I want to continue the series I have been doing looking at the seven churches in the book of Revelation. So far we’ve seen Christ address Ephesus where He talked about losing your first love, Smyrna where He commended them for enduring suffering with patience, and Pergamum where Jesus demanded they turn away from false teaching.
The next church is similar to the last, and because it has the longest discourse, I am going to concentrate on a few specific areas today, relevant to us as modern Ch...
I want to continue the series I have been doing looking at the seven churches in the book of Revelation. So far we’ve seen Christ address Ephesus where He talked about losing your first love, Smyrna where He commended them for enduring suffering with patience, and Pergamum where Jesus demanded they turn away from false teaching.
The next church is similar to the last, and because it has the longest discourse, I am going to concentrate on a few specific areas today, relevant to us as modern Christians.
Revelation 2:19-24 (ESV Strong's)
“‘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.
We could pursue a number of ideas here, but surprisingly today, I want to explore 2 aspects of the passage… tolerating and the question of prophecy in the Church. Is it still valid today, if so, how do we pick the false prophetic words from the real, and how can we as a Church encourage the true gift of prophecy in a way that is powerful makes sense and is not weird, screwy or bizarre?
This is worth exploring, because as a pastor I have many prophetic words given to me by a variety of people. Many of them I know and trust. Some of them, I have very little reason to trust, or I have no idea who they are, yet apparently God has given them a word for me.
The so called gift of prophecy is often misused by people to manipulate a situation to get what they want.
But first, let’s talk briefly about tolerance…
TOLERANCE- WHEN DOING NOTHING IS DOING SOMETHING
The first thing that strikes me about this passage is verse 19, where Jesus says that He say this against them, that they tolerate this evil woman Jezebel. So before we look at her, and prophets in general, make sure you see the big picture… this Church is not bad, it is not cold, it is not backsliding, in fact half of the Church is commended. The big issue is that they tolerate evil.
This has never been more evident in the church in Australia than right now. In the recent vote, I was not surprised by militant gay people wanting to hijack the word marriage, I was not even surprised by the incredibly biased media in this country. But I was stunned that Christian churches came out in support of what is clearly a non Biblical idea.
Edmund Burton once famously said, “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” And he was right!
Some church leaders actually believe that this vote was about giving the poor homosexual community a fair go. Problem is, to do this they are prepared to throw out Romans 1:24,26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:9-10 plus numerous references throughout the OT and just use John 3:16, For God so loved the world.
I’m not mad that the no vote lost, I expected it. I’m not going to let my head drop because the country made a bad choice, because I see this not as a disaster, but as the greatest opportunity for the Church of God to stand tall and proclaim truth and shine when all around is dark! I’m believing that the persecution we now face will see revival in this nation.
But what I am most upset about is the compromise from church leaders in the name of peace and tolerance! Listen, if we as believers are actually going to make a difference, we have to stand for what is Biblical and right, and never waver or compromise…
1 Peter 4:17 (ESV Strong's)
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
So let me say it again: I do not believe, regardless of what they legislate, that same sex marriage is a marriage in the sight of God. I also believe, regardless of what the media might say, that God created us male and female and He does not make mistakes. You can add bits, you can chop bits off, but at the end of the day you are XX or XY.
However, I also believe that God loves gays and transgenders, and therefore I also will love them. I don’t agree, but we need to separate agreement and unconditional love. I have gay friends, I love them but I don’t agree with them. I have transgendering people I know, my love for them is unconditional, but I do not agree with them.
The Church in Australia is under the secular spotlight like never before, and some of our brothers believe compromise is the way to go. You might fashion a social argument for this action, but not a Biblical one! If you believe God, and believe in what we have always known as the family, the answer to the greatest social attack in our history is not to compromise and tolerate sin for the sake of popularity or public opinion.
The only thing standing between Australia and total disaster and destruction is those who choose to stand in the gap for their people. We must never compromise in loving gay and transgender friends, but we must also never compromise on the truth.
