Thyatira - The Danger of Tolerance | A Sermon on Revelation 3:18-29

Introduction
Have you ever been part of something that started out so well—full of love, faith, and good intentions—but over time started drifting in the wrong direction? That’s the story of the church in Thyatira. They were growing, serving, and enduring—but they were also tolerating serious compromise.

Today, we’re going to look at what Jesus says to this church, how He calls them back to truth, and the incredible promise He gives to those who remain faithful—even in the dark.

Let’s listen closely to Jesus, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Revelation 2:18-29
¹⁸ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

¹⁹ “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

²⁰ “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

²² “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering,^[c] and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

²⁴ “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you ²⁵ except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. ²⁶ To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,

To them I will give authority over all the nations.
²⁷ They will rule the nations with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.^[d]

²⁸ They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

²⁹ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Jesus Sees Who We Really Are

Here we have Jesus, the son of God, the one who has flaming eyes, which means that he can see into our very soul down into the depths beyond the persona that we put on and the masks that we wear. He sees down into our hearts who we really are and why we do what we do. And it says that he has feet of bronze, meaning that he stands firm on eternal

truth that does not change with the whims of society around us that says one thing is fine is is abhorrent, you know, in one decade and then in  another decade they say that it's fine. It's okay. But Jesus' teachings and his character and his  expectations do not change. They do not change with the whims of society, but they are eternal.

Jesus Commends Thyatira

Jesus commends the people of Thyatira. He commends them for their love and their faith and their service and their patient endurance. Despite the troubles that they face and the persecution and the darkness that is around them, they continue to be loving, faithful people who serve. And that's a

wonderful thing to commend them for. And not only are they doing those things, but he also commends them for their constant improvement in these things. So, they don't settle for just doing them.  They are getting better and better and better at them. And I like that because I'm a Methodist and Methodist, we want to uh emphasize this is I think the gift that Methodism brings to the Christian world. We emphasize sanctification, growing in perfection and holiness or as some people would put it becoming more and more like Christ. And the people of Thyatira were doing that. They were growing in sanctification, becoming holier and holier, more and more like Christ, which we should always seek to do. Not just settling for salvation.  "I have received Christ and I know I'm going to heaven."  Well, that's wonderful. But we should also become more and more like Christ and grow in holiness.

Tolerating Sin in the Church
Jesus commends them. But He also corrects them. He tells them you are tolerating sin in your church and that is not a good thing. He's not happy about that. Now we talk a lot about tolerance. Tolerance can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. Tolerance is a buzzword that we hear a lot in our world today. And it's important because we live in America which is a melting pot of all kinds of different people. And when different people all live together, we have to learn tolerance so that we can tolerate different ways of thinking and speaking.  And we have to do that. And it's a good thing when we're thinking about it in those terms. But when it comes to being a church, we have to hold to the firm teachings of Jesus Christ.  In the world around us, we can't expect everyone to believe and act the way we do as Christians. I mean, recognize that according to surveys that only about 62% of Americans claim to be Christians. And that's not asking them like, "Do they believe a certain set of beliefs?"  That's just them saying of themselves, "Yes, I'm a Christian." Only 62%. That means around 40% don't claim to follow Christ, don't go to church, don't claim to believe the way we do. We can't expect them to  follow Christian rules if they don't even identify themselves as Christian. We have to learn to tolerate and let you know people live the way they're going to live. But if someone says that they're a Christian, then we have to hold them to a higher standard. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And what is the standard according to our faith?  Everything that we believe and how we act is based on  God's holy word in the Scripture. And so we have to study this. We have to know it and we have to hold firm to it. We cannot tolerate beliefs that are contrary to Scripture. Now, there might be different ways of interpreting it. Our Baptist friends across the street may look at baptism differently than we do as Methodists. That's okay. We can allow for that different interpretations based on the same scripture. But as Christians altogether, there must be some things that we cannot compromise.  And the church in  Thyatira, Jesus says, was tolerating false teaching in their midst and false teachers.  It almost reminds me of some of the things that we hear in our world today. These false teachers in Thyatira would say they were teaching "deeper truths". They were looking at those who were holding to the the biblical way of thinking and Jesus' teaching. And the false teachers said, "Well, we have a 'deeper truth'. Those views in the Scripture, they're kind of old and outdated. We've discovered a higher path, a deeper truth." 

Jesus says their deeper truth is actually depths of Satan. Depths of Satan! He says it because it's not truth.  It it's trying to rewrite what God has said and twist it and say that any of the ones who were holding firm to the Scripture is just old and outdated and obsolete.  

We have already talked about sexual immorality. Other churches that Jesus wrote letters to were struggling with sexual immorality. And this was common because the pagans around them practiced all kinds of different sexual immorality. And so the Christians within the church were constantly being tempted to do what everyone else was doing. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? In the world we live in, I don't have to tell you the ideas of our society about human sexuality have changed a lot through the decades and Pleasant Grove Methodist has already made our decision as a church to stand firm on traditional, biblical orthodox Christina teaching.  And so what we know believe and where we are going and I don't  want to a horse that's already dead.

But those in Thyatira were also struggling with teachers who were telling them to compromise about idol worship. And that's what I want to focus a little bit more on today. What is idol worship?

