Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
For those of you who are new, my name is Sean.
I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
And it's my joy and honor to preach God's Word to you.
We are in a series in the book of Revelation.
We're in Revelation chapter 2.
This is why you turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2.
If you don't have a Bible, if you raise your hand,
we'd love to bring you a copy of the Bible that you can have.
And Revelation is the last book in the Bible.
Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 to 29.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, as you always do when we gather in your name,
we know that you are present here in your Spirit.
And we also ask that by your Word,
now you address us
and enlarge our vision of Jesus, your Son,
so that in light of your glory and his greatness and his might,
we are humbled
and people seem small in comparison
so that we do not fear them,
but we fear you.
remind us of your holiness this morning,
but also remind us
of your mercy
and your grace.
in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
If you are willing and able,
please stand and join me in the reading of God's Word.
I'll read it out loud.
Revelation 2,
18 to 29.
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,
the words of the sons of God,
who has eyes like a flame of fire
and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works,
your love and faith
and service
and patient endurance,
and that your latter works exceed the first.
But I have this against you,
that you tolerate that woman, Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess
and is teaching and seducing my servants
to practice sexual immorality
and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
I gave her time to repent,
but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
Behold,
I will throw her onto a sickbed
and those who commit adultery with her,
I will throw into great tribulation
unless they repent of her works.
And I will strike her children dead.
And all the churches will know
that I am he
who searches mind and heart.
And I will give to each of you
according to your works.
But to the rest of you in Thyatira
who do not hold this teaching,
who have not learned
what some call
the deep things of Satan,
to you I say,
I do not lay on you any other burden.
Only hold fast what you have
until I come.
The one who conquers
and who keeps my works
until the end,
to him I will give authority
over the nations.
And he will rule them
with a rod of iron
as when earthen pots
are broken in pieces,
even as I myself
have received authority
from my Father.
And I will give him
the morning star.
He who has an ear,
let him hear
what the Spirit says
to the churches.
This is God's holy
and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
In C.S. Lewis' book,
The Silver Chair,
which is part of
the Chronicles of Narnia series,
the friends of Aslan,
Eustace Scrubb,
Jill Pohl,
and Puddleglum
meet the Lady of the Green Kirtle,
also known as
the Queen of the Deep Realm,
which,
while they're on their mission
to find Prince Rillian,
who has been lost,
who is the rightful heir
to the throne of Narnia,
and when they first meet
the Lady of the Green Kirtle,
it says that she was riding
side saddle
on a beautiful white horse.
That horse itself
was so lovely
that it says
it made you want
to give it a lump
of sugar at once.
But in the description,
it says,
but the lady
who wore a long,
fluttering dress
of dazzling green
was lovelier still.
Her voice
was as sweet
as the sweetest bird's song.
This is,
I'm quoting C.S. Lewis here.
Her laughter
was the richest,
most musical laugh
you can imagine.
The Lady of the Green Kirtle,
however,
is no sweet lady.
She directs
these three friends
of Aslan
to the giant's castle,
Harfang,
for an autumn feast,
like the fall festival
we had yesterday,
and tempted
by the rich fare
of an autumn feast
with the giants,
they go to Harfang
not knowing
that the specialty
that these giants eat
at this autumn feast
is what they call
man pies
and that these friends
will become the meal
and that's where
the Lady of the Green Kirtle
sent them.
She's also the one
who has put
Prince Rillian
under a spell
and has kidnapped him
and is now ruling
the underground,
the Deep Realm,
where she is mobilizing
an army of gnomes
with which to make war
against Aslan
and against Narnia.
And that's why she's called
the Queen of the Deep Realm.
So this seductive,
beautiful lady
turns out to be
this Queen of the Deep Realm
and her true identity
is revealed
in dramatic fashion
toward the end of the book
when the long green train
of her dress
kind of wraps around her
and thickens
into this solid green pillar
and her facial features
all disappear
except for her eyes
and then she takes on
quote,
the loathsome body
of a great serpent
as green as poison.
Her loveliness
is exposed
to be a loathsome body
that it really is
and her dazzling green
is exposed
as the poisonous green
that it really is.
In this letter
to the angel
of the church
in Thyatira,
we see that
an otherwise
very healthy church
is facing the threat
of a false prophetess
who is teaching
and seducing
Christ's servants
to practice
sexual immorality
and to eat food
sacrificed to idols.
Rather than overt
persecution
like some other churches
were facing
or political oppression,
the church in Thyatira
is suffering more
from seduction
of false teachers
similar to the church
in Pergamum
and sometimes
this kind of evil
is harder to deal with
because it's from
an insider
rather than an outsider
because it's so seductive
and enticing.
It takes discerning eyes
to see the lady
of the green curdle
for who she really is,
a green serpent.
And that's what
this passage is seeking
to accomplish
in our lives,
to enable us
to see evil
disguised as good
through the eyes
of Christ
because Christ has eyes
like flame of fire
and he's the one
who searches
mind and heart.
And that's the main point
of our passage,
remembering Jesus'
eyes of fire.
We must keep
the works of Christ
and not tolerate
sexual immorality
and idolatry
in our midst.
I'm going to talk
in turn about
the authority
of the Son of God
and then the adultery
of the children
of Jezebel
and the award
for the servants
of Christ
to persevere
to the end.
First, let's look
at the authority
of the Son of God
in verse 18.