Ezekiel 22:30 (ESV Strong's)
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Let judgment start with the house of God, and let God find more than one to stand for what is right in this church!
YOU JEZEBEL!
So while Christ commended this church for their love, faith and service, and also their patient endurance, He had some scathing things to say.
Thyatira was 30 miles inland from Pergamum, and was not a city as such but a military outpost, guarding a main road. However, it was famous for wool and dyes, and had the same set up with pagan guilds. Remember, if Christians did not acknowledge Caesar as Lord, they were excluded from the guilds and therefore could not make a living.
These believers were asked to count the cost of calling Jesus Lord, and it cost them in many ways, financially especially. They stood firm on this big issue, but look what Jesus says to them…
The crisis here in this church revolves around one particular lady, referred to here as Jezebel.
When we call someone a Jezebel, we are implying that they are using sex to lure men away from the right path, but this summation is only partially true. Jezebel, probably not her real name, was a self proclaimed prophetess, and this description of her is based on her namesake from the Old Testament, so let’s look back at her…
1 Kings 16:31 (ESV)
he (Ahab) took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
From the first mention to the last, Jezebel was a nasty piece of work. She invited her husband and indeed the whole northern kingdom to leave worshipping God and start worshipping Baal, a demonic God. She was a murderess, and used sex and control to manipulate her weak husband Ahab and corrupt the entire country. Even to the end, where we read…
1 Kings 21:25 (ESV)
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 when Jezebel is mentioned here, it harps back the the Jezebel of old, a scheming, cunning, evil woman who used sex and control to manipulate others, and called it prophecy and the voice of God.
The Thyatira church’s sin was not that they were evil, but that they tolerated evil! And they tolerated a false prophetic voice within their church. We have many prophetic people in our church, and I cannot think of one of the current crop who is a false prophet. But when you have a vibrant, alive, Spirit filled church like Ignite, sooner or later you will attract some crazies, so you would want to know that your pastor and leadership are vigilant and on guard against falsity, right?
WHAT DOES FALSE PROPHECY LOOK LIKE?
Prophecy is simply delivering the words of God, and it can happen using visions, dreams, prophetic words or even actions. I want to hear what the Lord is saying to us, don’t you?
There are very few gifts that have caused more pain, more separation and more destruction in churches that the gift of prophecy. Most pastors I know refuse to give prophetically gifted people any scope at all. So does this mean that we throw the whole gift away?
No! I believe that God has a prophetic voice to His people today. In fact, while some people might have a prophetic anointing, I also believe that all of us can hear God if we truly draw close to Him. Hearing the voice of God is not the exclusive domain of so called prophets, but many people with a prophetic gift bring great blessing to this church every week.
In Revelation, this self appointed prophetess, a woman equated with the OT Jezebel, used sex and the temptation to eat the wrong foods to control and manipulate they Church.
And today, I have witnessed many times so called prophets delivering messages that they claim are from God, but are really attempts to manipulate a situation to suit themselves. We must be on our guard, because if we genuinely want to hear God we are also open to this abuse.
These people have an opinion, but instead of stating their opinion, they use words like, “God told me, God showed me, and Thus saith the Lord.” If someone claims God told them something, that negates your right of reply, because who are you to go against God.
The gift of prophecy is still valid today, but I want to have a look at what is genuine prophecy, what is the flesh and how we can still be blessed by this ministry while including safeguards against falsehood.
The gift of prophecy is a legitimate gift, and one of the possible gifts of the Spirit (201), so if we write this gift off entirely as many churches do, we miss out on tremendous blessing. But how can we as believers pick the real deal?
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV Strong's)
but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Here’s some of the warning signs to look for in people who claim to have a prophetic gift?
1. THEY ATTRACT DEVOTED FOLLOWERS
In Revelation Jesus says…
Revelation 2:21-23 (ESV Strong's)
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.
False prophets have children. They have a band of disciples and tend to gather people willing to be manipulated. It happened with Charles Manson and Jim Jones, and it also happens in the church today. I have seen prophets, genuine and otherwise, gather a travelling band of ardent believers that follow like groupies as they move around.
