3:14-22 – Are You a Kinda Christian?

I like tea. I usually start my day with a mug of tea with my breakfast. In hot weather, nothing hits the spot like a big glass of good ice tea. But there’s a funny thing about tea: it has to be either hot or cold for me to enjoy it. Room temperature is kind of disgusting: whether it had been hot and cooled down or had been cold and warmed up. Either way, the best thing to do with room temperature tea is to dump it down the drain.

Jesus likes people the way I like my tea. He can do something with us if we’re either “hot,” or on fire with faith, or if we’re “cold,” or have nothing to do with God. But if we’re lukewarm “kinda Christians,” God is disgusted with us. The point to this letter is that it’s better for us either to have a strong relationship with God or to have none at all. When we’re Kinda Christians, it’s a lot harder for God to work his will in our lives.

At first, this message may seem odd to us. Obviously, God’s ideal for us is to be “hot:” to have a faith that motivates our lives, and for our relationship with God to be the guiding influence in all we do. But isn’t a little bit of faith better than none? Perhaps. But the trouble with a little bit of faith, or being lukewarm Christian, is that we think that it’s good enough. We become satisfied with a tame, domestic, safe faith that doesn’t really put much of a demand our lives. We can go along our merry way, satisfying our earthly desires and conforming ourselves to the expectations and goals of the world around us. We can ignore God’s call for repentance and his direction for us to become part of his plan for the world. We can set our own goals for our lives and make decisions based on what makes sense to us. In other words, we can go through life like non-Christians. But if you’re a Kinda Christian, you’ve convinced yourself that there’s nothing you have to do differently in order to be square with God. You may surround yourself with the trappings of faith: go to church occasionally, have a Bible somewhere on your bookshelf, maybe even dangle a cross around your neck and have a WWJD sticker on your car. If that’s you, then you’re a Kinda Christian. God doesn’t have much to do with how you live your life, and you’ve convinced yourself that there isn’t anything you have to do about it.

It’s a lot harder for God to break into the heart of a Kinda Christian than into a non-Christian. If you haven’t placed your faith in Christ, and you’re honest about it, then when God’s message comes into your life one way or another, you know that it’s a challenge to change your life. You may choose to accept or to reject it. But either way, you know what’s going on: God is trying heat up your faith. However, if you’re a Kinda Christian and God’s challenge comes into your life, it’s easier to dismiss it. “Oh, yeah. I know all about being a Christian. I’ve been one for years. Isn’t it great?” You think that where you are is all the farther God wants you to go. You don’t recognize that your faith could be “hotter.” You don’t want to turn into one of those crazy religious fanatics, do you?

Our church, like many churches, has a lot of people on our membership roles who hardly ever participate in the life and worship of our congregation. Some of them are technically identified as “inactive members,” while others are on the active member role but are only minimally involved. It’s dangerous to assume that if someone isn’t involved in the life of the church, they don’t have a “hot” faith. Sometimes it happens. But for the most part, the life of discipleship is a life shared with other Christians. From time to time, someone will suggest that our church leaders need to do a better job of reaching out these members who aren’t doing much in the church and encourage them to get more involved. And that’s a suggestion that’s always worth following up on. However, the reality is that it’s easier to bring someone new into the church than to get a minimally involved member to become more active. Someone once suggested that churches in a community should exchange lists of their inactive members: the Lutheran church has a better chance of reaching out to the inactive Presbyterian than the Presbyterian church does. This is a practical example of Jesus’ message to the Laodiceans: Kinda Christians are harder for God to reach than people who don’t pretend to have any kind of a relationship with him.

Lukewarm Kinda Christians can also be found among the people who attend worship every week. There can be all kinds of reasons for people to come to church that have nothing to do with devotion to God. For some, it’s a family activity. For others, it’s tradition. Some people come to church out of habit, or to see their friends, or because they enjoy the music or the liturgy. There may be people who think that church activities are important but couldn’t describe their relationship with God if their lives depended on it. These are also examples of Kinda Christians. They haven’t responded to God’s claim on their lives and they haven’t committed themselves to serving and honoring him.

This is the last of the seven letters that Jesus told John to write to the churches. The one before this one, to Philadelphia, was notable because it didn’t include any words of correction or criticism. This letter to Laodicea, like the one to Sardis, is remarkable for the exact opposite reason: Jesus had nothing good to say about them. We find no words of praise. Considering the immorality and false teaching that could be found in some of the other churches, this should grab your attention. God would rather you be in error than that you be a Kinda Christian.