Once again,
as we have seen
if you've been with us
in this series,
as Jesus does
in every letter
to every church,
Jesus introduces himself
with an aspect
of the glorious vision
of him
in earlier chapter 1,
verses 12 to 16.
And he takes
an aspect of that
that's most pertinent
to this particular church
and introduces himself
that way.
And because the church
in Thyatira
is being seduced
by a false prophetess
into sexual immorality
and idolatry,
Jesus emphasizes
his discernment
and his authority
to judge
in verse 18.
The words
of the Son of God
who has eyes
like a flame of fire
and whose feet
are like burnished bronze.
His eyes
were like a flame
of fire.
So fire is often
a symbol
of judgment
and discernment.
At a refinery,
workers subject
various metals
to the flames
so they can burn
off the dross
and isolate
the precious metals
so that it can be
used in some way.
Sometimes we describe
people that we know
as, oh,
that guy
or that woman
has piercing eyes.
And by that,
we mean that they have,
I mean,
it could just be
a description of the appearance,
but usually we mean
that they have eyes
that seem to look through
that they can see
inside you.
Jesus' eyes
are like that,
but it's not just
an appearance.
He has eyes
like a flame of fire.
He has all-seeing eyes
with which
he searches
mind and heart.
As it says
in verse 23.
That means
nobody can dupe him,
nobody can get past him,
no one can trick him,
no sinner
can hide
from his infallible judgment.
And his feet
are like burnished bronze.
This is an allusion
to Daniel's vision
of the Son of Man
in Daniel 10.6.
So refined,
polished bronze,
burnished bronze
is glossy
and it gleams,
it's shiny
and because of its purity.
And Jesus,
so Jesus has no impurity
in him
like bronze
refined in a furnace.
Bronze is also
the hardest
of the three precious metals
most commonly used
in the ancient world,
gold,
silver,
and bronze.
And so imagine
feet like burnished bronze,
pure and gleaming
and hard,
just crushing
these brittle rocks
underneath.
I think,
I was trying to think
of an illustration
for this.
I once made the mistake
of using the flat side
of a meat pounder,
is that what that's called?
To crush garlic.
And it was,
it's not that it didn't work,
it just worked too well.
And I just hit it once
and then it was like,
it just,
it was disintegrated
into smithereens
and it splattered
all over the kitchen.
So I've never done that again.
But that's the effect
of having something
so powerful
and strong
like burnished feet,
feet of burnished bronze
just walking over
and crushing
the enemies of Christ
underneath.
That's Christ's
authority and power.
So this vision of Jesus
with eyes like a flame of fire
and feet like burnished bronze
is important
because it keeps us,
when we have this
glorious vision of Jesus,
it protects us
and it keeps us
from being deceived
by the enemy
into thinking that
sins can be tolerated
and hidden.
Oh, Jesus doesn't see.
Oh, Jesus doesn't care.
It also keeps us
from believing
the lies of the enemy
that Jesus will not
come to judge
because he will
come to judge
those who oppose him
with feet like
burnished bronze.
If you live before
the all-seeing eyes
of Christ,
then you do not have
to fear
the peering eyes
of man
and their fallible
judgment of you,
their fallible opinion
and estimation
of you
because you care
about what Jesus thinks
because he sees everything.
And if you live
in light of a glorious
view of Jesus
who has feet
of burnished bronze,
like burnished bronze,
then you do not
have to fear men
and what they can do
to you.
You don't have to fear
the schoolhouse bullies
or the academic
or professional
power brokers
or the governmental
powers that be
that might marginalize you,
demote you,
or crush you
because you see
that Christ
is more powerful
and you care more
about what he thinks.
So all of these
descriptions are taken
directly from the
glorious vision of Jesus
in Revelation 1
except for one detail
and that detail
is significant.
It says in verse 18,
the words of the
Son of God.
That title,
the Son of God,
is not from Revelation 1.
That's from Psalm 2
where God says
to his appointed king,
and we read that
earlier
as our cult worship,
to the messianic king
that God has appointed,
he says to him,
you are my son.
Today I have begotten you.
Ultimately,
it's a prophetic word
that points to Jesus
who is God's only
begotten son.
And this biblically
allusion to Psalm 2
is confirmed later
by verses 26 to 27
which directly references
a part of Psalm 2.
He quotes verses 8 and 9.
And it speaks of how
God gives authority
over the nations
to this messianic king
to rule with the rod of iron.
So by declaring himself
to be the Son of God,
Jesus is identifying himself
as the messianic king
from the royal line
of David.
He is the rightful heir
to the throne
established by God himself.
He is the only begotten Son.
And this is also significant
in light of the historical context
because it's a polemic
against the claims
of the political pretenders
of the Roman Empire.
Ever since Julius Caesar
formally declared himself
the divine Julius
in 42 BC,
his adopted son Octavian,
better known as Augustus,
style himself
as the son of the God.
A letter that Augustus wrote
to the magistrates of Sardis
has been preserved
and in it he begins
the letter Imperator Caesar,
son of the God,
Augustus,
Pontifex Maximus.
Presumptuous title.
But Caesar Augustus
is only a counterfeit
because Jesus is the true king
and he is the true emperor.
Jesus is the true son of God
and Jesus is the true
Pontifex Maximus,
which means supreme pontiff
or the chief high priest.
Christ.
So this is a comfort
to the suffering believers
who are facing
idolatry and immorality
of the Roman Empire
and feeling political pressure
from their surroundings
and from the political authorities.