Modern Idol Worship
The common way that we look idolatry is someone bowing down to worship an idol or a statue or a false god. And that was certainly the case sometimes in the ancient world.  But the problem for Christians in the first century was sometimes more nuanced.  

The majority of people that lived in Thyatira were not Christians. They were pagans. And they worshiped gods and had religious festivals. And they sacrificed animals to their pagan idols. And then they would have a festival and eat the meat of the sacrificed animals. And who doesn't love a good steak or a good hamburger?  And so these Christians were smelling this wonderful meat roasting. And maybe their pagan neighbor was bringing home some leftovers from the feast and offering it to their Christian neighbors. And the Christians were faced with a dilemma. Should I eat this meat that has been sacrificed to a false god, to an idol? And what does that say if I do?  By partaking of that food, they were not only eating food that had been sacrificed to an idol, but it was sort of making a statement to their neighbor who was a pagan that they also were participating in this religious ritual of eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. 

And Christians around the ancient world had already had a big council in Jerusalem decades before and discussed this and agreed Christians should not eat meat sacrificed to idols, consume blood, or participate in sexual immorality.  

But there were some in the church of Thyatira that were saying "No, it's okay to do it."
Jesus was not okay with their false teaching.

Well, that was what they struggled with in the first century. We don't really have that problem today.  I don't know of anybody who is sacrificing meat to idols. Is that something that you deal with on a regular basis? I don't think so.

So, does that mean we don't struggle with idolatry today?  Absolutely not.  We we struggle with idolatry even more in other ways.

We studied a great book called, Counterfeit Gods on a Wednesday night here at the church about 10 years ago. It's by the late, great Timothy Keller--a wonderful preacher, teacher, Presbyterian

actually. He had some a really good points about idolatry and what that means in the modern context.  Timothy Keller defines idolatry as anything that is more important to you than God,
anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God,
or anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

And I think this is something people today right here in Dalton, Georgia, struggle with a lot all the time.  We are constantly being tempted to put something else before God or to expect other things besides God to fulfill us in ways that only God can. And so the questions I would put before you three question today as you consider whether or not you personally are struggling with idolatry.

First, what if anything is more important to you than God?  And that could be anything.
Second, what if anything absorbs your heart and imagination more than God?
Third, who or what, if anything, are you seeking to give you what only God can give?

And when we're thinking of idols and idolatry, it's not necessarily a bad thing that becomes an idol in our lives.  A lot of times it is a very good thing, but it becomes bad for us because we treat it as the ultimate thing.

So I'll just give you one example.  Our children.
We love our children and we're supposed to love our children. For many of us, they're the most  important thing in our life. But listen to what I just said. Are your children or your grandchildren the most important thing in your life?  

That sounds good. And the world would say they should be the most important thing in your life.  But they cannot be more important than God because your children cannot fulfill you in ways that only God can. 

And as a matter of fact, if you try to use your children to fulfill you as if they were God, that's not fair to them. That's putting a burden on them that they cannot fulfill. 

How awful if you're doing that to your spouse or your job or your church or your pastor or your friend or anything.  They cannot be God for you.  It's not fair to expect created things to be God for you. That is idolatry and it is a sin. And sin not only hurts you, but it hurts the one whom you are treating as an idol.

Now, most of us would not say or think consciously, "I put this thing above God."
We don't think about things that way.  But you have to ask yourself the honest question, Where are you really keeping your treasure?"  

You know what Jesus said? When He was teaching about money, which is a common idol for people, He said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

You can look at your bank account. What do you spend most of your money on?  That's an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your time on? That is an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your energy on? That is a top priority in your life.

And of course we know intellectually, logically, that God is supposed to be the most important thing for us or else we have broken one of the first commandments:  "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

So we have to ask ourselves and we have to think honestly as we evaluate our life and our spirit.  Is God really first or are we guilty like the people of Thyatira of worshiping an idol?

Now sometimes we can't answer those questions for ourselves. We have a way of rationalizing things in our own mind and that's why it is important that we are part of a Christian community with other people who we give permission to hold us accountable. Do you have a friend, a partner in Christ in whom you can confide and whom you can trust with the wisdom and the permission to share with you how you're struggling?

You know, I was thinking about it.  It's kind of tricky, isn't it? I mean, if somebody comes to you, even if it's somebody in the church you like, and they come to you and they say, "Amy, you know, I just want to tell you I love you and I see you struggling this, this, and this."

If someone says that, immediately we're like, "Well, who asked you!  Mind your own business!"
Well, I thought about that and I said, "You know, perhaps we should give someone permission to say those things by asking them."

Perhaps this week you should go to someone that you truly trust and and look up to as a Christian with wisdom and ask them ask them, "Hey, I want to grow in holiness. I want to become more like Christ, but I can't always see my own faults. So, I'm asking you, what do you see in me? What's one thing that you see in me that I need to work on?"

Boy, that's getting real, isn't it?  See, this holiness thing, this growing and becoming more like Christ,  it's serious.  The Christian life. It's not all about just coming to church and hearing an awesome song by the choir and getting goosebumps. That's the fun part.

But the challenging part, the real part, is where we grow.  Jesus commended the people of Thyatira for growing and he challenged them about idolatry.

What would He say to us today?   

