The Seduction of Jezebel

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

For those of you who are new, my name is Sean.

I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

And it's my joy and honor to preach God's Word to you.

We are in a series in the book of Revelation.

We're in Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

This is why you turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, if you raise your hand,

we'd love to bring you a copy of the Bible that you can have.

And Revelation is the last book in the Bible.

Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 to 29.

Revelation 2:18–29

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, as you always do when we gather in your name,

we know that you are present here in your Spirit.

And we also ask that by your Word,

now you address us

and enlarge our vision of Jesus, your Son,

so that in light of your glory and his greatness and his might,

we are humbled

and people seem small in comparison

so that we do not fear them,

but we fear you.

remind us of your holiness this morning,

but also remind us

of your mercy

and your grace.

in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are willing and able,

please stand and join me in the reading of God's Word.

I'll read it out loud.

Revelation 2,

18 to 29.

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,

the words of the sons of God,

who has eyes like a flame of fire

and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

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 to eat food sacrificed to idols.

I gave her time to repent,

but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

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.

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.

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.

Only hold fast what you have

until I come.

The one who conquers

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.

He who has an ear,

let him hear

what the Spirit says

to the churches.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

In C.S. Lewis' book,

The Silver Chair,

which is part of

the Chronicles of Narnia series,

the friends of Aslan,

Eustace Scrubb,

Jill Pohl,

and Puddleglum

meet the Lady of the Green Kirtle,

also known as

the Queen of the Deep Realm,

which,

while they're on their mission

to find Prince Rillian,

who has been lost,

who is the rightful heir

to the throne of Narnia,

and when they first meet

the Lady of the Green Kirtle,

it says that she was riding

side saddle

on a beautiful white horse.

That horse itself

was so lovely

that it says

it made you want

to give it a lump

of sugar at once.

But in the description,

it says,

but the lady

who wore a long,

fluttering dress

of dazzling green

was lovelier still.

Her voice

was as sweet

as the sweetest bird's song.

This is,

I'm quoting C.S. Lewis here.

Her laughter

was the richest,

most musical laugh

you can imagine.

The Lady of the Green Kirtle,

however,

is no sweet lady.

She directs

these three friends

of Aslan

to the giant's castle,

Harfang,

for an autumn feast,

like the fall festival

we had yesterday,

and tempted

by the rich fare

of an autumn feast

with the giants,

they go to Harfang

not knowing

that the specialty

that these giants eat

at this autumn feast

is what they call

man pies

and that these friends

will become the meal

and that's where

the Lady of the Green Kirtle

sent them.

She's also the one

who has put

Prince Rillian

under a spell

and has kidnapped him

and is now ruling

the underground,

the Deep Realm,

where she is mobilizing

an army of gnomes

with which to make war

against Aslan

and against Narnia.

And that's why she's called

the Queen of the Deep Realm.

So this seductive,

beautiful lady

turns out to be

this Queen of the Deep Realm

and her true identity

is revealed

in dramatic fashion

toward the end of the book

when the long green train

of her dress

kind of wraps around her

and thickens

into this solid green pillar

and her facial features

all disappear

except for her eyes

and then she takes on

quote,

the loathsome body

of a great serpent

as green as poison.

Her loveliness

is exposed

to be a loathsome body

that it really is

and her dazzling green

is exposed

as the poisonous green

that it really is.

In this letter

to the angel

of the church

in Thyatira,

we see that

an otherwise

very healthy church

is facing the threat

of a false prophetess

who is teaching

and seducing

Christ's servants

to practice

sexual immorality

and to eat food

sacrificed to idols.

Rather than overt

persecution

like some other churches

were facing

or political oppression,

the church in Thyatira

is suffering more

from seduction

of false teachers

similar to the church

in Pergamum

and sometimes

this kind of evil

is harder to deal with

because it's from

an insider

rather than an outsider

because it's so seductive

and enticing.

It takes discerning eyes

to see the lady

of the green curdle

for who she really is,

a green serpent.

And that's what

this passage is seeking

to accomplish

in our lives,

to enable us

to see evil

disguised as good

through the eyes

of Christ

because Christ has eyes

like flame of fire

and he's the one

who searches

mind and heart.

And that's the main point

of our passage,

remembering Jesus'

eyes of fire.

