7 Letters to 7 Churches: Thyatira - Revelation 2:18-29

Now, how many of us in the room,

when we sense that there's something kind of going wrong in our bodies,

well, we just basically kind of ignore it.

We're just kind of like, well, I'll just kind of learn to tolerate that.

I can live with it.

No big deal.

Maybe it will go away.

But let's just say that your beloved spouse starts showing symptoms of serious disease.

Husband, you see your wife recognizing the symptoms, but maybe she's ignoring it.

For you to love your bride.

You speak.

You address these symptoms and perhaps the cause in your bride.

For not to, to ignore it would be unloving.

This morning, the risen, radiant, reigning Jesus, the bridegroom of the church,

deals with a cancer in the church of Thyatira.

Now, if you have not been with us over the last few weeks,

we've been working our way through the book of Revelation,

and now we find ourselves in chapters 2 and 3.

And chapters 2 and 3 are a collection of letters.

Letters, the risen Christ speaks to seven specific churches in what's now modern-day Turkey.

And these seven churches were on a circuitous trade route,

and each letter is given to a church one at a time along this route.

And this morning, we're in Thyatira.

We've looked at Ephesus, what Jesus had to say to Ephesus.

We looked at Smyrna, and last week we looked at Pergamum.

Thank you, Billy.

And this morning, Jesus has a word to speak to the church in Thyatira.

And with all these letters, the intention is for all the other churches to be listening in and learning.

They were all sent at once to these churches.

And so Ephesus would have been hearing with interest what Jesus spoke to Thyatira.

And we're listening with interest 2,000 years later.

Because the same risen, radiant, and reigning Jesus is speaking.

Speaking to us.

All these seven letters have a similar structure,

which I'm just going to walk us through gradually this morning.

And what you're going to see is Jesus addresses a malignant,

metastasized cancer in the church of Thyatira.

It's one of compromise, one of spiritual adultery.

And Jesus calls this church to stop the compromise and stop tolerating the compromise

and to hold fast.

Hold fast.

Because He's the Son of God who sees all

and is making His church holy.

Holding fast is Christ's prescription for holiness.

So would you open up your Bibles if you haven't already?

And let's make our way through this ancient letter with very pronounced application today.

So we're going to start by this church that is a trust, Theatira.

Now unlike Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum,

this church was basically kind of a nobody kind of a church.

It was the smallest and most unknown to historians.

But what we do know is it wasn't a political kind of hot spot

nor an intellectual bastion for the elite.

This was a blue-collar manufacturing town.

They had all sorts of what's called trade guilds.

And what a trade guild was was an interesting mix between a trade union,

a college fraternity, and a religious cult.

So like today, our labor unions, we have carpenter unions, steam fitter unions,

we have plumber unions.

Back in the day, they had similar trade unions as well.

And one scholar, Sir William Ramsey,

describes, lists some of these.

Wool workers, linen workers, these are all first century trade guilds in Theatira.

Wool workers, linen workers, makers of outer garments, dyers.

If you're familiar with Acts 16, Lydia,

who God opens her heart to the gospel in Philippi,

she was a trader in a particular dye from Theatira.

Leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronze smiths.

Theatira was known for the bronze.

And shoemakers.

I mean, these trade guilds were basically gatherings,

unions of workers in a particular craft.

Work together by day, and then party together by night.

It was like a college fraternity.

Now, I know that not all college fraternities are like that.

But these trade guilds, they had these regular feasts and social events

that guild members were expected and required to be at.

And these things got raucous.

They oftentimes culminated in all sorts of sexual immorality going on.

Work together by day, party together by night,

and you throw in a little worship.

These trade guilds had a god of the guild,

a patron deity.

And at these feasts these guilds would throw,

there would be usually some kind of sacrifice made to a god,

and the expectation was,

if you're a loyal guild member,

you're going to partake in eating of that sacrifice.

Another scholar, his name is William Barclay, writes this.

These trade guilds had common meals together.

The meal would begin and end with a cup of wine,

poured out as a libation and an offering to the gods.

It was, in fact, the heathen grace before and after the meal.

Could a Christian join in a ceremony like that?

Still further, such a meal would almost certainly follow a sacrifice.

The token part of an animal would be offered on the altar.

The meat of it would be given to the worshiper

to make a feast for the members of his trade guild.

