Who are you to judge me? That's what we say these days, and I get it. Who am I or who is anyone else here to judge you? But the question we really need to ask ourselves tonight is, is there anyone who can judge you? Is there anyone for whom it's right for him to judge you? Is there anyone who has the authority to be your judge? I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to Revelation, chapter 2, verse 18, as we come to the fourth of the seven letters to the churches. This is the church of Thyatira and Jesus has something to say to everybody here tonight, and you need to hear what Jesus is saying to the churches, because Jesus is going to prove to every one of us tonight that he is our judge. And, out of respect for God's word, I want to invite you to stand for the public reading of Scripture, and I encourage you to give your full attention to the words that Jesus says here, because your very soul could depend on whether you hear what Jesus has to say here tonight. Please follow along as I read, starting in Revelation 2:18 and going all the way to the end of the chapter; 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[a] 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.’
That's the reading of God's word. Please go ahead and have your seat. And if you've been here for any of our messages on Revelation so far, we're going through these seven letters that Jesus gives to the churches. And they always begin, if you look at verse 18, with “The words of,” and that's a way that Jesus introduces himself to that church. And when I read this week the words of and then he says, “the Son of God.” That leapt off the page to me, because I've been used to how these introductions work. Usually, he refers to a part of the description in Revelation chapter 1, and that's what he does. You can see he says, “who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” And when John saw Jesus unveiled in all of his glory, that's what the revelation of Jesus Christ is all about. Seeing Jesus for who he really is. When John saw Jesus, he saw those eyes of fire. Man, can you imagine looking at somebody with fire eyes, where it seems like their eyes are just piercing through your skin and bones, seeing straight to your soul, seeing to who you really are? And then the feet with burnished bronze? Like both of these descriptions, they come up again later in Revelation 19, and it's like the idea that Jesus on his feet, is ready to just tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty, like Jesus is coming and he's just crushing anything under his feet. So, I'm used to the description like, “the eyes like flame of fire,” or the “feet like burnished bronze,” but it was the title, the Son of God, that really got my attention. Nowhere else in the entire Book of Revelation does it refer to Jesus as the Son of God, except right here in Revelation 2:18. And so, I'm like, well, why? Why? Why does Jesus decide to introduce himself this way to this church? And you kind of have to jump to the end of the letter to really understand why Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God. You've got to kind of understand the bookends here, because he always introduces himself at the beginning, and then he always makes a promise to “the one who conquers,” or overcomes at the end. And if you jump down with me to verse 26 we get to “the one who conquers, the one who keeps his works until the end.” And then he says, “Here I will give him authority over the nations.” So, Jesus now is offering to all of us who believe in him. And our faith overcomes the world. This is the victory that we believe in, the victory of Jesus. Well, he's going to give us authority. Look what it says in verse 27, he will “rule them with a rod of iron, as when Earth and pots are broken in pieces.” Now that is a direct quote from Psalm, chapter 2. And if you turn with me to Psalm 2, I think it answers why he referred to himself as the Son of God.
So, everybody, let's grab our Bible and let's go back to Psalm chapter 2, because that's what we're finding out as we're going through Revelation. If you're reading it, if you're paying attention to the sermons, a lot of the things that John sees or hears, he writes down for us, or he tries to describe to us. Not only is it something that John is seeing or hearing, but it's also fulfilling previous prophecy. And here in Psalm chapter 2… Can everybody turn there with me to Psalm two, where we get this very important text? And we know that David wrote this psalm according to Acts chapter 4. And we know that Psalm 1 and 2 are placed very strategically at the beginning. And it says this in Psalm 2. Look with me at Psalm 2:7. It's like “I will tell of the decree the Lord” or Yahweh “said to me, ‘You are my…” what everybody? So, Jesus is trying to make it very clear to this church and to all of us now here tonight, as we get to hear this, what he says to Thyatira, like God, the one who sits on the throne in heaven, he called me son. He gave all authority to me. That's what Jesus is trying to make very clear.
And so, that's why he starts with Son of God. That's why he says, hey, just guess what, the father gave me authority. I can give that authority to you, and some of you will reign with me. Some of you will rule with me when I have my rod of iron and I'm making all those Broken Pots. Well, that's what it says here in Psalm 2. Pick it up in verse 7, “I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me.” Ask like a king would say. One who has all authority would say, when someone wants to kind of flex, that I can do whatever I want, “ask of me, and I'll give it to you.” Well, “I can make the nations your heritage and the ends of your earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. You're my son. I'm going to give you the authority,” and you know what you're going to do. You're going to rule like a king, and all of those who stand against you will be broken. That's what the prophecy is, that the nations of the earth that ally together against Jesus, Jesus will come, and he will break through them, he will destroy them. And Jesus will reign with complete and utter dominion and authority. That's what it's saying. And Jesus is now bringing that up to this church.
Okay, so if you are taking notes, and we’ve got a hand out there in your bulletin. If you want to jot down some notes, you'll see we're talking about both the beginning and the end of the letter. Right here at the beginning, the words, Jesus is coming to judge. Let's make that very clear. Jesus is the Son of God who has been given all authority. He's going to rule with a rod of iron. And anyone who opposes Jesus will be broken like pottery. It has been prophesied from the Psalms. It is now being reaffirmed to the church of Thyatira; Jesus is coming to judge. Sometimes we say Jesus is coming, sometimes we say judgment is coming. We're saying the same thing. There's a day of judgment coming. Whose is it everybody? It's the “Day of the” who? “Lord”. The Lord Jesus is the judge.