We must keep

the works of Christ

and not tolerate

sexual immorality

and idolatry

in our midst.

I'm going to talk

in turn about

the authority

of the Son of God

and then the adultery

of the children

of Jezebel

and the award

for the servants

of Christ

to persevere

to the end.

First, let's look

at the authority

of the Son of God

in verse 18.

Once again,

as we have seen

if you've been with us

in this series,

as Jesus does

in every letter

to every church,

Jesus introduces himself

with an aspect

of the glorious vision

of him

in earlier chapter 1,

verses 12 to 16.

And he takes

an aspect of that

that's most pertinent

to this particular church

and introduces himself

that way.

And because the church

in Thyatira

is being seduced

by a false prophetess

into sexual immorality

and idolatry,

Jesus emphasizes

his discernment

and his authority

to judge

in verse 18.

The words

of the Son of God

who has eyes

like a flame of fire

and whose feet

are like burnished bronze.

His eyes

were like a flame

of fire.

So fire is often

a symbol

of judgment

and discernment.

At a refinery,

workers subject

various metals

to the flames

so they can burn

off the dross

and isolate

the precious metals

so that it can be

used in some way.

Sometimes we describe

people that we know

as, oh,

that guy

or that woman

has piercing eyes.

And by that,

we mean that they have,

I mean,

it could just be

a description of the appearance,

but usually we mean

that they have eyes

that seem to look through

that they can see

inside you.

Jesus' eyes

are like that,

but it's not just

an appearance.

He has eyes

like a flame of fire.

He has all-seeing eyes

with which

he searches

mind and heart.

As it says

in verse 23.

That means

nobody can dupe him,

nobody can get past him,

no one can trick him,

no sinner

can hide

from his infallible judgment.

And his feet

are like burnished bronze.

This is an allusion

to Daniel's vision

of the Son of Man

in Daniel 10.6.

So refined,

polished bronze,

burnished bronze

is glossy

and it gleams,

it's shiny

and because of its purity.

And Jesus,

so Jesus has no impurity

in him

like bronze

refined in a furnace.

Bronze is also

the hardest

of the three precious metals

most commonly used

in the ancient world,

gold,

silver,

and bronze.

And so imagine

feet like burnished bronze,

pure and gleaming

and hard,

just crushing

these brittle rocks

underneath.

I think,

I was trying to think

of an illustration

for this.

I once made the mistake

of using the flat side

of a meat pounder,

is that what that's called?

To crush garlic.

And it was,

it's not that it didn't work,

it just worked too well.

And I just hit it once

and then it was like,

it just,

it was disintegrated

into smithereens

and it splattered

all over the kitchen.

So I've never done that again.

But that's the effect

of having something

so powerful

and strong

like burnished feet,

feet of burnished bronze

just walking over

and crushing

the enemies of Christ

underneath.

That's Christ's

authority and power.

So this vision of Jesus

with eyes like a flame of fire

and feet like burnished bronze

is important

because it keeps us,

when we have this

glorious vision of Jesus,

it protects us

and it keeps us

from being deceived

by the enemy

into thinking that

sins can be tolerated

and hidden.

Oh, Jesus doesn't see.

Oh, Jesus doesn't care.

It also keeps us

from believing

the lies of the enemy

that Jesus will not

come to judge

because he will

come to judge

those who oppose him

with feet like

burnished bronze.

If you live before

the all-seeing eyes

of Christ,

then you do not have

to fear

the peering eyes

of man

and their fallible

judgment of you,

their fallible opinion

and estimation

of you

because you care

about what Jesus thinks

because he sees everything.

And if you live

in light of a glorious

view of Jesus

who has feet

of burnished bronze,

like burnished bronze,

then you do not

have to fear men

and what they can do

to you.

You don't have to fear

the schoolhouse bullies

or the academic

or professional

power brokers

or the governmental

powers that be

that might marginalize you,

demote you,

or crush you

because you see

that Christ

is more powerful

and you care more

about what he thinks.

So all of these

descriptions are taken

directly from the

glorious vision of Jesus

in Revelation 1

except for one detail

and that detail

is significant.

It says in verse 18,

the words of the

Son of God.

That title,

the Son of God,

is not from Revelation 1.