And most of the prophetic groupies I’ve ever seen are not an integral part of any local church. They are consumers, wanting the good things of God but giving nothing to the church or to others. Most are too busy chasing what they think is God to connect with a local group of believers, and actually be used by God to make a difference in this world!
2. THEY CHASE SIGNS
Signs and wonders are often seen in Church. These things are not dead, for we serve a living God. Jesus and the apostles in Acts frequently saw signs and wonders, which included healings, miracles and other wonderful events.
Hebrews 2:4 (ESV Strong's)
while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Prophetic words are often one of those miracles. But some prophetically inclined people come up with all sorts of so called signs and wonders, including gold dust or diamonds falling, coins sticking to walls, gold appearing in teeth or angel feathers falling from the sky. Here’s my problem… none of this is in the Bible!
And what’s more, people search for and almost lust after these kinds of tacky signs thinking it’s God. Listen to what Jesus said when the religious leaders demanded a sign…
Matthew 12:38-39 (ESV Strong's)
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
And in case you don’t get this, Jesus later says this…
Mark 13:22 (ESV Strong's)
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
I believe in the miraculous and I too want to see signs and wonders in our church, but I would rather see salvation, healings and God’s provision than cheap parlour tricks!
3. THEY CLAIM SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE
The early Church was plagued by Gnosticism, a heresy directly attacked by Jesus in the passage of Revelation we read. Gnostics claimed to have “secret revelation”, and if they were challenged by anybody their position was, “Well I can hear God and you can’t, so you need to listen to me!”
This is why Jesus said,
Revelation 2:24-25 (ESV Strong's)
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.
False prophets claim to have special, insider knowledge, that they hear God better and more accurately than others, and there is no humility here! I’ve had prophetic people claim to be the eyes and ears of God, I’ve had people tell me that I am not hearing God because I disagreed with what they think God is saying. This is simply humility, not servanthood and it’s not right!
If we listen we can all hear God, and the most effective prophecy I have received in this church has confirmed what God has already said to me personally, because I believe I can hear God too. Beware of people claiming secret or superior knowledge. God says,
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV Strong's)
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
4. THEY DISENGAGE FROM THE CHURCH
False prophets are rarely an integral part of any church. I have seen people who think they have a prophetic gift disengage from church, pull away from people, pull out of teams and become lone wolfs, answering only to themselves or a select group of like minded people.
1 Corinthians 14:3 (ESV Strong's)
On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
If prophecy is a gift given to edify others in the church, how can you do this if you disengage from church? True prophetic anointing serves the church, is submitted to the church and edifies the people in the Church, just like teaching, worship leading, helps to mercy all serve within the church.
5. THEY ARE OFTEN STRANGE OR UNCONTROLLED
Prophetic people can be a little weird. Isaiah stripped off his clothes and wandered around naked, Jeremiah His his undies in a rock they later went back to retrieve them, Ezekiel lay on one side for 390 days and didn’t speak for years, and Hosea married a prostitute.
So prophetic people can often be odd, and hence they find it hard to fit in with regular folk.
New Testament prophecy is a lot less weird, but again we need to hold our behaviour up to a Biblical standard. Some people shake, wiggle and scream. I’m not saying it’s not God, but I am saying it is weird! Some prophetic people claim the Spirit wells up inside them and they cannot control their actions, but that goes directly against what Paul teaches…
1 Corinthians 14:31-33 (ESV Strong's)
For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
The true prophetic voice today isn’t weird, it isn’t embarrassing, and it isn’t out of control… it’s encouraging, it serves the body and it is in order.
6. THEY DO NOT BUILD UNITY
When this Jezebel like, self appointed prophetess rose up and started sprouting “Thus saith the Lord,” unity was destroyed in the church at Thyatira. False prophets divide and destroy churches, and fail to come under authority, often leading rebellions against the Church leadership.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV Strong's)
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
These gifts must promote unity, not divide and destroy what God is building. And in order to build unity, we cannot be lone wolves and a law unto ourselves, but we must work together to build the body of Christ.