Jesus’ Message to the Faithful

Jesus said, "The faithful will rule the nations with the authority of Christ." This is a quote from Psalm 2:9 where it's talking about how David is going to rule as king. But he's also mysteriously talking about the Messiah who will rule for all time. And it's also talking about the kingdom of Israel and the people of Christ, us, the faithful, who will rule the nations with all authority.

This is God's ultimate vision for His people, that we would rule over the nations.  What is it that God told Adam and Eve? He said, "You will rule over the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and the animals of the land." It's the wonderful privilege God invited humanity into.  He invites us, even though we were made from the dirt, to be co-rulers with Him over all creation.  

Ultimately, this is God's plan for us to return to this. We're not just going to be in heaven playing harps. We're going to rule over the all creation with God.  We will have the same authority as Christ. 

And Jesus also says, "I will also give those who remain faithful a morning star." And I love that. Always wondered it meant. So I looked into it and it makes a lot of sense. 

The first star you see in the morning after it's been dark all night is the morning star.  What a beautiful image for these people of Thyatira struggling by being a tiny minority of faithful godly people in a pagan society. Darkness is all around.  Persecution  is heavy. People being arrested, tortured, and murdered because they believe in Jesus Christ. It was very, very dark. And Jesus says, "Just hang on. If you'll just hang on through the darkness, I will give you the morning star." 

It's kind of like that saying "The light at the end of the tunnel." The morning star is that first star that you see right before the darkness is over. Right before the darkness fades away, I will give you that morning star. 

But it goes even deeper than that. Jesus actually said in Revelation 22:16, "I am the bright morning star." So he's saying, "If you'll just hang on, then you will have me." When you cling to Christ in the darkness, He will be there when the darkness ends.  And He will continue to be your light and your hope and your forever king. 

So if you're facing darkness, if you're facing some kind of suffering, hang on!  Because guess what? Jesus has already won the victory and you will win the victory, too. 

Now, some people say, "Well, I'm sick. What if I die? Does that mean that I didn't win the victory?"

And that's the beautiful thing of our Christian faith. Even if you die, you still have the victory because it's not over.  This life will come and go for all of us. Even if you never struggle with cancer or kidney disease or lymphoma or anything, everyone faces death.

But the Morning Star, comes when the darkness is over and the darkness will end.
The darkness of this world will end. And then there will be the Morning Star and light eternal as we walk with Christ and rule with Christ over all creation for all eternity. 

Conclusion & Closing Challenge
We live in a world not so different from Thyatira’s. There is pressure to compromise—on truth, on holiness, on what it means to be faithful to Jesus. Sometimes it doesn’t come with loud rebellion but with a quiet tolerance of sin, false teaching, or the idea that deeper spiritual “truths” can somehow bend God’s Word.

 But Jesus sees. His eyes are like flames of fire, burning through every appearance and straight to the heart. He sees your love, your service, your faith, your perseverance—and He also calls you to holiness. 

So I ask you today:

• Is there anything you've begun to tolerate that Jesus would call you to turn away from?
• Are you holding fast to Christ in both your heart and your actions?
• Are you walking in the light, even when the world feels dark?

Because here’s the promise: if you stay faithful—even when it’s hard, even when others fall away—you will reign with Christ. You’ll share in His authority. And best of all, you’ll receive the Morning Star. You’ll receive Jesus Himself.

So hold on. The night is almost over. The Morning Star is rising. Stay faithful—and you will shine with Him.

Pergamum - Stand Firm Against Compromise | A Sermon on Revelation 2:12-17

Introduction
Christmas in the middle of July seems like kind of an ironic way to turn Christmas upside down. Normally, we think of it being cold, and the pictures—at least the pictures of our Christmases—have snow in them, even if we don't actually have real snow. Doing it in the middle of summer when it's hot outside seems a little bit backwards.

But I think, Christmas is such a familiar tradition to us, something that we've celebrated all our lives, and we can remember year after year after year. We forget how upside-down the actual birth of Christ was that we celebrate. It was backwards and upside-down, and everything seemed to be unusually, not the way it's supposed to be—out of order, out of the norm.

Think about it. All of the songs that we sang today have angels in them. And in the Christmas story, angels are singing. Now, if you just saw one angel, that would be extraordinary. But in the Christmas story, there are a whole heavenly host of them in the sky singing. And who are they singing to? Not to the rich and the powerful. They're singing to shepherds, the people that were the outcast and forgotten of society, telling them about what? The birth of the Messiah, the Son of God.

You would think He would be born in a palace and everybody would know about it, but nobody knew about it. That's why the angels had to announce it. And He wasn't born in a palace. He was born in a manger in a stable because there was no room in the inn for Him to be born. Totally backwards.

Now eventually, the Magi come—these wise men come to visit Jesus. Did they come from Jerusalem? You would think they would come from Jerusalem, the capital of God's people. But no. The Magi had to come all the way from thousands of miles away in the land of the East, what is modern-day Iraq. And they come all the way over and they visit Jesus, the Messiah, the King of the Jews.

So it's so backwards and so unusual. You would think, just like the Magi did, “Let's go to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people, and ask them where their King is.” And of course, we know how that story goes. Nobody in Jerusalem knows. They're absolutely oblivious to it. And when they find out that their King has been born, what do they try to do? They try to kill Him. I mean, everything about the Christmas story isn't the way it's supposed to be. It's upside down.