That's from Psalm 2

where God says

to his appointed king,

and we read that

earlier

as our cult worship,

to the messianic king

that God has appointed,

he says to him,

you are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

Ultimately,

it's a prophetic word

that points to Jesus

who is God's only

begotten son.

And this biblically

allusion to Psalm 2

is confirmed later

by verses 26 to 27

which directly references

a part of Psalm 2.

He quotes verses 8 and 9.

And it speaks of how

God gives authority

over the nations

to this messianic king

to rule with the rod of iron.

So by declaring himself

to be the Son of God,

Jesus is identifying himself

as the messianic king

from the royal line

of David.

He is the rightful heir

to the throne

established by God himself.

He is the only begotten Son.

And this is also significant

in light of the historical context

because it's a polemic

against the claims

of the political pretenders

of the Roman Empire.

Ever since Julius Caesar

formally declared himself

the divine Julius

in 42 BC,

his adopted son Octavian,

better known as Augustus,

style himself

as the son of the God.

A letter that Augustus wrote

to the magistrates of Sardis

has been preserved

and in it he begins

the letter Imperator Caesar,

son of the God,

Augustus,

Pontifex Maximus.

Presumptuous title.

But Caesar Augustus

is only a counterfeit

because Jesus is the true king

and he is the true emperor.

Jesus is the true son of God

and Jesus is the true

Pontifex Maximus,

which means supreme pontiff

or the chief high priest.

Christ.

So this is a comfort

to the suffering believers

who are facing

idolatry and immorality

of the Roman Empire

and feeling political pressure

from their surroundings

and from the political authorities.

It's a reminder

that Jesus is the true king.

He is the true son of God,

so do not fear.

And it says in verse 27,

Jesus received authority

from God the Father.

So don't fear

when Caesars

or presidents

or dictators

try to stamp you out

for your allegiance to Jesus

because all authority

in heaven and on earth

has been given to Jesus

and he has eyes

like a flame of fire

and feet like burnished bronze.

So hold fast to your faith

and persevere

even unto death

and conquer

as Christians.

That's the exhortation.

Having looked at the authority

of the Son of God,

let's not turn to the adultery

of the children of Jezebel

in verses 19 to 25.

But before Jesus critiques

this church,

he graciously commends them

for their good works

in verse 19.

I know your works,

your love

and faith

and service

and patient endurance

and that your latter works

exceed the first.

The word works

is used once

at the beginning

and once at the end

of the verse

and it seems to be

a summary term

for everything in between.

So the works

that the church

in Thyatira

was doing

includes

their love

and faith

and service

and patient endurance.

So here in this passage,

unlike some other parts

of the New Testament,

the works are not

being contrasted

with faith

as it's rather

being used

in a more general sense

to refer to the totality

of Christian faithfulness.

This is confirmed

by what Jesus said

to the church

in Ephesus

earlier in chapter 2.

He also said to them,

I know your works

and commended them.

But then he added,

but I have this against you

that you have abandoned

the love you had

at first.

So in light of that evaluation

for the church

in Ephesus,

Jesus' exhortation

to them,

the church in Ephesus

in verse 5,

was repent

and do the works

you did at first.

So recovering

the love they had

at first

involved doing

the works

they did at first.

So you can see

that these two things

are related.

So then here,

for the church

in Thyatira,

the works that they are doing

includes the love

and faith

and service

and patient endurance.

They're doing

all of these things.

Unlike the church

in Ephesus

who did those things

at first

but were no longer

doing those works,

had lost sight

of their first love,

the love that they had

at first for Jesus.

This church,

the church in Thyatira,

their latter works,

it says,

exceed the first.

They're not waning

in their zeal.

They're waxing

in their zeal.

They're doing more.

They're loving

one another more.

They're loving

their neighbors more.

They're serving more.

They're patiently

enduring more.

They're living by faith

and not by sight

and they're serving

each other

with generosity

and sacrifice.

They're patiently

bearing witness

to Jesus

in a hostile world.

So many wonderful

things that they're doing

and they're being commended

for and it's such a

heartening

and encouraging thing

that Jesus knows

our works.

Every good thing

you do,

Jesus sees.

Everything you do

in his service,

Jesus knows.

He doesn't need to.

He doesn't have to

pay attention.

