Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 45:14–25

Listen to how the Lord spoke to Old Covenant Israel through the prophet Isaiah concerning what would happen in the days to come among the nations of the earth.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’ Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.  Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory’” (Isaiah 45:14–25, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 3:7-13

Now listen to how the Lord spoke to New Covenant Israel, that is, the church, made up of both Jew and Gentile, through John the Apostle:

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’’” (Revelation 3:7–13, ESV).

Sermon

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when writing a sermon. Such was the case this past week as I wrote this one. Never have I felt overwhelmed for a lack of something meaningful to say – God’s word is always meaningful.  And rarely have I felt overwhelmed by a text because I struggled to understand it’s meaning (though I can think of a few instances) – God’s word is generally very clear, though some passages can, at first, be hard to understand. I tend feel overwhelmed with a text when it is complex. I use the word “complex”, not to refer to a text that is confusing or hard to understand, but in reference to one that has lot going on in it. Perhaps a better word would be dense, or layered? Such is the case with the letter to Philadelphia. I suppose the same thing could be said of all the letters to the seven churches, but it seems especially true of this one: the letter to Philadelphia is jam-packed with symbolism. It is filled with allusions – references – to other parts of the book of Revelation. It’s language harkens back to things that have been said in chapter one and points us forward to things that will be developed from chapter four onward. And it is also filled with allusions to the Old Testament, particularly the book of Isaiah. The effect is that, when reading the letter to Philadelphia, the reader’s mind is constantly directed this way and that. One word will take our minds back to Revelation chapter one. Another word will make us think of things that will be said later in Revelation. Another phrase will remind us of Isaiah 22, whereas another will bring to remembrance Isaiah 45, or Psalm 86. That is what I mean when I refer to the letter to Philadelphia as complex. There is a lot going on in it. If we had hours together I would not feel overwhelmed, but we only have a short time.

The letter was written to Christians living in Philadelphia. This is obviously not a reference to our Philadelphia, but to a 90 A.D. city located in Asia Minor that went by the same name. The church there was strong and faithful and true. Notice that Christ did not rebuke this church for any shortcoming. He did not say, “but I have this against you”, but urges them to continue on faithfully to the end. Of the seven churches addressed in Revelation it is only Smyrna and Philadelphia that were not rebuked. The other five were rebuked for their weaknesses. Two of those were in especially bad shape.

I should remind you of something that was emphasized two weeks ago. Christ, though he rebuked and commended his churches for a variety of things, was supremely concerned with this question: is the church fulfilling their obligation to witness? That seems to be the criterion. That seems to be the principle or stander by by which Jesus Christ judged these churches. Is the church doing what she was designed to do? Is she faithful to shine forth as a light in the darkness? That was the primary question that the Son of Man who was seen walking in the midst of the lampstand was concerned with as he inspected his churches. Are they faithful witness to me? Though the word “witness” is not used in each of the seven letters, the idea is there. Christ inspected these churches with that question in mind – are they faithful witness of mine?

When I use the word “witness” I understand that many will automatically think of evangelism – that is, the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ with our mouths. Indeed that is a kind of witness, and an important one at that. But the word “witness” means more than to preach. Certainly we witness when we speak of Jesus, but we also witness when we live in obedience to God’s word, when we faithfully worship as God has called us to worship, when we believe and teach what God has revealed, when we maintain our devotion to God and to his Christ, forsaking the things of this world, even to the point of death. These are the things that a faithful “witness” does.

Witnessing is a way of life, then. The English word “witness” comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, which refers to “a person who has been deprived of life as the result of bearing witness to his [or her] beliefs.” Perhaps “martyr” would be a more accurate English translation. Now, I am not saying that God calls all Christians to “martyrdom”, that is, to literally die for the name of Christ. Indeed, only some Christians are privileged to have that calling. But is it not true that all Christians are called to martyrdom of another kind? Are we not all called to lay down our lives, to die to self daily, and to live for Christ? Is this not how Christ calls us to follow him? He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24–25, ESV). For some Christians the martyrdom becomes literal and physical, but it is spiritual for all who name the name of Christ. All are called to deny self, take up his cross (die to self), and follow after Jesus.

The churches that were rebuked by Christ were rebuked because, in one way or another, they had failed to live as Christ’s witnesses. They had compromised, either in doctrine or in way of life. Their light was no longer shining in the darkness. Their lamp had grown dim. It had begun to flicker and sputter as a result of their failure to preserver it. These churches, in one way or another, had become like the world around them. They had compromised in their doctrine or in their way of life so that the distinction between Christian and non-Christian was melting away. Their light was growing dim and on the verge of becoming darkness.

The churches that were commended and not rebuked were commended, not because they were perfect in every way (there is no such thing as a perfect church), but because they were faithful to live as Christians in the world. They were uncompromising in doctrine and in life. The were unwilling to bow the knee to false god’s or to run after the pleasures of this world or to tolerate false teaching in their midst. They were true to Christ and to his name.

Such was the case with the Christians at Philadelphia. They were commended because they had (verse 8) “kept [Christ’s] word and [had] not denied [his] name” (Revelation 3:8, ESV). They had (verse 10) “kept [Christ’s] word” and were “patient [in] endurance” (Revelation 3:10, ESV). The Greek word translated “patient endurance” is ὑπομονή, which means to “continue to bear up under difficult circumstances—‘endurance, being able to endure.’” These were uncompromising, faithful, and sincere people.

But we should not take this to mean that things were easy for the Christians in Philadelphia. Clearly the church was under attack. It is not difficult to understand what the problem was there. We are told at the end of verse 8 that the Christians had “but little power,” and yet did not deny the name of Christ (Revelation 3:8, ESV). We do not know exactly what is meant by the phrase, “you have but little power.” Perhaps the Christians were small in number in that city. Perhaps they were poor. Perhaps they were outcasts socially. I would not be surprised if all of the above were true of them. What is clear is that the church in Philadelphia was weak as it pertains to worldly power, and they were vulnerable.

Specifically they were under attack from the Jewish community there in Philadelphia. This is clear from what is said in 3:9. There Christ encourages them, saying, “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9, ESV).

Indeed, these are harsh words leveled against the Jews in that city, and they are hard to understand if we are ignorant of the historical situation. A synagogue was, and is, a place of gathering and worship for the Jews. The word simply means “assembly, or congregation.” It is not all that different from the word “church”, which also refers to an assembly or congregation. The Jews have gathered in synagogues to worship ever since the Babylonian captivity in the year 586 B.C. The Jews worshipped in synagogues because they did not have access to the temple, which had been destroyed in that. The temple was rebuilt and then destroyed again in 70 A.D. making the synagogue the central place for Jewish worship once more, even up to this present day. Our Christian concept of the church and of worship is clearly connected to the Jewish synagogue system, and not to the temple. We assemble in what we call churches to pray, sing, and read scripture, among other things. Such was the practice of the Jews in the days leading up to, during, and after the life of our Lord.

It is important to understand the tension that existed, and the divide that developed, between the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and all who received him as such, Jew and Gentile alike.

Many of the first Christians were Jews. Jesus was a Jewish man. The Apostles were all Jewish men. Many Jewish priests confessed Jesus as the Christ. But many more rejected the claim. It was the Jews, after all, who handed Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified. Most of the Jewish religious elite denied that he was the Christ. The rift between Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews was undoubtably deep and wide. Think, for example, about the Apostle Paul’s conversion. Before he was Paul the Apostle of Christ he was Saul the persecutor of Christians. His aim was to stomp out the Christian movement, but then he was converted. After this his life was constantly threatened by his own kinsmen according to the flesh, that is to say, the non-believing Jews.

It was not at all uncommon for Jews to persecute Christians in the early days of the church. Undoubtably that is what was happening in the cities of Philadelphia and Smyrna. In both letters Jesus uses the phrase, “synagogue of Satan” to describe the non-believing Jews who were persecuting the Christians. In Revelation 2:9 we read Christ’s words to Smyrna: “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9, ESV). The phrase appears again in the letter to Philadelphia. In 3:9 where we read, “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9, ESV).

They were called by Jesus a “synagogue of Satan” because they were, ironically, doing Satan’s work as they were opposing and persecuting the Christians. They found themselves on the wrong team. They were on the wrong side of the divide, given their decision to reject Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah.

And in both letters Jesus makes this remark: they “say that they are Jews and are not”. What does this mean? Clearly these are Jewish people ethnically speaking. Perhaps there were some Gentiles amongst them who had converted to Judaism – to the religion of Judaism. Christ’s critique of them was this: Though they may have been Jews according to the flesh, and though they claimed to be Jews, that is to say, the true children of Abraham, and the true people of God – they were not. Why? Because they had rejected the Messiah. They had rejected the Christ who had been promised to them through the Fathers from shortly after the fall. Ironically then, they were therefore Jews, but they were not Jews; they were children of Abraham, but they were not children of Abraham; and they were Israel, but they were not Israel.   

You may think that it sounds strange to speak in this way, but it is the way that the story is told from the days of Abraham onward. Indeed, Abraham had very many decedents according to the flesh, but not all shared his faith. It was possible, then, from the very beginning to be a child of Abraham according to the flesh, but not according to faith. Jacob and Esau are held up as models of this dynamic. Paul held them up in Romans 9 to illustrate this very point. Though both were decedents of Abraham only Jacob had faith so that God said of them, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13, ESV). So, from the beginning is was possible to be a child of Abraham – a Jew, and Israelite according to the flesh – but not a true child of Abraham, Jew, and Israelite according to the spirit.

