule. Again, He implores them, and us, to hear and heed what the Spirit says to us. Study, pray, listen, obey.