He's the king.

We all should still

be serving him

whether he sees it

or not,

but he sees everything.

I know your works

and I pray that we

as a church

can one day hear

these commendations

from the Lord

like the church

in Thyatira.

Unfortunately,

however,

there was still

one glaring fault

with the church

in Thyatira.

Jesus says in verse 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.

This is very similar

to the church

in Pergamum.

Remember,

they were tolerating

the teaching

of the Nicolaitans

who were also

teaching that

sexual immorality

and idolatry feasts

are okay for Christians

to participate in.

And Thyatira

boasted

a number of large,

a large number

rather,

of Roman trade guilds.

And I mentioned

to you a few weeks ago

that Roman trade guilds,

these were like

economic kind of societies

and they got together

and usually they had feasts

where they would

make sacrifices

to the Roman gods

and to the Roman emperor

and they would

use that context

to network

and make connections

and try to,

you know,

ingratiate yourself

to people in power

so you can get promotions.

And also during those times

people drank heavily

and as is often the case

in places where people

drink heavily

there was a lot

of sexual promiscuity.

It was,

historians record

that often these things

devolved into orgies.

And there would have been

for Christians

because Roman religion

and politics

and economy

are all intricately related,

there would have been

tremendous pressure

for Christians

economically

and politically

and culturally

and religiously

to participate

in these feasts.

And some people

like Nicolaitans

in Pergamum

and Jezebel

in Thyatira

were telling Christians

it's okay.

It's not a big deal.

You can be loyal

to Christ

and still do these things.

Now,

I don't think

Jezebel

is her real name.

Why would you ever

name your child

Jezebel?

Right?

No Jew

would name

their child

Jezebel.

And no Christian

would either.

In the same way

the Nicolaitans

were figuratively

compared to Balaam

earlier in this chapter.

I think the false

prophetess of Thyatira

is being figuratively

identified as Jezebel

from the Old Testament.

Let me give you

some background

on Jezebel

in case some of you

are not familiar.

1st Kings 1631

tells us that

the Israelite king

Ahab married

Jezebel

the daughter of

Ethbaal

king of the Sidonians.

The name Ethbaal

means there is Baal

and the Canaanite

god of rain,

storm and life.

And the name Jezebel

means where is the prince?

And that's an allusion

to a mythical story

about Baal.

And so you can just

tell from the names

that both Ethbaal

and his daughter Jezebel

are loyal

and devout

worshippers

of Baal.

But Israelite king Ahab

marries Jezebel

which he wasn't

supposed to do

in the first place

because she's not

a follower of Yahweh

of the one true God.

What follows

in 1st Kings 1631

is not therefore surprising.

It says Ahab took

for his wife Jezebel

the daughter of Ethbaal

king of the Sidonians

and went and served

Baal

and worshipped him.

In fact their idolatry

got so bad

that it says

in 1st Kings 21-25

there was none

who sold himself

to do what was evil

in the sight of the Lord

like Ahab

whom Jezebel

his wife

incited.

So in God's estimation

Ahab

did more evil

in Israel

at that point

than anyone else

in the history of Israel.

And Jezebel

his wife

was a big part of that.

Ahab and Jezebel

were like Satan's

power couple

in the Old Testament.

According to

1st Kings 18-9

450 prophets

of Baal

and 400 prophets

of Asherah

that's another

pagan religion

all ate

at Jezebel's table

meaning Jezebel

is personally

providing for

these false prophets.

She's their patron

and supporter

sponsor.

She's the one

who killed

the prophets

of the Lord.

She's the one

who breathing murder

drove out

God's prophet

Elijah

out of town.

She's also the one

who arranges

for the murder

of an innocent man

named Naboth

so that her husband

Ahab can claim

his lucrative vineyard.

She was so thoroughly

wicked

that the Lord

said of her

that dogs

shall eat Jezebel

within the walls

of Jezreel.

And indeed

that happened.

She was thrown out

of the tower

of Jezreel

by her eunuchs.

Her blood splattered

on the wall

and the horses

trampled her

and then the dogs

came and ate her

so that nothing

remained of her

except for skull

and the feet

and the palms

of her feet.

That's what the Bible

tells us about Jezebel.

That's Jezebel.

No wonder her name

is synonymous

with a wicked woman

in the Bible.