Every single person that is hearing this sermon right now, that can see me preaching this right now, I'm telling you, too. You will be judged by Jesus. You will stand before him, and to all of you who believe in him and trust in his death and resurrection, you will receive a reward from the Lord. And he might say, hey you right there. You've got ten cities. Hey you. You're reigning over five cities that I'm giving to you. He might put you in positions to reign in this kingdom that he's bringing so you will either receive a reward for the Lord, or you will be judged according to what you have done. Every single one of us, we will stand in front of the one who has “eyes of fire and feet like burnished bronze.” That's the message. That's the picture of Jesus. If you didn't have Jesus as your judge, if he's just the man who died on the cross, if he's just the guy of the empty tomb, if he's even the baby in the manger. If you don't have Jesus, the Son of God who rules with a rod of iron. That's how he's being revealed to this church in Thyatira. In fact, go back now to Revelation chapter 2, and you'll see, as we kind of see, he introduces himself as the “Son of God,” which is part of the quote from Psalm 2. And then he completes the quote from Psalm 2 later on, when he says, “because I have authority to rule.”
Maybe you've read some of the parables of Jesus, where he's like, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Here are ten cities. You're like, Yo, I didn't know we were handing out cities. What's going on? Some of us are going to be mayors, apparently, in the future kingdom of the Lord, and that's the idea here. I have the authority to judge, and I can give that authority to you just like it was given to me from my Father, and even you will reign with me. You will rule with me. In fact, look what he says down there in verse Revelation 2:26-27. He says, Hey, “I will give authority over the nations, though the one who overcomes you might be the meek of the earth.” Right now, it might seem like you're not that important, or you don't have that much power in the world right now. Well, someday you're going to reign with me in my kingdom. That's what Jesus wants to say to you, all of you who are the overcomers, the conquerors, the ones who believe in Jesus to the end. And then he says in verse 27, he will rule them “with a rod of iron. And then we're going to break all the enemies into pottery, broken in pieces, just like I myself have received authority from my father.” And then look at verse 28. “I will give him the Morning Star.” Now, when I would read this in previous times, I always thought that was really kind of random, how all of a sudden we're just talking about the Morning Star after giving authority to rule. But if you could write down, if you're taking notes, write down Numbers 24:17. Numbers 24:17 has the prophecy that Balaam actually gives about the ruler, the king, who's going to come out of Jacob. He's going to come out of Israel, he's going to come, the Messiah is going to come. And in Balaam prophecy, he says that he's going to be like a “star,” this one, this ruler who comes out of Jacob, he's going to have like a scepter or a rod, like a king. And so, in Numbers 24:17, you see “the rod” and “the star” right next to each other. Like the king, when he comes, he'll have, like, that royal scepter, and it's like he's bringing the authority of the heavens with him. So, it's actually the statement that Jesus is the Morning Star, and he'll give us the Morning Star is like Jesus has all the authority, and he'll give us the authority. He has the rod, the scepter, and he can also give that authority, delegate that authority to whoever he wants.
So, out of all the letters we've read already, we're halfway through the seven letters as of this sermon, and some of them have already been intense. There's more coming, but this introduction to me is the strongest one we've seen yet. When Jesus says to this church, I'm the Son of God, and I have “eyes of fire and I have feet like bronze,” and I'll decide who gets to reign in the end, and I'll let you reign with me, and I'll give you my rod, and I'll give you the star, because I am the boss. I am in charge. I decide the judgment. That's what Jesus is saying. And you can see he's about to say some very judgmental things, at least, that's how it's going to come across to our perspective. I just want to make it clear to everybody here, yes, if you were saying this, or if I were saying this, this is sounding very judgmental. This is Jesus saying this, and Jesus is not like you, and he's not like me. Jesus has the authority to tell us how it is. In fact, Jesus is the one who sets the standard by which we will all be judged.
And so, look what he says here in Revelation 2:19. He starts out with some encouragement, Revelation, 2:19, he says, “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance.” There were some good things to observe about this church of people. In fact, I love this, “that your latter works exceed the first.” It's not like they got off to a strong start, and now they're just plateauing or cruising. No, they're like, they're actually growing. They're actually doing more in the name of the Lord than they used to do. But, and we've seen this now in some of the letters, hey, a commendation, but now a correction. And he says, “I have this against you.” And then he talks about this woman, Jezebel, and Jesus says something that I think is very controversial in America. Jesus says, you know what your problem is? Your problem is you're too tolerant. That's what he says to this church. You guys are too tolerant. You're tolerating this woman, Jezebel. And this woman, Jezebel, look what she's doing. Well, she's claiming to be a prophetess. Notice how it doesn't say she is a prophetess. She's a self-announced prophetess. And she's teaching and seducing people in the church. She's spreading a certain kind of activity in the church where people are thinking it's okay to practice sexual immorality, or people are thinking it's okay to eat food sacrificed to idols.
