Isaiah 53:4-7; “Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet, we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned – every one – to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearing is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (ESV – all emphasis is mine).

Whenever I read this prophecy from Isaiah, it reminds me that our Lord and Savior suffered for the sins of the world and, on a more personal note – my sins. Once I finally got that through my thick skull, I found that my need for a personal relationship with Him became strong, and no matter what the world may think, I gladly receive and accept Him as my eternal Savior.

Colossians 2:13-14; “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

In Matthew 27:12-14, we see Isaiah 53 fulfilled. “But when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave them no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?’ But He gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.”

We have Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, one-third of the Holy Trinity, who knew we would be helpless without a pure, sin-free blood sacrifice that the Heavenly Father could accept. No longer would animals or birds or anything else be accepted after what He endured for us all (Hebrews 10-4). His was a once-for-all sacrifice.

In John 10:14-18, Jesus made it known that He knew exactly what He was going to do, who He was doing it for, and why He was willing to carry out His mission. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own, and My own know Me; just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd. For this reason, the Father loves Me because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

We are talking about a part of our triune Godhead who willingly came to this earth as a human to be made lower than the angels for a time (Hebrews 2:7&9), to be tortured and killed on a cruel cross as payment for our sins.

For those who try to say He was just a good prophet and the resurrection was just a myth, we look at John 1 1-3; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

One thing to remember: Jesus could have stopped the process at any moment, and we would all be hopelessly lost. The Creator of the universe, knowing that more would accept the world than would accept Him (Matthew 7:13-14), decided that all who would believe in Him should be able to spend eternity with Him, no matter what the total number would be, and the cost to Him was very much worthwhile.

There is a cost on our part. We have to admit we’re sinners and cannot save ourselves. We must believe that Jesus died for us and was raised by the Father to conquer sin and death for us. We must call on Jesus to be our eternal Savior and receive and accept the free gift He gave for us at Calvary.

That’s it. No amount of deeds or works on our part, no amount of money we could ever spend, can give us one minute with Him in Paradise. For some people, the ABCs are just too simple and couldn’t possibly be all there is to it.

Ephesians 2:8-9 has been given many times, and we need to have faith and believe God’s word is true and complete. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

In numerous places, it is plainly stated in the New Testament that if we have the Son, we have the Father. Likewise, if we do not have the Son of God, Jesus, we do not have the Father.

What it comes down to is we need to surrender our worldly ways and accept Jesus as our Savior. In 1896, Judson W. VanDeVenter (1855-1939) wrote the hymn, “I Surrender All.” It’s a very uncomplicated yet inspiring message.

1.) All to Jesus, I surrender; all to Him, I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily.

Ref.) I surrender all; I surrender all; all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

2.) All to Jesus I surrender; make me, Savior, wholly Thine. Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou are mine. (ref)

3.) All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee. Fill me with Thy love and power; let Thy blessing fall on me.

When we receive and accept Jesus, this does not mean we will never sin again. That will only happen after we leave this earth through death or by Rapture. However, our wonderful Heavenly Father gave us the pathway to forgiveness in 1 John 1:8-10 for the times when we do sin. In Matthew 18:21-22, Jesus gave us an example that shows the number of times that we can be forgiven does not have a set limit. However, once we do have Jesus as our Savior, we will want to live more for Him and less in the ways of this world.

There will come a time when the ability to choose eternal life with the Savior will end. That will be when we take our last breath here and leave this earth. All who refuse to receive and accept Jesus prior to that last breath will be scheduled for the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. Anyone who arrives at that judgment will be lost in the lake of fire forever.

All who will have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will have a forever Home in Heaven prepared by the Hand of the Savior Himself (John 14:1-3).

While you’re still able, the time to choose eternal life is right now. No one is guaranteed another day, but all who have Jesus as their Savior will be guaranteed forever with Him in Heaven.