With all of that

background in mind

you can see

that it's a very

serious accusation

to identify

anyone with Jezebel.

And yet Jesus here

does not hesitate

to identify

this false prophetess

with Jezebel

because it says

in verse 20

she calls herself

a prophetess

and is teaching

and seducing

my servants

to practice

sexual immorality

and to eat

food sacrificed

to idols.

This is

kind of unrelated

but this is proof

that New Testament

Church did have

prophets

and prophetesses

and I think

that's a good thing.

The prophecy itself

is not the problem.

It's a false prophecy.

That's the problem.

And note how

he says

she calls herself

a prophetess.

Jesus doesn't

call her a prophetess.

She calls herself

that.

And she is teaching

and seducing

my servants

Jesus says.

They are Jesus'

servants.

They belong to him

but instead

she is leading

them astray

and seducing

them into

sexual immorality

to eat food

sacrificed

to idols

and that's how

we know

that she is

a false prophet

because the spirit

of God

never contradicts

the word

of God.

So if you claim

to prophesy

by the Holy Spirit

and then you tell

people in your

prophecy

to tell people

to do what

contradicts scripture

then you're a

false prophet.

So Jesus doesn't

hesitate to call

her Jezebel.

He says

and then Jesus

rebukes the church

for tolerating

that woman Jezebel.

tolerance

has been a buzzword

in our culture

for some decades

now

and its meaning

has morphed

radically

and an older

view

of tolerance

said in essence

I disagree

with you

but you have

the right

to your own

beliefs

and I'm not

going to coerce

you into believing

the same thing

that I believe.

That's what tolerance

used to me.

Nowadays

however it means

more like

your view

is equally valid

as mine.

You're right

and I'm right.

Neither of us is wrong.

We're all right.

That's what tolerance

often means

nowadays

in a kind of

relativistic

postmodern manner.

But that's not

tolerance

because when you

tolerate something

it assumes

that you disagree

to a degree

with that person.

So imagine

if I

I got this analogy

from I think

Michael Ramson

somewhere

imagine if I went

over to you guys

house for dinner

and you guys

served me dinner

and you said

hey how was the food?

And I said

the food

food was tolerable.

That'd be offensive

because

if it's tolerable

that means

like I

I'm not really

happy with it.

I'm just tolerating it.

I just

I found it

disagreeable.

That's what that means

but you know

I'm going to

stomach it.

And so

tolerance

assumes

a level

of disagreement

but the new

notion of tolerance

in vogue

nowadays says

no your view

is just as valid

as mine.

Your opinion

is just as valid

as mine.

You know

we all have

nobody's wrong.

As someone

has paraphrased

G.K. Chesterton

saying in his book

Heretics

tolerance

is the virtue

of the man

without convictions.

where tolerance

is the attitude

of those

who do not

believe in anything.

Not the old

kind of tolerance

the new

kind of tolerance.

I remember

that my college

chapel

had replaced

a cross

in the chapel

with this

ornate

tapestry

that had symbols

of all

conceivable

religions

on it

and had it

right front

and center

at the chapel.

But a true Jew

cannot worship

in front of that

and a true Muslim

cannot worship

in front of that

and certainly

a true Christian

cannot worship

in front of that

because they

actually believe

something.

And that tapestry

essentially

reified

pluralism

and claimed

that every religion

is equally valid

which most

faithful adherents

of world's religions

cannot accept.

That kind of

pluralism

or that kind

of tolerance

is actually

inherently

intolerant

because it

refuses to

tolerate anyone

who says

of other religions

your religion

is false.

In this kind

of confused

world

Christians

are often

accused

of intolerance

and denounced

as bigoted

because of

our claim

that Jesus

is the

way

and the

truth

and the

life

and that

no one

comes to

the Father

except through

him.

because of

our claim

that Christian

ethics

including

sexual

ethics

is superior

to the

prevailing

ethics

of our

culture.

We get

called

bigoted.

But sexual

immorality

no matter

how it

gets dressed

up in

our culture

is wicked

and we

must not

tolerate

that in

our midst.

I'm not

saying that

as Christians

we need

to be

moral

polices

with all

of our

non-Christian

neighbors.

That's not

what I'm

saying.