So, when you do some reading on the city of Thyatira, two things kind of come out in the reading I was be able to do in the study of this city. One is the Greek god Apollo. Apollo is the son of Zeus. And so, Jesus is kind of saying he's the Son of God. Could be somewhat relevant in a city where they worshiped Apollo, the son of Zeus. But especially, what you're going to find out, if you study Thyatira is, they had these trade guilds. All the different trades had their guilds, and being a part of these guilds was a big part of your identity in this city. And these guilds would gather together for feasts. And at the feast, maybe the God or the idol of The Guild would be worshiped. And after the feast, in the worship of that idol, there might be some practicing sexual immorality. So, you want to work, you have a skill, well, you’ve got to be in this trade; you’ve got to be in this guild. And now there's this pressure, are you going to fit in with your guild? Because this is what your guild does. We have these feasts to this idol of our guild. And then there's sexual immorality that takes place. Are you going to be a part of that or not. And apparently, Jezebel is acting like, yeah, we can be a part of it. Sure. We can. We can blend in with, we can be conformed to the world around us. And people in the church are tolerating Jezebel, tolerating idolatry, and immorality. And Jesus says, I have this against you, that you're tolerating Jezebel. In fact, it's not just her. Look what he goes on to say in Revelation 2:21. He says, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual morality.” We'll get back to that. And then he says, so here's what's going to happen to Jezebel, and this sounds very like judgment here. “I will throw her onto a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her,” those who are also participating in this sin that she's promoting. Well, I'm going to “throw them into great tribulation unless they repent.” I gave her time to repent. Her judgment is now coming. Other people are sinning in the same way. I'm going to give them time to repent, and then it says this, “I will strike her children dead,” like Jesus is going to judge this lady, Jezebel, and those who are following her. These may not be her literal, physical children. This may be like her disciples, or the people who are engaging in these same sinful activities that she's engaging in. And so, the ones who are following her, I'm going to strike them dead. And then he says, and “all the churches will know that I know what's going on in your mind and heart, and that I am the one who judges you according to what you do.” Like, here's what Jesus wants all the churches to know, I am the judge. Have you ever had a word association where somebody says Jesus and you think Judge? Because that's this letter right here. I want all the churches, and that would include this church right here. I want you to know that my eyes of fire, they already see what's going on inside, and you will get judged according to your work so. So, Jezebel, whoever this lady is and what she's doing there in Thyatira, she is going to get judged in this severe way that is going to be noticeable to others, so that everybody would realize who Jesus really is.
Now to fully understand all of this, you’ve got to go back to the story of Jezebel. So, turn with me to 1 Kings, and let's go to 1 Kings, 21 everybody. So, I don't know if this lady's real name was Jezebel, or if Jesus is using the name Jezebel that people would have been familiar with from 1 Kings, 21 and that's how he's calling this lady. I don't think I've ever met a lady named Jezebel. Has anybody here met a lady named Jezebel? That's because there was one time a very bad lady named Jezebel who kind of ruined it as a name, alright? It's kind of like Judas. You don't hear about people passing that name down as much. Well, that's how it is here with Jezebel. So, to really understand what Jesus is saying about how this lady is leading other people into sin, and there's going to be a severe judgment against this lady. Well, some of the ways that Jesus said that you have to go back and know the story of Jezebel to fully appreciate the references that Jesus is using. So, I just want to do a quick time out right here, and I just want to tell you that when Jesus talks to a church... Okay, this is a first century church. This is a mixture of Jewish people and Gentile people. But when Jesus has something to say to the church, what does Jesus expect? He expects them to pick up references to what is in Psalms and Kings. That's how Jesus talks. So, if you want to really understand what Jesus is saying, you can't just know a little bit of the Scripture. You’ve got to know that what the Scripture says, because Jesus, he's just dropping Balaam last week, he's dropping Jezebel this week. That's how he's talking to churches, and he expects the people at church to know what he's talking about. Do you know the story of Jezebel? Maybe the key verse that you need to know is right here, 1 Kings 21:25. If everybody could look at that verse with me, 1 Kings 21:25. And it just says it here in one verse, it's actually kind of in parentheses here. It says “there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, like Ahab, whom Jezebel, his wife, incited.” Key Words circle that, underline that, that's what we're supposed to think, that this guy, Ahab, he made a bad decision when he got married, everybody, and he married Jezebel of the Sidonians, where they worshiped the idol Baal. And when Jezebel came in as now, like the queen of the northern kingdom of Israel, she led a lot of people, including her husband, she incited them into sin. So that's what Jesus is referring to, that this lady, Jezebel, she's like the kind of person you don't want your kid hanging out with. She is bad company. She is like when you think about that person that would influence other people around them and cause them to stumble. Jezebel is the name for that. And so Ahab, he did more evil in the sight of the Lord than anybody before him in the Northern Kingdom there, of Israel, because of his wife, Jezebel, inciting him to do it.
Now, let's get the full context here, because Elijah is going to say something here in 1 Kings 21:20-23, “Ahab said to Elijah, ‘He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’” Okay, so one of the things you need to understand is that you will be judged, anyone who lives their life in sin; they never repent of their sin. They never put their faith in Jesus. They just live like a person who sins. You will be judged according to your sin. If you cause someone else to sin, if your sin influences someone else to sin, your judgment will be much more severe than just if you had sinned yourself. Does everybody understand that?
Jesus says in Matthew 18: “Woe to those who cause one of these little ones to stumble. It would be better for that person to have a millstone,” a big old stone that they would use to crush things. Better “fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” So, there is judgment for sin. You cause somebody else to sin? You don't even want to know what that kind of judgment looks like. This was an example of that kind of judgment. Ahab, you're done. And not only are you done, your whole kingly line, all of your descendants, they're all going to die. And Jezebel, she's going to be eaten by dogs. Now, when it says eaten by dogs, don't think dog beach, everybody. Don't think man's best friend. Don't think you see people walking their dogs all around here in Huntington Beach. Lot of people loving dogs around here. Okay, you’ve got to get your mind into the context of the Scripture. And in the context of Scripture, the Scripture doesn't say that dog is man's best friend, the Scripture acts like dogs are unclean animals because they're not people's pets. They're scavengers on the outside of civilization. And the reason they're unclean is they're probably scavenging dead things. They're probably trying to eat dead things. And if you touch something that is dead, then you are considered unclean. So, the idea that Jezebel is going to be eaten by dogs, see, that's how people would have thought, like, oh, that's a very unclean thing. Like, that's terrible. That shouldn't happen to anybody. That would be a really bad scenario. That's what's prophesied, right here. I mean, this is a specific judgment prophesied against this lady. Why? Because this lady caused other people to sin. And if you go and read the whole story of Jezebel, you could go back before to where she kills all of God's prophets. You can go up ahead to where they anoint Jehu.