It's a reminder
that Jesus is the true king.
He is the true son of God,
so do not fear.
And it says in verse 27,
Jesus received authority
from God the Father.
So don't fear
when Caesars
or presidents
or dictators
try to stamp you out
for your allegiance to Jesus
because all authority
in heaven and on earth
has been given to Jesus
and he has eyes
like a flame of fire
and feet like burnished bronze.
So hold fast to your faith
and persevere
even unto death
and conquer
as Christians.
That's the exhortation.
Having looked at the authority
of the Son of God,
let's not turn to the adultery
of the children of Jezebel
in verses 19 to 25.
But before Jesus critiques
this church,
he graciously commends them
for their good works
in verse 19.
I know your works,
your love
and faith
and service
and patient endurance
and that your latter works
exceed the first.
The word works
is used once
at the beginning
and once at the end
of the verse
and it seems to be
a summary term
for everything in between.
So the works
that the church
in Thyatira
was doing
includes
their love
and faith
and service
and patient endurance.
So here in this passage,
unlike some other parts
of the New Testament,
the works are not
being contrasted
with faith
as it's rather
being used
in a more general sense
to refer to the totality
of Christian faithfulness.
This is confirmed
by what Jesus said
to the church
in Ephesus
earlier in chapter 2.
He also said to them,
I know your works
and commended them.
But then he added,
but I have this against you
that you have abandoned
the love you had
at first.
So in light of that evaluation
for the church
in Ephesus,
Jesus' exhortation
to them,
the church in Ephesus
in verse 5,
was repent
and do the works
you did at first.
So recovering
the love they had
at first
involved doing
the works
they did at first.
So you can see
that these two things
are related.
So then here,
for the church
in Thyatira,
the works that they are doing
includes the love
and faith
and service
and patient endurance.
They're doing
all of these things.
Unlike the church
in Ephesus
who did those things
at first
but were no longer
doing those works,
had lost sight
of their first love,
the love that they had
at first for Jesus.
This church,
the church in Thyatira,
their latter works,
it says,
exceed the first.
They're not waning
in their zeal.
They're waxing
in their zeal.
They're doing more.
They're loving
one another more.
They're loving
their neighbors more.
They're serving more.
They're patiently
enduring more.
They're living by faith
and not by sight
and they're serving
each other
with generosity
and sacrifice.
They're patiently
bearing witness
to Jesus
in a hostile world.
So many wonderful
things that they're doing
and they're being commended
for and it's such a
heartening
and encouraging thing
that Jesus knows
our works.
Every good thing
you do,
Jesus sees.
Everything you do
in his service,
Jesus knows.
He doesn't need to.
He doesn't have to
pay attention.
He's the king.
We all should still
be serving him
whether he sees it
or not,
but he sees everything.
I know your works
and I pray that we
as a church
can one day hear
these commendations
from the Lord
like the church
in Thyatira.
Unfortunately,
however,
there was still
one glaring fault
with the church
in Thyatira.
Jesus says in verse 20,
but I have this
against you,
that you tolerate
that woman Jezebel
who calls herself
a prophetess
and is teaching
and seducing
my servants
to practice
sexual immorality
and to eat food
sacrificed to idols.
This is very similar
to the church
in Pergamum.
Remember,
they were tolerating
the teaching
of the Nicolaitans
who were also
teaching that
sexual immorality
and idolatry feasts
are okay for Christians
to participate in.
And Thyatira
boasted
a number of large,
a large number
rather,
of Roman trade guilds.
And I mentioned
to you a few weeks ago
that Roman trade guilds,
these were like
economic kind of societies
and they got together
and usually they had feasts
where they would
make sacrifices
to the Roman gods
and to the Roman emperor
and they would
use that context
to network
and make connections
and try to,
you know,
ingratiate yourself
to people in power
so you can get promotions.
And also during those times
people drank heavily
and as is often the case
in places where people
drink heavily
there was a lot
of sexual promiscuity.
It was,
historians record
that often these things
devolved into orgies.
And there would have been
for Christians
because Roman religion
and politics
and economy
are all intricately related,
there would have been
tremendous pressure
for Christians
economically
and politically
and culturally
and religiously
to participate
in these feasts.
And some people
like Nicolaitans
in Pergamum
and Jezebel
in Thyatira
were telling Christians
it's okay.
It's not a big deal.
You can be loyal
to Christ
and still do these things.
Now,
I don't think
Jezebel
is her real name.
Why would you ever
name your child
Jezebel?
Right?
No Jew
would name
their child
Jezebel.
And no Christian
would either.
In the same way
the Nicolaitans
were figuratively
compared to Balaam
earlier in this chapter.
I think the false
prophetess of Thyatira
is being figuratively
identified as Jezebel
from the Old Testament.
Let me give you
some background
on Jezebel
in case some of you
are not familiar.
1st Kings 1631
tells us that
the Israelite king
Ahab married
Jezebel
the daughter of
Ethbaal
king of the Sidonians.
The name Ethbaal
means there is Baal
and the Canaanite
god of rain,
storm and life.
And the name Jezebel
means where is the prince?
And that's an allusion
to a mythical story
about Baal.
And so you can just
tell from the names
that both Ethbaal
and his daughter Jezebel
are loyal
and devout
worshippers
of Baal.
But Israelite king Ahab
marries Jezebel
which he wasn't
supposed to do
in the first place
because she's not
a follower of Yahweh
of the one true God.