And what distinguished between the two? If we put the doctrine of election to the side for a moment and look at the issue from the human vantage point, we would have to say that the distinguishing factor was “faith”. The true children of Abraham, the true Israelite, the true Jew, had, not only the genes of Abraham, but the faith of Abraham. And what was Abraham’s faith rooted in? It was rooted in the promises of God concerning the coming of a redeemer, a savior, the Messiah, the Christ.

Even under the Old Covenant, then, we see that a distinction was made between those who were Jews merely according the flesh and those who were true Jews according to the spirit. This is where the talk of a “remnant” comes from. There where times under the Old Covenant when, though the Jewish population was indeed very great, only a small remnant remained. These were the minority from amongst the Jewish people who had the faith of Abraham – faith in the promises of God concerning the Christ who would accomplish salvation and would, one day, usher in the new heavens and the new earth.

Faith in God – faith in his promises – faith in the promised redeemer was the thing that distinguished between Israel according to the flesh, and true Israel, even under the Old Covenant.

And the same principle is true under the New Covenant. In fact it must be confessed that, not only does the same principle hold true, but it is greatly intensified under the New Covenant, for the New Covenant is made only with those who believe. The Old Covenant differed from the New in this regard: The Old Covenant was made with all who descended from the loins of Abraham. Every child born to a Jewish father was born into the Old Covenant and was circumcised on the eighth day as a sign and seal of that reality. If they would have faith would yet to be seen. If they would grow to become a true Israelite, a true child of Abraham, would depend upon their faith or lack thereof. But all who born to Abraham were indeed members of that Old Covenant. It was a mixed covenant, then, consisting of believers and non-believers, true Israel and Israel only according to the flesh.

But a promise was made in the days of the Old Covenant concerning the arrival of a New Covenant. And this New Covenant would be different from the Old in that it would be made only with those who had faith. In other words, the issue of genealogy or ethnicity wouldn’t matter a lick in regard to being a part of this New Covenant. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, ESV).

This New Covenant would be made only with those who “know the Lord”. Everyone in this New Covenant would have a regenerate heart – God’s law would be written on their hearts. Under this New Covenant no longer would “each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me”, says the Lord. This is covenant would not be a mixed covenant, but a pure one.

This is why I say that the distinction between true Israel and false Israel does not pass away with the coming of Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, but is greatly intensified. For after the coming of the Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, those who do not have the faith of Abraham cannot even be consider as being in covenant with God as was the case under the Old.

Let us use Jacob and Esau as an example. Did Esau have faith? He did not. But was Esau an Israelite, a descendent of Abraham, under Moses, and member of the Old Covenant? Yes he was! He was not a part of true Israel, but he was a part of Israel. He was not a true child of Abraham, but he was a decedent of Abraham. He did not benefit from the Covenant of Grace that would be instituted by the Christ, but he was truly under the Old Covenant. He could, in that external and physical sense, consider himself to be one of God’s people, though he was not one of the elect (read Romans 9).

But may I ask you this? Are there any Esau’s under the New Covenant? No! For all who are under the New Covenant know God, are regenerate, having the law written on their hearts – they all have the faith of Abraham. This is the thing that matters – faith in Christ.

This is why Paul spoke as he did, saying, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:6, 8, ESV).

In Galatians 3:7 Paul put it this way, saying,

“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7–9, ESV).

Under the New Covenant ethnicity doesn’t matter – your physical birth gets you nowhere. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28–29, ESV).

When the New Covenant was ratified in Christ’s blood the promise made to Abraham that through him (though his offspring) all the nations of the earth would be blessed was fulfilled. Jesus the Christ is the savior of the world. The apostles were commissioned to make disciples of all nations. The wall of separation that had existed under the Old Covenant between Jew and Gentile had been broken down. The dietary laws that distinguished the Jew and Gentile had been removed.  On and on I could go.

All of this made it possible for Paul to write the church in Ephesus as he did, saying,

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:11–22, ESV).

So much more could be said about this. The point that I am laboring to make is that when Jesus the Messiah came he instituted the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was no more. It was fulfilled by Christ. And this New Covenant, while certainly not disconnected from the Old, was radically different. It was particularly different in regards to the question “who is in the covenant, and on what basis.” Under the Old the answer was mainly this: Israel is in and on the basis of birth, though not all have true faith (there was a way for Gentiles to come in too). Under the New Covenant the answer is this: it is those who have faith who are in the covenant, and this is equally true for Jew and Gentile alike.

This was a radicle shift, friends. And it was this shift that makes the tension between the Jews and the Christians in the early days of the church understandable. The Jewish people were (and are) insistent in their claim that they are God’s people on the basis of their ethnicity. What was Christ’s opinion? ‘You say that you are Jews, but you are not. In fact you are the synagogue of Satan.’

It always feels wrong to use this language given what has happened to the Jews in the past. I struggle to say it, but is the language of our Lord. It is the language of scripture. We must remember that this firm language is not racially motivated. Jesus was a Jew. Most of the early Christians were Jews. This is not an attack upon the Jews as a people. And in no way is it intend to motivate hostility towards them. Such action would be completely contrary to the way of Christ.

The strong language, however, is meant to draw attention to the serious error that these Jews had made. They had missed their Messiah. Though they were Abrahams children according to the flesh they did not have the faith of Abraham, for Abraham believed in the promises of God concerning the Christ would be a blessing to the whole world – Jesus was that Christ, and they did not believe upon him. And not only did they fail to believe upon him, but they persecuted those who did.

Do you see the irony. Those who were called “the people of God” under the Old Covenant (the Jews) were now called by God “not my people” under the New given their lack of faith; and those who were called “not my people” under the Old (the Gentiles), are now called by God “my people” under the New because of the faith. The prophet Hosea prophesied concerning these things in Hosea 1, and the Apostles Paul explains these things in Romans 9.

This whole passage drips with irony.

The Jewish synagogue in Philadelphia was strong. They persecuted the Christians. They excommunicated the Jew who professed faith in Christ. The doors were slammed shut in the face of Christians. Their claim was this: “we are the true people of God, you are not”; “We are in covenant with God, you are not”; “We are in the kingdom, you are not”; “Abraham is our Father, not yours”; “David is our King, not yours”; “we are in, given our heritage, and you are out”.

Ironically, the opposite was true. Notice half way through verse 7 that Jesus Christ himself is the “holy one” – a title reserved for God alone, especially in the book of Isaiah, which is alluded to throughout this passage. Jesus Christ is “the true one” – he is the true Messiah, God’s faithful servant. Jesus is the one “who has the key of David” – he is the promised descendent of David who’s Kingdom would be everlasting – Jesus is the King, and God’s Kingdom is his. Jesus, therefore is the one “who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” The Jews in Philadelphia had shut the Christians out, but it is Jesus who has the authority to open and to shut the doors to his kingdom. It is those who believe upon his name that have an open door before them. Look at verse 8. To the Christian church he says, “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut” (Revelation 3:8, ESV). For those who do not believe, the door is securely closed. This corresponds to the vision of Jesus in chapter 1 where Jesus is is heard saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17–18, ESV). In chapter 1 it is Christ’s authority to bind and loose in regard to death and hades that is emphasized. He in the letter to Philadelphia it is his authority open and shut in regard to the kingdom that is emphasized. There is a very important passage surrounding Isaiah 22:22 that is behind what is said here concerning the “key of David”. I so wish that we had the time to explore it, but we do not.

The message for the Christians in Philadelphia was clear. They were to continue persevering through the persecution for they were the true Israel of God by virtue of their faith in Christ. Jesus was the Christ. Though him they had an open door to the kingdom.

Notice that Christ said that he would make “those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9, ESV). This is a reversal of what was promised to Israel in the Isaiah passage that was read at the beginning of the sermon. In Isaiah 45 it was promised to Israel that the day would come when the nations would come and bow before them confessing the their God was the one true God. Here in Revelation 3 the same language is used but it is promised to the church that the Jews would bow before them. The promise of Isaiah 45 was fulfilled at the first coming of Christ and continues to be fulfilled to this present day as Gentiles come to the God of the Jews through faith in Jesus who is the Messiah. The promise of Revelation 3 will is fulfilled when ever Christian live as faithful witness to God and to Christ in the presence of Jewish people, leading them to confess that indeed Jesus is Lord. It’s a marvelous reversal, isn’t it?

The promise to the Christians was that Christ, through their patent endurance,  would “keep [them] from the hour of trial [was] is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10, ESV). It is hard to know what particular trial this was in reference to. What is clear is that they would be “kept” by Christ. Many pre-tribulation, pre-millennial interpreters take this as a reference to the rapture that will, in their view, come before the great tribulation. Their thought is that Christ would never allow his people to pass through tribulation, but that he will “keep” them, that is, take them out of, the tribulation. That’s an awful lot of theology to cram into this text! And it ignores what is clearly said elsewhere! Was it not just said to the church in Smyrna, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV)? And what about Jesus’ words in John 17 (recoded by the same John who wrote the book of Revelation, mind you)? There we hear Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, saying,

“I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one… I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:11, 15, ESV).

It is the same word in the Greek found in both John 17 verses 11 and 15 and Revelation 3 verse10. The word “keep” does not mean “to take out of”, but rather, “to keep watch over”, or “to guard”; “to cause to continue or persevere.” This is the thing that Christ does for his people who are in tribulation – he sustains spiritually. That is what he promised to do for the faithful in Philadelphia.

And what do the saints have to look forward to?

“I am coming soon”, he said. This could be a reference to the second coming. But we should also remember that book of Revelation speaks of Jesus coming in judgment and in support of believers in other ways (2:5; 2:16; 3:3).

He exhorted them, saying, “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown” (Revelation 3:11, ESV). They have rewards in heaven waiting for them. They are to hold fast to them, and not trade those treasures of infinite worth for the fleeting pleasures of this world.

