Revelation

If there is a wicked witch in the Bible, her name is Jezebel.

And we just read of her demise and when she died,

I think you can hear the cheer and the clap go up throughout the scriptures,

rejoicing at the death of this evil woman.

The clash between her evil empire and the kingdom of God

is one of the gripping and colossal stories in the Old Testament.

Isn't it?

When we read what we called the children's picture Bible to my kids,

as young kids, so 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, we raised them on this Bible.

I think it's out there, it's the Action Bible

and it's got quite a lot of detail from the Old Testament in it

and you learn the names of kings and queens as you go along.

You're not trying to teach them all that sort of stuff, but they just pick it up.

And my kids would ask for the Jezebel story over and over again

because her end comes so violently, she goes out the windows,

the dog eats her up and there's nothing left on the ground hardly.

And they thought it was fantastic.

Ding dong, the witch is dead.

Now she first gets a mention in 1 Kings 16.

I hope you hear what Steve said last week.

He said about bogs in our hands and flicking through and following where we are.

Go to 1 Kings 16 and 17 and keep up with me, I'll bounce around.

She's first mentioned there because Ahab, the king of Israel, marries her.

And you go, so what?

Well, verse 31 of chapter 16 tells us the so what.

As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam,

the son of Nebat,

he took for his wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal,

the king of the Sidonians,

and he went and served Baal and worshipped him.

She captured his heart.

He deserted his God,

even more than he'd already been deserting his God.

And Jezebel is actually an escalation in the sin of God's people

because she brings the fertility gods,

Baal and Baal's female consort,

Ashtaroth.

They go together, Baal and Ashtaroth.

They have sex together to bring fertility.

He brings the worship of these gods to their marriage and to the nation.

Gods that had been thrown out by the Lord

when his people conquered the land,

they're worshipped again.

They bring them back.

God threw them out and they bring them back.

And so it's as though ideas from the outside threaten God's people.

People are beginning to tolerate again what God was completely intolerant of.

Now the word tolerance is going to pop up a few times tonight

and I think we think of tolerant as a really good word

and it is a good and it's a respectful word

in terms of how we conduct relationships with one another.

But I just want to say at the outset tonight

that when we talk about tolerance here,

I want you to see very clearly

that there are certain things

that God is completely intolerant of

and for him in some circumstances

tolerance is not a virtue.

And what you've got here is sex

and false worship going together,

hand in hand.

Ahab takes this sexy bride Jezebel,

she brings sexy worship to Israel

by bringing her fertility gods with her.

You want to break a drought?

Stop the famine.

Make it rain.

We'll have sex with the temple prostitutes.

That's the sort of religion

that she has just brought back into Israel.

When you go down the path of idolatry,

it is always a path which takes you further away from the Lord.

It doesn't take you towards him.

It takes you away from him.

The king and his bride,

as they take on these new gods,

they're effectively turning their back on the Lord

and walking away from him.

And they make this, it's ridiculous,

but they make this huge investment

in gods that aren't really even gods.

They participate in the very carnal pleasures

that go with them.

That's the nature of idolatry.

You think something, you're in it for good.

You're in it for what you think is something better

and God is displaced from his rightful place

and he is no longer seen as gloriously special

and he becomes one option amongst many

that we worship and he will not tolerate it.

So God provokes this enormous confrontation

here in the Old Testament in 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

Calls his prophet Elijah onto the stage

and he says,

to Elijah,

go therefore and gather all of Israel to me at Mount Carmel,

the 450 prophets of Baal,

the 400 prophets of Asherah

who eat at Jezebel's table,

bring them all.

And it's really interesting

because Elijah doesn't confront Jezebel directly,

he's got nothing to say to her,

but he speaks to God's people

who are in great danger

from being harmed by her teaching

and he lets rip.

Chapter 18, verse 21.

Elijah came near to all the people

and he said,

how long will you go limping

between two different opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow him.

And if Baal is God, follow him.

And I heard a sermon once

where the preacher finished like that

and he said,

if Baal is God, follow him and go to hell.

Well, that's how he finished his sermon.

