Today I am covering the Church at Thyatira and like the other Churches we have seen in these scriptures it also will have reverence with our current day Church members. The issue at this Church is false doctrine. Not only is doctrine and issue but a second generation of false doctrine has came into the Church at Thyatira.
1. The Church at Thyatira
Revelation 2:20 says, "Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou allowest that woman, Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."
First lets clear up who Jezebel is. This is not the OT Jezebel who was married to the wicked King Ahab. However is lady is just as cancerous to the local Church. We have several of them among us today. She is a self proclaimed prophetess and a leader of the Church. She teaches sexual immorality and it is promoted in the Church. She also promotes eating the things sacrificed unto idols.
The sexual immorality issue should be obvious as to why this is not allowed. God has commanded us to be clean and righteous. Sexual immorality destroys marriages and homes. It leads to incest, rape, sexual abuse, and pedophilia. Today every time we turn on the news we see a young lady or little girl has been found dead and left in the darkened woods or some dirty dumpster site because her predator took her life after he satisfied his desire. God designed sex to be between one man and woman in a married union. There are no exceptions in scripture.
The eating the things sacrificed to idols is a little different for us to understand. It doesn’t sound appealing and nor was it to the Jews. It was against their laws and their culture. This subject is also associated with sexual immorality throughout scripture. The meats that came from the animals sacrificed in false pagan rituals with sexual immorality going on in the backdrop would be sold to butchers to sale. Here is the issue. This is a matter of discipline and control as well as cleanliness and holy living.
Today in our Churches there are spiritual matters that are similar to the issues at the Church at Thyatira. We have allowed sexual perversion in our Churches and we have done so by media. Our young ladies don’t know who Ruth was but they want to be like a Hollywood actress that glorifies carnal beauty. Our young men don’t know the temptations that Joseph overcame but desire to be like their favorite athlete who caves to temptations. Why? Because the doctrine has been watered down.
There is a social gospel that encourages men to be the person that they want to be not the person God has called them to be. To many Church members today are still living in the old man body and mind. Sin is not being rebuked in the Church like God’s word clearly reads. When preachers do preach the Gospel and rebuke sin many see him as being negative. Many Church members have decided that is better let people conduct themselves in any matter they feel fit rather than someone consider them to be old fashion. The social gospel is sending people to hell. If you are living in un-repented sin you must repent. You cannot live like the devil and enter the Kingdom of God. Don’t take my word for it let’s look at God’s word.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionist, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (ICor 6:9-10)
The social gospel ignores the Gospel. The reason that so many are compromising doctrine today is because they have no love for the word of God. Instead of reading his word they covet mans word. You see Paul says in the next verse that so were some of us like these overtaken by sin but we were washed, sanctified, and justified by the name of Jesus Christ. Now that is the Gospel!
The Church at Thyatira had no self-discipline and neither do many Church people today. They covet because they say its normal or because God wants them to be blessed. We have an epidemic of gluttony in our Churches. I have never heard gluttony rebuked in Church but I have seen people eat until they needed a cart to role them out of the fellowship hall. I just saw on the news that within the next couple of years 42% of Americans will be obese. What’s the big deal? Gluttony clouds the minds of the fortunate to the point they don’t understand the need of others. Here is my point in case. Today 26,000 children will die because they starved to death. Starvation is one of the most cruel and inhumane ways to die. The body will begin to eat it’s self. I have heard of children eating dirt and leaves just to put something in their stomach to minimize the hunger pains. The muscles in the body will deteriorate because the lack of proteins the body has received will cause the body to eat the muscles. The child’s head will throb in pain and the body will slowly shut down because the lack of carbohydrates the body needs to create energy is not available. This process is slow and can take several weeks. It is a slow and painful death.
God wants us to make a difference! He created all men in the likeness of his image so that he may be glorified. There are people all around us that need our help. They like us were created in the same glory. The first thing we have to do before we can make a change is let God make a change in us. We need to be cleaned and made pure in his sight and let his spirit work in our lives.
Look forward to several new posts starting this Monday!
Jesus Saves
RR
Randy this is some Awesome reading. Very interesting. God Bless you and. Keep it coming Brother.
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