And I think that that's a fitting tie-in for our message today as we continue our study in the book of Revelation. Revelation is also a book—a vision—that turns everything upside down. It's told to a persecuted Christian people who are suffering, and it tells them, “I know you're suffering. I know your world is falling apart. I know that everything seems like it is darkness around you.” But it all has a meaning because it is connected to what is happening in the spiritual realm.

The battle that is raging between the spiritual forces of darkness and the heavenly kingdoms is playing out in your world. And that's why everything looks wrong. But this vision seeks to open their eyes to see what is happening in the spiritual realms. Revelation uses divine images and symbols to paint a picture to show what is really going on. And the overwhelming, overarching message is: stand firm. Have faith. God has already won the battle—even though it doesn't seem like it from your perspective.

So let's get into it today as we study the letter to the church of Pergamum from Revelation 2:12–17.

Revelation 2:12-13
¹² “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

¹³ “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

Pergamum: The City of Satan’s Throne
Jesus writes a letter to the church in Pergamum—a real first-century city in Turkey—where Jesus says Satan has his throne.

Now, what does that mean? “Satan’s throne” on earth?

Pergamum was a wealthy city in the Roman Empire. There were Christians living there, but they were a small minority. There were also Jewish people living there, also a minority. But what Pergamum was famous for was the Temple of Zeus.

Zeus, as many of you know, was one of the Greek gods—actually the top god in their mythology. The king of all the Greek gods. And his temple was in Pergamum. People worshipped Zeus in Pergamum.

Now what Jesus is saying is: “What you see is a temple of Zeus, but in reality, the altar of that temple is the throne of Satan.” That’s what Jesus calls it.

This is what’s going on right there in their city—and yet, the Christians in Pergamum are being faithful.

In addition to the temple of Zeus, Pergamum was also part of the Roman Empire, and the emperor was Domitian. He thought he was a god. He told all his subjects in the Roman Empire, “You have to worship me. You have to honor me as a god.”

So not only are the people in Pergamum worshiping Zeus, but they’re also being told to worship the Roman Emperor, Domitian.

Now you might ask, “Well, how could they worship Zeus and also worship the Roman Emperor?”

This is the thing about the Roman Empire—it was wide, diverse, and full of many different peoples and religions. In order to maintain peace, the Romans were smart. They said to most people, “You can worship your gods, practice your religion—that’s fine. As long as you also worship the emperor.”

Everyone had to do that—except the Jews. Because the Jewish religion (and by extension the Christian religion) taught: “You shall have no other gods before me.” That’s one of the Ten Commandments.

So the Jews could not worship the emperor. And because of their long history and reputation, the Romans made an exception. The Jews were the only group that did not have to worship the emperor.

Early Christians were considered a Jewish sect, so they were also granted this exception. But over time, Jewish leaders who did not believe in Jesus began to say, “You Christians are not Jews.”

That created a real problem. Because if Christians weren’t Jews, then they were breaking Roman law by refusing to worship the emperor.

This is what Christians in Pergamum were dealing with. They had to decide: Are we going to be faithful to Jesus Christ? Or are we going to bow to Satan’s throne and worship the emperor?

And Jesus says to them, “You have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred.”

Now we don’t know exactly how Antipas was killed. The Bible doesn’t tell us. But I did some research.

Tertullian, an early Christian writer who lived around A.D. 160 to 220, wrote that Antipas was roasted alive inside a bronze bull. That’s a horrifying way to die. They would put the victim inside a hollow bronze statue of a bull, light a fire underneath it, and roast them alive. The screams would echo through the mouth of the bull like an bull bellowing.

That’s what Antipas suffered—because he refused to worship the emperor or deny Christ.

This is the kind of world these Christians were living in. That’s why Revelation was given. To say, “Even though it looks like evil is winning, God is doing something. Don’t give up. Stand firm.”

Revelation 2:14-16
¹⁴ “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. ¹⁵ In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. ¹⁶ Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Teaching like Balaam
Now Jesus is shifting. He’s gone from praise to a warning. He says, “Even though you’ve been faithful in the face of persecution, you have some teachers among you who are compromising in other areas.”

He references Balaam. Do you remember Balaam from the Old Testament (Number 22-24)? He’s the prophet who was hired by King Balak to curse the Israelites. But Balaam knew he couldn’t actually curse them—God had blessed them. So instead, Balaam showed Balak another way to trip them up. He advised Balak to tempt the Israelites into sin—specifically, sexual immorality and idolatry.

And it worked. The Israelites gave in to the temptation and sinned, and God’s judgment came upon them.

Jesus says that something similar is happening in the church at Pergamum. Some people in the church are teaching others to compromise—just like Balaam did. They’re mixing faith in God with worldly practices.

They’re eating food sacrificed to idols—participating in pagan religious feasts. And they’re engaging in sexual immorality, like all the pagans around them practiced.  

Jesus also calls out the Nicolaitans, a group we’ve mentioned before. The Nicolaitans took it even further. They said, “You can do whatever you want—God will forgive you.” They used God’s grace as an excuse to sin.

Jesus says, “Repent of your sin, or I will come to you and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

Now what is the sword of Jesus’ mouth?