But it's full on confrontation

and he follows it up

by putting his life on the line

with this contest at Mount Carmel.

He does something that could get him killed.

Let's see who the real God is.

850 of you guys,

do a sacrifice,

call out to Baal,

see if he can do anything.

I'll pray to the Lord,

the one who answers with fire,

he's real.

And the prophets,

they go,

prophets of Baal,

they go first,

they dance,

they prance all day

and Elijah's just sitting there

with his hat on in the shade

while these guys are getting

tighter and tighter

and calling out to their God

and he's sitting on the sidelines

and he's mocking them

and he said,

maybe he's on the loo,

maybe he hasn't heard.

Maybe you need to dance harder,

call louder,

do more,

get his attention,

he's asleep,

wake him up.

And they finish the day

exhausted and collapsed

in a heap

and nothing's happened.

And Elijah steps forward

and he prays

a really simple prayer to God

after soaking the altar

in all sorts of water

and the Lord answers with fire

and consumes the light

and Elijah then goes

and has 850 of Jezebel's prophets

slaughtered.

Kills a lot of them.

Huge faith,

an emphatic victory

and if you've been reading around

what's been going on,

you go,

yes,

there is only one true God

and we had better follow him.

Next day,

Jezebel's in a rage.

I'm going to get you Elijah

by the end of the day

if I'm just going to get you

and he hears what she says

and guess what he does?

He runs for his life

in crippling fear and depression.

She's going to get me.

He's human.

Probably very empty.

But God is God

and he just proved it

and Jezebel's religion

has just been exposed

as a complete

and utter fraud.

Faith.

There are 850 empty seats

at her dinner table.

The prophets are dead.

She's not dead.

She still has influence.

Her bitter cruelty

to God's people

is seen in 1 Kings 21.

A bloke called Naboth

had a field

next to Ahab's palace

and Ahab,

the king,

offers to buy it

and Naboth replies,

the Lord forbid

that I should give you

the inheritance

of my fathers.

He loves the Lord.

He loves what the Lord

has given him.

It's part of the Lord's

gracious gift of salvation

of having been brought

into the promised land

and receiving the inheritance.

But for Ahab,

it's business.

He just put the real estate

leaflet in his letterbox

with an offer.

I like your place,

I'd like to buy it

and I'll pay you

what it's worth.

Locker ground,

fair price.

But for Naboth,

it's much more than that.

This is cash for faith.

The Lord forbid

that I do such a thing.

I won't trade my future

for a handful of cash.

Naboth doesn't care

how good the property market is

and the prices are

and how they're going up

and up and up.

He won't cash in,

he won't be bought.

And Ahab,

the king,

he doesn't understand,

he just goes home

sulking.

I'm the king.

I made a fair offer.

Life for him's business.

He's got power,

he's king,

he's generous enough

but he can't seal the deal.

He doesn't get what he wants.

He's frustrated

by Naboth's stubborn faith.

He's a religious nutter.

Fancy letting religion

get in the way of life.

That's the Ahab attitude.

You know,

it's alright to have faith

as long as it doesn't interfere

in the practical realities of life.

You know,

a young person can do

year 13.

It's a great thing

for them to do.

There's lots of parents

that will be happy

for their kids

to do year 13.

You know,

it's safe,

it's not sex and drugs

and rock and roll

and a gap year.

You know,

but don't you dare

not go to uni.

Don't you dare

go and do any more

theological training

or go overseas

and serve on some mission.

Don't you dare do that.

Or if you're working,

you know,

your boss tolerates

your faith at work,

even commends you.

Oh, yeah,

Christian,

good value,

all that sort of stuff,

but then you refuse

to fudge the book

or do something

that's illegal

that gets in the way

of the business plans.

You won't write

the report

in the way

that she wants

because it distorts

the truth.

Well,

Jezebel takes care

of Abraham's depression.

Go to bed, honey.

Cheer up.

I'll get you

your field.

And she goes

to the elders

and the leaders

of the city

and easily corrupts them.

They should have

thrown her out the window

then and there.

