11/1/2025 To the one

Revelation 2:26-28 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus speaking to the church of Thyatira here, the 4th of seven he addresses in the onset of the book of Revelation of Jesus. Thyatira contextually is located in Turkey. It was a city of many trades & Crafts. Metal working, fabric craftmanship were principally known as were guilds or unions. Much like it is today in some trades, if you do not belong to the union or guild you are shamed, your business suffers due to the bias against those who are not part of the union. Thyatira is known for dyes for fabrics & is centered in a strong hub for trade routes in a valley. This area was prone to idol worship, Apollo in particular.

The union is led by a woman, here named Jezebell which historically is not a good name. Her charms were to deceive through cultural bias that is not sound theology in Christianity & focus on your corporate economic goals. She brought in this cultural practice of idol worship which here is associated with the sun. It is most worthy of note that the very name Thyatira means, “Dominating Female.” To combine worship of the sun with the proper understanding of the Son of God is ridiculous. Now understand this, this is a person of high acclaim & cultural influence.

Apollo was the sun god, and the next in power to his father, Zeus. He was known as the “averter of evil”; he presided over religious law and expiation (means of atonement, making amends for wrong-doing or guilt). Plato said of him, “He explains to men the institution of temples, sacrifices and services to deities, besides rites connected with death and after life.” He communicated his knowledge of “the future” and his “father’s will” to men through the prophets and oracles. In Thyatira this ritual was conducted by a prophetess who sat on a tripod chair and delivered the messages while entranced.

The hold of this religion was remarkable. Its formidable power did not lie exclusively in the realm of mystery but lay in the fact no one could belong to the guilds which offered the people their living unless they belonged to the temple worship of Apollo. Anyone who refused to join in the idolatrous feasts and licentious orgies was barred from these first century unions. In order to be a part of the social and commercial life one had to be a practicing pagan idolater.

Cultural sway is nothing new to the modern church. We have seen many denominations, buckle to become seeker sensitive & lower the standards by which the church is to operate by. There are movements to lock onto social narratives & build unity on those narratives that are not scriptural. The unifying aspect to us all is we all need a savior; we are all fallen. The world, the country, the state, your community, all of us are corrupted & cannot measure up to the standard of God without accepting the solution of the gift of the covering of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So idol worship is not new to the church, it is a tool of the devil to sway those into the lure of deception.

Jesus speaks to those in the area but let it be known the church he is calling to is not like you may think. The church is an assembly, of people who have in common they follow Jesus, saved by his blood. It was not listed as church until the 1600’s when translators changed the wording to reflect the tradition, not the actual meaning.

There is a process here for how and what Jesus is addressing. The preface for this part of the series is that it is to the one, as in individual, because the choice is individual. For those who have accepted the blood sacrifice of Jesus & submit to him, the Holy Spirit’s leading & counsel. Is this you?

Jesus sounds like he is speaking here of himself, in actuality he is addressing those who have not been swayed by cultural sways as and has overcome. He is the one who is victorious doing the Father’s will to the end.

You are not victorious over getting over your enemies, you are not victorious in life by your level on the corporate world, or your measure of followers on social media. You are not victorious with your possessions of your network & influence. You are victorious with your commitment to Jesus and carrying out his will. John 14:23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Many have bought into the myth of what seeker sensitive preachers are peddling to up the revenue of their churches, in that Christianity is the easy life. Atheists call it a crutch; agnostics believe that it is a manner to somehow detour the conflicts & struggle of life. Those of us who are committed, allegiant to the truth & hope of the gospel know otherwise, walking the Christian walk is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life because you submit control to the Hand of the Sovereign God who will lead you to the gates of hell, but he will not leave you there even when if feels like he has.

He is coming back you know. This promise upon the return, the return the script gets flipped, the world is turned right side up. Justice, integrity, righteousness reigns. We no longer will have people in charge who do not abandon the ways of God, who sell out for money, who are not driven to kill. No we are going to serve the King of kings & operate in his righteousness, by his authority. To the one who clings to the truth of Christ & does not buckle a knee to the lure of the culture, you will be victorious!