It’s His Word—powerful, sharp, and penetrating. It’s full of truth, judgment, and authority. Jesus doesn’t need a sword in His hand. His Word alone cuts through lies, exposes sin, convicts hearts, and brings both judgment and life.

This is serious. Jesus is saying: “Don’t tolerate compromise in your church. Don’t let false teachers lead you astray. If you do, I will deal with them Myself.”

Revelation 2:17
¹⁷ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

Two Symbols
Here Jesus gives two promises to those who remain faithful.  

First, there is Hidden Manna.  This is spiritual nourishment. It refers back to the manna God gave the Israelites in the wilderness back in Exodus. They didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, but God provided. In the same way, Jesus provides spiritual nourishment—He is the Bread of Life. Those who remain faithful will be sustained by Him in ways the world cannot see.

Second, Jesus promises a White Stone with a New Name. This is rich with meaning. In the ancient world, white stones were used as symbols of:

• Acquittal in a court of law (a white stone meant “not guilty”).

• Victory in athletic competitions (a token of triumph).

• Invitations to special banquets or feasts.  The white stone was the token to gain intrance to the party.

Jesus says He will give a white stone with a name only the one who receives it will understand. It’s a personal, eternal identity—something beautiful, known between you and God alone. A sign of His intimate love and reward for your faithfulness.  It shows that the receipient is innocent (because Jesus washed their sins away).  It showed they were victorious (because Jesus won the victory over sin and death).  And it is symbolizes the recipient has been invited to the eternal banquet with Jesus in the Kingdom of God. 

Closing
So Jesus is saying:
If you will be faithful,
If you will resist unholy compromise,
If you will stand firm even when the pressure is on,
Then I will sustain you with heavenly manna—My presence, My provision, My life.
And I will give you a white stone that declares you are Mine.
Not guilty.
Victorious.
Invited.
Known and loved.

That was the message to the church in Pergamum.
And it’s the message to us today.

We live in a world that constantly tempts us to compromise our values to fit in.
We are encouraged to live in harmony with diverse people—and we should.
We can’t expect non-Christians to live by Christian standards.
But we must never compromise the Word of God in order to be accepted by the world.
We are called to speak the truth in love,
To live with grace and conviction,
To be faithful witnesses like Antipas—even when it’s hard.

Let me ask you:

·       Have you allowed the world’s values to soften or silence your faith?

·       Are there places in your life where you’ve compromised God's truth to avoid conflict or gain acceptance?

·       Have you made peace with sin instead of standing for righteousness?

·       Are you more shaped by culture than by Christ?

·       Are there people or pressures that have nudged you away from full faithfulness?

Jesus praised the church in Pergamum for staying loyal even when it cost them everything—
but He also called them to repent where they had tolerated compromise.

What about you?  Today is a time to reflect…
To repent if needed…
To renew your commitment to Christ…
To tune your ears to what the Spirit is saying…
and to stand firm.

Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus,  You are the One with the sharp two-edged sword.
Your Word pierces through confusion and compromise.
Forgive us, Lord, for the times we’ve drifted,
For the ways we’ve let culture speak louder than Your truth.

Give us courage to stand firm, even when it's uncomfortable, unpopular, or costly.
Help us be people of grace and conviction—full of Your Spirit, faithful to Your Word,
Shining light in a world that desperately needs You.

Give us ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying.
Strengthen us to live it out this week—at home, at work, in school, in every part of life.

In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Smyrna - Faithful Through Suffering | A Sermon on Revelation 2:8-11

Is it real or is it cake?
We're going to start off with a game today—because, well, I just think it'll be fun.

In the following pictures several different item, some items are real and some are made of cake?  Can you tell which is real and which is cake?

Which apples are real and which are cake?

Which oranges are real and which are cake?

Which shoe is real and which is cake?

And now I'll show you the answers:

Introduction
The cake picture game ties right in with the sermon. Revelation, the book we’re studying, is a divine vision that helps us see that things in this world are not always what they seem.

Sometimes you think something’s real—but it’s cake. And sometimes you think it’s fake—but it’s real.

We can’t always believe everything we see, hear, or are told. There's more going on beneath the surface.

Even when it comes to the news, there’s always bias—on both sides. Everyone has a point of view. We try to be objective, but there’s always a lens through which we see things.

Scripture tells us that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood alone—we’re in the middle of spiritual warfare. Revelation pulls back the curtain to show what’s really going on. What we see with our eyes isn’t the full story.

Revelation was given to the apostle John around A.D. 95–96 to encourage Christians facing severe persecution under Emperor Domitian.  These believers were suffering terribly, and Jesus was saying: There’s more going on here than what you see. Don’t give up hope. God is doing something big—something eternal.

In Revelation 1:19, Jesus says, “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.”

So, this vision includes current events (for them), as well as future ones. And when we say “future,” we need to remember: that just means anything after A.D. 95—some of which may have already happened long ago from our perspective.

Of course, Revelation also includes things yet to come. But the danger is thinking it’s all about us or about the end times. It’s not just a code to crack. It’s a message for all God’s people through all time.

Let’s read Revelation 2:8–11, the message to the church in Smyrna.

