What are we Tolerating?

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 19‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. 25‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. Revelation 2:18-25 NASB

Jesus speaking to the church at Thyatira, had some great & encouraging words for the church. He recognized their deeds, their love, their faith, their service, and their perseverance. Jesus recognizes their growth as He points out that their deeds of late are greater than their former deeds. But Jesus had one rebuke for His church:  ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. The church of Thyatira was persevering and growing but they were allowing and tolerating the voice of someone else that was leading God's people to commit sexual immorality and idol worship. The rebuke that Jesus gave to His church was not that they were allowing Jezebel to have full leadership and dominion but they were simply tolerating her practices in their midst. To tolerate means to "permit just now"; to allow something to happen or remain for a specific amount of time. The church had either not seen the dangers of Jezebel's influence or they had minimized her effect. 
Who is this Jezebel in the church of Thyatira? At this point in history, the notorious Jezebel from the Old Testament has been dead for over 1,000 years. What Jesus is addressing here is a "spirit" of Jezebel that was in operation in His church through a person or persons that had influence over God's people. This Jezebel's teachings and prophecies were leading God's people astray. In the midst of all of the good that they were doing as a church, why did they tolerate this Jezebel spirits influence? Were they trying to be inclusive? Were they trying to not be judgmental? Did they think that these influences were not that bad? The teachings and influences that this Jezebel spirit was bringing was labeled by Christ as the "deep things of Satan" in verse 24. Yet, the church allowed this spirit to remain.
This leads me to ask the same questions of our churches today. What are some of the spirits that we may be tolerating in the church that are leading God's people to sin? What are some influences that we are allowing that are actually connected to the 'deep things of Satan'? Are we allowing Satanic influences into the church that are leading God's people to commit sexual immorality and idol worship? We live in a world today where we can become more afraid of offending people than we are of offending God. But we must understand that the gospel of Christ being preached is bigger than any single person or cause; it is His church in fact. 
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NASB
Peter's words here are not for unbelievers but for the saints. A snake may pick and poke and cause some harm to his prey from outside of the fence but once he gets inside of the coop, he can cause catastrophic damage. The same applies once the devil gets inside of the church; and believe me that is his desire. We must be vigilant to see the false teachings of Satan, we must be vigilant to see the sinful influences of Satan, we must be vigilant to see the results produces by the spirit of Satan.
Let us be a part of the remnant in the church of Thyatira that had not given into the false, satanic teachings of this Jezebel spirit. Hold fast to Christ until we see Him riding on the clouds of glory. 24‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. 25‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 

Questions to Consider:

1. What are some of the ways that you see the devil trying to infiltrate the church today? 

2. What are some of the good things that Jesus would speak over our church? What are some negative things that He would bring to our attention? 

3. What are some teachings of convictions of Christ that you are finding difficult to keep holding on to in the midst of the temptations of Satan? 
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