10/25/13. Revelation 2:12-29. JESUS SEARCHES THE HEART AND MIND – my devotional

Key Verse: 2:23                                                                                          Kevin E. Jesmer

“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.” (ESV)

    Dear Lord heavenly Father, thank you for saving us from superstitious beliefs. Thank you for freeing our hearts that we me embrace truth and grace and true hope. I pray that the liberating gospel may sound forth liberating people from false beliefs that rob them of life and eternal life. May they find the true life that is in Jesus alone. I thank you for bring our friend’s child into this world, Julie Grace. May she grow strong and fruitful in you. I pray that I may understand something deeply in your word today. I pray all of his in Jesus’ holy and awesome name. Amen!

Part 1: The Sword of The Word (12-17).

Verses 12-17, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’” (ESV)

The faith of persecuted Christians is shown in Revelation 2:12-13 which reads, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” (ESV) Pergamum was the center of emperor worship in Asia Minor, and situated there, was a 50-foot throne for Zeus — Satan’s throne. To be a Christian there was to invite intense persecution. Antipas was the first Christian martyr of Asia. Yet faithful believers did not renounce their faith in Jesus. I am so impressed about the faith of these early Christians. It was not easy to be a Christian. I heard that when you became a Christian you needed to be publically baptized and then you had to wear a white robe in public for a week. By doing this you were declaring to everyone, family and friends and community that you were a Christian. This would invite lots of persecution and rejection by those close to you. But many people were willing to do this. Wow! New Christians were beaten, killed, fired from their jobs, ridiculed and many other things. Could I do that? Announcing that I am a Christian in Midwestern university/ farm town, will either bring forth praise, or a quiet response, but almost never any persecution. Being a Christian may even help me to get a job and acceptance. But I can pray for those that are suffering persecution and support them in some ways. I can also not shy away from persecution, if I am called to be a missionary to an isolated place where Christianity is frowned upon. I must trust the Lord and be encouraged by the faith of those early Christians.

Within the church, there were also Nicolaitans, who compromised with idol worship and immorality, instead of standing up clearly for the gospel. In difficult situations the church must repent instead of compromising. God’s word is a two-edged sword that cuts out idolatry, immorality and compromise. Why do we compromise the faith? People don’t trust the Bible. They don’t know what the Bible says. They believe false teaching because it appeals to their human reasoning and even to their human desires. They may compromise to gain acceptance from the culture they are in. They may think that if they compromise then they will be able to win souls easier. They may think that their own way is better. But the bottom line is that we must not compromise the faith that so many people have died to proclaim. It is the eternal truth of God and if we compromise we will regret it to our dying day.

There is a blessing for those who hold onto Gospel faith. Look at verse 17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”  To the one who overcomes temptation, Jesus would give manna (eternal life), a white stone (righteousness), and a new name that no one knew (a close relationship with Christ). These are the best rewards. They are much better than $1 million. How foolish it is to deny Christ and the gospel for some false religion or philosophy that hold only empty promises. But because Jesus suffered, died and rose again, we can know that the promise of verse 17 is true and something that we can hold onto it

Part 2: Jesus’ Blazing Eyes To See (18-29).

Verses 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. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 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. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 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, 23 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. 24 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. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (ESV)

Jesus’ blazing eyes saw the growing love, faith, hard work and perseverance of the believers in Thyatira. He also saw a false prophetess who was misleading them into immorality and idolatry. She would be punished severely. This church sounds perfect, but they were not perfect. They had allowed false teachers to come among them and lead them astray. They were tolerating false teachers with false teachings. I guess they were not so perfect. God called them to repentance.

No one is perfect but God alone. But we can try with what little strength we have. We need to keep our life and doctrine pure. 1 Timothy 4:16 reads, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (NIV) We can love others with God’s love. We can be very hard working and we can surrender our bodies to the flames, but if we don’t have love then we are nothing. Even though we are weak and frail and prone to wander, at least we can do is agree to the truth of God and uphold gospel faith, even if we can not do much else.

To those who overcome Satan’s temptations, Jesus will give the authority to rule over the nations with him and the morning star, the symbol of hope.  There is only one way to overcome Satan’s temptations. That is to hold onto the words of God. Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations in Matthew 4:1-11, by quoting the appropriate words of God from the Old Testament. We also need to stand on the grace of God. We need to do what is right before the eyes of God. And doing what is right is agreeing with Christ and his words in the Bible, repenting of our sins and entrusting our lives to God as we set forth to put his words into practice. Will we stumble and fall? Yes. But God will help us up and we can carry on in the strength of the Lord. To put it simply, only faith in Jesus will help us to overcome the devil’s temptations. And there is more than enough grace to bring us through every trial unto eternal life.

Prayer: Lord, help me to overcome Satan’s temptation and keep your reward in my heart.

One Word: Jesus will help us to stand.