Revelation 2:8-11
⁸ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

⁹ “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

This is the Message from the One
The people of Smyrna were suffering. The Christians in Smyrna were suffering. They needed hope so that they could endure. And Jesus reminds us, he he starts to offer them hope by reminding them who he is. 

This is what he says. He says, "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last. The one who was dead but now alive." And so He's reminding them in a subtle way, Jesus is the first and the last. 

They are suffering. It is real suffering. But He wants them to think of this in the context of eternity. What they are suffering is happening right now. But this is in within the context of eternity. 

Jesus also suffered. Remember, it was an awful suffering that He had to go through in the passion. Being tortured, being betrayed, being crucified, awful torture. It was the worst form of torture and pain you could inflict upon the human body to be nailed to a wooden cross until you die. Jesus experienced that suffering. 

And yet, Jesus was the first and the last. In other words, Jesus existed before time and he will always exist. That's a mind blowing expanse of time to think of. And yet in this one moment he experienced suffering. That doesn't take away the fact that He suffered, but it puts it in a broader scheme, a broader scale.  

These people in Smyrna were suffering. But Jesus is saying this is upon a grand scale that you can't even comprehend.  And there's going to be a time 10 billion years from now after you've been in glory in eternity for 10 billions of 10 billions of 10 billions of years. This moment of suffering is going to be forgotten.  It's not going to seem as bad. 

And Jesus also says He is the one who was dead but now is alive. And this is another reminder. Jesus went through suffering.  He even died and yet he is now alive. And this is an important thing to remind the people in Smyrna because some of them may die in the suffering but they are going if they follow Jesus just as He is alive they also are going to be alive again. we realize.

I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich!
He says, "I know about your suffering and your poverty, but you are rich."  Again, this is part of how Revelation turns everything upside down. Because because when they looked at their situation, the church in Smyrna was suffering. They were being persecuted and they were poor. 

Their poverty wasn't their fault. It's not like they made a bad decision and invested in the wrong stock or the economy went south and they lost all their money. They were poor because of persecution.

So here's the situation in Smyrna in the first century.  There was not such a great distinction between Jewish people and Christian people as there is today.  In the first century most Christians were Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  And so Jewish people and Christian people were in the same community and they worshiped together and they worked together. They did business with one another. 

But many of the Jewish people began to resent Christian people and thought they were heretics because they believed in Jesus Christ.  And it wasn't just a theological dispute. They actually thought, "We can turn them into the Roman authorities and say that they are not legitimate Jewish people, but they're heretics, that they're atheists, that they don't believe in the Roman gods, and that they're doing all kinds of bad things."  And they would turn Christians in and the Roman government would take Christian's property, take their businesses, take their money, and oftentimes the authorities would give some of it to their Jewish neighbors. This was a great betrayal that was happening. So Christians in Smyrna weren't poor because they'd made bad decisions. They were poor because they were persecuted.  People they formerly thought of as friends and neighbors were persecuting them. And yet Jesus says, "You you are suffering and are impoverished, but actually you are rich."  He turns it all upside down. 

How can this be? How can they are rich when they have no money, and their homes have been taken from them and nobody will do business with them anymore because they are Christians?

Remember what Jesus said.  He said, "Don't store up treasures on earth where rust corrupts it and moths eat it and where thieves break in and steal it.  Don't store up treasures on earth. Store up treasures in heaven where neither rust nor moth nor thieves can destroy it. Where your treasure is, there your heart  will be also." 

And so what Jesus is saying here is that because they have suffered for the sake of God's kingdom and for Jesus Christ, they have made their bank accounts on earth may be empty but a their bank accounts in heaven are busting at the seams. Their suffering on earth is creating great deposits in heaven.

A lot of people would say, "Well, so what? There's still suffering on earth."  But the idea within the Christian faith is we need to be focused on eternity and not on just what's happening right now. Because Jesus is the beginning and the end. And eternity spans from before time began till after time ends. It goes on forever. And the suffering that we experience in this life or the wealth that we experience in this life or the poverty, it lasts but an instantand then it is gone. But what remains for us in eternity is forever.

There are Christians in our world who are poor now whom we look at and feel pity for but in eternity  they will be the richest people we know and that will last forever. There are many Christians who seem so wealthy now, who will be impoverished for eternity because they focused on what happena in this little tiny span of time we call life and didn't focus on eternity.

We need to be sure that we are investing in our heavenly wealth and less focused on our earthly wealth. And I want to point out that the poverty that Jesus is talking about here is not poverty that comes from making poor financial decisions, right?  Because we spent our money on things and didn't manage it well in this life.  That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about people who are poor because they've suffered persecution.

The Synagogue of Satan
Verse 9b – “ I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.”

Again Jesus is saying what you see is not all that there is.  There were many people living alongside these Christians who said that they were God's people. "We are God's people because we follow the Bible. We go to synagogue every Sunday. We worship God."

Yet their actions actually opposed Jesus Christ.  They were not God's people. They were actually Satan's people because they were opposing Jesus, opposing God's plan of salvation, opposing people who were trying to turn back to God through Jesus Christ.

There were many people in the world today who claim to be religious and outwardly look religious, but they were not.  Today in our world just because someone goes to church or says they are Christian doesn't mean they are a true follower of Christ.  Everything is not necessarily as it appears. We have to ask the question: Do they really follow Jesus?  Do these people who claim to be religious truly follow Jesus live the way He calls us to live?  Do they sacrifice the way He calls us to sacrifice?  