In fact, let's turn there, to 2 Kings 9. Let's go now to see this prophecy fulfilled, because eventually God's like, Ahab, you're done. I'm anointing Jehu. And Jehu’s first job is to go eliminate the family line of Ahab. And so that picks it up here in 2 Kings 9:4, a young servant; now, instead of Elijah being the Prophet, it's Elisha, his Prophet disciple here, and he sends one of the servants. And this young man, he goes to rameth Gilead, and he comes, and he finds Jehu there, and look what it says in 2 Kings 9:6-10. “So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king,” Jehu. You now have the authority. You're now the king “over the people of the lord over Israel, and you shall,” here's what you shall do, strike down the house of Ahab, your master, “so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, for the whole house of Ahab shall perish. “And I will cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house here, we'll go.” We're repeating the prophecy here, verse 10, “and the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then the servant, like opened the door and ran for his life. Okay, because he was even scared by what he was saying. And he was scared for this guy, Jehu, who's about to go on a killing spree in the family tree of Ahab, because this is what God thinks when you lead his people into sin. Unlike people down here on planet earth, God is not okay with sin. Can I get an amen from anybody here today? Okay? We could have come in a little stronger on that. Amen, right?
We're just not as people who deserve to be judged. We are not comfortable with the subject of judgment. God is fine with it, because this is who God is, and he is the judge. And God sees very clearly. Not only was Ahab sinning, but Jezebel was inciting him to sin, and they were leading the whole nation, generation into sin, and they killed his prophets, and God is going to make it right. And so, he anoints Jehu, and Jehu goes to do it. Go down to 2 Kings 9:30-37. It's a very disturbing story that is supposed to come to our mind when we hear the name Jezebel. “And Jehu, he comes to the city Jezreel.” And the reason this city, Jezreel, is very important, and the reason Jezebel needs to die in this city is because Jezebel had a man killed in this city just so that Ahab could take over his vineyard. That's how petty Jezebel was. She had a guy killed so that they could take over his property. And so now justice is coming to her in this place where she had this guy murdered. And it says, “When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter.” But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’”
So, Jezebel is meant to be like this example, for all time. You don't want to cause anybody else to sin. You don't want to make anybody else think it's okay to worship another god. You don't want to make anybody else think it's okay to practice sexual immorality. Look at the judgment that comes upon and you can keep reading the story. They go and find all of Ahab's offspring, and they go and kill them all, because that's the judgment that Ahab's line cannot continue. So, when Jesus says, “I will strike her children dead,” that sounds super intense to us, but it's actually a reference back to the original story of Jezebel that he is referring to. Hey, remember what happened to Jezebel? You're supposed to be scared by the story of Jezebel. You're supposed to think, wow. You think you're getting away with it. You think you're getting away with that sexual immorality. You think you're getting away with that idolatry. Remember what happened to Jezebel?
So, let's get that down for our context. Let's write this down if you're taking notes: “Jezebel incited others to sin and was severely judged.” Jezebel incited others to sin and was severely judged. So, if you're now at church, and here comes a letter from Jesus, where he says he's the Son of God, and he says he's got “eyes of fire,” and he says he's got “feet like burnished bronze.” And then he calls one of the ladies who's claiming to be a prophetess, and you know who he's talking about. And he says, why are you guys okay with this lady being with you there at church? Because this lady is Jezebel, if you know all of this story, and you hear Jesus call this lady in your church, Jezebel, you're like, whoa. This just got very intense here in Thyatira. Wow, Jezebel. We know how she fell. We know what happened to her. And now here's Jesus saying, hey, don't be deceived. The same thing is going to happen to this Jezebel here in this church. Why? Because I want the churches to know who I really am, that I see the hearts and minds and I will judge everyone according to what they do. So, Jesus, the judge, is warning the people in Thyatira that Jezebel is going down and you don't want to be associated with her. You want to repent. And that is the key.
Go back to Revelation, chapter 2. Hopefully now, seeing Jesus as the Son of God, seeing Jezebel as this lady who caused other people to sin and got like, a severe judgment. Okay. Well, now that I see all of that, maybe I can really have the context here for what Jesus is saying. Look back at Revelation 2:21. I'll tell you what. This verse has been in my head all week long, and this is a verse that some people here in this room, you need to hear this verse right now, because Jesus says about this woman Jezebel, this woman that is causing other people to stumble, this woman who is leading people into idolatry and Sexual morality there in Thyatira is okay. It's an acceptable practice in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what Jesus says. Verse 21. “I gave her time to” what? Jesus knew how much time he gave her to repent. And then here's what Jesus already knows, because he searches the hearts and minds, she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Literally, she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Now, I don't know where people get their expectations for what should happen at church. But a lot of people, they act like, can you believe this bad thing happened at church? Okay, let's just make this very clear. Jesus writes letters to seven churches. How many of those churches does he tell at least a part of the church to repent or he's going to judge them? How many? Five out of seven. So, where we got this idea like there's not going to be problems at churches? I have no idea, because we didn't get it from Jesus. Jesus acted like there's going to be a lot of problems at church. And one of the big problems that Jesus wants to address at church is people are acting like sexual immorality at church is okay, and Jesus is not okay with it. “I have this against you.” You're tolerating this lady who's tolerating sexual immorality. I gave her time to repent, but she did not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Man, it makes me wonder, how many people at this church is Jesus right now giving time to repent of their sexual immorality? How many people right now? Jesus already knows what's going on in your heart and your mind. You can fool everybody else, but he knows, and right now, there's like a clock that is ticking right now. It's like there's sand falling out of the hourglass, and you only have so much time left before judgment comes. Wow.