Could a Christian sit and eat meat which had been offered to idols?

Could he participate in a meal

where the meat had already been offered to Apollo or Artemis

or Thryminus, the local god?

Still further, this trade guild feast

not infrequently degenerated into carousals

where drunkenness and immorality were the order of the day.

Could a Christian participate in a feast

where drunkenness and fornication were the accepted thing?

So here in Thyatira,

the challenge of this church was blending in.

Blending into the life of the trade guilds.

I mean, it's not like today we don't experience that.

I doubt those of you who are working somewhere

are regularly confronted with the need

to eat a piece of meat sacrificed to an idol.

But we haven't changed that much since the first century.

There's still gods of the guilds.

Oftentimes it's money or fame,

and so your business may not be serving Apollo,

but it may probably, likely serving another god.

And the question is,

what are you being tempted to sacrifice on that altar?

Maybe it's your family.

Maybe it is your morality

to compromise in order to blend in.

This church in Thyatira

was regularly facing this external challenge

to compromise by conforming,

by becoming like those around them

who did not know Jesus

and were living like it.

But Jesus has something to say.

We're not to blend in.

We're to stand out.

We're in the world but not of the world.

And now Jesus wants this church

at the beginning of this letter

to see something about Him.

We're still in verse 18,

and we read this.

The words of the Son of God

who has eyes like a flame of fire

and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

We've looked at the church.

Now look at the Christ.

He's the Son of God.

This is the only time in the book of Revelation

that little phrase is used.

The Son of God.

And it's interesting

because Emperor Domitian

would claim that he was the son of Zeus,

Son of God.

This local god,

Therimnus,

also claimed to be the son of Zeus.

What Jesus is saying is,

I am the real Son of God.

And these words

have bearing on your life.

But there's more.

This appeal to this particular title,

Son of God,

it shows up in Psalm 2.

It's what Eric read this morning

to open up our service.

It's this son being talked about

who has been given the nations

as an inheritance.

This is the authority

of the all-reigning king.

And he's going to come back to this

in verses 26 and 27.

Its book ends this letter.

But what you need to see

is what else is said,

Jesus says.

He has eyes like a flame of fire

and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

These point back to the vision

from chapter 1 and verse 14

where Jesus shows himself

to John in his brilliant splendor

and John drops as though dead.

Remember Jesus puts his hand on him

and says,

Fear not.

Well those bronze glowing feet,

well they are the feet

that will trample down

every enemy of the Son of God.

It's just a matter of time.

Bronze was connotated

with weapons of warfare

at this time.

He's a warrior king.

But what captures me

and I'm guessing captures you

is those eyes.

Those eyes of flaming fire.

Those eyes see all things.

And what this represents

is the omniscience of Jesus.

He sees all.

He knows all.

And these eyes

just aren't perceptive.

They are purposed

to purify.

When his eyes fall upon his own,

they're intent

to bring purity

to his own.

Fire purifies.

And so what we see

at the start of this letter

is Jesus wanting this church

to be very aware

that he's the Son of God,

burnished bronze feet,

eyes of fire,

and he's about to speak

into this church.

Because there's something wrong

with this church.

He's going to purify it

in his love for this church.

Now for us,

both individually

and corporately,

we've got to live

in the reality

of what we're reading here.

There is nothing

that we can hide

from our Lord Jesus.

There's nothing

that we can keep

so far away of him

that he does not see.

His purifying sight

is as accurate

in penetrating today

as it was then.

He has purposed

for us as a church

to share in his holiness.

He wants to purify us

out of love for us.

He wants us

to experience

a holy health.

Have you ever thought

about it this way

that God Most High,

he is the Holy One

in all of the universe

and has it ever occurred

to you he is also

the happiest being

in all of the universe?

Holiness isn't a drudgery,

it is joy.

And our God experiences

that all the time

and he wants us

to share

in his holiness.

Have you ever been

to an eye doctor

and you're sitting

in her eye doctor chair

and she takes a light

with that little

refracting lens

and she shoots her light

through that

and it goes

and shines

into the back

in the very back

of your eyeball,

the very back

of your retina.

That light

penetrates

and pierces

for your health.

Those fire eyes,

they're loving eyes.

the fire eyes

of Jesus

penetrate

right now

into the depths

of the deepest

recesses

of your being.