What follows
in 1st Kings 1631
is not therefore surprising.
It says Ahab took
for his wife Jezebel
the daughter of Ethbaal
king of the Sidonians
and went and served
Baal
and worshipped him.
In fact their idolatry
got so bad
that it says
in 1st Kings 21-25
there was none
who sold himself
to do what was evil
in the sight of the Lord
like Ahab
whom Jezebel
his wife
incited.
So in God's estimation
Ahab
did more evil
in Israel
at that point
than anyone else
in the history of Israel.
And Jezebel
his wife
was a big part of that.
Ahab and Jezebel
were like Satan's
power couple
in the Old Testament.
According to
1st Kings 18-9
450 prophets
of Baal
and 400 prophets
of Asherah
that's another
pagan religion
all ate
at Jezebel's table
meaning Jezebel
is personally
providing for
these false prophets.
She's their patron
and supporter
sponsor.
She's the one
who killed
the prophets
of the Lord.
She's the one
who breathing murder
drove out
God's prophet
Elijah
out of town.
She's also the one
who arranges
for the murder
of an innocent man
named Naboth
so that her husband
Ahab can claim
his lucrative vineyard.
She was so thoroughly
wicked
that the Lord
said of her
that dogs
shall eat Jezebel
within the walls
of Jezreel.
And indeed
that happened.
She was thrown out
of the tower
of Jezreel
by her eunuchs.
Her blood splattered
on the wall
and the horses
trampled her
and then the dogs
came and ate her
so that nothing
remained of her
except for skull
and the feet
and the palms
of her feet.
That's what the Bible
tells us about Jezebel.
That's Jezebel.
No wonder her name
is synonymous
with a wicked woman
in the Bible.
With all of that
background in mind
you can see
that it's a very
serious accusation
to identify
anyone with Jezebel.
And yet Jesus here
does not hesitate
to identify
this false prophetess
with Jezebel
because it says
in verse 20
she calls herself
a prophetess
and is teaching
and seducing
my servants
to practice
sexual immorality
and to eat
food sacrificed
to idols.
This is
kind of unrelated
but this is proof
that New Testament
Church did have
prophets
and prophetesses
and I think
that's a good thing.
The prophecy itself
is not the problem.
It's a false prophecy.
That's the problem.
And note how
he says
she calls herself
a prophetess.
Jesus doesn't
call her a prophetess.
She calls herself
that.
And she is teaching
and seducing
my servants
Jesus says.
They are Jesus'
servants.
They belong to him
but instead
she is leading
them astray
and seducing
them into
sexual immorality
to eat food
sacrificed
to idols
and that's how
we know
that she is
a false prophet
because the spirit
of God
never contradicts
the word
of God.
So if you claim
to prophesy
by the Holy Spirit
and then you tell
people in your
prophecy
to tell people
to do what
contradicts scripture
then you're a
false prophet.
So Jesus doesn't
hesitate to call
her Jezebel.
He says
and then Jesus
rebukes the church
for tolerating
that woman Jezebel.
tolerance
has been a buzzword
in our culture
for some decades
now
and its meaning
has morphed
radically
and an older
view
of tolerance
said in essence
I disagree
with you
but you have
the right
to your own
beliefs
and I'm not
going to coerce
you into believing
the same thing
that I believe.
That's what tolerance
used to me.
Nowadays
however it means
more like
your view
is equally valid
as mine.
You're right
and I'm right.
Neither of us is wrong.
We're all right.
That's what tolerance
often means
nowadays
in a kind of
relativistic
postmodern manner.
But that's not
tolerance
because when you
tolerate something
it assumes
that you disagree
to a degree
with that person.
So imagine
if I
I got this analogy
from I think
Michael Ramson
somewhere
imagine if I went
over to you guys
house for dinner
and you guys
served me dinner
and you said
hey how was the food?
And I said
the food
food was tolerable.
That'd be offensive
because
if it's tolerable
that means
like I
I'm not really
happy with it.
I'm just tolerating it.
I just
I found it
disagreeable.
That's what that means
but you know
I'm going to
stomach it.
And so
tolerance
assumes
a level
of disagreement
but the new
notion of tolerance
in vogue
nowadays says
no your view
is just as valid
as mine.
Your opinion
is just as valid
as mine.
You know
we all have
nobody's wrong.
As someone
has paraphrased
G.K. Chesterton
saying in his book
Heretics
tolerance
is the virtue
of the man
without convictions.
where tolerance
is the attitude
of those
who do not
believe in anything.
Not the old
kind of tolerance
the new
kind of tolerance.
I remember
that my college
chapel
had replaced
a cross
in the chapel
with this
ornate
tapestry
that had symbols
of all
conceivable
religions
on it
and had it
right front
and center
at the chapel.
But a true Jew
cannot worship
in front of that
and a true Muslim
cannot worship
in front of that
and certainly
a true Christian
cannot worship
in front of that
because they
actually believe
something.
And that tapestry
essentially
reified
pluralism
and claimed
that every religion
is equally valid
which most
faithful adherents
of world's religions
cannot accept.
That kind of
pluralism
or that kind
of tolerance
is actually
inherently
intolerant
because it
refuses to
tolerate anyone
who says
of other religions
your religion
is false.
In this kind
of confused
world
Christians
are often
accused
of intolerance
and denounced
as bigoted
because of
our claim
that Jesus
is the
way
and the
truth
and the
life
and that
no one
comes to
the Father
except through
him.
because of
our claim
that Christian
ethics
including
sexual
ethics
is superior
to the
prevailing
ethics
of our
culture.