And then, basically her time already expired, judgment is coming on her. Now, the rest of you, though, who are getting involved in what she's doing, look what he says here in the next verse, like, I'm going to “throw her onto a sickbed.” And there could be like, some wordplay there, like, oh, she wants to be okay with sexual immorality. Well, I'll throw her onto a bed. Or even it could be this idea of like a deathbed. That's the kind of bed she's going to end up on, a deathbed. She's going on a deathbed, and those who commit adultery with her, those who are associating in this same sin, I will throw into great tribulation unless they what, everybody? what does Jesus think about sexual immorality in the church, in his church, among his people, he's got one word for it, repent. And this offer to repent of your sexual morality is only available for a limited amount of time, an amount of time that Jesus gets to decide how long it is, because he's the judge. And this lady, he gave her time. I mean, first of all, this lady, Jezebel, sounds like she was causing a big problem in this church. For Jesus to even call this woman Jezebel. Wow, just to know who Jezebel was, and then to think he's referring to a lady at church as Jezebel, to think that this lady is causing evil, and yet Jesus is so patient and so kind that even Jezebel gets time to repent.
See, I don't think people fully understand how life really works. Because you've never seen judgment doesn't mean it's not coming. And just because all you've ever known is mercy and all you've ever known is kindness does not mean that the time for all of that will run out, and then the judgment will come. And this was a pronouncement of judgment upon this woman, Jezebel, because the time that God was being patient with her so she could repent, the time that God's kindness was meant to lead her to repentance. Here's what a lot of people think, and even people at this church thinking, hey, I've been committing sexual morality, but nothing's happened to me. Yet they think they're getting away with it. Let me just make this very clear, no one is getting away with it. Not one soul is going to get away with it. There are two possible outcomes. You repent of sexual immorality, or you get judged for sexual immorality. That's it.
Go over to the end of Revelation, chapter 21. Look at how this is going to keep coming up throughout the book of Revelation. Some very clear statements here at the end of the book, and here in these last two chapters of Revelation 21 and 22. We're seeing the New Jerusalem come down out of heaven. This is it. This is what we think of when we say heaven. It's actually a massive city where we're going to live with God, an epic city that we'll be talking about in some of the studies to come. And when he talks about man, you want to be in this city, this is where God's going to be with his people. And there's going to be no death and no mourning and no crying and no pain, like it's going to be great. All that God wanted, the perfect life that God wanted to have with his people, it's going to be all there in this city. And then it says this. This is Revelation 21:8. “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable or the abominable, as for murderers…” And then underline it, circle it, “as for the sexually immoral sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with what? Fire and sulfur, which is the what, everybody? You cannot practice sexual immorality and be welcomed in to the New Jerusalem. That's what it's saying. That's not how it's going to work. Jesus has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sex outside of marriage. Now that is such a radical thing to say in the United States of America today, but he's the one with the authority to say it.
Look what it goes on to say in the next chapter. We're describing how he's coming soon, and he's going to get his people, and there's not going to be any like day or night. It's just going to be light all the time in the city, because the glory, the unveiled glory of Jesus will just shine. It will radiate. This place is going to be awesome. You want to be there. Blessed are those, he says in verse 14 of Revelation, 22. “Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, that they may enter the city by the gates. Oh, blessed are those, happy are those who see the day when you get to go to this city? And then he says this Revelation 22:15 outside are the dogs, referring to the idea of unclean outside; the people not making it to the city are “the dogs, the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” We can't even get to the epic ending, the description of where we're going to be in glory without it saying in both chapters describing the New Jerusalem. But just to clarify, the sexually immoral will not be entering here.
So, let's get this down for point number one, if you're taking notes: “You are not getting away with sexual immorality.” You are not getting away with sexual immorality. And Jesus wants this church to know that he searches the hearts and minds, and he judges us according to our works. So, we need to get our minds renewed together here this evening. We're living in a government and a culture and a people where tolerating sexual immorality, that's what we want to be known for. It seems these days, that actually seems like one of the real virtues in America right now is to tolerate sexual immorality. That's why we need to hear what Jesus is saying, “I have something against the church.” You guys are tolerating a lady who's promoting sexual immorality at your church.
Go over to Matthew, chapter 5. Let me just make it clear what Jesus says about this. Let me remind you of this teaching or introduce it to you if you've never heard this. See, right away we start thinking, well, my sexual immorality isn't as bad as somebody else's sexual immorality. And right away we want to start grading on a curve. Jesus isn't grading on a curve. In fact, Jesus, in his teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, he tells us exactly the standard that he is going to use. He says, hey, you know the 10 Commandments. You have heard that it was said… This is Matthew 5:27, everybody. This is the teaching of Jesus Christ, Jesus, who is the judge, Jesus, who's not going to tolerate sexual immorality in his kingdom. He doesn't want to tolerate it in his church right now. Here's what Jesus teaches. “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” You want to feel justified? Well, I haven't done this with this person, or I haven't done this with my body. Jesus says, but I search your heart and your mind, and you can't feel good about what you haven't done. What have you done? Because even if it's just a look with lustful intent, even if it's just in the thoughts of your mind and the desires of your heart, I know about it, Jesus is saying. And he says this. This is how seriously Jesus wants you and me to take sin, specifically sexual immorality. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than your whole body going to hell.” You’ve got to realize where is that sin coming into your life? What relationship is the temptation? What device are you wanting to look at those things on? You’ve got to cut off the avenue of sin, because it's better to lose something in your life and gain your soul than to lose your soul to the sin of sexual immorality. Jesus is saying that on the Day of Judgment, people will end up in a lake of fire because of looks they did with their eyes. He's warning us. He's telling us the criteria that he's going to use.