He sees all.

Look at verse 23.

And all the churches

will know

that I am he

who searches

mind and heart.

It's Jeremiah 17,

9 and 10.

It actually starts

as I,

I am.

Ego,

Emi.

It's a claim

to be God.

I search,

I see.

And he knows

something is going

on in this

particular church.

He sees the cancer

and he's going

to purify it.

We've looked

at the church.

We've looked

at the Christ.

Now let's look

at his claim.

We see that

in verse 19.

He says,

I know.

He knows

because of those eyes.

He sees all.

And that phrase,

I know,

shows up

at the beginning

of every one

of these seven letters

to these seven churches.

He knows everything

going on

in every church

including our church.

And notice,

he says,

I know your works.

That would apply

to both

the God-pleasing

good works

they're doing

as well as

the God-grieving

works that they're doing.

And both

are present

in this particular church.

Now for those of us

who hear this

and for those of us

who are seeking

to be obedient

to Jesus

and all that

he's called us to

because of who he is,

this is actually

a comfort to us.

He knows.

But for those of us

in this room

who are walking

in disobedience

and you know it,

these words

should not be a comfort.

These should make you

a little uncomfortable

because he sees everything.

He knows what's going on.

But what I want

to remind you of

is that knowledge

is a loving knowledge.

His penetrating

and purifying gaze

is one of love.

He wants good

for us

and he wants us

to share

in his holiness.

This claim,

I know,

should ring

in your soul.

He sees.

And this knowledge

turns to commendation.

He has something

to commend

of this church

in Theotira.

Those eyes

see the good

in this church.

What's God pleasing

in them?

And we see that

with the words,

I know your works,

your love

and faith

and service

and patient endurance.

Four things.

And you can split it

into two couples.

Love for Jesus,

faith in Jesus

and how they get demonstrated.

Service to others

and the patient endurance

of hardship.

I know,

Jesus says.

I know your love for me.

I know your faith in me.

I know how you're

caring for others.

I know you're

holding up under pressure.

I know it.

I see it.

I commend you for it.

And then he says

in that your latter works

exceed the first.

Do you see that

in verse 19

at the end?

Do you know what

Jesus is saying?

Hey,

I'm seeing your growth.

You're further down the line

than when you started.

We don't know how

this church was planted.

Maybe it was Lydia

who came back from Philippi,

shared the gospel.

Or maybe it was Paul

when he was in Ephesus

in the mid-60s.

He was there for two years.

Maybe he made the trip

to Theatira

and preached Christ then.

We don't know.

But what we do know

is that they've made progress.

This church is growing.

There's a degree of health

in this church.

Now contrast that

with Ephesus in 2.4.

But I have this against you

that you've abandoned

the love you had at first.

Ephesus regressed

in their love for Jesus.

Theatira was progressing

in their love for Jesus.

Isn't it good to know

that this penetrating

and purifying gaze of Jesus,

he sees the progress

in his people.

And may we be like that.

May we be a people

who are growing

in our love for Jesus.

May we be a people

growing our faith in him.

And this works out

in our serving of others,

in our enduring of hardship.

May that be true.

That's the commendation.

And now the criticism.

Jesus critiques this church.

It's in verses 20-23.

And it's the hot spot

of this letter.

He says something

really strong to them.

He addresses the cancer in them.

He calls them

to address it themselves.

In verses,

verse 20 he says,

but I have this against you.

Could you just imagine

being in the church

and receiving this letter

from him?

You guys are doing great

in these areas,

but I've got this against you.

And what is it?

That you tolerate

the woman Jezebel.

That you tolerate

that woman Jezebel

who calls herself

a prophetess.

Self-appointed prophetess.

It's not that she was a woman.

It's that she was self-appointed.

And you tolerate this woman

who's a self-appointed prophetess

and is teaching.

Doctrine.

What Jesus later says,

it's the deep things of Satan

at the end of verse 24.

And not only is she teaching

this doctrine,

and seducing my servants.

It's misleading.

And not just any kind of misleading.

It's a seductive misleading.

And in that,

you've got to hear this.

This woman

was leading

the servants of Jesus

away from loving Jesus

exclusively

with an all-encompassing devotion

and leading them away

to worshiping other things.

The Bible calls that

spiritual adultery.

That's the seductive language.

