Sunday, June 30, 2019

The Revelation of Christ – Part 6: Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church - HOFC

The Revelation of Christ – Part 6:
Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church - HOFC
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION
The Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Christ, is the most difficult book in the bible.

Because of this fact, many avoid it, or ignore it all together. Some fear lack of understanding, others afraid to misinterpret, which I guess it is better to avoid than dive in and get it completely wrong.

Many times, when a new believer comes to me for direction, they want to jump right into Revelation and find out what’s to come.

This is equivalent to deciding one day to learn Mandarin and sitting down to author a novel in Chinese that very same day.

Or, a kindergartner learning how to count, and then trying to calculate quantum mechanics calculations.

The words in Revelation have caused much debate on rapture, judgement, even some who claim John was writing about the events in his day in code rather than Jesus Christ revealing to him about the coming events and Judgment.

A special blessing is promised to those who read Revelation.

Although it may be a difficult book, we could all use a special blessing, reading this is good for us all, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will take the Revelation of Christ in small portions and gain understanding, little by little.
 
SERMON SERIES

THE THINGS WHICH ARE – The Church Age (Age of Grace)
Part 3 – Ephesus The Backsliding Church

Part 4 – Smyrna The Steadfast Church
Part 5 – Pergamos The Immoral Church
Part 6 – Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church
Part 7 – Sardis The Dead Church
Part 8 – Philadelphia The Favored Church
Part 9 – Laodicea The Church God Hates

THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 10 – The Throne of God
Part 11 – The Living Creatures (Various Angels)
Part 12 – Heavenly Worship (As it is in Heaven)
Part 13 – The Sealed Book (Various Books)
Part 14 – The Lion and the Lamb
Part 15 – The First 6 Seals
Part 16 – The 144,000 Jews
Part 17 – The Tribulation Saints
Part 18 – The Seventh Seal
Part 19 – The First 4 Trumpets
Part 20 – The 5th Trumpet
Part 21 – The 6th Trumpet
Part 22 – The Mighty Angel
Part 23 – The Two Witnesses
Part 24 – The Seventh Trumpet
Part 25 – The Woman and the Dragon
Part 26 – Manchild
Part 27 – Michael
Part 28 – Overcomers
Part 29 – Persecution
Part 30 – Antichrist
Part 31 – The Lamb

More sermons in the series listed in Part 1


TODAY’S SERMON
Part 6 – Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church

Revelation 1:3
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”


SCRIPTURE READING
Revelation 2:18-29
 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The church in Thyatira was the first Catholic church, often called the “papal church”.  It signifies the beginning of Catholicism which officially began as such about 500 A.D and continues today.

          I.      INTRODUCTION
a.   These are the words of the Son of God
                                     i.   Whose eyes are like blazing fire
1.   Fire representing judgment from what He sees
                                    ii.   Whose feet are like burnished bronze
1.   This combination of a Greek and Hebrew word causes confusion among scholars.
a.   Ministering priests were often barefoot, so they would appear as brass from years of sunlight.
b.   Gold is symbolic of God’s kingship, glory and holiness, and silver represents redemption
c.   The holy place of God’s presence is lined and coated and covered with gold. The poles were made of wood, but were covered in gold, and rested in silver stands. Is this like us (wood, like straw & stubble) coated in gold (God’s own holiness, a “covering”) because we stand in the redemption (silver base) of Jesus sacrifice?
d.   Bronze represents God’s judgement dealing with sinonly then can a person enter the pure and holy presence of God.

2.   Feet can represent the “last members” of the church, end time church.
a.   So, feet like burnished bronze could represent the coming judgment on an end time church, Thyatira.


b.   I know your deeds
                                     i.   Watching as the Lord stands among the lamp-stands
                                    ii.   He knows all of our deeds and stands among us


c.   Your Deeds,
                                     i.   Your love and faith
                                    ii.   Your service and perseverance
                                   iii.   And that you are now “doing” more than you did at first
1.   Deeds are mentioned twice, the second time meaning they were falling more on “works”, their “deeds” for salvation now.
2.   “You are doing more now than you did at first”
3.   They were turning from Christ and the Work of the Cross and depending on themselves for salvation through works and deeds.

 
         II.      I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, SAYS CHRIST
a.   I have this against you
                                     i.   The eyes of blazing fire see their sin, (turning away from the cross and following idols and false teachings)
                                    ii.   And the feet of burnished bronze, the Lord is coming in judgment against them.


b.   You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophet
                                     i.   By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality
1.   Later verses show this is figurative speech for Spiritual Adultery

                                    ii.   And the eating of food sacrificed to idols
1.   The Lord speaking again symbolically against Idol Worship, not the eating of food offered to idols which we know Paul states is not a sin.
2.   Eating food offered for idols as a Satanic mockery of the Lord’s communion.
3.   i.e. a church that performing a ritual that appears as communion, however is turned into something else by false teachings, such as the elements magically transforming into something they are obviously not, or as the early Pagans practiced eating bread that was dough which was “magically” transformed into bread when placed on a rock in the sun, as part of their SUN worship.
4.   A lot of Catholic churches use communion with a sunburst on them, and a chalice with a lid featuring a sun upon its top as well.