We get
called
bigoted.
But sexual
immorality
no matter
how it
gets dressed
up in
our culture
is wicked
and we
must not
tolerate
that in
our midst.
I'm not
saying that
as Christians
we need
to be
moral
polices
with all
of our
non-Christian
neighbors.
That's not
what I'm
saying.
Paul says
clearly
in 1 Corinthians
5
I wrote
to you
in my
letter
not to
associate
with
sexually
immoral
people.
Not at
all
meaning
the
sexually
immoral
of this
world
or the
greedy
and
swindlers
or
idolaters
since then
you would
need to
go out
of the
world.
But now
I am
writing
to you
not to
associate
with
anyone
who
bears
the
name
of
brother
or
sister
in
Christ
if he
is
guilty
of
sexual
immorality
or greed
or is
an
idolater
reviler
drunkard
or
swindler
not even
to eat
with
such
a
one.
For
why do
you
judging
outsiders?
Is it
not
those
inside
the
church
whom
you
are
to
judge?
God
judges
those
outside
purge
the
evil
person
from
among
you.
It's
not
our
business
to
judge
those
who
are
outside
the
church.
So
we
can
say
to
them
hey
I
disagree
with
you
I
think
your
beliefs
and
your
ethics
are
gravely
mistaken
and
spiritually
perilous
but
I'm
not
going
to
force
you
to
believe
what
I
believe
and
I
can't
force
you
to
behave
the
way
I
think
you
should
behave.
That's
what
tolerance
is.
That's
tolerance.
But
we
don't
judge
those
who
are
outside.
God
will
judge
those
who
are
outside.
However
it
is
our
business
to
judge
those
who
are
inside
the
church
because
they
are
Christians
but
not
living
like
Christians
and
they
are
refusing
to
repent
when
we
speak
the
truth
and
love
to
them
and
gently
confront
them
and
say
no
you
need
to
repent
of
your
sins
and
they
refuse
to
repent
then
it
is
the
church's
duty
to
dissociate
from
them
to
defend
the
honor
of
Christ
to
preserve
the
purity
of
the
church
and
to
protect
the
integrity
and
credibility
of
our
witness
as
Christians
to
the
world
whenever
I
speak
of
this
issue
of
church
discipline
there
are
inevitably
some
people
who
tend
to
be
very
compassionate
which
is
good
and
empathetic
and
they
say
well
that's
so
harsh
have
you
considered
the
feelings
of
those
people
but
I
want
to
ask
have
you
considered
the
feelings
of
Christ
verse
22
describes
idolatry
and
sexual
immorality
as
spiritual
adultery
committing
adultery
against
Jesus
our
bridegroom
Jesus
is the
victim
of
such
adultery
imagine
that
your
friend's
wife
just
committed
adultery
against
your
friend
and
she
is
not
repentant
right
she's
insisting
on
staying
in
an
open
marriage
let's
just
keep
an
open
marriage
because
I
want
to
keep
doing
this
and
your
friend
is
heart
broken
he's
crushed
and
he
thinks
well
that's
I
can't
do
that
I
can't
submit
myself
to
such
an
arrangement
that's
tempted
him
out
to
asking
for
divorce
would
you
go to
your
friend
and
say
well
hey
just
be
a
little
more
tolerant
of
your
wife
so
harsh
to
your
wife
love
to
no
we
wouldn't
do
that
to
our
friend
then
why
would
we
do
to
Jesus
what
about
Jesus
reputation
what
about
Jesus
honor
what
about
Jesus
value
what
about
Jesus
holiness
what
does
Jesus
deserve
better
than
that
that's
why
we
have
to
be
pure
that's
why
we
cultivate
holiness
in the
church
because
the
church
is the
bride
of
Christ
and
adultery
cannot
be
tolerated
in
the
church
that
is
the
bride
of
Christ
but
one
of
the
reasons
why
the
Jezebels
of our
world
are so
seductive
is
that
they
have
a
semblance
of
legitimacy
remember
she
calls
herself
a
prophetess
the
Jezebel
of
the
Old
Testament
also
had
a lot
of
influence
and
power
and
legitimacy
because
after
all
she
was
a
queen
well
if
the
queen
says
worshipping
Baal
is
okay
and
all
these
Baal
prophets
are
eating
at
her
table
then
maybe
it's
not
so
bad
maybe
it's
okay
maybe
it really
is
okay
for us
to
participate
in
his
idolatrous
feasts
isn't
she
a
prophetess
didn't
she
speak
prophetic
words
of
penetrating
insight
in the
past
powerful
prophecies
maybe
she's
relaying
the
words
of
God
maybe
it's
okay
for us
to be
involved
a little
bit
in
these
feasts
things
and
orgies
look at
verse 24
Jezebel's
teaching
included
learning
what
some
call
the
deep
things
of
Satan
perhaps
that
was
her
seductive
line
of
reasoning
how
can
we
brothers
and
sisters
rescue
people
from
idolatry
unless
we
know
what
idolatry
is
all
about
if
we
want
to
rescue
people
from
the
deep
places
of
Satan
we
need
to
learn
the
deep
things
of
Satan
think
about
it
we
need
to
build
relationships
with
these
non-Christians
neighbors
and
how
can
we
do
that
unless
we
go
where
they
go
and
do
the
things
they
do
how
do
you
expect
to
rescue
