Repent from the Tolerance of Sin | Revelation 2:18-39
Repent from the Tolerance of Sin (Apathy towards Sin)
By Chris Karpus
Revelation 2:18-39
To the Church in Thyatira (the idolatrous church)
a. Each church was literal in existence (Asia Minor in modern day Turkey)
Ephesus had abandoned their first love
Smyrna was not admonished, but they were facing tribulation
Pergamum had people holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans
Thyatira, today’s letter, is tolerating Jezebel
- Many commercial guilds in Thyatira…like trade unions…more than any other Roman province – Industrialized city known for their commercial trade…purple dye…Lydia, from the book of Acts
Acts 16 – refers to Lydia, a seller of purple cloth, from Thyatira.
b. Each church represents spiritual issues relevant to Christians today
1. Verses 18-19
-Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of God”
-whose eyes are fire - Jesus’ searching gaze from which nothing escapes
Whose feet are like burnished bronze – seems to point to Jesus’ absolute purity
- They had the deeds that Ephesus had, but had the love that Ephesus lacked
- Jesus recognized their love and faith, service and perseverance…
- He even noted that they were doing even more than when they started
2. Verses 20-21
-Jesus faults the church of Thyatira for tolerating this “Jezebel” whom He gave time to repent
(Jezebel – daughter of Ethbael, king of the Sidonians
She worshiped the baals and ashiras, and led King Ahab (the King of Israel) to do the same
2 Kings 9:34 “that cursed woman”
As a punishment for her wickedness, she was eventually pushed out a window, trampled by horses and eaten by dogs)
We are told 2 things about this Jezebel in Thyatira: (other than not repenting)
1. She calls herself a profit
2. She is teaching Jesus’ servants to practice sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols
Eating food sacrificed to idols…dinner with the guild…sacrificed to Zeus
Jesus told Thyatira that they were allowing someone like that to influence their people – why do you tolerate her?
-Could be a reference to the process of church discipline back in Matthew 18:15-18
- She did not repent even though she was given time to do so
- Jesus is now faulting the church for continuing to tolerate her….so if they had gone through the process, it seems that He is saying that she should have been excluded by now
- Jesus said that they had love, BUT it seems their love was undiscerning and blindly affirming
- They tolerated false teaching and immoral behavior – two things God is fiercely intolerant of
- Jesus didn’t pat them on the back for being open minded, welcoming and affirming, he chastised them basically for being blind and undiscerning
- Tolerance – a buzz word in our culture
- There is a good kind of tolerance, but Christians cannot be tolerant of ALL things because God is not tolerant of all things.
- -Our culture says that love = unconditional affirmation. That is not the way God loves.
- We cannot give unqualified, unconditional affirmation to every belief and behavior.
- Parents should understand this. – you see your kid playing in the middle of a busy street, you don’t respond with “who am I to judge”?
- -We are called to love what God loves and hate what God hates
- -(Love what God loves) That’s where Ephesus failed
- (Hate what God hates – where Pergamum and Thyatira failed
3. “Jezebel”, in this case is most likely a specific person, but metaphorically, what “Jezebel’s” does the modern western church tolerate?
a. Racism
Jemar Tisby, in his book “How to Fight Racism” makes a tough statement for the white evangelicals in our country: “…everyone is either fighting racism or supporting it”.
In other words…we are either fighting racism or tolerating it
b. Abortion – I may favor pro life political candidates, but if I haven’t promoted a culture of life and compassion, I’m really not doing much by just pulling a red lever.
c. Pornography and sex trafficking
d. Worship songs with bad theology?... Bad doctrine leads to bad lives
e. People who call themselves prophets, and aren’t…
- Some just make political predictions, and never talk about the actual Word of God
3. from Verse 20
…(this Jezebel) who calls herself a prophet
- Jesus addresses the problem of imposters at several points in these letters:
- In Ephesus, he speaks to those who call themselves apostles who are not
- In Smyrna, he speaks to those who say they are Jews who are not
- In Thyatire, He is speaking of a woman who calls herself a prophet…and she is not
+ Fakes cannot fool the One whose eyes are like blazing fire
+ Always hold what so-called prophets say up against the Word of God
Matthew 24:11
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
+ they will deceive non-believers and Christians…don’t fall for them, even if they say what our itchy ears want to hear.
4. Verse 20:
- She has infiltrated the people of God (probably part of why Jesus calls her a “Jezebel”) and teaches them idolatry and immorality (the rest of the reason she is called Jezebel)
- She is called to repentance and refused.
- Those who belong to Jesus repent of sin. What’s missing is repentance…repent and believe…believe and repent for the remission of sin
- At this point, the church had a responsibility to tell her the truth
- to protect the flock
- Instead, they were tolerating her, and as a result of the church’s failure to act, she was leading the servants of Jesus into sin.
-Tolerance in this case, is not love, it is unfaithfulness to God
- In not directly doing something about the false teaching, the church bears some of the responsibility for the sins provoked by the Jezebels…by tolerating it. Is that the same as approval?
-Is it possible that… Not DOING SOMETHING about RACISM, is implicit approval of racism
…Not DOING SOMETHING about abortion, is implicit approval of abortion
…and so on…
Obviously, we don’t want to hear our Lord and Savior say: “To the church in the United States, I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first…but I hold this against you: you tolerate things I hate.”
5. Verses 21-23:
- Jesus is effectively calling His servants, who are sinning with Jezebel, to repentance
- He is announcing judgement…Jezebel and everyone who sins with her will be judged
- Those who belong to Jesus will repent. Those who do not belong to Jesus will not.
- Those who refuse to repent, identify themselves as Jezebel’s children, and Jesus’ promises them that they will be judged and die
The result of this is…in verse 23
6. Verse 23:
- Basically, it looks like Jesus is addressing everyone who did not follow Jezebel. He is not imposing another burden on them, other than tolerating Jezebel.
- he says to HOLD FAST TO WHAT YOU HAVE UNTIL I COME. What they have is the Gospel, and “holding fast” means living it out
- He has also called evil what it is…by saying “satan’s so called deep secrets”
8. Verses 26-29
Jesus is referencing Psalm 2:8-9
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron[a]; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
If we want to rule with Jesus in the future, we need to be faithful to Him in the present. Remember, in the case of Thyatira, -Tolerance is not love, it is unfaithfulness
Though we are cultural outcasts now, or ridiculed now…we will rule. If we’re not outcasts now because of our faith, or ridiculed now because of our faith, then maybe we look too much like the culture.
David Wells…professor of Theology said – “worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange”
Does this mean we are to be intolerant? Of course not. It means we need to treat people the way Jesus treated people. He humbled, showed law to the proud, and He showed grace to the humble
Look at the story of the woman caught in adultery:
John 8:3-11
9. Verse 28
We will receive the Morning Star (Numbers 24…a star will come out of Jacob) – If you overcome, the ultimate gift is Christ Himself.
If you hold fast, you may not get:
The job, or the raise, or the girl or boy, or even your parents and family. You may not get the big house, fair treatment or the promotion. You may not get the political candidate you want in office, great health or appreciation from your family and friends or even the freedom you think you deserve…but if you hold fast…you WILL get the morning Star…you will get Jesus Himself. If He is all we have, understand that He is truly all we need.
Thanks!