The Revelation Given to John by Jesus Through the Angel
Lesson Six
The letter to the Church at Thyatira continued
“I gave her time to repent of her fornication and she did not[i].”
The assembly at Thyatira has a member among them who calls herself a parapsychologist. She holds herself up as a leader and teacher in a congregation of God, but what she teaches is not Godly truth. Her philosophy of demons and she seduces her students into corrupt sexual intercourse and consumption of food contaminated by idol worship.
The goodness of God leads to repentance. God is long-suffering and gives her time to turn away from her hardness and unrepentant heart to God’s grace and truth.
It is easy to fall into the seducer’s trap, but glory, honor, and peace are the inheritance of every man, woman, and child who value the riches of God’s goodness and mercy. He who called us to glory and virtue has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust and have received the precious promises of our re-creation in the image of his divine nature.
“Listen, I am throwing her and those who are committing adultery with her into a bed of great affliction, giving them a chance to change their hearts about their evil deeds[ii].”
Sin’s after taste is always bitter, and the weight of sin is heavy. It is a cumbersome burden to carry, it beats against the tender truth that is inherent in each of us, and afflicts our sensitive souls. The Lord loves us with an everlasting love and invites us to listen to his voice of reason so he can replace the heart of sin with a heart beating with new life. Yeshua wants to take the burden and yoke each of us to himself so we can get to know him intimately and deeply. Yeshua wants to keep us close to him so we have hearts full of joy.
“I was poor yesterday, but not today;
For Jesus came this morning
And took the poor away:
And he left the legacy
He promised long ago.
So peace and joy and love
Through all my being flow.
I was tired yesterday, but not today.
I could run and not be weary,
This blessed way;
For I have his strength to stay me,
With his might my feet are shod.
I can find the resting places
In the promises of God.
A servant yesterday, a child today,
A loved one of his household,
Bearing his name always.
Do you know this blessed difference?
Do you long for this better way?
He will come to you as he came to me
With the joy of an endless day.
-copied, author unknown by me
“Every offspring of this Jezebel’s teachings, I Am going to destroy so that all the assemblies will understand that appearances don’t impress me. I see every motive clearly and you will get the true results of your actions and thoughts[iii].”
Way back in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve realized their decision to ignore, and even change, the laws of nature brought injury and final ruin to all of the natural world, including mankind, their reaction was to try to cover the corruption and hide from God. Ever since that fatal day when they choose to follow the desires of their own egos and open the door to all the distorted and injured desires of the contaminated nature, shutting the light out, the world has cried out in anger, “How could a loving God allow this suffering and death?” Ever since the garden of Eden God has promised to abolish evil for good, to separate it irrevocably from life. Mankind is still trying to cover up their evil desires and hides the actions that result from the desire. Humans embrace their evil nature as a lover and dress it in the finest garments of ideal principle that the impure mind can invent. However, when imperfect humans look at their carefully constructed robes of righteousness through the mirror of the word of God, they see the robes are all soiled and moth-eaten, the work of an amateur, constructed of faulty material with the seams all askew. Those who choose to open the door to the Light, reveal the destructive forces in their natures, and give them up to be washed in the blood of the Lamb and re-created by the power of God, have the promises of new life where death is swallowed up in victory.
“To the rest of you in Thyatira, who have not embraced the teachings of this evil woman, I will not cast any other burden upon you[iv].”
Yeshua said a wonderful thing to the assembly at Thyatira who had been steadfastly applying deeds of love, and to all the assemblies everywhere through all time. He said, “I will lay no other burden on you,” reminding us of his earlier words when he said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light[v].” When we become fully acquainted with God (when we bond with God and are in harmony with him) his love flows through us to others – and that is his burden. He said when we love him above all else and acquire self-denial, we find life. God is love, so God’s life radiates love and life and spreads to others.
“However, hold fast to what you have till I come[vi].”
That which they have refers to verse 19. They have and work out [vii]Mashiach-like conduct toward each other, and a right feeling toward other Christians. They serve Mashiach by serving one another with this same spirit. They keep their faith healthy and strong by using it in every aspect of their lives; and they know how to wait patiently for God to work, while they labor at letting God design his will through them.
“Hold fast to what you have” is the same message as “stand, “observe to d” or pay attention and accomplish. Eagerly give yourself to God, tested and found satisfactory, a worker that does not need to feel ashamed
(that one has lost one’s honor because of wrong or foolish acts).
Cut straight the word of truth[viii] according to the pattern that was given by God on the Mount and written in the hearts of the redeemed through the blood os Yeshua[ix]. He is our reward[x].
Prayer: Lord, it was not for your great mercy I would be burdened down with an immeasurable weight of sin. I asked you to show me how to know you and the power of your resurrection and the fellowship of your suffering and you drew me close and taught me that I could never get enough of you and the joy and peace you bring to my heart. Lord, I pray now you will release the ones that are struggling under the burden of trying to live without you as their companion and guide. Oh my precious Savior, please set them free by the power of your blood and give them joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Lord, I want to reflect your light, so I will practice matching my actions to your character. I will leave the world behind and follow you. We are so used to listening to the sage advice of the world’s “experts” that when you say, “follow me,” and go in the opposite direction, we are prone to think we must have misunderstood. Help us to remember that your ways are higher than our ways, and when we get an exaggerated opinion of the heights of our own views, we are in danger of not looking high enough to follow you. Thank you for being an encouraging, loving, and patient guide on this rocky path to eternity. I love you.
Lord, I will, by the strength of your might, and according to the power of your holy spirit that works within me, stand firm on your word of truth. Your word conforms to reality and is intimate with fact. I will live by your pattern, steadfastly gage, through the pages of your word, into the face of the One from whom the pattern was drawn. It is my desire to be like Yeshua, to be conformed to the image of your Son.
Thank you, Lord, for revealing yourself to me through Yeshua. You speak to me through your word and it is through him that I can be intimately involved with you because he is Immanuel – God with us. He prayed for me in the garden and his prayer was a revelation of your will for me, so I know that you want me to reflect the glory that you gave your Son. You want me to cling to the treasure of your Word and I know you hold me safety in the place of your protection. You want your joy to be fulfilled in me, and for me to be set apart by your word. You want me to be in harmony with the other members of your body. I pray that your will shall be done in my life, O Lord God Almighty.
[i] Revelation2:21
[ii] Ibid 22
[iii] Ibid 23
[iv] Ibid 24
[v] Matthew 11:30
[vi] Revelation 2:25
[vii] Christ-like
[viii] God’s truth from the Bible
[ix] Jesus
[x] II Peter 1; Revelation 2:26-28 Think “shepherd them with un-questioning authority”
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