Many who claim to be a follower of Christ actually oppose Christ and His Kingdom by their actions.

“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” Why Not?
Jesus told Christians in Smyrna not to be afraid of what they are about to suffer. What He said to them applies to us too.  We need not be afraid of suffering.  And here’s why.

First, Jesus Has Already Overcome Suffering and Death
Remember who Jesus is – He is the one who “was dead and now is alive forever.”  We will live forever too if we follow Him. If we are faithful to Him in a kingdom where there is no more suffering and no more death.  So we don't need to fear suffering because Jesus has already overcome it.  Have faith!

Second, Jesus Is With Us During Our Suffering
We don't go through it alone. Remember Jesus is the one who walks among the lampstands (Rev. 2:1). In other words, He is walking among us. He is with us as we suffer and He holds the leaders of the church in his right hand.  He cares about us. He is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. And actually, contrary to what we usually think, suffering is a benefit to us. It is a chance for us to draw closer to Christ. It is a chance for us to deposit wealth in our eternal bank account. It is a chance for us to experience Christ walking with us in a very real and intimate way.

Third, Eternal Glory Awaits the Faithful
Jesus said in Revelation 2:10, "Be faithful even to the point of death, and it will give you and I will give you the crown of life." 

Recently, I was sick. I had to go to a clinic up in Varnell. It was just seemed like it was just a cold, but it wasn't going away. And I felt terrible. Had no energy, sore throat. I got there and they did the evaluation on me and said, 'All right, we know what's wrong with you. We've got some medicine that will help make you better.  We can either give you some pills and it'll take a couple of days or we can give you a shot and it'll go to work right away. Which one do you want?"

And I thought, give me the shot! And some people would say, "Well, why would you do that? I'd rather take the pills." Well, one thing I don't really like taking pills. They're annoying. You have to remember to take them. But a shot hurts. And it's that needle. And a lot of people are really scared of those needles. And I don't like them either. And yeah, it does hurt when they stick it in your in your arm. 

But my thinking is that pain, it lasts for a few seconds and then the medicine goes to work right away and I start to feel better. I can take a little pain for a few seconds. Now, that seems like a a silly example and I don't want to belittle the suffering we face.  But when you put earthly suffering in the scheme of eternity, then our suffering becomes so so small.  It's here for a moment and then gone.

Suffering is temporary, but our reward from suffering is eternal.  Jesus promises a crown of life, eternal victory, honor, joy for those who endure suffering and remain faithful. And when our faithfulness leads to more suffering, it means that we will have even more rewards in heaven.

Closing
There is always more going on than meets the eye.  God is working behind the scenes.  We must learn to trust Him and to look with spiritual eyes and listen with spiritual ears.  God is in control.  And the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal and it is breaking into our world.  And Jesus is with us.

As we close, I want to share a responsive reading to remind us to listen and hear what the Spirit says to us today.

Responsive Reading

All:  The Spirit of Christ walks among us and speaks to our hearts.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when I feel alone, I am never forsaken.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when the world seems dark, God’s light is still shining.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when I don’t see the way forward, God is already making one.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when I am weak, His power is made perfect.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when I see only loss, God is working for redemption.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Leader:  Even when I feel unworthy, I am called and dearly loved.
People:  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

All:  There’s more going on than meets the eye.  We must look with spiritual eyes and listen with spiritual ears—not just physical ones. Behind the scenes, God is doing more than we realize.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.

Ephesus - Remember Your First Love | A Sermon on Revelation 2:1-7

Introduction
Well, it's good to be back with you, but I want to especially thank Sherry Dixon for speaking last Sunday. I got to listen to the message online, and it was a wonderful message—really good information—and she spoke with such clarity. I hope that it was helpful to you.

Thank you, Sherry, for taking the time to prepare and present that. If you missed her message, you should really go and check it out. She talks about the different kinds of judgment found in Scripture. Even people who have been studying the Bible for a long time don't always have clarity about what the Bible means when it talks about judgment.

There are different kinds of judgment, and they affect us in different ways depending on the context and our relationship with Christ. We need to know that. I encourage you to go on Facebook and find the message—it’s on the church page. You can read it, listen to it, or watch the video.

It goes along well with the series we started a couple of weeks ago on the Seven Churches of Revelation. (Remember, “Revelation” has no “s” at the end—it’s one Revelation.)

The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John—the beloved apostle—while he was in exile on the island of Patmos. The Lord gave him a vision and told him to write it down and share it. Part of what he shared were seven letters to seven churches—churches full of persecuted Christians living in the first century. These were words meant to encourage them and to correct them when they were going astray.

Today we’ll read the first letter, written to the church in Ephesus. But before we read it, let’s review a few important symbols from Revelation so we understand what we’re reading.

Review Symbolism
First: The Seven Lampstands. In the vision, Jesus showed John seven golden lampstands. These represent the seven churches He was addressing—churches meant to shine God’s light in a dark world. Despite the persecution and evil happening all around them, they were called to burn brightly for Christ.

Second: The Son of Man walking among the lampstands. This figure represents Jesus Himself. He is not far off—He is walking among His people, among His churches.