                                   iii.   I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling
1.   The Lord gives ALL time to repent
2.   The Lord KNOWS when there will no longer be the opportunity to change, and judges accordingly as He Wills.
a.   He gave Pharaoh time
b.   He gave Nineveh time
c.   He gave Sodom & Gomorrah time
d.   He gave Judas time
3.   Some repent, some do not, only God knows when they reach the point of NO RETURN, He then deals with them accordingly

                                   iv.   So I will cast her on a bed of suffering
1.   And I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely
a.   Spiritual adultery
b.   Those who commit with her are those who believe her false teachings

2.   Unless they repent
a.   A time given to those who were misled by false teachings

3.   I will strike her children dead
a.   Children are those who continue to follow her, and they will die (spiritually) as punishment for spiritual adultery


c.   Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds
                                     i.   And I will repay each of you according to your deeds
1.   Deeds in this case;
a.   Follow the teachings of Christ trusting in Him alone
b.   Or, believe false teachings thinking works can save you


        III.      NOW I SAY TO THE REST OF YOU IN THYATIRA
a.   You who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets
                                     i.   Satan’s “so-called deep secrets”
                                    ii.   What are they? We are told in the beginning of this letter, “"I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants,”
1.   They allowed Jezebel to teach as a prophet
2.   The problem wasn’t she was a woman, nor a prophet, but because she “misled with her false teaching.”
                                   iii.   Because false teachings do not align with God’s Word and oppose those who read and know the Word of God, it must be presented as “secret knowledge” that only special people understand.
1.   The Catholic church did this for centuries by only giving services in Latin
2.   By outlawing translations of texts
3.   By wanting to kill Martin Luther for translating the Bible into German
4.   If only the priests understand God’s Word, they can use it in any way they wish to control the people.
a.   Why control people?
b.   Power, money
5.   How did the Catholic church mislead God’s people with Satan’s so-called deep secrets?
a.   Only baptism of infants can save their soul
b.   Only weekly communion can save your soul
c.   Only confessions and special prayers to Mary can forgive sins and save your soul
d.   Only prayers for the dead in a Catholic church can save their soul
e.   Only buying and lighting candles in a Catholic church can save their soul
f.    Only prayers can get a dead loved one out of purgatory
g.   Only a certificate from the local priest makes your wedding real
h.   Only a certificate from a priest can nullify your union
i.    You must pray to Mary or the saints (idol worship)
j.    You must pray these special prayers we made up
k.   It goes on, and on
6.   All to control the people, none of which is biblical, but those who do not read their bible and believe the Priests have some secret knowledge trust in their Satanic teachings and idol worship.


b.   You who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, I will not impose any other burden on you
                                     i.   Except to hold on to what you have until I come
1.   They have a big enough burden resisting the false teachings that were being allowed in their church.
2.   They didn’t have a church on every corner back in the day, so if you wanted to worship God and be among His people, you congregated at one place.
3.   Today, if false teachings took place within a church, you could easily enough pick up and find a bible church teaching the truth.


c.   Warnings to the church
                                     i.   These warnings are not just for the papal church or Catholics, any church can fall prey to a Jezebel, who may come in and try to teach falsehoods.
                                    ii.    The warning is for us all.

CONCLUSION – Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
What are the rewards the Lord promises to the Victorious?
Ephesus - To the one who is VICTORIOUS I (Jesus) will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

Smyrna - The one who is VICTORIOUS will not be hurt at all by the second death.


Pergamos - The one who is VICTORIOUS I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Thyatira – To the one who is VICTORIOUS (Repents of Jezebels false teachings, or never fell for them to begin with) I will give authority over the nations (Kingdom Age Rule) that one “will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery” (Psalm 2:9)  Just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star.


Whosoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

We will have authority over nations during the Kingdom Age if we resist the false teachings.

What is the Kingdom Age?

1.   After the Pentecost (Acts 2) the Church Age started (where we are now) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

2.   The Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) is next where we will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10)

3.   While in heaven for the 7-year feast with the Lord (Ezekiel 36,24; 1. Corinthians 15,51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4,16-17), Tribulation (Revelation 3-19) will take place on earth

4.   Then the Second Coming of Christ (Matthew 24:36, 40, 42) will take place

5.   Satan will be BOUND (Revelation 20:1-3) and the Kingdom Age (Revelation 20:4-6) will last for thousands of years with no influence from Satan
a.   It is during this time that we will rule WITH Christ Jesus on earth
b.   Life on earth will continue as before, with people being born, living their lives, etc.

6.   After the Kingdom Age, Satan will be loosed (Revelation 20:7) for a short period

7.   Then the Great White Throne Judgment will take place! (Revelation 20:11-15)
a.   THE SECOND DEATH (SPIRITUAL DEATH)
b.   11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before [c]God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
8.   ETERNITY WITH THE LORD
a.   ALL THINGS MADE NEW! (Revelation 21)
                               i.   New heaven
                              ii.   New Earth
                             iii.   New Jerusalem
                             iv.   The River of life



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