Paul says

clearly

in 1 Corinthians

5

I wrote

to you

in my

letter

not to

associate

with

sexually

immoral

people.

Not at

all

meaning

the

sexually

immoral

of this

world

or the

greedy

and

swindlers

or

idolaters

since then

you would

need to

go out

of the

world.

But now

I am

writing

to you

not to

associate

with

anyone

who

bears

the

name

of

brother

or

sister

in

Christ

if he

is

guilty

of

sexual

immorality

or greed

or is

an

idolater

reviler

drunkard

or

swindler

not even

to eat

with

such

a

one.

For

why do

you

judging

outsiders?

Is it

not

those

inside

the

church

whom

you

are

to

judge?

God

judges

those

outside

purge

the

evil

person

from

among

you.

It's

not

our

business

to

judge

those

who

are

outside

the

church.

So

we

can

say

to

them

hey

I

disagree

with

you

I

think

your

beliefs

and

your

ethics

are

gravely

mistaken

and

spiritually

perilous

but

I'm

not

going

to

force

you

to

believe

what

I

believe

and

I

can't

force

you

to

behave

the

way

I

think

you

should

behave.

That's

what

tolerance

is.

That's

tolerance.

But

we

don't

judge

those

who

are

outside.

God

will

judge

those

who

are

outside.

However

it

is

our

business

to

judge

those

who

are

inside

the

church

because

they

are

Christians

but

not

living

like

Christians

and

they

are

refusing

to

repent

when

we

speak

the

truth

and

love

to

them

and

gently

confront

them

and

say

no

you

need

to

repent

of

your

sins

and

they

refuse

to

repent

then

it

is

the

church's

duty

to

dissociate

from

them

to

defend

the

honor

of

Christ

to

preserve

the

purity

of

the

church

and

to

protect

the

integrity

and

credibility

of

our

witness

as

Christians

to

the

world

whenever

I

speak

of

this

issue

of

church

discipline

there

are

inevitably

some

people

who

tend

to

be

very

compassionate

which

is

good

and

empathetic

and

they

say

well

that's

so

harsh

have

you

considered

the

feelings

of

those

people

but

I

want

to

ask

have

you

considered

the

feelings

of

Christ

verse

22

describes

idolatry

and

sexual

immorality

as

spiritual

adultery

committing

adultery

against

Jesus

our

bridegroom

Jesus

is the

victim

of

such

adultery

imagine

that

your

friend's

wife

just

committed

adultery

against

your

friend

and

she

is

not

repentant

right

she's

insisting

on

staying

in

an

open

marriage

let's

just

keep

an

open

marriage

because

I

want

to

keep

doing

this

and

your

friend

is

heart

broken

he's

crushed

and

he

thinks

well

that's

I

can't

do

that

I

can't

submit

myself

to

such

an

arrangement

that's

tempted

him

out

to

asking

for

divorce

would

you

go to

your

friend

and

say

well

hey

just

be

a

little

more

tolerant

of

your

wife

so

harsh

to

your

wife

love

to

no

we

wouldn't

do

that

to

our

friend

then

why

would

we

do

to

Jesus

what

about

Jesus

reputation

what

about

Jesus

honor

what

about

Jesus

value

what

about

Jesus

holiness

what

does

Jesus

deserve

better

than

that

that's

why

we

have

to

be

pure

that's

why

we

cultivate

holiness

in the

church

because

the

church

is the

bride

of

Christ

and

adultery

cannot

be

tolerated

in

the

church

that

is

the

bride

of

Christ

but

one

of

the

reasons

why

the

Jezebels

of our

world

are so

seductive

is

that

they

have

a

semblance

of

legitimacy

remember

she

calls

herself

a

prophetess

the

Jezebel

of

the

Old

Testament

also

had

a lot

of

influence

and

power

and

legitimacy

because

after

all

she

was

a

queen

well

if

the

queen

says

worshipping

Baal

is

okay

and

all

these

Baal

prophets

are

eating

at

her

table

then

maybe

it's

not

so

bad

maybe

it's

okay

maybe

it really

is

okay

for us

to

participate

in

his

idolatrous

feasts

isn't

she

a

prophetess

didn't

she

speak

prophetic

words

of

penetrating

insight

in the

past

powerful

prophecies