Now, there was a time in my life where I really needed to figure out what I was going to do for a career, and I was thinking about doing other things, but I said, no, I want to preach the good news. I want to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ. And I've been investing myself in the church. And I thought I had this naive idea. I was very young and very idealistic. And I thought if I went to church and I talked to church people, Jesus people, Bible people, and I spent my life with them that I wouldn't have to get involved in all of the sexual immorality going on in the world. I had no idea what I was walking into in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Do you realize how many conversations I've had with people about sexual immorality, church people, where they're trying to act like it's okay, like it's normal, it's natural, it's human, it's just how we are. I fell. They're not broken hearted. They're not like, what should I possibly do to cut it off? Well, I fell again. So, yeah, let's talk about it again, I guess. And I have heard a lot of grown men argue with me that sexual morality is okay. That's a part of being a man. And see what I have to do is I have to check my heart, and I have to realize has that even affected me with all these Christian people acting like sexual immorality isn't that big a deal? Has that caused me to lower my standard? I need to hear what Jesus is saying, because Jesus is saying, don't tolerate any of it. Don't even let a look of it. Don't even have a hint of it. Make a covenant with your eyes not to do any of it. And if you are doing it, do whatever you have to do to repent, do whatever you have to do to flee, do whatever you have to do to save yourself, because many will go down on that day. People who went to church will go down on that day because they thought a little bit of sexual morality was okay. There will be people on the day of judgment that will rue the day they ever let the internet in their house. There will be people on the day of judgment that will realize how dumb it was to keep on sinning on that smartphone. There will be people on the day of judgment that will realize that they way underestimated who Jesus was and what Jesus knew, and they will have no excuse, because Jesus will be there on that day, and he'll say, I gave you time to repent. I brought you to that church on that Saturday night, and I let you hear exactly what I said to Jezebel and the other people who were engaged in sexual immorality in Thyatira, I told you exactly the standard by which I was going to judge. I could just think of Jesus saying that I gave you time to repent. And I think back on some of the conversations that I've had with people who were okay with sexual immorality and church people okay with it in their life, and it's like now it's like I see like a ticking clock up above them. I see like a countdown, and I wonder how long Jesus will be so patient with them, and how long Jesus will be so kind with them, because I know our Lord is long suffering. But let's make this clear. Jezebel's time had come. The time to repent will run out. You will either harden your heart and not care about repenting, like Jezebel did. You will either die or before you repent, or Jesus will come back and you will be out of time.
And so, this is how repentance works. Repentance is supposed to work where you go to church one day, you hear what Jesus said to Thyatira. You saw Jesus as the judge. You saw by faith, yourself standing before Jesus. You realize you don't live up to the standard that Jesus has right now, and you turn to Jesus, and you beg Jesus, forgive me, save me, get me out of this. I don't want this. I want you, Jesus, will you deliver me out of my sexual immorality? I repent of my sin. I turn to you.
See, don't, don't take the patience for granted. Don't take the kindness that is meant that he's being kind to you now, not to judge you now, so that you could hear this sermon, so that you could repent. Don't take that kindness for granted. Don't assume that patience will always be there. Jesus is giving you time to repent, a limited amount of time, and if you know you're engaging in sexual immorality, and you know that you haven't repented of it, that the time is ticking. You only get so many breaths in life, and we take so many breaths. We take over twenty thousand breaths a day. You're breathing all the time. You don't even realize at some point that you're breathing, like it's just normal, you don't even think about it. Have you ever been there towards the end when someone is about to die in a hospital room? As a pastor, I've been there, and it's like every breath is a very big deal. And then eventually you get to the last breath, and who knows how many millions of breaths it's been, but you remember the last one, just because you've had so many millions of breaths, your last breath is coming, and the time will run out if you do not repent.
So go back to Revelation, chapter 2, because he gave Jezebel time, and now he's given time to the people who were associated with her, and he's given time to you, but the judge is coming, and he's coming soon. And if you know you need to repent of sexual immorality, I'd be happy to talk to you after this service. I would encourage you to go and pray, and I would encourage you to talk to somebody else about that so they can help you turn out of that sin before it's too late. But that's not the only thing Jesus says. Look at verse 24. He says, “But to the rest of you in Thyatira,” so see some of the people in the church were getting caught up in what Jezebel was doing, but other people in the church were set apart from it, and they weren't engaging in this idolatry and sexual morality. So even in the church, there was a difference between people who were okay with it and then there was the rest of you in Thyatira, people who are not being warned about this judgment on this immorality. In fact, you're not whole. You don't have this teaching. You haven't learned the deep things of Satan. Whoa, did Jesus just say that thinking you can be sexually immoral at church is the deep thing of Satan. But I love what Jesus says to these other brothers and sisters in Thyatira, when he says, can you imagine Jesus? Jesus has just come in so strong in this letter. I mean, he's the Son of God, and he and there's going to be death in his judgment over this sin. But hey to you, I want to say something to you. On you. I love this. Look what he says there at the end of Romans 2:24, “I do not lay on you any other burden.” I'm not here to give you anything else to do. Like that reminds me of Jesus when he says, “Come to me all of you who are weak and heavy laden, because my yoke is easy, and my burden is” what? What kind of a judge will just call Jezebel out in front of everybody, and then he'll look over here and say, I don't want to burden you with anything else.