MAXIMISING PROPHETS
When people pray every Sunday, prophetic words flow. So in this church, I want to see more and more people praying and encouraging others with words, visions and scripture.
This is not weird or strange, it’s normal Spirit filled living.
How can we develop the true prophetic gift in our church?
1. PROPHETIC PEOPLE MUST HAVE OPPORTUNITIES
In this church, we are having worship services starting next year where people are going to be able to pray and prophesy in the service. But please don’t think you can show up every so often and get a public platform to speak to this church. We have prayer groups, we have pre service prayer, and if you’re not part of the team, you are missing opportunities to exercise the gift you think you have, and to have others correct and shape this gift in your life.
2. PROPHETIC PEOPLE MUST BE ENCOURAGING
1 Corinthians 14:12 (ESV Strong's)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
NT prophecy must be encouraging, for the building up of the church. If someone has what they think is directive or corrective prophecy, it must be first submitted to the church leadership. So if you think God is rebuking someone or you are telling people God wants them to do something specific, please write the vision down and submit it to the leadership.
I’ve heard of people prophesying that men should leave their wives, or that they should sell property, and the result has been broken homes and thousands of dollars loss.
3. PROPHETIC PEOPLE MUST SUBMIT TO AUTHORITY
In this church, we don’t want lone wolves spreading destruction and disunity. Prophecy should be encouraging. But all prophetic ministry should be part of the church, and subject to the leaders of Ignite. What I preach is subject to authority, so should our prophetic ministries.
1 John 4:1 (ESV Strong's)
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
As a leadership, we have put in place a structure that we believe will safeguard against false prophets. So beware anyone who wants to prophesy, but does not want to be a part of the church or come under the authority of the Church.
4. PROPHETIC PEOPLE MUST GROW TRUST AND REPUTATION
Matthew 7:16 (ESV Strong's)
You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Beware of someone claiming the gifts of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit. Prophetic people must live godly lives, and in this church they must build a reputation of reliable and anointed prophetic ministry before we will allow them greater scope to prophesy. There at many people here whose prophetic voice I listen to because they have a proven track record. They are part of our church family and have walked the walk.
5. PROPHETIC PEOPLE MUST KNOW AND USE THE WORD OF GOD
If prophecy is speaking the words of God, what is the purest form of prophecy? Scripture.
So if you want to grow in this ministry, you had better start reading, studying, memorising and meditating on God’s Word. If I want guidance in my life, or in this church, I want Scripture!
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV Strong's)
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
If you want to develop a prophetic gift, you must centre it on the Word of God. And if you don’t know the Bible, you cannot really get to know God. And if you don’t know God, how can you claim to speak His words? It’s hard work building a prophetic ministry, but if you have The Bible in your heart watch how God uses that to bless others around you!
GOD SPEAKS TODAY
We are in the last days, and God is speaking! He speaks through His Word, and He also speaks to us through songs, preaching, circumstances and prophetic things like visions, dreams and words.
Never make an important decision based on one solo source of guidance. The great news is that we can all hear Him in our lives, even if we don’t have this gift.
I want to encourage you to mot wait for someone else to hear God for you, but press into Him and listen for yourself. Then let others confirm it.
Joel 2:28-29 (ESV Strong's)
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
The church at Thyatira tolerated the wrong things, and the wrong person. We must as believers never compromise the Word of God, and the unity of the Spirit, because these are the foundations of a strong, powerful church.
We need prophetic people in Ignite, but we need the right ones. People who are humble, people who serve, people who encourage, people who promote unity. With the logos or written Word of God and the Rhema or spoken, prophetic Word, Ignite can and will grow to impact this area for Christ.
Today some of you face decisions. Some of you face scary or difficult times. Some of you need to hear the Lord clearly.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (ESV Strong's)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Seek the Lord now, draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.
If you’re down, discouraged, confused or at a crossroad in life, get enough courage to step forward and seek God now.
