To Thyatira, Stop tolerating the intolerable!

Posted on by

It appears the problem with the real church of Thyatira was that they were too tolerant!

They had those believers who had almost certainly stopped gathering in the assembly due to the seductions of a false prophetess, to participate in grade guilds that worshipped idols and even participate in sexual sin. This woman Jesus calls “Jezebel”.

There were four judgments being given.
1. To the faithful, they were to maintain and continue Jesus’ works until He returns.

2. Those Jesus was about to place in a condition of unavoidable distress. These had begun participating in some of Jezebel’s ways, and had almost certainly stopped fellowshipping around the faithful, but they had not fully committed to her as disciples.

3. Those Jesus was going to destroy who were identified by Jesus as her “children” meaning her proteges’. These had been part of the assembly in Thyatira but had separated some time ago. However, the text seems to imply that in one way or another, they maintained some affiliation with the church or the title of “Christian”.

4. Jezebel herself was going to be thrown into a bed of violent sickness.

For groups 3 & 4 there was no repentance offered – that ship had sailed. There only remained a fearful sense of impending doom.

Jesus identified Himself as the One Who from the secure position of total holiness, judges all with the authority of the Father. He sees everything, even down to hearts intentions and offers the faithful the same future of ruling and reigning with Him. He also promises the greatest gift of all – Himself!

Continue reading→

Old Testament Review – Exodus Part 2

Posted on by

This is our second week reviewing Exodus and these are the high points we addressed:

• 400 years… 430 years or 179 years of bondage?
• Moses’ mom recognizes his call at his birth
• When God calls He provides
• God’s power in our weakness
• Late life does not disqualify – in fact, it may actually help
• The Hardening of Pharaoh’s heart
• The rules are for everyone – (God threatens to kill Moses)
• 3 Days in… 2½ months in… Water & Manna
• God test’s Israel’s hearts and obedience
• The Manna becomes a testimony against Israel
• Water from the Rock (which represented Christ)
• Moses discovers a new name and attribute of God
• The establishment of Israel’s tribunal
• God encounters… Israel retreats

This review is intended to remind us of all we learned over the course of our 9 years studying the Old Testament. The things listed are major lessons which are often “first mentionings” of patterns, procedures, principles and truths repeated throughout scripture. Meaning, learning them early in our journey through the Bible will greatly aid us in comprehending all that comes afterwards.

Much of the foundational lessons of Exodus are not really found in Israel as much as they are in the person of Moses. At many times and in many ways, he IS the lesson, and the lessons are relational to their core!

Continue reading→

To the Faithful in Pergamum Pt. 2

Posted on by

Today we finish Jesus’ letter to the saints in Pergamum.

There are two groups of people in this church. They are addressed as “you” and “some among you”.

Those addressed as “you” are the faithful in Pergamum.

Those addressed as “some” are the unfaithful.

This letter is unique in that Jesus calls not upon the unfaithful, but upon the faithful to repent!

The repentance is a call for the faithful to judge the sin of lasciviousness in those who were unfaithful in their assembly.

To cross reference this same situation we also read from Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11. Not all of these refer to the same sin, but rather the fact that sin in the church needs to be addressed.

Continue reading→

Old Testament Review – Exodus Part 1

Posted on by

We left off last week with the death of Joseph at 110 years old in 1805B.C. and the prediction of Moses’ birth 278 years later in 1527 B.C.
Our re-trek through Exodus-Deuteronomy will largely be about major and foundational truths which are first established in these books.
As you know Exodus, means “departure” making the primary focus of the book about Israel’s departure from Egypt, which begins with Moses in their generations. So it is that Exodus begins with a listing of the tribes who came to Egypt with Jacob and then immediately goes into Egypt’s oppression of Israel.
This introduces our first big lesson which has a very universal impact on our understanding of scripture, God and His dealings with nations – including His Own people. And it is something which God specifically spoke to Abraham about many years prior.
So this week we BEGIN Exodus, but focus largely upon Genesis 15 and Exodus 12:40-42 and that is entirely because Israel’s oppression in mentioned right out the gate in chapter 1.
This lesson MAY seem unnecessary to many, but it really does address some major theological content which establishes first principles for many issues people run into throughout scripture.

Continue reading→
Pergamum

To the Faithful in Pergamum

Posted on by

Pergamum was another city which was under heavy persecution. Though a brother named Antipas had been horribly martyred by the mentally sick, megalomaniac Emperor Domitian of Rome, this seems to be a single example rather than a trend in this city.

In this letter, Jesus refers to Himself as the One Who has the sharp double-edged sword. This is important in regard to the contents of this letter.

Jesus referred to Pergamum as a place where satan’s rule was well established and felt – so much so, that He said it was where satan lived. That is quite the statement – even if it was metaphorical, it is not a good or safe reality!

Jesus makes all of His statements in this letter to those in the church who were faithful. He praises their loyalty and devotion to Him, their unwavering faith in Him and acknowledge the conditions under which they lived.

He then addressed the faithful ABOUT a sub-group in their assemblies who were being carried away by the false teachings of the Nicolaitans which Jesus compared to the instruction of Balaam to King Balak.

His next words TO THE FAITHFUL, which we will address next week was “Therefore repent!”

I think where this letter goes may surprise many, and it is a clear lens through which we can know and understand our Messiah, so I encourage you to also follow next weeks lesson.

Continue reading→