I want you to just hold fast. You're already doing it. You're already trusting in me. You already have repented and turned from that sin. Just hold on to that. That's what he says. Only hold fast what you have until I come. Like talk about Jesus. He's so intense. Hence, from our perspective, in His judgment, and so intimate in his care for his people like Jezebel, and all of you guys who are on Team Jezebel, I'm warning you right now. But you guys over here, just hang on. You guys, hang on. I'm coming. That's literally what he says, “Hold fast until I come.” And then make sure you notice this in Romans 2:26 when he says, “The one who conquers…” And now, he gets into his promise at the end of the letter. But notice what he says, “The one who keeps my works until the end.” So, he kind of puts one more description of what he wants them to do there in the promise. Hey, I don't want to lay on you another burden. I want you to hold fast what you have until I come, and I want you to keep my works until the end. Now I just need everybody to really pay close attention to this. Whose works does Jesus want us to keep to the end? His works, not your works. His works. Just keep hanging on to what I've done, to what I'm doing until the end. I don't want to burden you to do anything. I want you to keep holding on to what you've already got, and what you've got is the works that I've already done for you. That's how you encourage somebody right there, because he knew how hard it is. This is what this letter shows me. Jesus knows how hard it is to stay pure when there's compromise all around you. And if you're fighting the good fight, to stay pure, to give your whole heart to Jesus, he doesn't want to lay any other burden on you. He wants you to just keep holding on to him, because he's already done the work for you.
Turn with me to Hebrews, chapter 6, where it gives us this idea of holding fast. What are we holding on to? What are we hanging on to? Here in Hebrews, chapter 6, it uses this same Greek word here, criteo, this idea of like, hold on, like you're holding the line. See, the world we're living in right now, they are definitely trying to incite us to sin. They are definitely trying to lower all standards towards sexual ethics among human beings and kind of create a freedom where anything goes with what you want to do with your body. And it's like the word we're hearing from Jesus is just hold the line. Just hold right there. Stand firm right there where you are, well, yeah, they're coming after you. Just hold fast. And it says here in Hebrews 6:18, where God has made an oath and, wow, what an amazing thing that God could make an oath. Usually, people make oaths in the name of God. They swear something. But no, it says here in verse 18, “So that by two unchangeable things in which God's made an oath. And it is impossible for God to lie. We, who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. That's what I would like to give the brothers and sisters here tonight, strong encouragement to hold fast, because Jesus has already done all the work for us. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? And then it says, here's the work that he's done. Verse 19. “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, behind the veil, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” What? What is that about, that there's an anchor like our soul, who we are, in our spiritual being, created in the image of God, our soul that lives inside of our body, our soul has already been anchored into the Holy Plac,e like that's behind the curtain, the inner place. This is like a reference back to the tabernacle or the temple, as the book of Hebrews is written to the Jews, who would be familiar with that imagery? Yeah, God exists in the Holy of Holies behind the veil. We don't know what's going on in the glory of God. Only the high priest could actually access that on the Day of Atonement, one day out of the year. Well, guess what? Now our soul, it's like we've been anchored into God's presence. Our soul, it's already guaranteed. It's already sure and steadfast that we're going to go into the presence of God behind the veil. See, that's the whole point of the book of Revelation, to unveil.
Jesus to take the holy throne room of God and express it to everyone through Jesus Christ, and see when Jesus was up there on that cross, and his breathing became very labored and he was having a hard time continuing to breathe. What does the Scripture say that he breathed his… and as soon as he breathed his last, the curtain, the veil, was torn in the temple. This massive tapestry, it was torn from the top to the bottom, almost as if it was ripped open from the heavens, because Jesus had just accomplished your salvation, and now your soul is anchored into the presence of God in a sure and steadfast way.
Point number two, let's get it down like this: “You cannot lose the anchor for your soul.” You cannot lose the anchor for your soul. Hey, I went to the rest of you in Thyatira. I don't have any burden to lay on you. You already have it. All you’ve got to do is hold on to what you already have. Just keep my works until the end. See, here's what I'm concerned about, because we get two different groups of people. I think that he was talking to in Thyatira like Jesus. It's almost like he just sliced that church in half. Or I don't know exactly what the percentage is like, who was with Jezebel and who were the rest in Thyatira, but it's like Jesus just said, hey, there are some people in this church like you only have a limited amount of time to repent. You’ve got to get out of that sexual morality or it is going to kill you. Even worse than kill you, you will end up being judged because of it. But to the rest of you, hey, you've already got it. Just hold on to what I've done for you. Hold on to the end, and you're going to reign with me. You're going to rule with me. You're not going to be judged by me. You're going to be rewarded and given my authority. Because here's what I'm concerned about. There are some brothers and sisters that if they even think about looking at somebody in a way they shouldn't be looking at, their whole day is like, Oh, how could I do that? How could I do that to my Lord? How could I do that to my spouse? How could I do that? I wasn't going to do that anymore, and here I am thinking about it. Just even being tempted to sin. They're like, over here, broken about it, sorry about it. Just even thinking about, thinking about, and they're like, oh no, what am I doing? What kind of a wretched person am I?