Whatever the degree of sin anyone has committed can be forgiven if they will truly confess to the Savior and ask His forgiveness. Call on Jesus today and know that you will have eternal life, not eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

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Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29, 1 Kings 18:19, 2 Kings 9:33-35, Acts 16:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Summary: Thyatira was the smallest of the seven cities mentioned in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3. It is also the city about which little is known. Yet, it is to this church that Jesus addresses His longest letter.

Thyatira was founded by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great some 300 years before the birth of Christ. The name Thyatira means “unceasing sacrifice.” It more than likely received this name because it was a military “buffer city” located some 40 miles southeast of Pergamos, the capital city of the province.

Whenever enemy forces invaded, they would naturally approach Thyatira first. As its location did not allow itself to defend itself all that well, its mission was to “hold the enemy” just long enough for Pergamos to prepare itself for battle. As a result, Thyatira was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times during its history.

Thyatira was also known for its commerce and significance as a major trade route for the region and Rome as well. The main product for which Thyatira was known was wool and the types of dyes produced there. They manufactured a very expensive purple dye valued by both royalty and the wealthy of the region. It was extracted from a certain shellfish brought up by divers. Each shellfish was able to produce a drop of dye. When combined with the waters of Thyatira, this dye produced a variety of colors not found anywhere else. This industry was mentioned in Acts 16:14. One producer of this dye was a woman named Lydia, who came to faith in Christ under the preaching of the apostle Paul.

Thyatira was also known for its trade guilds, similar to the ancient unions of the day. Workers from the varied industries of the city, such as bakers, wool workers, dyers, bronze workers, potters, and others, banded together to set prices and give guarantees to their work. To refuse to join a guild was to give up all prospects of work.

Like the other cities of the region, Thyatira had its share of occult and pagan worship. There was a temple in the city known for fortune-telling, which was presided over by a woman named Sambathe. It was to the church operating in this city that Jesus sent this letter. We do not know who specifically founded the church in Thyatira, but it is possible that the Gospel was brought to the city by Lydia, who was saved in Philippi (Acts 16:12-15) or was evangelized by members of the church of Ephesus.

There was trouble in the church as it was being dominated by a woman whom the Lord Jesus refers to as “that woman Jezebel, who fancies herself a prophetess” (Revelation 2:20). I believe this situation parallels the warning about women exhorting pastoral authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12). I also believe that this is a form of ancient feminism, a movement not founded on issues such as equal pay for equal work and mutual respect but is in reality a form of witchcraft forbidden in Scripture (1 Samuel 15:23).

The Lord Jesus came to this church (2:18), presenting Himself in three ways. He comes as the “Saving One.” He is the Son of God and reminds them that He is the Savior. He alone is worthy of worship. He is also the “Searching One” with “eyes like unto a flame of fire.” He comes as One who sees all. He sees the works of the hands and the motives and thoughts of the heart. Here, He is not the “meek and lowly” Jesus, but with His eyes blazing forth with anger over sin. He is also the “Sovereign One” with “feet like fine brass.” He not only sees all but comes as the One able to judge all (Matthew 25:32; John 5:22; Acts 10:42, 17:31; Romans 2:16, 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:4-5; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5).

He will not tolerate any kind of compromise with the world, especially in His church, and this was the problem with Thyatira. It had allowed itself to fall into a type of marriage with the world that was corrupting its influence and testimony. Anytime the church tries to appease or make friends with ideologies or trends that are clearly opposed to the Word of God and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, it spells the end of that church’s ability or attempts to present the life-changing Gospel.

If the church approves of, or worse, remains silent about the sewer that represents the world system, then what purpose does it serve?

Thyatira, in terms of prophetic significance, represents the downward spiral the church found itself in between the years 600-1500 AD, known as the Medieval or “Dark” Ages when the Roman Catholic “System” emphasized papal authority, ritual, traditions, and persecution of Christians who dared to say that the Bible needed to be in the possession of all people, not just the property of popes and priests.

The letters to each church apply to the churches of today, and if we truly have “ears to hear,” then we need to both read and put into practice what Jesus teaches and expects of His people, especially as the days grow dark and the harvest still needs to be collected.