She's leading them away.

Now,

you see the internal problem

going on.

Now,

you put that in the context

of the external problem,

these trade guilds,

and now you have a woman

in the church

who is actually permitting

Christians

to compromise

within the trade guilds.

That's the problem.

She said,

it's okay.

Okay.

It was some kind of distortion

of God's grace.

It was something

in which she was saying,

you know what?

In order for you

to really experience

all that God would have for you,

you need to participate

in the guilds.

It's okay.

When Jesus calls us

to follow Him,

He says in Matthew 16,

if anyone would come after me,

he must deny himself,

take up his cross,

and follow me.

It's either or.

It's either live for Him

or live for everything else.

And what this Jezebel

was teaching

is that you can have it both.

Not either or,

both and.

You can blend in.

He'll be okay.

It was cancer to this church.

And Jesus calls this woman

Jezebel for a reason.

It probably wasn't

her first name, really,

but this was a real woman

in this church.

Jezebel refers to

a woman back

in 1 Kings 16

who married King Ahab

who was a major loser king

to the nation of Israel.

And she caused Israel

to follow after

Baal and Asherah,

foreign gods of the time

who were not

the true God.

This Jezebel

in 1 Kings

seduced God's people

away from their devotion

to Yahweh

into spiritual adultery

with Baal and Asherah.

And so what Jesus

is saying,

this Jezebel

in Theatira

is doing

pretty much

the same thing.

She's seducing

my people

away from me.

Jesus is jealous

for our hearts.

He's to be our first love.

First place.

God's designed us,

our hearts uniquely.

Each of our hearts

has the capacity

to live for one thing

in an all-encompassing way.

One thing.

And Jesus says,

that's to be me.

We see the seriousness

with which

our risen Christ

deals with this Jezebel

in verse 21.

I gave her time

to repent,

but she refuses

to repent

of her sexual immorality.

It's like

he's called her

to repent.

We're not told how,

but he does.

And what's striking is

she refuses it.

She won't change.

She won't turn around,

change course.

She's going to persist

in what she's doing.

And so in verse 22,

he says,

behold.

Look what I'm going to do.

Mark this, church.

I am going to throw her

on a sick bed.

That's consequential language.

It's punishment

for what she's doing

in her lack,

her unwilling to repent.

You mark it

because when it happens,

you'll know what's happening.

It's me doing that.

And then he says

of her lovers,

those who commit adultery

with her,

those who are propagating

whatever trash

that she's teaching,

and those who commit

adultery with her,

I will throw

into great tribulation.

I will throw.

I will throw.

It will make you think

of when Jesus throws death

and the devil

into the lake of fire,

judgment.

And I will strike

her children dead

unless they repent

of her works.

I mean,

these children

were those

who held onto

this teaching,

who bought in.

Now this isn't

a picture of the Jesus

who is carrying

a little lamb around

on his shoulders,

is it?

Why is Jesus

being so hard?

Jesus,

what are you doing?

Why are you

punishing this Jezebel?

Why are you going to

cause suffering

to her lovers?

Why are you going to

strike dead

those who have

embraced this

and don't repent?

That seems really strong.

Here's why.

He loves his church.

He loves his church.

He loves his church

and insists on

her exclusive

devotion to him.

He loves his church

so much

that he wants her

to share

in his holiness

and so he's

addressing

a metastasized

cancer

in this church.

If Pergamum

had a little

tumor spot,

Theatira

has a spreading

cancer.

And what Jesus

is doing here

is putting to a

stop on its spread

and then cutting it out

because he loves

this church.

And you know what's

probably almost

for me just

completely striking

is that

all those

who are trying

to seduce

his own,

he's giving them

opportunity to repent.

How's that for mercy?

Now let me bring this

back to verse 20.

Jesus says to this church,

but I have this

against you

that you tolerate

that woman Jezebel.

That's the criticism.

This church

was just

standing by

indifferent

to what this

woman is doing.

They are

permitting

this self-appointed

prophetess

to seduce

Christ's bride

away from him

and he holds

the entire church

responsible for it.

So here we have

a church

seeing growth

in one hand

but having a major

blind spot

in another.

And Jesus

addresses it.

Now,

excuse the

mixed metaphor

but

this entire

church

he holds

responsible for

ignoring

the cancer

of spiritual

adultery.