people
who
are
in
the
swamp
of
sin
without
getting
your
hands
dirty
it's
those
who
have
learned
the
deep
things
of
Satan
who
are
the
most
effective
ambassadors
for
Christ
so
don't
be
so
uptight
you
will
make
more
friends
that
way
maybe
a little
bit
of
sexual
immorality
can't
do
any
harm
they'll
listen
to us
more
if they
see
that
we're
one
of
them
but
those
are
lies
Jesus
never
sinned
in order
to save
sinners
and
we
don't
have
to
either
Deuteronomy
13
is very
clear
about
prophets
if a
prophet
or a
dreamer
of
dreams
rises
among
you
and
gives
you
a
sign
or
a
wonder
and
the
sign
or
wonder
that
he
tells
you
comes
to
pass
and
if
he
says
let
us
go
after
other
gods
which
you
have
not
known
and
let
us
serve
them
you
shall
not
listen
to
the
words
of
that
prophet
or
that
dreamer
of
dreams
for
the
will
you
listen
to
the
voice
of
God
even
when
false
prophets
and
false
pastors
try to
lead
you
astray
I
don't
care how
many
true
prophecies
a prophet
has
prophesied
or how
many
wonderful
sermons
a preacher
has
preached
if they
teach you
to go
against
the
teachings
of
scripture
if they
teach you
to go
into
sexual
morality
and
idolatry
if they
teach you
to besmirch
the name
of
Christ
don't
follow
them
are
you
tolerating
what
God
does
not
tolerate
are
you
okay
with
what
God
is
not
okay
with
in
your
life
and
in
this
church
if
you
are
more
tolerant
than
God
that
is
not
a
virtue
to
wear
as
a
badge
that's
a
sin
to
repent
of
and
look at
what
Jesus
has
to
say
about
Jezebel
and
those
who
follow
her
teaching
in
verses
21
to
23
I
gave
her
time
to
repent
but
she
refuses
to
repent
of her
sexual
immorality
behold
I
will
throw
her
onto
a
sick
bed
and
those
who
commit
adultery
with her
I
will
throw
her
works
and
I
will
strike
her
children
dead
and
all
the
churches
will
know
that
I
am
he
who
searches
mind
and
heart
and
I
will
give
to
each
of
you
according
to
your
works
I
don't
think
this
is
a
reference
to
literal
underage
children
that
Jezebel
has
I
think
following
the
figurative
language
of
spiritual
adultery
I
think
these
are
spiritual
children
of
Jezebel
so
people
who
have
followed
her
into
sexual
immorality
and
idolatry
those
who
identify
with
Jezebel
rather
than
with
the
son
of
God
so
they
are
no
longer
servants
of
Christ
but
children
of
Jezebel
they
will
face
the
fearful
judgment
of
the
son
of
God
who
has
eyes
like
a
flame
of
fire
and
whose
feet
are
like
burnished
bronze
unless
they
repent
that's
a
key word
repeated
twice
here
even
for
the
most
heinous
sinners
even
for
the
sexually
immoral
even
for
the
adulterer
even
for
the
idolater
there's
forgiveness
in
Christ
if
only
they
repent
but
for
unrepentant
sinners
who
stubbornly
go
their
way
they
will
face
great
tribulation
look
at how
patient
God
is
he
gave
even
Jezebel
remember
who
Jezebel
is from
the
Old
Testament
Jezebel
God
gives
a
woman
like
Jezebel
in
the
church
in
Thyatira
time
to
repent
he
already
gave
her
time
to
repent
think
about
how
impatient
we
are
with
people
who
sin
against
us
again
and
again
the
same
sin
again
and
again
oh
you
did
it
again
but
God's
not like
that
with
us
he
could
have
just
cut
her
right
off
she's
been
leading
people
astray
long
enough
he
gave
her
time
to
repent
and
you
too
can
repent
and
if
you're
a
sinner
and
you
have
not
repented
of
your
sins
God
is
just
and
he
will
reward
or
punish
everyone
according
to
their
works
says
verse
21
this
doesn't
mean
that
we're
saved
by
our
works
we
are
saved
by
grace
through
Christ
through
faith
in
Christ
alone
but
true
saving
faith
always
works
itself
out
in
good
works
that's
why
God
judges
on
the
last
day
according
to
our
works
which
is
inclusive
of
all
our
faith
and
obedience
just
as
a
good
tree
always
bears
good
fruit
a
true
faith
always
bears
good
works
with
this
in
mind
Jesus
shares
his
final
exhortation
verses
24
to
25
to
the
rest
of
the
believers
in
Thyatira
who
do
not
hold
this
teaching
of
Jezebel
Jesus
says
in
verses
24
25
to
you
I
say
I
do
not
lay
on
you
any
other
burden
only
hold
fast
what
you
have
until
I
come
this
language
the
phrasing
closely
follows
the
apostles
decree
in
the
Jerusalem
council
in
Acts
15
I
do
not
lay
on
you
any
other
burden
except
for
refraining
from
sexual
immorality
eating
meat
strangled
blood
and
idolatry
eating
food
sacrifice
to
idols
so
it's
I
think
reflecting
that
and
the
reason
why
these
are
important
is
because
even
though
they
were
such
a
pervasive
aspect
of
Roman
culture
and
society
in
order
to
be
Christians
they
have
to
stop
because
a
Christian
is
by
definition
united
to