And to the Christians Christ said, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it…” (Revelation 3:12, ESV). There will be no physical temple in the new heavens and the new earth. Revelation 21:22 says so. Something better will be there, for the whole earth will be the “temple of God”, “for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). In other words, the presence of God and the glory of God will fill all. Everything will be what the Holy of Holies in the temple symbolized. What then is meant when Jesus says, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God”. Certainly this is symbolic language. We do not expect to be made into stone, do we? The promise is that the one who remains faithful to Christ to the end will have a permeant place in the new heavens and new earth. That one will enjoy the presence of God and the glory of God always and forever.

Furthermore Christ promised to “write on him the name of [his] God, and the name of the city of [his] God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from… God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Revelation 3:12, ESV). Here everything points to the principle of possession. We belong to him and he to us. What he has earned is ours through faith in him. This is our eternal reward.

Conclusion 

The letter concludes with these familiar words: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:13, ESV). I know that you have ears, but I wonder, do you have ears that really hear? Is the word of God alive to you? Does the Spirit instruct you in it? Does it have power in your life? Does it have an effect upon you? I wonder if you have developed the discipline of meditating upon the word after you have heard it? Do you think deeply upon the word? Do you work to understand it? And after that, do you work to apply it? The word is to be applied!

It is true that these letters were addressed to churches living long ago who faced challenges that were in some ways unique to them. But friends, we must not forget that principles stated here are timeless and universal.

You are God’s chosen people. You’ve been called out of the kingdom of darkness to walk in light. You are to shine forth as lights in the darkness so that others might come to give glory to God almighty. Are you walking in the light? Is your life – your thoughts, words, and deeds – distinctly Christ like? Or are you worldly.

May the Lord purify us. May he make us able and willing to keep his will and to walk faithfuly before him, setting our eyes upon the eternal reward.

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 2

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 2:18–29

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son 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’” (Revelation 2:18–29, ESV).

Introduction

Thyatira was probably the least significant of the seven cities mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation. It was neither politically nor religiously significant, but there were powerful trade guilds in that city, which is a fact that will become important as we progress though this letter.

Though Thyatira was the least significant city, the letter to the church in Thyatira is the longest. It is letter number 4 of 7. It is therefore at the point of the chiasm that I mentioned many weeks ago. Do you remember that? The letters to the seven churches form a chiasm, meaning that there is a literary structure to the letters to the seven churches. Each of the letters relate to one another in such a way that, if diagramed, they cross or come to a point. Churches 1 and 7 correspond to each other. These churches are in the worst shape. Christ threatens to remove them as churches. He threatens to remove their lampstand or to vomit them out of his mouth. Churches 2 and 6 correspond. They are sound. To them Christ has nothing negative to say. And churches 3, 4, and 5 are similar. These churches are mixed, being strong in some respects but compromised in others. Christ commends and rebukes these churches. Notice that the letter to Thyatira is positioned at the point of this chiasm – it holds the central place.

Chiasms are used in literature in order to make a point (pun intended). The churches that are doing the worst are emphasized in the structure being given positions 1 and 7. The churches that are doing the best are minimized, being tucked away in positions 2 and 6. And the mixed churches are placed at the heart of the thing, perhaps indicating that their experience and condition is most typical. Churches tend to be mixed – strong in some respects and weak in others. Perhaps Thyatira is most typical. They dwell in a typical city and their struggle is typical.

Notice three things that pertain to this: One, this is the longest of the seven letters. Two, notice that Thyatira is explicitly held up as an example to “all the churches”. In verse 23 we are told that if those who are rebuked do not repent Christ will judge them and “all the churches will know that [Christ is] he who searches mind and heart, and… [gives] to each… according to [their] works. Three, notice that it also here in the letter to Thyatira that encounter a change in the pattern that we have grown accustom to. The first three letters were concluded with, first of all, the words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:17a, ESV),  followed by a promise of blessing to the one who overcomes. But in the letter to Thyatira that order is reversed. Here we have the blessing followed by the exhortation, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:29, ESV). A couple of months ago one of you asked me about the reason for the change in order. I gave a decent answer then saying, “I’m not sure, but it seems to have something to do with the literary structure or for the sake of variety.” I’m convinced now that the change in order is a marker to help us see that we have come to the point of the chiasm and are now about to descend the backside of it, looking now at the churches that correspond to those already mentioned.

I hope this is interesting to you. It is to me. But the point of it all seems to be that churches 3-5 are most typical. It is unusual for a church to be on the verge of loosing it’s status as a church in the eyes of God. Most are not that far gone. Others have already gone so far that they have lost the right to be called a church by Christ. Few are in the position of being on the verge. And it is unusual for a church to be above the reproach of Christ. Certainly, there is no such thing as a pure church – we all sin – we all stumble. But it would seem that there are some churches who, when Christ the Judge inspects them, he finds nothing worthy of rebuke. They are basically whole and sound. Sound in doctrine, faithful in their witness, loving towards one another, and striving against sin. These churches are somewhat unusual. But it is typical, I think, for churches to be both strong and weak. Christ commends them for their strengths and rebukes them for their weaknesses. Thyatira was one of these.

Where Was Thyatira Strong? They Were Growing in Love.

The strength of Thyatira was found in their enduring and increasing love. In verse 19 Christ says, “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first” (Revelation 2:19, ESV). The Thyatira church knew how to love. They loved one another, and they demonstrated the love of Christ to the world. This they did through their works. They served of one another, being moved to do so by their faith in Christ. They endured in this patiently. And they were found to be increasing in it! Their “latter works exceed the first.”

Can you see that the church at Thyatira was strong where the church in Ephesus was weak? Ephesus had “abandoned the love [they] had at first” (Revelation 2:4, ESV) and were warned  to “do the works [they] did at first. If not, [Christ would] come to [them] and remove [their] lampstand from its place, unless [they] repent” (Revelation 2:5, ESV). Thyatira was strong where Ephesus was weak. They loved. And they demonstrated their love consistently by their works of service. They were even increasing in their love – their “latter works exceed the first.” May it be said of us, brothers and sisters.

But not all was well in Thyatira. They knew how to love – for that they were commended – but they were also naive; undiscerning; inappropriately tolerant. There is a time and place for tolerance. There is a good and true kind of tolerance. But the Thyatirans were tolerant in a bad way. They tolerated things within the church that should not be tolerated within the church. In verse 20 Christ spoke to them saying, “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” (Revelation 2:20, ESV).This, they should not have tolerated.

The situation is similar to the one in Pergamum. There it was the teaching of the Nicolaitans and the sexually immoral and idolatrous lifestyle that flowed from it that was tolerated. Here it is the teaching of a woman called “Jezebel”. That was not really her name, mind you. Christ is again using a well know figure from the Old Testament to signify something about the churches current situation.  This woman, whatever her name was, was to the church in Thyatira a modern reincarnation (excuse the term – you know what I mean) of that woman Jezebel, who is described to us in 1 Kings chapters 16-25.

I cannot take the time to read the Old Testament account of her. To summarize, she was the Queen of Israel in Israel’s darkest days. She was the wife of Ahab and daughter of the Sidonian (Phoenician) king Ethbaal. And she was notorious for waring against the true prophets of Yahweh, and her promotion of idol worship. Israel had been compromised by wicked leadership and had been lead away from the worship of the one true God into idolatry. Jezebel had a lot to do with that.

The message that Christ was sending to the Thyatiran church was clear: that is happening in your midst. You, the Israel of God, have allowed “Jezebel” to creep in. She is spreading her teaching and leading some into immorality and idolatry. Shame on you for tolerating it! Don’t you remember what happened to Israel, how they were carried away into captivity never to return (Judah would be carried into captivity later and would return – but to Israel, the northern kingdom, no such mercy was shown). Repent before the same happens to you, church of the living God. That was his message.

So what was this woman “Jezebel”, who called herself a prophetess, teaching? We are not told, but we know the result of it. Some within the church were being led astray into sexual immorality and idolatry. Sexual immorality is the improper uses of our sexuality for anything other than the sexual union that is to be enjoyed within the confines of the marriage bond. Idolatry is the act of giving worship to someone or something other than the Triune God. Whatever “Jezebel” was teaching, this was the result.

And it is possible, I think, to reconstruct the essence of her teaching given what we are told here in this text and also given what we know about the city of Thyatira. The city was not terribly significant politically or religiously, but it was filled with powerful trade guilds. Do you remember the woman named Lidia mentioned in Acts 16 who was “from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14, ESV)? Lidia was involved in trade, as many were in Thyatira. And things worked then as they do now. Do you want to succeed in trade? Then you need to know the right people, go to the right events, and play the social game. In the Roman culture that involved going to feasts and festivals hosted by the trade guilds, worshiping the Roman gods, and conforming to the Roman culture. There is a reason why the phrase “when in Rome do as the Romans do” has staying power. It is safe to assume that, whatever “Jezebel” was teaching it had to with justifying compromise in regard to one’s devotion to Christ. She peddled some form of antinomianism (lawlessness). Perhaps she reasoned that what you do in the flesh doesn’t really matter – it is the spiritual that matters. This was a false teaching prominent in the days of the early church and it remains to this day. Who cares what you do in the flesh, so long as you are spiritual, is the thought. Away with laws. Forget the rules and regulations. Let’s just connect to Jesus spiritually, and so it goes. And so you can imaging “Christians” going to the festivals and participating in the immorality there, bowing the knee to Roman god’s and enjoying the riches of the world that their compromise had made possible. All of it was justified by the false teaching of “Jezebel”, who called herself a prophetess. Her claim was that she possessed deep and secret knowledge not available to all. But what does Christ call it? He calls it for what it is. According to him she was peddling, not the deep things of God, but “the deep things of Satan” (Revelation 2:24, ESV).