See, there are some people in this room that are committing acts of sexual morality, and yeah, they might feel bad, but they're going to do it again. And then there are other people over here who are sincere in their heart before God. God, please be merciful to me, a sinner. Please turn me from the error of my ways. Please show me, God. I know you can see me, show me who I really am, and lead me in your way. And to the people who are sincerely fighting sin here in this room, there's no other burden. Just hang on to what he already did. He already washed you; he already cleansed you. He already justified you. You already have your soul anchored into his presence. Just keep trusting in his works. Don't make it about your works. Oh, well, I’ve got to clean myself up. No, the reason you're clean is he washed you by his blood. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? Let's remember that. Yeah, we’ve got to repent of sexual morality. We're not going to be in the New Jerusalem, but we're not going to the New Jerusalem because we're staying away from sexual morality. We're going to the New Jerusalem because Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sexual morality, to pay for all of our sin, and it is finished. It is done. When Jesus breathed his last, you don't have to be afraid of your last breath anymore if you really trust in Jesus Christ, and if you haven't repented of your sexual immorality, if you haven't trusted in Jesus, you should be terrified of your last breath, because the judge just said to you that even this wicked woman, Jezebel, he gave her time to repent, and he's giving you time right here, right now.
See, I talked to somebody very recently, and they even said to me, well, the reason they even argued with what I said in a sermon like you said, people don't repent when they hit rock bottom, but I do. No, no, no, no, no, that's not how repentance works. If you are waiting for something bad to happen to you so you will repent, you will be waiting until Judgment happens to you, and there will be no time to repent. Now is the time to repent and the reason that people repent is not because something bad happens to them, it's because they, by faith, through the word of God, can see that something bad is going to happen to them, and it's called judgment, And they start to get afraid of judgment. Man, one of the most beautiful things that ever happened to me was the day I was terrified of beating Jesus, the day I realized that Jesus would bust me, that I would have no excuses before Jesus. That day was the day I realized I needed him to save me, because I definitely didn't want him to judge me. Can I get any men from anybody? See, you’ve got to hear what Jesus is saying. Don't wait for something to happen. This is it. It's happening to you right now. Jesus is speaking to you right now. Jezebel went down. Other people in Thyatira went down. People in this church will go down. Now is the time to repent.
And for those of you who have repented, nothing else, no other burden. Just hold what you have. And what you have is you've got the finished work of Jesus, Christ on the cross. Just remember that when you're fighting sin. Don't think your salvation is based on your fight with sin. Jesus already won. Jesus is already victorious. That's what your salvation is based on, a sure and steadfast anchor for your soul. So I'm going to pray, and then we're going to have a time, just a quiet time, for everybody here to pray. Ryan's going to sing a little song, in fact, turn with me to Psalm 51 because this is where the psalm, this is the song we're going to sing. It's David's song of repentance. Remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the man after God's own heart, fell into sin? Remember how he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet, “You're the man.” And remember what even happened to David and Bathsheba’s child? Does anybody remember the story? What even happened to their child? Their child, because of their sin? And you know what David did? He was sorry about it, and he realized he needed mercy now, because he was going to die, too. And so he said this in Psalm 51 to the choir master. Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone to into Bathsheba, “Have mercy on me, oh God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me against you. You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words, and you would be blameless in your judgment.” Here's David saying, you would be right to judge me. You have the authority to judge me. Yeah, I have the sin so that you could judge me. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin. Did my mother conceive me? Behold, you delight in truth, in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear the joy again and the gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, blot out all my iniquities, create in me a clean heart. Oh god and renew a right spirit within me.” Please don't cast me away from your presence. Please don't take your Holy Spirit from me. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Here's David saying, will you please forgive me for my sin, and I just want to be in a relationship with you. I just want to know I'm saved by you. I just want to have your Holy Spirit. Now, David, he was concerned as the king, and God had given him the spirit as the king, that God could take the spirit away from him, just like he did with the previous king, Saul. Now, if you're a brother or sister in Christ, and you’ve got the Spirit when you repented of your sins and believed in Jesus, no one's taken the Spirit away from you. No, you have the Holy Spirit, you have a new heart, and you can be reminded of the joy of your salvation, that you're holding to what you already have, the works that Jesus did for you. So maybe this is a time for you to repent. Maybe this is a time for you to get back to the joy of knowing Jesus has saved you from your sin. But let me pray, and then we'll sing this song, and you can pray to the Lord Father in heaven, getting a glimpse of judgment from Jesus, Christ.
Father, I pray that you would give us the ear to hear what the Spirit says to church in Thyatira, that we’ve just gotten a preview of Judgment Day, and that all of those who allow sexual immorality to continue in their life, all of those who practice it, everyone who could be described as sexually immoral, that Jesus is not going to tolerate any of it, and that no one who lives that way will enter the city of the New Jerusalem. Father, that seems judgmental to us here in America. I pray that you would give us the ears to hear that Jesus is the judge, and that you have given him all authority. He is your son, and he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He will tell America what is right and what is wrong. So, Father, I pray tonight that you would hear our prayers on behalf of those who know, as they sit here, that if they stood before Jesus today, if their time to repent ended today, they know that they would be judged. I pray that now you would grant to them a repentance, that now they could even just look at those words there in Psalm 51 and they could cry them out to you in prayer that they would be sorry about their sin, that they would be broken and contrite, that they would turn to you in a way where they don't just want to be forgiven for their sin, but they want to forsake their sin. They don't want to continue it anymore. They'll do whatever it takes. They'll prove whatever they have to prove. Just get me out of this sin. Father, please hear our prayers. Let people not harden their heart today. Today, now is the time if they can hear your voice, to turn to you in repentance, and I pray for all my brothers and sisters who are fighting the good fight of faith, who aren't taking the double looks with lustful intent or trying to keep their heart pure according to your word, who are guarding themselves against temptation and praying every day. Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. Father, I pray that they would hear these beautiful words that Jesus has for them no other burden but that they should just hold on to what Jesus has done. And yes, it is hard to be pure in this world right now, but the pure world is coming, the pure city, the Pure Bride, will be worth it. Father, please encourage the brothers and sisters to hold fast, and please hear us as we pray to you now in Jesus’ name, amen.