Christ
by
faith
our
bodies
are
members
sacred
set
apart
holy
members
of
Christ
and
therefore
we are
one
spirit
with
him
and
to
our
sacred
union
with
Christ
himself
as
it
says
in
1
Corinthians
5
likewise
as
Christians
when we
partake
in
the
Lord's
supper
we
are
participating
in
the
body
of
Christ
eating
of
his
bread
the
bread
that
represents
his
body
and
drinking
the
grape
the
fruit
of
the
vine
that
represents
his
blood
and
to
participate
in
the
Lord's
supper
and
then
to
turn
around
and
participate
in
idolatrous
feasts
is
like
making
the
Lord
participate
participating
with
demons
as
Paul
says
in
1
Corinthians
10
Christians
cannot
double
dip
like
that
and
so
Jesus
lays
on
them
no
greater
burden
than
these
because
remember
from
verse
19
they're
actually
doing
all
these
other
things
well
they
have
love
and
faith
and
service
and
patience
and
endurance
they need
to hold
fast
those
things
until
Jesus
comes
that
time frame
refers to
the same
time as
the end
mentioned
in
verse
26
it
could
be
the
end
when
Jesus
returns
to
judge
the
living
and
the
dead
or
it
could
be
the
end
of
the
believer's
life
when
Jesus
comes
to
him
where
he
goes
to
be
with
the
Lord
whichever
comes
first
to
those
who
persevere
till
the
end
Jesus
promises
this
award
my
final
point
award
for
the
servants
of
Christ
in
verses
26
to
28
the
one
who
conquers
and
who
keeps
my
works
until
the
end
to
him
I
will
give
authority
over
the
nations
and
he
will
rule
them
with
a
rod
of
iron
as
when
earth
and
pots
are
broken
in
pieces
even
as
I
myself
have
received
authority
from
the
father
and
I
will
give
him
the
morning
star
remember
I
mentioned
to
you
that
the
title
son
of
God
is
from
psalm
2
so
this
here
is
a
direct
quotation
of
psalm
2
verse
9
the
psalm
describes
how
God
gives
authority
to
his
anointed
one
the
Davidic
king
the
son
of
God
and
then
it
says
you
shall
break
them
with
a
rod
of
iron
and
dash
them
in
pieces
like
a
potter's
vessel
that's
psalm
2
9
there's
a
slight
translational
difference
there
psalm
2
9
says
break
them
with
a
rod
of
iron
revelation
2
27
says
rule
them
with
a
rod
of
iron
and
that's
because
the
Hebrew
manuscripts
don't
have
verbs
it's
just
consonants
and so
you have
to
kind
of
use
contextual
clues
to
figure
out
what
the
word
is
and
depending
on
which
verbs
you
supply
it
can
mean
break
or
it
could
mean
shepherd
or
rule
I
think
however
for
interpreting
this
passage
it
doesn't
really
matter
all
that
much
because
in
verse
27
it
says
rule
them
with
the
rod
of
iron
and
then
it's
immediately
followed
by
as
when
earthen
pots
are
broken
in
pieces
so
clearly
it's
the
authority
to
punish
the
rebellious
nations
that's
in
view
it's
this
very
authority
of
Christ
the
scepter
and
rule
of
Christ
that's
promised
to
God's
people
who
conquer
and
keep
Christ's
work
until
the
end
the
promise
of
the
morning
star
in
verse
28
is
getting
at
the
same
idea
the
Romans
called
the
goddess
Venus
the
morning
star
Roman
emperors
claimed
to be
descended
from
Venus
and
Roman
generals
carried
standards
flags
that had
the sign
of the
morning
star
over
50
countries
in the
world
today
still
including
ours
have
stars
on their
flags
because
star
is a
symbol
of
sovereignty
and
rule
and
so
this
serves
a
polemical
purpose
as
well
when
Jesus
says
I
will
give
you
the
morning
star
and
later
in
Revelation
22
16
Jesus
says
I
am
the
root
of
David
the
bright
I
am
the
root
and
descendant
of
David
the
bright
morning
star
so
Jesus
is
the
true
morning
star
not
these
false
idols
not
Caesar
Jesus
is
the
one
who
has
all
authority
power
and
sovereignty
and
Jesus
promised
us
that
if
we
persevere
he
will
give
us
the
morning
star
that's
an
amazing
promise
because
the
morning
star
is
nothing
less
than
Jesus
himself
he
is
the
bright
morning
star
and
he
is
our
supreme
treasure
and
reward
in
heaven
and
in
the
new
heavens
and
the
new
earth
we
will
have
our
bridegroom
our
shepherd
and
our
redeemer
of
our
souls
our
bright
morning
star
we
will
belong
to
him
and
he
will
be
ours
and
we
will
be
his
that's
the
promise
and
included
in
that
promise
is
the
participation
in
Christ's
rule
over
the
nations
in
Balaam's
prophecy
of the
coming
Messiah
in
Numbers
24
17
to
19
it
says
a
star
shall
come
out
of
Jacob
and
a
scepter
shall
rise
out
of
Israel
it
shall
crush
the
forehead
of
Moab
and
break
down
all
the
sons
of
Sheth
Edom
shall
be
dispossessed
notice
that
star
is
parallel
to
scepter
because
they
both
symbolize
rule
this
messianic
king's
rule
and
authority
so
this
revelation
226
to
28
of
the
Messiah
receiving