Please take note of the pattern established in these letters. The churches are attacked and assaulted in a variety of ways, but who is behind it all? Satan. In Smyrna the Christians were being persecuted by the Jewish population; Christ called them, the “synagogue of Satan”. In Pergamum the Christians were persecuted by the Romans; Christ said, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is” (Revelation 2:13, ESV). Here in Thyatira it is the teaching of “Jezebel” that threatens the church. The deep and secret mysteries that she utters are not of Christ, but are of Satan. This pattern is important to notice for we are already being exposed to the central message of the book of Revelation. The book reveals something of the cosmic and spiritual battle that rages between God, his Christ, and his people, on the one side, and the evil one, his emissaries, and people on the other. This cosmic and spiritual battle, though essentially invisible, manifests or shows itself in the happenings of human history. The dragon uses the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot to war against the God, his Christ, and his people. These three figures – the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot – will emerge as the drama unfolds in the book of Revelation. They represent persecuting political powers, false teachers, and the seduction of the world. Together they make up a kind of false trinity. And do you see that these powers, which will later be symbolized by these three figures, were already active among the seven churches to whom the book of Revelation was addressed. In other words, the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot are not figures that will arise in the future, but rather they represent powers and forces that have always been and will always be, until they are finally judged by Christ and thrown into the lake of fire along with the devil who inspires and empowers them. These churches, though they existed long ago, were already encountering local and specific manifestations of the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot. They were being persecuted by political powers – that is what the beast does. They were being threatened by false teaching – that is what the false prophet does. And they were being seduced to practice immorality – that it is what the harlot does. Do you see, then, how the letters to the seven churches correspond to the drama that will unfold later in the book of Revelation. A picture will painted from chapter 4 onward concerning how things will go for the people of God between Christ’s first and second coming – the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 were already seeing specific manifestations of it in their, day just as you and I see specific manifestations of it in our day.

And you do see specific manifestations of the activity of the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot, don’t you? You do know that persecution of Christians goes on all around the world, don’t you? You do understand that false teachings are all around us? And you do understand the seductiveness of the world, don’t you? I pray that you can see it for what it is. I pray that you are able to identify it and see it’s power to keep the hearts of men and women from God and from his Christ. I hope that you are able to recognize how it is that the Satan uses these three to war against Christ and his church. Recognize it, friends, and prepare yourselves for battle.

All three were at work in Thyatira. False teaching, seduction towards immorality and idolatry, and pressure in the political realm, especially associated with economic sanctions.

Where Was Thyatira Weak? They Were Inappropriately Tolerant.

The problem with the church in Thyatira is that they were too tolerant.  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” (Revelation 2:20, ESV). They were loving, yes. And that is very good. But they were naive, undiscerning, and inappropriately tolerant.

Tolerance is a buzz word today, isn’t it? Our society expects everyone to be tolerant. The word means to “show a willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.” There is a place for tolerance, friends, if this is what we mean by it. It is good for us not to mistreat others because they think differently that we think, and believe differently than we believe, and act differently than we act.

But notice a few things about tolerance: One, there are some behaviors that we do not tolerate even in society. It would be wrong for our society to tolerate murder, for example. Can you imagine saying to a murderer, well you just think and behave differently that I do, I suppose I must tolerate your opinion and your way. This would be absurd. All intuitively understand this (which I think is an evidence for an absolute and unchanging moral law, and the existence of a moral Law Giver, namely, God). Tolerance has it’s limitations, then. And what we tolerate differs depending upon our position and the situation we find ourselves in. Your kid might be out of control (I don’t have anyone in mind, I promise), but it is right for me to tolerate it, to a certain degree, whereas it would be wrong for you as the parent. Out in the public we might tolerate things that people think, say, and do that we would not tolerate in our home.

Here I am simply trying to make the point that tolerance, though very good when rightly applied, can also be very bad when wrongly applied. Christ’s critique of the Thyatiran church is that they were too tolerant. They had allowed certain teachings, beliefs, and behaviors to creep into the church that had no business being there.

Christians must be both wonderfully tolerant and dogmatically intolerant all at once. It is your position and the setting or situation that determines the appropriate response.

Treat your your neighbor who is a foul mouthed, fornicating, drunkard, well. You do not have authority over the man. You have no reason or grounds to attempt to hold him accountable. He needs the gospel, yes. He needs to hear God’s law and be told that he stand under God’s authority and will one day be judged by him. And this you would say to him if the Lord were to give the opportunity. But it would be inappropriate and, frankly, kind of strange, if you, as a Christian, try to, somehow, discipline or punish a man like this, expecting him to think as you think, and behave as you behave. He is in the world, living according to the way of the world. You’ll have to tolerate him.

But what if this man claimed to be a Christian? What if he were a member of your church? Should you tolerate his behavior then? No! It would wrong for you to tolerate him then. You would be in sin if you failed to rebuke him if that were the situation. The man names the name of Christ. He eats the supper with you each Lord’s Day. Here is the time for dogmatic intolerance.

Christ was calling Thyatira to do, what we call, church discipline. They were wrong to put up with “Jezebel” and her followers. They were wrong to tolerate the false teaching and the immorality in their midst. The church in Thyatira was weak where the Ephesians were strong, for the Ephesians were commended for the fact that they, “tested those who [called] themselves apostles and [were] not, and found them to be false” (Revelation 2:2, ESV). They were congratulated by Christ for the fact that they “[hated] the works of the Nicolaitans, which [Christ] also [hated]” (Revelation 2:6, ESV). It is at this point where the Thyatirans fell short.

Notice how, just like in the letter to Pergamum, Christ says to the Thyatirans, if you wont do it, I will! In verse 21 Christ says,

“I gave [Jezebel] 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” (Revelation 2:21–23, ESV).

The language is strong, isn’t it? Christ vowed to come in judgment against this “Jezebel” and her “children”, which I take as a reference to all who have followed after her. By the way, I think this is meant to contrast with the way that John refers to the church 2 John 1, referring to her as “the elect lady and her children”, but I digress. The point is that if the church would not do the discipline – stop tolerating the false doctrine and the delinquent living – Christ himself would come in judgment and, to borrow the language from the letter to Pergamum, “war against them with the sword of [his] mouth” (Revelation 2:16, ESV).

This reminds me of Paul’s warning concerning partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy or improper manner. In 1 Corinthians 11:27 he says,

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:27–32, ESV).

It is better that we judge ourselves, friends. Otherwise the Lord himself will judge us.

It is important that we never tolerate false teaching nor immorality nor idolatry within Christ’s church. Expect in the world, but never in Christ’s church. We must be willing to put it out. But we must also be careful to do so according to the way of Christ.

Something can be observed concerning the way of Christ here in Revelation 2:22. Concerning this “Jezabel” character he says, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:21, ESV).

Ordinarily when there is false teaching or immorality present with the church it should be confronted in such a way that time is given for repentance. Repentance and restoration is the goal of church discipline. The goal is not ultimately to punish, but to lead one to repentance. This usually takes time.

Christ himself has provided a pattern for us to follow when doing church discipline. Matthew 18:15-20 says,

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:15–20, ESV).

Notice a few things:

One, notice the motivation behind, what we call, church discipline. It is love for our brothers and sisters in Christ that compels us to do this difficult, tiresome, and sometimes discouraging work. Love.

Two, notice the goal. It is to bring the brother or sister who is in error to repentance. “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother”, the text says. Repentance is the goal, not punishment.

Three, notice the progression. There are typically four steps to the process of discipline. I say typically because situations do sometimes arise within the church that require an expedited process. I believe that 1 Corinthians 5 provides biblical warrant for this notion. The process can and should be expedited when the sin is particularly heinous, public, and threatening to the church of God. But typically there are four stages to church discipline.

Has a brother sinned against you? Then the first step is for you to go to him and tell him his fault. Don’t go to pastor first. Go to the one who has offended you. If you come to me to complain about someone else the first question I will ask you is, have you gone to them? If you been sinned against; if you have been wronged or offended by someone in the church – you have the responsibility to make it known to the offender. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Truth be told, sometime people don’t even realize that they have offended someone.

But what if they do not listen? Then you are to, secondly, bring another with you. Why? So that the “charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Do you hear the legal language here? We now have a “charge” and “witnesses”. It is important that others look in upon the matter. Maybe you are wrong. Maybe you don’t have a reason to be offended. Maybe the brother has not sinned. But if the other is wrong – if they have indeed sinned, or fallen into some pattern of sin – it is only proper that it be confirmed by multiple witnesses. More than that, it is good for the sinning brother to hear more than one voice calling them to repent.

And what if they will not listen to the two or three? Then, thirdly, the matter is to be told to the church. The orderly way to do this would involve bringing the mater before the elders who have been entrusted with the responsibility to oversee and to lead the church. They should then investigate the matter and prepare to bring it before the members of the church.

The elders must be involved – their authority cannot be circumvented – but it is important to recognize that the elders are not the church. The third step in church discipline involves bringing the matter before the church, that is, all of the members of the congregation. That is what the text says. In other words, the elders do not have the authority to take church discipline to it’s final stage on their own, independent from the congregation, in a back room somewhere. The matter is to be brought before the church. And what is the purpose behind telling the matter to the church? It is still, even in this third stage of discipline, for the purpose of calling the brother or sister to repent – to confess their sin with a broken and contrite heart, to turn from their sin, and to begin walking according to the will of God again.

And what if they will not listen to the church? The forth step (God forbid we ever have to go this far) is to “let him be to [us] as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17, ESV). In other words, we are to put the unrepentant sinner out the church and view him as a non-believer if he does not respond to this third call to repent from the body of Christ at large. Paul puts it another when he says to the Corinthians, “you are to deliver this man [this unrepentant sinner who claims to be a Christian] to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5, ESV). He was in the church, identifying himself with the kingdom of God – he is to be put out of the church, and delivered over to Satan to live in his realm. And notice the end goal: it is “for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”The hope of seeing the man come to repentance is still there even after the act of excommunication.