And remember, “church” here doesn’t mean a building. These first-century churches often didn’t even have a building. The church is the people—the body of believers. If something happened and this building we’re in were washed away, God forbid, we would still be the church.

Third: The Seven Stars. These are held in Jesus' right hand and represent the “angels” of the churches—likely meaning the pastors or spiritual leaders. Jesus holds these leaders in His hand, meaning He protects, shelters, and guides them.

Revelation 2:1-7
¹ “To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus write:  [I think the angel in this case, is the leader(s)]

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The City of Ephesus
Ephesus was a major port city in what is today modern-day Turkey—one of the largest and most influential cities in the Roman Empire. It was a commercial hub, wealthy, and bustling with trade. It was also home to the Temple of Artemis, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

But Ephesus was also a city full of idol worship, immorality, and spiritual darkness. Yet in that same city, there was a strong Christian presence.

Paul the Apostle planted the church in Ephesus and stayed there for two years, shepherding and teaching the new believers. Later, Timothy—Paul’s young protégé—served as pastor of that church. Paul wrote two New Testament letters to Timothy while he was there.

According to tradition, the Apostle John—the same John who received and recorded the Revelation—also lived in Ephesus. Remember, John was the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother, Mary. Many believe John cared for Mary in Ephesus until he was exiled to Patmos. Some traditions even say Mary died there.

So this letter is written to a spiritually rich and well-established church, but also a church surrounded by intense pressure and cultural compromise.

Jesus Commends Ephesus
Jesus praises the believers in Ephesus for several things:

1. Hard work and perseverance – They stayed faithful even under persecution.

2. Rejecting wickedness and false teachers – They held tightly to truth and doctrine.

3. Enduring hardship for Christ – They didn’t give up when things got difficult.

4. Hating the practices of the Nicolaitans – A group who claimed to be Christian but lived immorally.

The Nicolaitans were known for:

• Sexual immorality

• Eating food sacrificed to idols

• Blending Christianity with the surrounding pagan culture

• Using God’s grace as an excuse to sin

They wanted to enjoy the prosperity of the city while still calling themselves followers of Christ. Jesus says, “You hate their practices—which I also hate.”

And let’s be clear: Jesus doesn’t say He hates the people. He hates their practices. There’s a big difference. As followers of Christ, we don’t hate people. We may hate sin, but we love the sinner—because that’s how Jesus treated us.

Jesus Corrects Ephesus
Jesus then offers a strong correction:  “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”

What was that first love?

• Joyful, wholehearted devotion to Christ

• A personal relationship—not just head knowledge or doctrine

• Love that overflowed in worship, witness, and daily life

Jesus is saying, “You’re doing all the right things, but your heart’s not in it anymore.”

And that happens sometimes, doesn’t it?

Maybe you remember a time in your walk with Christ when your heart burned for Him—when worship was your favorite part of the week. When prayer felt natural, like talking to your best friend. When telling others about Jesus wasn’t a duty—it just came out of your life because He was changing you.

But now… maybe it’s different. Maybe it’s become routine. Maybe your faith has gotten cold. Maybe your love for Jesus has faded.

If that’s you, Jesus says: “Remember. Repent. Return.”

The Seriousness of Their Sin
Jesus says in verse 5:

“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

What does it mean to “remove your lampstand”?

It doesn’t mean they would lose their salvation. It means their church would lose its place as a light-bearing witness for Christ. It would:

• Cease to exist in its God-given role

• Lose its influence and spiritual power

• Continue in form, but without the presence and blessing of Christ

This still happens today. Some churches keep going long after the Holy Spirit has left the building. They may hold services, sing songs, and do ministry—but there’s no fire, no light, no love. They’re still a church in name, but not in Spirit.

Jesus is saying, “If you don’t return to love, I will no longer recognize you as My church.”

Our American Context
As we celebrate freedom this Fourth of July weekend, we’re reminded of how richly blessed we are to live in a prosperous and free nation. But prosperity comes with its own challenges.

The Ephesian Christians faced hostility and persecution. We, in America, face the temptation of comfort and compromise. Just like the Nicolaitans, there’s a danger that we’ll try to blend in—watering down our convictions for the sake of being accepted or enjoying worldly benefits.

But Jesus calls us to something higher.

The Takeaway
Jesus won’t let a church shine for Him if it doesn’t love like Him.

It’s not enough to be doctrinally right, or to have a full calendar of ministry activities. Jesus wants your heart. He wants you to love Him like you did at first—or even more.

If your faith has grown cold…

If you’ve gotten too good at guarding the gates and forgotten how to open your heart…

If you’re just going through the motions…

Then hear His voice today:

“Remember the love you had at first.
Repent, and return.”

Invitation to Communion
As we come to the Lord’s Table, we remember the greatest act of love the world has ever known:

Jesus giving Himself for us.

And maybe—just maybe—this table is your invitation to come back to your first love.

Come not out of routine, but out of repentance.
Come not because you’ve got it all figured out, but because you are deeply loved.
Come because the One who walks among the lampstands is here now—walking among us.

As you kneel at this altar, it may be that the risen Christ is kneeling beside you, placing His hand on your shoulder, and whispering,

“Welcome back. I’ve missed you. Let’s walk together again.”