You all

tolerate

this Jezebel.

now what

should they

have done?

What would

have been

the thing

for this

church to do

instead of

tolerating it?

What should

they have

do?

Well,

Jesus has

words in

another part

of the Bible

in Matthew

18

where Jesus

explains the

process

of how to

go about

loving someone

and confronting

them when

they sin

against you.

And this

false teaching

is sin

against them.

She is

trying to

seduce them

away from

Jesus.

And so

if we were

in the

attire of

the time

you heard

this lady

kind of

espousing

compromise

you go up

to her

and you say

privately

you know

what I

don't think

that what

you're saying

is right.

It doesn't

sound right.

It's not

the right

response

to who

Jesus is.

And she's

like yes

so what

I'm going

to keep

on doing

it.

So then

you come

back with

somebody else

and the

two of

you maybe

three say

you know

what what

you're doing

is not

right.

This is

hurting the

church

not helping

the church

and she

says well

I don't

care

I'm going

to keep

on preaching

and then

you go

and bring

in the

church

bring in

the elders

and at

that point

if she's

unwilling to

repent

you kick

her out

for the

health

of the

church

for the

good of

the church.

we are

seeking to

safeguard

and encourage

an exclusive

devotion to

Jesus

at this

church

and we

can't tolerate

things that

are drawing

our focus

off him

not in

anger

in love

now this

raises another

kind of a

question

what are

the contemporary

cancers of

false teaching

today that

may have

infiltrated

the church

I like to

call them

false gospels

false good

news

and let me

just point to

two one

briefly

another a

little bit

more

there's the

false gospel

of the

prosperity

gospel

it's the

belief that

God's will

is for

everybody to

be experiencing

growing measures

of health

and wealth

it's not

true

and it's

cancerous

it doesn't

call us

to a

sacrificial

living for

Jesus

but the

one I want

to encourage

you to

think about

is probably

a little bit

more delicate

it's the

false gospel

of the

therapeutic

gospel

the

therapeutic

good news

and it's

this gospel

that is

propagated

in a lot

of therapist

offices

and pulpits

throughout our

country

here's what

this gospel

does

it seeks

to comfort

and help

people

by cutting

out

words

and concepts

like sin

and disobedience

and wrongdoing

and the need

to repent

you can smell

it first

and what it

ends up

training people

in

is

self

esteem

more than

self

denial

now I'll be

the first to

admit there's a

place for

counseling

a very helpful

place for it

in so far

as that

counseling

is calling

you to follow

Jesus

identifying

sin

as sin

calling you

to repent

where you need

to repent

helping you

live in the

good of the

gospel

this

therapeutic

gospel

is very

dangerous

if it goes

on unidentified

it actually

trains people

in

insisting

in

their own

way

the question

you need

to ask

is this

what does

Jesus

think about

that kind

of stuff

what does

he think

about

this

therapeutic

gospel

I know

it's not

necessarily

easy to

talk about

but you

must be

aware of

it

because

it's

seductive

it can

tickle

your ears

and lead

you away

so we

must be

vigilant

about

these

things

now

we can't

be a church

who ignores

this kind

of stuff

or is

permissive

of these

things

thinking

that they're

not a

big deal

when Jesus

sees them

as big

deals

as

seductions

away from

him

we must

be

vigilant

now this

is quite a

criticism of

this church

that

they

tolerate

this woman

Jezebel

and probably

some of the

most

impressive

words in

it

are these

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

you can't

take

Jesus

lightly

our

God is a

consuming

fire

it's a

terrible

thing to

fall in

the hands

of the

living

God

you

must

take

to heart

what is

being said

here

he sees

into

your

depths

and he

is

intent

on

purifying

you

and

purifying

his

church

we

move

from

this

word

of

criticism

to

now

a

word

of

correction

in

verses

24

and

25

he

says

but

to

the

rest

of

you

in

the

the

teaching

as

these

others

hold

tell

to

the

teaching

of

this

Jezebel

who

have

not

learned

what

some

call

the

deep

things

of

Satan

they

haven't

bought

in

to

you

I

say

I

do

not

lay

on

any

other

burden

you

don't

need

to

know

anything

else

but

this

verse