What Paul says 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 is also helpful in trying to understand what putting a person out of the church involves. Here he says,

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate [to involve yourself in a somewhat intimate and reciprocal kind of relationship] 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 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” (1 Corinthians 5:9–11, ESV).

I take this phrase, “not even to eat with such a one”, not so much as prohibition against sharing a meal with someone (though it may involve that), but an absolute prohibition against eating the Lord’s Supper with the unrepentant sinner. Though the verse might imply more than this, it certainly forbids us from sharing communion with the one who is found to be unrepentant.

Another way to put it is to say that the forth and final step in church discipline is excommunication. It involves putting the rebellious one out of the church, considering him to be like a Gentile and a tax collector, handing him over to Satan for the destruction of the fleshing, not associating with such a one, and not eating with them, especially the Lord’s Supper, which symbolizes our union with Christ and with one another.

This is very different than the shunning practiced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is not shunning. You may talk with the one who has been excommunicated. You may continue to relate to him at work, if you work with him. You might sit down for coffee with them (and even share a bagel, who knows). It may be that you are married to the one under discipline, and therefore you must fulfill your marital obligations with him or her (assuming that the matter that lead to discipling does not involve the sin of infidelity – that would obviously effect the marriage). The excommunication, you see, pertains to the church, and not the family. The end stage of discipline does not forbid any and all contact with the individual- it does not require that we shun the person. Instead it means that the way we view and relate to the individual is to change. If you enjoyed sweet Christian fellowship with the man before, that is no longer. If you meet for coffee it should not be to shoot the breeze with the man as if all was well, but to again exhort the man to return to Christ before it is too late. The question conferring the obligations of a husband or wife to a spouse who has been excommunicate is the most complex, but I do not have time to say more.

Things can get rather complex, I will admit it. But do you see the wisdom in the process? Do you see the patience? Do you see how time is given for repentance? How much time is not specified. It could be that these four stages happen within a few day or a few months. I suppose it depends upon the situation, doesn’t it? But what is clear is that one man does not have the authority to cast another out of the church on his own apart from the involvement the church at large. The process is to be followed, ordinarily. The authority to excommunicate, which is the most powerful and potent weapon of the church in regard to it’s quest for purity, resides with the local church. It does not reside with the individual Christian, not the pastor alone, not the denomination or Presbytery – Jesus says the power to excommunicate resides within the local church.

This is the thing that the church at Thyatira was failing to do. They were too tolerant. They put up with false teaching and immorality within the congregation, and Christ said, “this I have against you.”

This is has been long sermon, I know. But it is a very important one. Let me say a quick word about the way that Christ is introduced to this church and the way that the letter is concluded before making a few quick points of application.

What Is The Remedy? Jesus, The Son of God.

Christ is introduced as the “Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” This is the only time in the book of Revelation that the phrase “Son of God” appears. It is, without a doubt mean to take the readers mind to Psalm 2, which we read at the beginning of this sermon. He is said to have eyes like a “flame of fire”. He sees all. You might be able to hide your sin from others, but Christ sees all. And his gaze is likened to a consuming fire. His feet are like “like burnished bronze”. This, as I have said in past sermons, I take to be an allusion to the episode in Daniel 3 where Nebuchadnezzar has Shadrach, Mechack, and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace, why? Because the would not commit idolatry, like some in Thyatira were. And who was seen walking in the midst of the furnace with the faithful witnesses? Nebuchadnezzar’s description of the figure was that he was “like a son of the gods”.

The saints in Thyatira were tempted by the teaching of Jezebel because they feared persecution and be cause they loved the world. The remedy to fear of persecution and love of the world is to set ones eyes upon the risen Lord, who is the Son of God, who sees all and will judge all with an all consuming fire, who is known to walk with his people through the fiery trials that they endure in this world. The remedy to fear of the world and our love affair with the things of this world is to fix ones eyes upon Jesus the Christ, who is the Son of God, who will judge the world on the last day. We are to live, therefore, being mindful of where all things are headed.

In Psalm 2 the one called the Son of God is given by God the “nations [as his] heritage, and the ends of the earth [as his]  possession. “ It is said that he will “break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” This is the authority that our Lord has now (Matthew 18:18). And what is our hope? Our hope is in him. We are to endure in him and remain faithful to him, for he promised to “the one who conquers and who keeps [his] works until the end, to him [he] 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 [he himself has] received authority from [his] Father. And [he] will give [the one who conquers] the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’” (Revelation 2:26–29, ESV).

Application and Conclusion 

Here are few very quick points of application:

One, continue to love one another, and increase in it, as the Thyatirans did.

Two, love one another enough that you be willing to call another to repentance when they be found in sin.

Three, understand that while tolerance is appropriate in some settings and situation, there is such thing as bad tolerance. Do not be surprised when this church refuses to tolerate unrepentant false teaching and immorality within our midst.

Four, understand why a well defined, thoughtful, and biblical membership process is essential of the establishment and maintenance of a healthy church. There must be a way for us to know who is with us, and who is not. Otherwise the things we have discussed this morning would be impossible to implement properly and consistently.

Five, understand how important the proper observance of the Lord’s Supper is in all of this. Everything eventually comes to focus on the Supper in church discipline. It is the eating of the Supper which signifies our union with Christ and our union with one another. Non-Believers are not permitted to the table, nor are those who have professed Christ but have been found living in unrepentant sin, being unwilling to listen even to the voice of the Church calling them to repentance. They are to be excommunicated – barred from the sacred meal, which symbolizes their being severed from Christ and from the church.

Six, flee from all forms of sexual immorality and idolatry. They will lead to your destruction.

Seven, do not put up with false doctrine, knowing that doctrine – what is taught in the church, and what we come to believe – will certainly lead to a particular way of life. Doctrine and life are tightly linked.

Pre-Introduction

You’ll need to stick with me this morning. The sermon will not be longer than usual, but we are going to take the scenic route to get where are we are going.

There is a very intriguing (and important) story told in chapters 22 through 24 of the book of Numbers. The story is too long to read here, but I’d like to summarize it before reading a brief passage from Numbers 25.  The reason is that it is hard to understand our sermon text for today (which is the letter to the church in Pergamum found in Revelation 2:12-17) without first knowing something about this story found in Numbers.

The book of Numbers, among other things, tells the story of Israel’s forty year period of wilderness wandering. The people of Israel had been rescued from Egypt – the book of Exodus tells us all about that. Laws were given to them at Sinai – the book of Leviticus is concerned mainly with that. And the book of Numbers begins by telling of Israel’s preparations for leaving Mt. Sinai to move towards the Promised Land. It records for us of the failures of Israel in the wilderness, including their refusal to take possession of the Promised Land under Moses’ leadership. The book then concludes with Israel forty years later again on the boarder of the Promised Land, this time being lead by a new generation of leaders with Joshua at the head. The conquest would soon follow.

What is made clear in the book of Numbers is that the people of God under the Old Covenant were constantly assaulted both from without and from within as they sojourned in that desert place.

Does that theme sound familiar to you? It should! The book of Revelation tells the same story but in a different way, using a different genre. And in Revelation is not Israel, but the church, that is being assaulted from without and within. the books are very different, but it is important to see the commonality that exists between the two books.

Remember that in the days that the book of Numbers describes the people of God had just been redeemed from bondage in Egypt, they had their sights set on the Promised Land, but they had not yet laid ahold of it. It was as good as theirs – it had been promised to them by the God who had accomplished their redemption – but the full and actual attainment of that Promised Land was future to them. They were sojourners wandering in the wilderness and without a home.

I hope that you can see how Israel’s earthly and physical experience of redemption followed by sojourning and their eventual attainment of the Promised Land function as a type – a foreshadowing, or earthly picture – of the spiritual experience that the people of God have through faith in Jesus the Christ.

The New Testament makes much of this connection. It makes explicit the connection between the redemption of Israel from Egypt under Moses and our redemption from the dominion of sin, Satan, and death under Jesus the Christ, who is the one greater than Moses.

The New Testament also makes explicit the connection between Israel’s attainment of the Promised Land under the conquest of Joshua and our attainment of the true, perfect, and eternal “Promised Land” (the new heavens and new earth) under Jesus the Christ, who is the greater Joshua.

So do you see how the historical events experienced by Israel long ago – though they were real and significant events in their own right, and though God was indeed at work amongst his people then – also functioned typologically. They were real events (not just stories with metaphorical meaning). But they were events that managed to also point forward to greater things yet to come. God used Moses to save his people from Egypt – but through Christ he would save his people from sin, Satan, and death itself. Also, God used Joshua to lead his people into the Promised Land – but through Jesus the Christ the people of God will be brought safely into the eternal kingdom, the new heavens and new earth, the archetypal, quintessential, land of promise.

This is how we are to read the Old Testament, friends. Real history, yes! But also redemptive history. It is “redemptive” in that real acts of redemption were accomplished by God then, but in such a way that those acts also pointed forward to greater acts of redemption yet to come. This is why Jesus could speak to those men that he met on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection showing them how everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms found their fulfillment in him.

I’ve already mentioned how Israel’s deliverance from Egypt mirrors our deliverance from the dominion of sin, Satan, and death. And I’ve already highlighted how Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua corresponds to the greater victory that Jesus has won for us, securing our entrance into that quintessential land of promise – the new heavens and the new earth. But understand that the wilderness wanderings of Israel also correspond to something. That forty year period of desert wandering – that time of sojourning, where the people of Israel were fed with hidden manna and drank water from the rock – corresponds to the age in which we now live. Their experience mirrors ours. Our redemption has been accomplished by Christ, we look forward to the land of promise, but we are not there yet. We, like Israel in the wilderness, are sojourners.