the
scepter
and
star
being
the
star
and
coming
and
exercising
dominion
over
the
nations
is
a
fulfillment
of
that
prophecy
in
numbers
24
and
we'll
get
to
share
in
that
rain
but
it's
important
for us
to
note
that
we
don't
receive
this
scepter
until
the
end
when
Jesus
comes
I
think
many
Christians
in
our
country
pine
for
those
good
old
days
when
Christians
used
to
have
a
lot
more
political
power
and
influence
but
I
think
political
power
is
a
siren
song
yes
we
long
for
and
pray
for
God's
kingdom
to
come
and
for
his
will
to
be
done
on
earth
as
it
is
in
heaven
we
should
pray
that
I
pray
that
every
day
and
yes
we
should
exercise
our
rights
as
citizens
of a
democratic
country
to
participate
in
the
political
process
and
use
our
best
judgment
to
promote
the
glory
of
God
and
the
good
of
humanity
in
the
voting
booth
I'm
not
negating
any
of
those
things
but
we
need
to
remember
that
Jesus
does
not
promise
us
political
power
here
and
now
in
our
days
of
turmoil
when
nations
are
warring
against
one
another
trying
to
conquer
one
another
and
just
yesterday
some
of
you
might
have
seen
this
two
heavyweight
boxers
came
together
out to
the
ring
both
of
them
are
wearing
crowns
and
they
get
seated
on
these
thrones
styling
themselves
as
these
conquering
kings
looking
for
glory
and
conquest
in
the
ring
the
sinful
world
glorifies
conquest
and
victory
over
others
through
might
and
through
power
but
Christian
conquest
looks
radically
different
from
that
verse
26
says
the one
who
conquers
and
one
who
keeps
my
works
till
the
end
to
him
I
will
give
authority
over
the
nations
but
how
do
we
exactly
conquer
it's
not
by
subjugating
other
people
or
nations
through
political
or
military
might
revelation
12
11
tells
us
exactly
how
Christians
are
supposed
to
conquer
it
says
that
we
conquered
the
great
dragon
the
ancient
serpent
Satan
it
says
they
have
conquered
him
by
the
blood
of
the
lamb
and
by
the
word
of
their
testimony
for
they
love
not
their
lives
Christians
we
conquer
by
following
in
the
footsteps
of
Jesus
the
lamb
of
God
who
died
on
the
cross
for
our
sins
and
then
was
raised
from
the
dead
Jesus
died
to
seek
and
save
the
lost
and
so
we
also
are
to
die
while
holding
fast
to
our
faith
and
speaking
the
words
of
Christ
the
word
of
the
testimony
so
that
maybe
even
those
who
are
persecuting
us
even
those
who
oppose
us
might
hear
the
good
news
of
Jesus
and
be
saved
Christians
conquer
by
being
conquered
Christians
gain
eternal
life
by
dying
to
ourselves
by
being
faithful
unto
death
as
Paul
says
in
Romans
8
we
are
more
than
conquerors
through
Christ
who
loved
us
even
as
we
are
killed
all
the
day
long
he
says
and
regarded
as
sheep
to
be
slaughtered
remember
what
Jesus
said
as
he
sent
out
his
disciple
he
said
I
am
sending
you
as
sheep
in
the
midst
of
wolves
if
we
want
to
follow
the
lamb
of
God
who
take
away
the
sin
of
the
world
by
dying
for
us
on
the
cross
then
we
need
to
live
as
sheep
among
wolves
as
sheep
to
be
slaughtered
and
if
we
follow
in
the
footsteps
of
Jesus
in
his
death
and
humiliation
then
we
will
also
follow
in
his
footsteps
of
resurrection
and
exaltation
2
Timothy
2
11
to
12
promises
us
if
we
have
died
with
him
we
will
also
live
with
him
if
we
endure
we
will
also
reign
with
him
in
this
life
we
are
sheep
to
be
slaughtered
it's
the
norm
and
not
the
exception
for
Christians
to
be
persecuted
and
subjugated
all
over
the
world
and
it's
still
happening
all
over
the
world
but
when
it
seems
like
ungodly
nations
are
triumphing
over
us
when
it
seems
like
those
who
oppose
Jesus
have
all
authority
and
power
we
have
to
remember
that
we
are
the
ones
who
will
receive
the
rod
of
iron
and
we
are
the
ones
who
serve
the
morning
star
with
eyes
like
flame
of
fire
feed
like
burnished
brass
we
shall
die
but
we
shall
be
resurrected
we
shall
be
subjected
but
then we
shall
reign
forever
let's
pray
father
we
are
weak
and
we
are
assailed
on
every
side
by
the
world
the
flesh
and
the
devil
every
day
we
are
assailed
by
our
own
sinful
flesh
and
the
temptations
of
the
sinful
world
and
of
the
devil
who
never
ceases
to
tempt
us
and
accuse
us
father
we
are
weak
but
you
were
strong
and
we
look
to
you
and
we
wait
on
your
son
our
savior
lord
jesus
with
eyes
like
a
flame
of
fire
and
feet
like
burnished
bronze
we
wait
for
him
we
hope
in
him
and
we
wait
for
him
and
we
suffer
with
him
and
for
him
and
we
die
with
him
and
for
him
so
help
us
to
be
faithful
unto
death
and
to
follow
in
the
footsteps
of
the
lamb
of
God
who
takes
away
the
sin
of
the
world
in
jesus
name
we
pray
amen