25

only

hold

fast

hold

fast

hold

fast

what

you

have

until

I

come

and

we

have

to

ask

hold

fast

to

what

contextually

we've

been

talking

about

holding

to

false

doctrine

Jesus

is

saying

no

I

want

you

to

hold

fast

to

true

healthy

doctrine

the

teaching

that was

handed down

from the

apostles

and there's

no greater

summary of

that

than in

1st

Corinthians

15

verses

3 and

4

Paul

speaking to

the

Corinthian

church

summarizes

that

which is

of first

importance

I

delivered to

you as

of first

importance

what I

also

received

that

Christ

died

for

our

sins

in

accordance

with

the

scriptures

that

he

was

buried

that

he

was

raised

on

the

third

day

in

accordance

with

the

scriptures

that

is

what

we

as a

church

must

be

holding

on

to

this

is

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Christ

revealed

in

the

scriptures

and

the

response

is

uncompromised

devotion

to

Christ

not

compromise

of

Christ

this

gospel

this

true

gospel

is

what

we

must

hold

fast

to

and

the

more

familiar

you are

with

this

true

gospel

the

more

likely

we

will

be

able

to

sniff

out

false

gospels

do you

know

there's a

division

of the

secret

service

that is

devoted

to

detecting

and

exposing

counterfeit

currency

and do

you know

how

they train

agents

to

recognize

counterfeit

currency

they train

them on

the real

stuff

and so

if you

are a

agent

in this

division

and you

are responsible

for identifying

fake

$100 bills

you know

what this is

going to

mean

it's

going to

mean

this

you're

going to

know

what

a

$100

bill

a real

one

tastes

like

you're

going to

know

what a

real

$100

bill

it sounds

like

when you

crumple

you know

what it

smells

like

when it's

wet

and when

it's

dry

and when

it's

burning

you're

going to

know

its texture

its

feel

all throughout

that bill

and you're

going to

see

and memorize

the details

the color

the proportion

the location

of special

features

you will

be so

aware

of the

real

stuff

that you're

able to

spot the

fake stuff

a mile

away

the

primary

way

we're

going to

safeguard

Christ

the

King

Church

from

Jezebel

teaching

is by

being

intimately

acquainted

with

Jesus

teaching

the real

stuff

the true

gospel

that's

how we

are going

to

combat

this

cancer

that is

around

us

in our

culture

today

this

corrective

to hold

fast

to the

true

gospel

we hold

fast

until

he

comes

did

you

see

that

we

patiently

endure

looking

towards

his

promised

coming

and

it's

speaking

of

promise

that we

move

from

this

corrective

to

hold

fast

to

now

the

closing

call

we

see

that

in

verses

26

and

29

we

read

this

the

one

who

conquers

or

the

one

who

overcomes

and

who

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

earthen

pots

are

broken

in

pieces

even

as

I

myself

have

received

authority

from

my

father

and

I

will

give

him

the

morning

star

to

the

one

who

overcomes

to

the

one

who

is

growing

in

love

who

is

growing

in

faith

who

is

growing

in

service

who

is

growing

in

the

ability

to

endure

hardship

who

is

holding

fast

to

the

true

gospel

until

the

end

to

that

person

Jesus

makes

two

promises

to

him

I

will

give

authority

over

the

nations

and

he

will

rule

them

with

a

rod

of

iron

it's

back

to

Psalm

2

it's

back

to

Psalm

2

where

Jesus

is

saying

I

am

that

son

of

God

who

has

been

given

authority

over

all

the

nations

by

my

father

and

what

he's

saying

here

is

that

those

who

overcome

who

conquer

we

will

reign

with

him

we

will

be

a part

of

his

future

reign

when

he

comes

and

when

he

conquers

we

are

to

overcome

now

and

then

we

will

reign

with

him

then

that's

a

promise

for

us

to

bank

on

second

promise

is

in

verse

28

and

I

will

give

him

the

morning

star

the

morning

star

is

that

last

and

brightest

star

to

come

out

at

night

just

before

the

dawn

when

things

are

darkest

and

in

Revelation

22

16

Jesus

himself

calls

himself

the

bright

morning

star

and

so

what

Jesus

is

actually

promising

here

is

himself

to

us

you

stay

true

to

me

now

you

don't

be

seduced

you

don't

compromise

or

tolerate

compromise

and

I

promise

myself

to

you

I

promise

my

presence

you

will

see

me

face

to