And “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:1–11, ESV)

The history of Israel in the wilderness – though real and significant in and of itself – was recorded as an example for you and me and for all “on whom the end of the ages has come”, for our sojourning corresponds to theirs. Theirs was prototypical. Ours is archetypical.

I speak of these relatively complex things because I know that some of you are interested in them. I also believe that there is something substantial here to be considered. Understanding the relationship between what happened under the Old Covenant and what is happening under the New is important. I encourage you to ponder these things further. But perhaps a simpler way to put all of this would be to say that the Old Testament rocks! The stories contained there are awesome! And they are useful to the people of God today. They certainly apply to us.

In Numbers 22 we come to an especially intriguing story. Israel was on the move in the wilderness. They had grown strong and they had began to conquer kings and kingdoms. As they approached the plains of Moab, the people of Moab began to tremble, for they had heard of what Israel had done to the Amorites. Balak, the king of Moab, came out to see the encampment of Israel, and when it he saw it, he trembled. The people of God we many in number and they were strong. Balak knew that he could not stand before them in battle and so he began to conspire to defeat Israel by other means.

He called upon Balaam the son of Beor, who was a highly regarded prophet (from our perspective he was a false prophet), and he asked him to come and to curse Israel. He promised him great treasures should he come out to curse the encampment of Israel. He spoke to Balaam, saying, “Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6, ESV). By the way, we should be reminded here of the promise that God spoke to Abram long before this time, saying,

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1–3, ESV).

Balak the king of Moab was dead wrong. He thought that Balaam had the power to bless and to curse the nation. In fact, only God has that authority. That night the Lord God appeared to the false prophet, Balaam, in a dream, saying , “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12, ESV).

This got Balaam’s attention. At first he refused to go, saying, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you” (Numbers 22:13, ESV), but Balak persisted, sending more honorable men to him and bribing him with more money until Balaam agreed to go.

The story that follows is fascinating. The short of it is that, though Balaam set out to curse Israel, being motivated by the promise of fame and fortune, the Lord restrained him all along the way. Balaam was restrained from cursing Israel and instead he was moved to bless Israel three times over.

Ironically the three oracles uttered by Balaam contain some of the most beautiful prophesies in all of scripture concerning the coming of the Christ. God used this godless man – this false prophet who was bent on speaking evil for personal gain – to pronounce blessings upon the people he had blessed (Israel), and to curse those whom he had cursed (Moab). Incredible.  

By the way, do you remember the story of Balaam’s donkey speaking to him along the way as the Angel of the Lord appeared to hinder Balaam’s purposes? What do you think the point of that story is? Is it not that God has the power to make his creatures say what he wants them to say? It was true of Balaam’s donkey, and it was also true of Balaam himself. Both were used as God’s mouthpiece, as unlikely as it was.

While it is true that Balaam ended up pronouncing three blessing upon Israel, and though it is true that he was used by God to prophesy concerning the blessed future of Israel and the eventual arrival of the Christ, it would be wrong to assume that Balaam’s heart was turned to the Lord. He was still “a donkey of a man”. He was still a false prophet – a godless heathen man – and no friend of Israel.

This becomes exceedingly clear when we read in Numbers 31:16. There we learn that, though Balaam was restrained from cursing Israel, pronouncing blessings instead, he did advice Balak the king of Moab concerning how to do harm to Israel. And what was his advice? How could Moab defeat Israel if not through direct warfare? How could Moab win the victory over Israel if not by the sword?

Balaam was as cunning as a serpent. He advised Balak the king of Moab to take a different approach. He advised him to send attractive Moabite women into the midst of Israel’s camp to tempt the men to commit sexual immorality in order to draw them away from the worship of the one true God and into idolatry – the worship of the gods of Moab.

It worked.

Let us give ourselves now to the reading of God’s holy word.

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 25:1-5

“While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These [the daughters of Moab] invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people [of Israel] ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.’ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, ‘Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor’” (Numbers 25:1–5, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 2:12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it’” (Revelation 2:12–17, ESV).

Introduction

I know that I have been up in the clouds this morning, painting with large brush strokes, taking a very long time to introduce the sermon text for today by talking mainly about other passages. I pray that you can see why I have done so. And I pray that we would have the wisdom to understand and apply the letter to Pergamum found here in Revelation 2.

Notice that Christ again spoke the church saying “I know”. This is true of each of the seven letters. Christ knows. He is not ignorant concerning the condition and situation of his churches. He walks in the midst of us to inspect. He sees all. He knows all. Nothing is hidden from his sight.

To Pergamum he said, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” Evidently Pergamum was a difficult place to be a Christian. Satan’s throne was there. This, of course, is not to be taken literally. It is symbolic language which communicates that Christians in that place were living in extremely hostile territory.

Let me tell you a few things about the city Pergamum. It was, to quote Beale,

“a center of Roman government and pagan religion in the Asia Minor. It was the first city in Asia Minor to build a temple to a Roman ruler (Augustus) and the capital of the whole area for the cult of the emperor. The city proudly referred to itself as the ‘temple warden’ (νεωκόρος) of a temple dedicated to Caesar worship. Life in such a politico-religious center put all the more pressure on the church to pay public homage to Caesar as a deity, refusal of which meant high treason to the state. Furthermore, Pergamum was also a center of pagan cults of various deities. For example, the cult of Asclepius, the serpent god of healing, was prominent in Pergamum; the serpent symbol of Asclepius also became one of the emblems of the city and may have facilitated John’s reference to ‘the throne of Satan’(cf. 12:9; 20:2!). Zeus, Athene, Demeter, and Dionysus were also gods receiving significant cultic attention. The reference to ‘Satan’s throne’ may also have been brought to mind because of the conical hill behind Pergamum which was the site of many temples, prominent among which was the throne-like altar of Zeus, which itself would have been sufficient to arouse the thought of the devil’s throne. [Revelation]13:2 says that Satan gave the ‘beast’ ‘his throne and great authority’ (cf. 16:10); thus Satan works through the ungodly, earthly political power in Pergamum to persecute God’s people…”

The church in Pergamum was certainly living in a very hostile environment. The evil was active and powerful there.

Notice that Pergamum is first of all commended. They stood strong in the face of persecution, even to the point of death. Again, persecution was not widespread and continuous at this time, but would flare up from time to time. Christ commends Pergamum for their faithfulness in the face of persecution. He specifically mentions their faithfulness in the “days of Antipas.”  He said,  “yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” We know nothing of Antipas except that he was killed for the faith. The church stood with him and would not deny the faith either. They held fast to the name of Christ.

But all was not well at Pergamum. Though they were strong to withstand the threat of the sword, they were internally compromised. Sounds to me a lot like Israel as they encamped on the plains of Moab. Strong to stand against the sword, but compromised internally.

Christ rebuked them in verse 14, saying, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Some say that there were two groups threatening the church in Pergamum: the Balaam like group and the Nicolaitans. But it is better, I think, to see that there was one group threatening their integrity, that is, the Nicolaitans. These Nicolaitans were teaching something similar to that which Balaam taught to Balak as recorded in the book of Numbers. The Nicolaitans were, in one way or another, encouraging the Christians in Pergamum to compromise in regard to to sexual immorality and idolatry. The words “so also” at the beginning of verse 15 should be understood in this way, I think.

It’s as if Christ said to the Christians in Pergamum, do you remember that false prophet Balaam? Do you remember how he was restrained from cursing Israel directly as they encamped on the plains of Moab? And do you remember how Israel was strong to stand against the sword of Moab and how Balak was powerless against him? But don’t forget how Balak brought Israel low by another means. He followed Balaam’s advice to seduce God’s people to commit sexual immorality and idolatry. That is what the Nicolaitans are doing to you! Tolerate them no longer. 

It is not hard to imagine what the Nicolatians were teaching. I’m sure that they, seeing all of the trouble that their Christians friends were facing because they would not bow to Caesar, nor offer a pinch of incense on the alter, nor participate in the festivals at the pagan temples, began to reason thus: Just bend the knee. Just offer up the incense. Just go the festival and play along. It will be easier for you. You’ll advance in this society. Your reputation will improve with the trade guilds. You’ll grow prosperous. Certainly the persecution will cease if you just go with the flow! What harm is there in these things. After you’re saved by grace through faith in Christ! Go ahead. Bend knee. Run with the crowd. Go along with the culture. Be quite about the faith, and be done with all of this trouble you are now experiencing. It will be easier for you to go this way. 

Some, but not all, within the church held to this teaching, but the church at large was called to repent. What were they to do? They were to confront those who held to the teaching and, through the process of church discipline, put them out of the church. They were do what the Ephesian church was doing well. The Ephesians, remember, “[could not] bear with those who [were] evil, but… tested those who [called] themselves apostles and [were] not, and found them to be false” (Revelation 2:2, ESV). Also the Ephesians were commended for “[hating] the works of the Nicolaitans, which [Christ] also [hated]” (Revelation 2:6, ESV).

The church at Pergamum was to repent. If not, Christ threatened to “come to [them] soon and war against them with the sword of [his] mouth” (Revelation 2:16, ESV). Notice how Christ is introduced to this church. Verse 12 says,  “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword” (Revelation 2:12, ESV), this image being drawn from the description of the “one like a son of man” who walks in the midst of the lampstands in 1:16.