If they'd done that,

that would have solved

a lot of problems.

But they get a couple

of liars

to come to court

and tell the court

that Naboth

has spoken against God

and he's spoken

against the king.

It's a malicious lie.

It's the complete

opposite of the truth.

It's exactly

the same thing

that was said

to Jesus

at his trial

before he was executed.

And so Naboth

is stoned to death.

He loses his life

for no other reason

than faithfulness

to the Lord.

He refuses

to be compromised

and Ahab,

the king,

gets his field.

Jezebel never

was one of God's people.

Ahab is,

but he is clueless

about what it means

to be in a real relationship

with Yahweh.

He's in the family,

she's outside the family,

but both of them

are deals

as far as understanding faith.

They have no regard

for the Lord's power

and his authority.

God to them

is nothing.

You can be at church

and not know Jesus.

And being at church

does not mean

that you treasure Jesus.

Might be that you're here

finding out about Jesus,

that's a good thing

and that's a good reason

to be here.

Jezebel

exercises

a corrupting influence

over God's people.

She's godless.

She doesn't believe

in the Lord.

She'd rather have

her own gods.

She still has no fear

of the Lord

despite Elijah's

huge victory

over her prophet.

She won't acknowledge

what's happened.

The nobles

and elders

of the city

should never have lied

and carried out

the execution

of a righteous man.

They were enticed

into doing evil.

They allowed themselves

to be enticed

into doing evil.

And you can probably imagine

it's very tough

living in a scenario

where wicked people

bring ideas

and actions

that harm

the people of God.

That pressure us

to do what is wrong.

To be in a church

where the ways

of the world

are impacting

the congregation

and its leadership.

where ideas

from outside

threaten God's people.

Went to the Oxygen

conference the other week

with a couple

of thousand pastors.

It was a great time

of refreshment

and Don Carson

who's a great Bible teacher

spoke to us

on leadership

and one of the things

he said

which was

such a wonderful thing

for me to hear

was he said

that when we're

choosing leaders

we want people

with character

before we want

people with capability.

We want people

with character

before we want

people with capability.

We want capability

but it doesn't matter

how capable

and how honoured

you are

in the workplace

or in your school

or in your place

of endeavour

whatever it is

if you do not

have Christian character

to go with it

you have no place

as a leader

in God's church.

Ideas

from the outside

can do

huge harm

to the people

of God.

And you get

to this point

in the message

and you think

is this an Old Testament

sermon

or is this a New Testament

sermon?

And so I want to turn

to Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

because something

verse 19

something pretty nasty

is impacting

the church

at Thyatira

and the Lord

Jesus says

I know your works

your love

and faith

and service

and patient endurance

and that your latter works

exceed the first

but I have this

against you

that you tolerate

that woman Jezebel

who calls herself

a prophetess

and is teaching

and seducing

my servants

to practice

sexual immorality

and eat food

sacrificed to idols.