Like the other letters to the churches that have already been covered, Jesus gives words of commendation to this church. Thyatira was an active church in good deeds and benevolent outreach. They are examples of service to the Lord and engage in authentic ministry to the city despite the rank heathenism that permeated it. They could not be accused of being lazy. However, within the church’s structure, there was a festering sore that had to be addressed. This church was being led away from the Lord through the teachings of an influential woman in their midst. Jesus exposed her and her false teachings, calling her “Jezebel,” a reference to one of the wickedest women referred to in the Scriptures.

In the Old Testament, there was a wicked, idolatrous queen named Jezebel who was the wife of the equally wicked and corrupt King Ahab (1 Kings 16:31). She was a devoted, fanatical worshipper of the god Ba’al, and she supported 850 “prophets” of this despicable religion that included the sacrifice of children. Baalism was a religion that also centered on perverse sexual practices. Baal was the god of fertility. Its adherents were no more than prostitutes and perverts.

When Jezebel arrived in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had never known a godly ruler in its history, she brought this perverted religion with her and had her weak-willed husband follow her gods. Her influence caused Israel to turn to Baal instead of the Lord God Almighty (1 Kings 21:25). She attempted to kill every true man of God that she could. Her threats even caused the prophet Elijah to run off in fear for his life (1 Kings 19:1-3). She was also instrumental in the murder of the good and noble man Naboth for his vineyard (1 Kings 21:17-24).

God pronounced judgment on Ahab and Jezebel, with both being killed in brutal ways for their personal wickedness and the idolatry they brought to Israel (2 Kings 9:1-37). The Lord Jesus described the woman in Thyatira as having the same type of devious influence. What had this woman done? She more than likely led the members of the church away from authentic worship of the Lord by teaching that while they were indeed saved by grace through Christ, they could also indulge in the sins of the flesh. A teaching arose that the soul and body were not really connected; therefore, what a person did in their body had no effect on their spiritual life and vice versa.

The trade guilds had included pagan worship as part of their construct. Christians who made their living as tradesmen were faced with a dilemma. Do they join the guilds and thus be able to provide their families with a living, or do they make a stand for Christ and risk losing their jobs and everything else? This woman taught that they could do both. They could overlook the paganism and still hold on to their jobs. Well, it doesn’t work that way. Either we are sold out for Christ and trust Him to provide for us, or we kiss the feet of the world and lose what testimony we have to present Him to a lost individual or group.

This is the issue that Jesus addressed, but more importantly, would be an object lesson for any believer who thinks that “faltering between two opinions” somehow solves the problem.

What warning did Jesus give to this deceitful woman and those who followed her perverse teachings? In Verse 21-23, we read that the LORD had given this woman every chance to repent of her false teachings. She refused to submit to the Lord’s authority. Therefore, His patience had run out, and she was now slated for judgment. She and her followers would face His wrath. This shows that these people were not saved. If they refuse to repent even after these warnings and judgments, He will place them in “sickbeds” and will “kill her children” as a visible sign to the churches that He searches the minds and hearts of all people (2:22-23).

This should terrify anyone who is content to play “religious games” or use their influence to engage in behaviors and affairs that have no place in the body of Christ (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 12:13-21; John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15).

The tragedy is that very few people today, even professing “Christians,” fear God anymore (Deuteronomy 10:12, 13:4; 1 Chronicles 16:30; Isaiah 8:13; Matthew 10:28; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7).

The letter to Thyatira concludes with Jesus telling the faithful that He will reward them for their steadfastness and devotion to Him (2:25-29) and to heed what the Spirit says to the churches. This means that every church that claims to be faithful to Jesus and the Word of God needs to abide by His Word, keep their eyes upon Him, and look forward to our coming redemption (Luke 21:28).

Stay true to Jesus. Rebuke the influences of the world. He is coming soon. We do not need any more churches like Thyatira in the body of Christ. Agreed?

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

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