Christ will judge the world at the end of time with the sword of his mouth. But do you see that he comes in judgement even now? Christ will war against those who are false within the church. This also coincides with the Israel’s experience on the plains of Moab, doesn’t it? When Israel refused to repent, and when the leadership of Israel failed to purge the evil from the midst of them, the Lord himself warred against the people sending a plague that consumed 24,000. It was the zeal of  “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, [that] turned back [God’s] wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with [God’s] jealousy among them, so that [God] did not consume the people of Israel in [his] jealousy” (Numbers 25:10–11, ESV).

Our God is a jealous God, friends. He is jealous with a perfect, holy, and righteous kind of jealousy. There is a kind of jealously that is sinful. It is sinful to be jealous for the wrong things. It is sinful to be jealous in the wrong way, or to be driven by jealously to do wrong. But there is a kind of jealously that is right. I am jealous for my wife, for example. And it is right that I am! She belongs to me, and I belong to her. We are bound together in a covenant bond. It is right for me to be jealous for her. It would be wrong for me not to, for she is mine and I am hers.

And don’t you see that we are in covenant with God? Under the Old Covenant Israel was God’s chosen people. Under the New it is all who have faith in Christ from amongst the Jews and gentiles. We, the church, are the bride, he the bridegroom. And he is jealous for us with a holy jealousy.

This is why it is such a heinous thing for us to give our worship to other things, to set up idols in the heart and to bow before them. “Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:23–24, ESV).

Some in Pergamum had compromised in this regard. They had believed the lie that they could pledge their allegiance to Christ and to the world. They believed the lie of the Nicolaitan’s that they could practice sexual immorality and bow before idols and still follow Christ. The truth is that if we are Christ’s we are to be his exclusively.

Not only does Christ threaten those who are unfaithful, but also promises rewards to those who overcome. “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17, ESV).

The mention of manna should again take our minds back Israel’s wilderness wanderings. They were to sojourn ever trusting in God to provide their daily bread. So are we. God will provide all that we need. There is no need to compromise by selling out to the world.

White stones were used in ancient times for a number of purposes, often to grant entrance into some event. To be given a white stone by Christ suggests the right to enter into heaven. But notice that this white stone has a “new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” This speaks to the fact that Christ knows us intimately and by name.  We enjoy a covenantal relationship with him. And it is a new name. Christ transforms us. He gives us a new life in him, and a new name. Abram became Abraham; Sarai was named Sarah; Saul became Paul; Cepheus became Peter. Why? Because God had called them to himself, had renewed them, and was now using them for his purposes. This is true of all who belong to Christ.

Conclusion 

Friend, does your heart belong solely to Christ, or are you compromised? Do you worship him alone, or have you given your love to many lovers, bending the knee to idols?

Let us be aware of the schemes of the evil one, seeing that if he cannot get us one way he will try another. Let us be particularly mindful of the seduction of Balaam who seeks to draw our hearts away from the living God by way of sexual immorality.

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’ For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?” (Hebrews 3:12–18, ESV)

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 1

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, ‘I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.’ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ‘Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.’ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus” (Daniel 1, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 2:8-11

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death’” (Revelation 2:8–11, ESV).

Introduction

Here we come to the second of seven letters in the book of Revelation written to seven churches located in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) in A.D. 90. Each letter is from Jesus the Christ. Each letter is addressed “to the angel” of the particular local church. I take this to be a reference to an angelic being who is responsible to serve that particular church – local churches have heavenly support, that is the point, I think. And each letter addresses challenges being experienced in these local churches. Each church is challenged in some way. These were real local churches, made up of real people – members and officers, who were experiencing real challenges. But we should remember that the challenges faced by these churches were not unique to them, but are common to all churches living at all times and in all places. These seven churches, therefore, represent all churches (numbers have symbolic force in Revelation). This is why each letter concludes with these words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:11, ESV). “Churches” is plural. The letter to Smyna, therefore, applied, not only to them, but is to be considered by all churches, including ours. My prayer for us is that we would have “ears to hear” – that we would consider carefully the words of Christ to see if we are a healthy church deserving of commendation, or an unhealthy one deserving rebuke.

First, a few words about Smyrna.

Smyrna was a city located about 50 miles to north of Ephesus. There was a strong Jewish population in that city. And the city was especially proud of their allegiance to Rome.

It should be noticed that the troubles threatening the church in Smyrna were very different from the troubles threatening Ephesus, located only 50 miles to the south. While Ephesus was threatened by false teachers from without and within, and having lost their love for one another, the saints in Smyrna were a persecuted, poor, and slandered group. One thing made clear by the letters to the seven churches is that the assaults that come against the church of Christ are varied. Some assume that the only (or perhaps the main) threat to the church of Christ is persecution. Americans seem particularly fearful of persecution, perhaps because it is so foreign to us. People tend to fear the unknown and the unfamiliar. But we should remember that persecution is not the only thing that threatens Christ’s church. There are other things that threaten. Our enemy is cunning.

In Smyrna the threat was indeed persecution. Some of them would indeed be put to death for their faith. But it should be remembered that Smyrna is one of two churches of which Jesus has nothing negative to say. Never does Jesus utter the words, “but I have this against you…” to Smyrna. Persecution can indeed have a devastating effect upon the church. It is a not entirely right to say that persecution always makes the church stronger. But often times it does. Persecution often has a purifying effect upon the bride of Christ.

What can we learn from Smyrna? That is the question before us this morning.

A Healthy Church Will Remain Faithful Even In The Face Of Persecution

One thing is clear: we learn that a healthy church is one that will remain faithful even in the face of persecution.

And notice that persecution – mistreatment from others – takes a variety of forms. Here we have mention of  physical persecution, even unto death. The Christians in Smyrna were indeed facing this kind of persecution – physical persecution even to the point of death.

It is in verse 9 that Jesus the Christ speaks to them saying, “I know your tribulation…” (Revelation 2:9, ESV). Remember that Jesus says, “I know” to each of the seven churches. “I know”, he says. “I am not unaware”. “These troubles of yours are not hidden from my sight”. What a comfort this is! When we face trouble in this life we inevitably ask the question, where is God in relation to this trouble I am facing? Is he far off? Is he unaware? Am I too small and insignificant for him to take notice of my trouble? Christ puts this ridiculous thought to rest, saying to each of the churches, “I know…”

He is not unaware of your trouble, and he was not unaware of the trouble that the Christians in Smyrna were facing. He knew of their tribulation, and he spoke to them, saying, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). At the end of verse 11 he adds, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11, ESV).

It should be recognized that persecution in the early days of the church was rarely widespread and ongoing, but would flair up from time to time in certain places and, by the grace of God, would die down. Here Christ warns the Christians in Smyrna that they are about suffer an intense onslaught of persecution that would last but a short time. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer”, he says.

And who is the one motivating the persecution? Christ says, it is “the devil”! “The devil is about to throw some of you into prison”, he says. Of course it would be the Romans who would actually throw them into prison – that is what the Christians would see. Roman soldiers would lock them up. And the Romans would do so being encouraged by the Jews in that city – that is also what they would see. But it is the devil, or Satan, who motives it all – this they are to see with eyes of faith. Remember, things are not always as they appear. There is a spiritual realm that lies behind this world that we see. There is a battle that rages there – one that motivates and inspires the events that transpire in human history. The book of Revelation was written to, in part, reveal the realities of that word to us, though we cannot see it with our natural eyes.

The devil, or Satan, will appear again in the book of Revelation. Later he will be symbolized by a great dragon. He is portrayed as the archrival of God and of the people of God. It is the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, who labors to thwart the purposes of God. He is the one who motivates and empowers all that opposes Christ and his church. The beast, the false prophet, and the harlot are empowered by him. The beast symbolizes political powers that oppress. The false prophet stands for all who teach false doctrines and utter lies. The harlot stands for all of the worldly things that seduce the people of God. Together they form a false trinity. And the three are used by Satan himself to war against Christ and his church.

Friends, we are only to the second of seven letters to seven churches who were alive in A.D. 90. And we have already been shown concrete examples of the the activity of these three. Ephesus was hard pressed by the false prophet. False teaching threatened them from without and within. Ephesus was also tested by the harlot through the teaching of the Nicolaitans who tempted the saints to compromise in regard to sexual immorality and idolatry. And it is here in Smyrna that we see the handiwork of the beast. The saints are persecuted – imprisoned and even put to death – at the hands of an oppressive government. But who is behind it all? The dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan is the one behind these three. This is why Christ speaks in this way, saying, “the devil is about to throw some of you into prison.”

And why was this allowed to happen? Why did Christ permit it? We cannot say that he was caught off guard, for he knows! And we cannot say that he was lacking in power to stop it, for “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to” him (Matthew 28:18). He is the son of man with all dominion and authority having been given to him by the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7). The evil one is not outside of his authority. The serpent was defeated at Christ’s first coming. He is indeed a strongman, but he is bound by Christ – restrained and restricted – under is his sovereign power. The fact that this persecution endured by the Christians in Smyrna was limited to “10 days” testifies to the reality that Christ rules and reigns even now over the evil one. Satan is a vicious advisory, but he is a chained and restrained advisory. The strong arm of Christ holds him at back from having his was amongst the nations. He is active but bound.

We must admit, then, that Christ permits our suffering. But why? The scriptures do not reveal all to us, but Christ does reveal to Smyrna that this suffering would come upon them so that “[they] may be tested” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). The persecution was permitted so that, among other things, the saints be tested. Testing refines our faith. Testing strengthens our faith. The Lord has promised that he will “not let [us] be tempted beyond [our] ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that [we] may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). But he does allow us to be tested, this being for his glory and our good.

Peter had a lot to say about suffering in his letters. So much for the silly idea that God’s will for our lives is that we be healthy and wealthy. I can’t think of a doctrine more out of step with the tone an tenor of the Old and New Testaments. Listen to 1 Peter 1:3-9:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, ESV)

Persecution is permitted so that our faith be tested – strengthened and refined to the praise and glory of God.