they get a huge

trap

I know your works

I know your faith

your love

your service

your patient endurance

and that the latter

exceeds the first

you're a great

loving church

what a great thing

to hear about

our own church

in terms of this

commendation

for the Lord Jesus

to say things

about 5pm

your love

your faith

your steadfastness

your standing firm

even when really

difficult things

are going on

around about you

these guys

are not like

the church in Ephesus

that have lost

their first love

they are continuing

to grow in their

fruitfulness

or it appears so

and their latter works

are even more fruitful

than their initial ones

and so you scratch

your head and say

but what's wrong

well they're not as

healthy as they appear

and they get this

very weighty warning

from Jesus himself

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

now Jezebel

is an outsider

who is impacting

some of God's people

she's having

an impact

on the insiders

she's teaching

and seducing

my servants

and the wider church

is putting up

with her

in a way

that they really

shouldn't be

putting up with her

there is a time

and a place

for naming

evil amongst us

Paul did it

when he rebuked

the Corinthian church

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

he says

it is actually

reported

that there is

sexual immorality

among you

and of a kind

that is not

tolerated

even among pagans

he rebukes

insiders

he rebukes us

and he says

wake up

and it's really

interesting

he doesn't go

on a moral

crusade

against the

rotten state

of the world

and all the

terrible things

that people

do out there

he strongly

rebukes the

church

for what

they are

putting up

with

what they

tolerate

in here

did it in a

different way

in Galatians

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

he said

I'm astonished

that you are

so quickly

deserting him

who called you

in the grace

of Christ

and are

turning to

a different

gospel

and not

that there

is another

one

but there

are some

who trouble

you and

want to

distort the

gospel of

Christ

but even

if we

or an

angel from

heaven

should

preach to

you a

gospel

contrary

to the

one we

preach to

you

let him

be accursed

a pox

on false

gospels

that's

what he's

saying

and I

am even

more astonished

that you

so quickly

listen to

them

what is

it with

you guys

that you

put up

with this

stuff

that's

what I

wrote

Jezebel's

a loaded

nickname

she's

somebody

who is

known in

the city

she's a

real person

she has

a view

of herself

she sees

herself as

a prophetess

she sees

herself as

bringing

teaching

and a

word that

is from

god

himself

and

tragically

the outcome

of her

teaching

is to

lead

god's

people

into

two

activities

that

are

expressly

forbidden

us

sexual

immorality

and

participation

in the

worship

of other

deities

are never

alright

for christian

believers

we draw

the line

somewhere

and this

is where

the line

is drawn

i had

a church

warden

once

a leader

who said

that he

felt like

we get

too hung

up on

sexual

teaching

and he

got under

my skin

and his

view was

that sexual

immorality

goes on

in the

world

all the

time

and we

ought to

get over

it

and at

that level

well he's

right

it does

that is

how the

world is

don't expect

any better

of the

world

but it's

never okay

in the

church

in any

form

adultery

homosexual

practice

feeding on

pornography

sleeping

around with

men or

women outside

of marriage

and this

is not

just

you know

this is

not

hypocritical

nitpicking

or hypocritical

moralists

with one

another

we know

that Jesus

knows

what's in

our hearts

and not

just what

goes on

in outward

action

so Jesus

is talking

more than

just about

outward

action

he's talking

about what

our hearts

are like

but it's

not the

unforgivable

sin

but it does

need to be

repented of

and at

its heart

sexual

immorality

porneia

is the

word in

the scriptures

is a

powerful form

of idolatry

that drives

Jesus and

his love

from our

hearts

it reduces

Jesus

it takes

us away

from him

it impacts

how we

treasure him

together

but there

is a way

back

and the

only way

back from

it is to

give God

his rightful

place again

to repent

and to

seek his

joy

and his

filling

it's not

unforgivable

we don't

tell the

world

how to

live

but God

tells us

how to

live a

joyous

and full

life

as his

redeemed

people

Steve's

been calling

the different

cities

I forget

it was

Canberra

last week

and Sydney

one week

I've lost

track now

but

Thyatira

was a

Wollongong

or a

Geelong

type of

city

working

class

lots of

industry

and we

don't know

heaps about

the city

or its

circumstances

it's buried

under a

modern city

these days

so there's

even very

little

archaeology

because you

can't get

to it

through the

