I gave her time to repent

Revelation 2:18-3:6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this:

¹⁹ ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. ²⁰ But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. ²² Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ²³ And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ²⁴ But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. ²⁵ Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come. ²⁶ The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations; ²⁷ and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; ²⁸ and I will give him the morning star. ²⁹ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead. ² Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. ³ So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

In many ways the church today is sort of a microcosm or a compsite of the churches in the book of Revelation. So, as we look at the messages to the churches, we will do it from the perspective not of the circumstances and situations in those particular churches, but rather to learn what we can apply ourselves from the warnings and exhortations. The text begins: “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this:  ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.  The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”  In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began His earthly ministry saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.  There will come a time when God’s patience comes to an end; when there is no time left to repent. Those who have been given time, but choose not to repent, will suffer the consequences of their choice and their sin. Remember again that these messages and warnings are to the church. The Lord is pronouncing His judgement against Jezebel, her time is up. He is giving a little more time for the church to repent of her deeds. Jezebel seeks authority through manipulation. True authority comes from Christ. He gives it to those who keep His deeds until He comes and He overcomes. There are deeds that Christ has given us authority to do until He comes. In Matthew 28:18-20 He says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The text continues saying: “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead. Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”   In Matthew 7:13-14;21-23 Jesus says: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it… Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”  There is a misconception and a deception that those who are in the church will go to heaven. Jesus says that few will enter; that Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  There are many who are in the church who are dead in religion and tradition, but lack the life and abundance of Christ. Even those who call Him Lord and who do works in His name will not enter the kingdom of heaven if they don’t also walk in His righteousness.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says: If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.  What though is the love that we are to have? In John 14:15 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” In Matthew 22:37-38 He says: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.”  1 John 4:20 says: If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  Some people say that there are times when scripture contradicts itself. In truth, these are not contradictions, but rather they are paradoxes. They are not opposites, but rather opposite sides of the same truth. We cannot truly love God if we do not love our brothers and sisters, but in order for us to truly love them, we must first and foremost love God with our whole heart, soul and mind.  “remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. For Your word and Your warnings; for Your patience, that we might repent and enter through the narrow way, the only way, by the blood of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.