Notice that Christ promises that the evil one would be restrained and that the tribulation would be only for a limited time. In the middle of verse 10 Christ says, “For ten days you will have tribulation”.

Should ten days be taken literally? I think not. Remember that this book is filled with symbols. The numbers in this book tend to have symbolic force. There is no historical evidence to support the idea that the saints in Smyrna endured only a “ten day” period of persecution. Instead it is wise to ask, what does the number 10 symbolize, or what does it have reference to.

The number 10 can be understood as a number of completion. How many commandments are there? There are 10 commandments which summarize completely God’s moral law. We will encounter multiples of 10, or other significant numbers multiplied by 10, throughout Revelation. The number 1,000 is significant in Revelation 20, for example. By the way, a careful student of the Bible would be wise to compare the content of Revelation 20 with the letter to the church in Smyrna. We do not have the time, but there are many parallels having to do with martyrdom, the first and second death, and the enjoyment of life with Christ after death – we will come to that passage in the months to come. For now know that I take “10 days” to symbolize a complete, limited, and brief period of time. When we come to Revelation 20 I will make a case for understanding “1,000 years” to symbolize a complete, limited, but very long period of time.

It is also important to notice the connection between the “10 days” of Revelation 2 and the “10 days” of Daniel 1, which we read at the beginning of this sermon. In Daniel 1 we are told of the 10 day period of testing that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah endures while in captivity in Babylon. It too was a period of testing. And, as we will see, the temptation that they endured was similar to the temptation that the church in Smyrna would have to endure. In both situations the temptation was to given in – to compromise – and to defile oneself with worldly things, by pledging allegiance to worldly powers. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah stood strong and the Lord provided for them. Christ is reminding the Christians in Smyrna of this by using the words “10 days” to describe the period of tribulation that was to come upon them.

The point for now is that Christ warned the Christians in Smyrna that they would soon experience a period of tribulation. It would be brief. Christ would would limit it. Some of them would be put to death.

Why would this be? It is imprint to understand something about the historical situation.

In the earliest days of the church Christians enjoyed a good deal of freedom. They were viewed by Rome as a sect of Judaism, which was a state approved religion. The Jews enjoyed certain freedoms, and the Christians were, at first, considered to be one with them. This changed over time. Christians would eventually loose the approval of the state and would be considered a threat to Roman rule and to the stability of society. They, after all, confessed Jesus as Lord, not Caesar. And they would not participate in the worship of the Roman gods.

Something else also changed. Over time the Roman Emperors began to insist upon being worshiped. Nero, who reigned from 54-68 A.D., tended in this direction. But it was Domitian, who reigned from 81-96 A.D., who insisted upon being worshiped. Once a year citizens were to offer up a pinch of incense upon the alter and to say “Caesar  is Lord”. Faithful Christians refused. Thousands were killed under Domitian’s reign. The charge was often atheism. It sounds strange to our modern ears to hear Christians charged with being atheists, but you must put yourself in ancient Rome. Christians denied the Roman gods and they refused to worship the Emperor, confessing only Jesus as Lord. This was atheism from the Roman point of view. It was a denial of the gods, and it was treasonous to the Empire. Thousands of Christians were killed under Domitian.

This is how the persecution would usually play out: The Romans rarely went “hunting” for Christians. Instead Christians in a city or town would fall into disfavor with a person or a group of people. Those people would then accuse the Christians of atheism or treason and insist that they be put to the test. Perhaps the accusations were politically motivated. Perhaps they were religiously motivated. Perhaps a person would simply grow envious and, therefore, seek the harm of his advisory. The Roman government would be used as a persecuting force. The Christian would be asked to say “Caesar is Lord” and to offer up the incense. Punishment would follow if they refused – sometimes death.

In Smyrna it was the Jews who were motivating the persecution against the Christians. It’s not hard to understand the tension between the two groups. The Christians believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the long awaited King of the Jews. The non-believing Jews considered this to be blasphemy. And the Jews certainly had the upper hand in this. Judaism was a recognized and state approved religion. Christianity was not. The Christians were very vulnerable. The Jews knew that the  Christians would not bow to Rome and they used this against them, bringing them to the attention of the authorities.

The language is very strong against the Jews in this passage, and we must be careful with it. Never should Christians encourage or condone violence against any religion or group of people. That way is completely contrary to the way of Christ. Indeed it must be admitted that terrible things have been done in the past in the name of Christ. Christians should denounce these acts with all that is in them. The Kingdom of Christ does not advance by the sword, but by the word and Spirit. This fundamental fact has been sadly overlooked by many in the history of the church. Never should the strong language in this passage be used to justify acts of violence. But neither should the language be ignored.

The unbelieving Jews – notice that this has nothing to do with race, but with beliefs and behavior – are called “a synagogue of Satan”. The word synagogue means “assembly or congregation”. We use the word “church” to refer to our gathering together. The Jews gathered in synagogues. And, ironically, they are called the “synagogue of Satan”. It is ironic because under the Old Covenant the Jewish people were set apart as God’s people, but here they are found serving Satan. How could this be? It came to be when these Jews rejected Christ as their Messiah and, in fact, began to persecute the people of God, namely, the church – that is, all who had believed upon Christ, both Jew and Gentile. Once again, this has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with belief and behavior. The Jews in Smyrna were showing themselves to be a “synagogue of Satan” through their rejection of God’s Messiah and through their persecution of God’s people. They were shown to be on the wrong side of things.

Ethnicity does not matter under the New Covenant. Physical birth means nothing. What matters is faith followed by obedience. In pride the Jews say, “we are the people of God given our heritage.” The New Testament has a different opinion. Paul puts it most succinctly, saying, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28–29, ESV). This is why the New Testament constantly uses Old Testament language that was once reserved for Israel and applies it to the church, which is made of of Jew and gentile. The church is the Israel of God (see Galatians 6:16). We have already seen an example of this in Revelation! It is the Jewish Menorah – the sacredlamp stand burned bright in the Jewish temple for centuries – that is used to symbolize the Christian church, made up of Jews and gentiles.

It is not surprising to me that the Jewish people, still to this day, think themselves to be the “people of God” on the basis of their ethnicity. For them the Old Testament scriptures are authoritative, not the New. For them, nothing changed when Jesus of Nazareth died, for in their view he was a common man and nothing more. They are still waiting for the Messiah. What is surprising to me is that many Christians still have this opinion of them, thinking that they, the Jews, are God’s people by virtue of their ethnicity. I want to ask Christians who have this view, have you read the New Testament? Do you not see that the Christ has come? And you do know that the promises made to Abraham have been fulfilled, that through his physical descendent the blessings of the Messiah have come to all the peoples of the earth (Genesis 12). There is no longer Jew and gentile – indeed, it is all who are in Christ by faith who are the people of God. “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named’” (Romans 9:6–7, ESV).

“That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:16–17, ESV).

So do you understand how it was that the church in Smyrna was experiencing persecution? The evil one used the Jewish people there to oppose the people of God (those who confessed that Jesus is the Christ). They, wishing to do them harm, brought it to the attention of Rome that these Christians would not bow to Caesar. When they refused to bow the knee – when they refused to say, “Caesar is Lord” or to offer up the pinch of incense, they were imprisoned and even put to death.

Last week I sent you all a document from the early church entitled “The Martyrdom of Polycarp”. I would encourage you to read it. The word describes the killing of Polycarp who was a Bishop, or pastor, in Smyrna in the middle of the second century A.D. He died in Smyrna at the hands of the Romans some 50 or 60 years after the book of Revelation was written. It’s a fascinating work which helps us to understand what was going on in this region in those days.

It should noticed that there are different forms of persecution. Death is the most extreme form. But the Christians in Smyrna were also slandered. To slander someone is to speak evil against them to damage their reputation. Slander is an evil thing. It really bothers me to hear slander – to hear people misrepresent the truth or tell outright lies to damage the reputation of others. This was done to the Christians in Smyrna. And we are also told that they were poor (but in fact they were rich, Christ says!). Now it may be that they were simply poor. But the contexts suggest that they were poor because of persecution. If you live in a place where Christianity is despised and you are in the minority it might be hard to get a job. This was probably the case in Smyrna.

But what were they to do in the face of this difficulty? “Do not fear”, Christ says, and “be faithful unto death.” Do not fear and be faithful. Continue steadfast to the end, even if it means that you loose your life.

Friends, this is in fact a decision that Christians all over the world have to make even up to this present day. But how can Christians stand in the face of such persecution? How can they stand in the face of death? How do they not cave in – denying Christ, bowing the knee to another, offering the “pinch of incense”, confessing “Caesar as Lord”?

Well, for one we must confess that it is the Lord who sustains them. He gives them the courage to stand in the moment of testing. But we must also recognize that those who stand have faith that is strong. They really believe that this world is not all there is. They really believe that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV). They really believe that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21, ESV). They really believe that, ironically, death means life for the one who is in Christ!

Look at how Christ encourages the Christians in Smyrna to persevere. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). In verse 11 he promises that “the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11, ESV). The first death is the physical death that all humans experience. The second death is the judgment. To persevere in Christ means that, though we be stung by the first death, the second death will not touch us. And notice also how Christ introduced himself to this church: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life” (Revelation 2:8, ESV).

Conclusion

Do you believe it, Christian? Do you believe that Christ died and came to life? Do you believe that in him is found life everlasting? Do you believe that this world is nothing when compared with the world to come? Do you believe it?

Persecution of any kind, be it slander, loss of wealth, or physical suffering has a way of putting all of that to the test. I do wonder how many would stand. I know that Christ is able to make us stand. And I pray that we would stand, for our good and for the glory of his name.