current city

that's there

Lydia was a

trader in

purple

that was a

very important

colour for

regal and

royal robes

and she gets

a mention

in Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16

she came

from Thyatira

seems like

the people

who worked

in Thyatira

were workers

in bronze

they knew

how brilliantly

shiny

molten

bronze

was

and bronze

mirrors

that could

be created

by the

tradecraft

of the

area

to do

business

in a city

like that

you'd need

to belong

to a

craft guild

it was the

ancient

equivalent

of a

union

a trade

union

and I

guess

no card

no work

nothing wrong

with that

except that

membership

would sometimes

mean going

to the union

Christmas parties

eating food

which had been

sacrificed

and offered

to the local

sun god

with his image

made of bronze

demonstrating

your commitment

to the cause

with the cultic

prostitutes

and so

immediately

there are

several dilemmas

if you're in

Christ

have a Christian

friend

he went to

an industry

conference

like that

in Sydney

what would

you do

when your

roommate

brought back

to your

room

your roommate

for the

conference

brought back

to your

room

one of the

conference

provided

and paid

for

prostitutes

the ancient

world isn't

so ancient

and to

participate

or not

could have

a huge

effect

economically

how I'm

seen by

my peers

whether I'm

going to

rat them

out

am I

trustworthy

I'm not

corrupted by

this sort

of behaviour

you're in

or you are

out

do you

bow to

the local

deity

and you

know we

know as

Christians

that we

can rationalise

any other

god away

because we

know that

none of

them are

real

we know

that there

is only

one real

god

so every

other god

is a

nonsense

at one

level

these so

called

gods

aren't

really

gods

at all

but you

want business

to go

well

we have

people in

our church

family

we've had

people in

our church

family who

came to

Australia

from Penang

in Malaysia

and they

made a new

life here

because as

Christians

and as

Chinese

they can

only rise

to a

middle level

in Malaysian

society

and to

go higher

to be

more successful

they would

need to

convert to

Islam

do you

rationalise

it away

and do

you say

if you're

feeling the

pressure of

Islam

do you

say things

like well

we all

believe in

one god

don't we

or

Islam

and Jesus

both believe

that Jesus

is a prophet

which is

true

but we

make

compromises

which deny

the uniqueness

of Christ

and so

we reduce

Jesus to

something

that he

is not

we've

been

looking a

number of

times in

this series

to our

northern

Iraq

and talking

about

Christians

in northern

Iraq

and the

mark of

the

Nazarene

lives on

the line

and livelihoods

and everything

you own and

possess on the

line over

a confession

of Jesus

Christ

crucified

and risen

again

lose your

life

or convert

to Islam

and pay

the tax

say something

that would

get me

killed in

many places

it's a

nonsense

it's an

invention

of one

man's

mind

written

six

centuries

after

Jesus

it is

a

nonsense

when you

move to

a position

of

toleration

you

minimize

the

Lord

you

make

him

less

in our

society

we have

huge

pressure

that comes

from a

secular

world's

value

highest

value

of

toleration

I think

the

Newcastle

Herald

you probably

wouldn't

read it

but

it's

done

award winning

journalism

exposing the

appalling

sexual abuse

of children

in the

Newcastle

area

and the

journalism

and the

journalism

which

led to the

world's

sexual abuse

and that

paper has

done the

whole of

Australia

an enormous

favour in

bringing those

issues out into

the fore and

making us

consider the

evil stuff

that's been

going on

even in

churches

they've done

wonderful work

really wonderful

work

something to be

proud of

but that

same paper

has also

run stories

for years

against the

Anglican

Church's

intolerance

of

homosexual

clergy

practising

homosexual

clergy

and through

their campaign

the paper's

campaign

they have

made it

very hard

for the

Christians

in that

church

to drive

a very

small

number

of

immoral

men

from

positions

of

trust

and

leadership

within

the

church

see

being

in

Christ

automatically

brings

us

into

conflict

with

the

world

Jesus

says

to us

if the

world

hates

you

bear

in

mind

that

it

hated

me

first

John

15

Revelation

Revelation 2:20

chapter 2

verse 20

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

the

antidote

to the

power

of

idolatry

is a

true

picture

of

God

himself

and

it's

here

in

this

passage

God

God

and

verse

23

this

nothing

less

than

God

Jesus

himself

will

strike

her

children

dead

and all

the

churches

will

know

that I

am

he

who

searches

mind

and

heart

God

will

unashamedly

judge

he

he is

to be

feared

by those

who

reject

him

Jezebel

is

doomed

and because

she refuses

to repent

and those

who have

followed her

evil are

implored to

repent

or they

are dead

too

but it's

not just

judgment

because when

you read

this really

carefully

you see

it's

full of

grace

Jezebel

could have

repented

but she

chose not

to

her

followers

haven't been

judged yet

they're offered

a way to

safety

they still

have opportunity

to repent

to turn

back to

Christ

and to

ask for

mercy

and forgiveness

the mercy

of God

is strongly

on view

here

if we're

struggling

in any

of these

ways

that we've

talked about

already

it's just

saying to

us repent

come back

turn around

admit failure

throw yourself

on the safety

of Christ

there's hope

full of hope

full of hope

in the face

of great evil

in verse 23

Jesus says

I am he

the big picture

of Jesus

I am he

who searches

hearts

and minds

his eyes

see and

penetrate

everything

including

deeply

inside us

and he

isn't

filled

by outward

appearance

he knows

our hearts

and minds

there's no

deceiving him

we are

totally exposed

before him

and he has

acted with

extraordinary

love to

redeem us

despite us

he knows

what we're

like and he

still loves us

and has acted

to preserve us

amazing

he's a

wonderful

lord

and his

feet

aren't

like clay

fragile

like yours

and mine

they're

burnished

bronze

in this

passage

he's

powerful

he's

more

brilliant

than any

bronze

the workers

in Thyatira

have ever

worked with

he's strong

and he's

powerful

and he's

brilliantly

glorious

and so

John uses

pictures

that are

deeply

encouraging

to anybody

who's doing

it tough

in the world

which is

urging them

to compromise

a world

which is

intolerant

of true

faith in

Jesus

the Jesus

we worship

is mightier

than anyone

in the

commercial

world

with any

power

they bring

to bear

he's

stronger

than the

toughest

person

who gives

you grief

at school

who shames

you at

university

you know

when we

we can

feel very

isolated

and very

fearful

under the

pressure of

evil

vastly

outnumbered

nobody

believes

what we

do

or is

doing it

as tough

as I am

that's how

we feel

and Elijah

the next

day after

this magnificent

victory

on Mount

Carmel

against

Jezebel's

prophets

after standing

strong and

staring down

evil

he runs

away the

next day

and he says

to God

I'm the only

one

and God

said

actually

I've got

7,000 people

who haven't

bowed their

knee to

bale yet

you're not

alone

I have

many people

standing firm

and you see

that here

in Thyatira

so these

words of

warning are

not to the

whole church

there's a

bunch of

people here

who

verse 24

to the

rest of

you

a whole

bunch of

them haven't

caved in

under pressure

the rest of

you in

Thyatira

who do

not hold

this teaching

who have

not learned

what some

call the

deep things

of Satan

I say to

you I do

not lay on

you any

other burden

hold fast

what you have

until I come

they aren't

called to

repent like

some people

in other

churches

they're called

to stand

firm

hang on

keep on

keeping on

don't compromise

what you know

to be true

don't tolerate

evil

don't yield

to sexual

immorality

don't bring

the values

of the world

into church

don't make

compromises

to protect

your job

or to secure

a future

advancement

in your

career

seek your

security

in Christ

not in

idols

and Jesus

makes the

most glorious

promises

we won't

miss out

we might

feel weak

we might

feel powerless

people might

think we're

insignificant

right now

in the face

of great

evil

but we

have a

guaranteed

future

with extraordinary

privilege

verse 26

the one who

conquers

and keeps

my works

until the

end

to him

I will

give

authority

over the

nations

and he

will rule

them with

a rod

of iron

as when

earthland

pots are

broken

to pieces

even as

I myself

have received

authority

from my

father

and I

will give

him the

morning star

quote

psalm 2

it's full

of old

testament

this passage

great song

of God's

kingship

over all

the nations

the song

that looks

ahead into

the future

the son

of God

that God

would raise

up to

rule the

nations

the one

who would

receive

universal

authority

and power

and right

here in

revelation

2 he

tells

believers

that we

will share

in his

rule

and in

his

authority

and I

read that

and I

just cannot

get my

head around

it that

God would

share such

rule and

authority

with me

we will

be authorised

by God

himself

to exercise

his good

rule

over

nations

one

important

job

that's

an

important

job

God

will

entrust

us

to rule

for good

for him

take us

back to the

very beginning

of the

Bible

in

Genesis

2

and we

won't get

it wrong

next time

with Genesis

3

pretty amazing

promise

but you

know there's

an even

better promise

here

I will

give him

the

morning

star