Laodicea was a wealthy city. It had a lively trade industry, particularly clothing. Laodicea was also well known for a healing eye salve that it produced. Jesus took each of these traits that Laodicea prided itself in and showed how worthless they really are. Verses 17 and 18 take their claims of being rich, well-clothed, and insightful and explain that they are actually poor, naked, and blind. Their own resources, which they take so much pride in, are getting them nowhere. They desperately need the riches, clothing, and healing which God offers.

That’s a trademark of Kinda Christians: they think that they can get through life on their own abilities and with their own power. They don’t really need God. Anything they do with or for God is more like them doing God a favor than realizing their dependence upon him. And when life is going well, it’s easy for us to fall for this kind of thinking. When we, like the Laodiceans, are affluent or at least comfortable, we can fall into religious indifference. This is a trend that church history demonstrates: faith burns most brightly in societies and in people’s lives when they’re going through a crisis. But when things are easy, we slip into Kinda Christianity

A “hot” Christian is different from a “lukewarm” Christian because she knows that she needs God. Without him, her life is meaningless and her dreams evaporate into despair. The good news, for Christians of all temperatures, is that Christ’s invitation comes to us at all times. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks to come in. Jesus told his followers, “Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The message here is different. Jesus is knocking. And it’s not something you have to wait and hope for. It’s happening right now. As Jesus said elsewhere, he is near, right at the door (Mark 13:29). Will you open the door so that he can come in and change your life?

Revelation 3:7-13 – Everyone Thinks They’re from Philly

After all those odd-sounding church names, it’s nice to come to one that sounds familiar. This is the original Philadelphia, of course, and not the one at the other end of Pennsylvania. This letter is unique among the seven that Jesus told John to write. Each of the other letters includes a rebuke or a call for repentance. There’s something going on at the church which Jesus wants to change. But when it comes to Philadelphia, there are no harsh words. This is the only church which receives only praise and a promise, with no warning or correction attached to it.

We can learn three things about the Philadelphians from this letter. First, they were weak and suffering. Second, others were attacking them. And third, God approved of them and gave them a promise of blessing. It’s easy for us to put ourselves in the shoes of the Philadelphians. Too easy, in fact. We want to claim Jesus’ description of them for ourselves.
1. We are weak and helpless.
2. Other people are hurting us.
3. God approves of us.
There are times, of course, when we are Philadelphians. But there are many times when we’re not and we think that we are.

Philadelphia was not the only church that was facing persecution. Smyrna and Thyatira had deceptive leaders. Christians in Pergamum and Smyrna were put to death for their faith. But there was something different about Philadelphia. Facing persecution doesn’t exempt us from judgment or correction. It’s not an excuse to be able to get away with things that you shouldn’t. At times we try to use this excuse in our daily lives. I was mean to the clerk because work went bad today. It’s OK for me to get drunk because I got bad news today. But the message to the Philadelphians is not that persecution or hard times are an excuse to waffle in our holy living for God. In fact, as the rest of Revelation demonstrates, it’s during these difficult times that our faith matters most of all.

If we claim too quickly to be Philadelphians, not only will we be tempted to short-change the claims that discipleship makes upon our lives, but we will use it as an excuse for ignoring our own responsibilities. Yes, the Philadelphians were weak and relatively helpless, and were surrounded by strong opposition. It would have been easy for them to say something like “Well, God can’t really expect us to do much in this kind of an atmosphere. The best we can do is just hold on and try to endure.” They could have tried to convince themselves that they were like the seeds scattered among the thorns. If they survived, that was good enough. No one would expect them to produce a crop. But the challenging news is that God doesn’t give us a pass just because things are tough. In fact, it is during the difficult times in our lives that our faith moves us along the most strongly. This is a prevalent theme in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.

There’s another danger to thinking to quickly that we’re Philadelphians. We notice the wrongs that other are perpetrating, but we ignore what we ourselves may be in error over. An overly developed sense of victimization tends to ignore any responsibility that we may have for ourselves and what we do. “How could anyone blame me for what I did, in such a horrible situation?” Or, “You should be worried about what that other person is doing. It’s far worse than anything I did!” While others may be guilty of worse things, we are still responsible for what we do.

One more danger about thinking that you’re a Philadelphian: you may buy into the lie that you’re helpless. When we think we are weak and incapable, we fail to live up to the plans that God has for us in our lives. There’s something very appealing to our earthly nature to go curl up in a corner and lick our wounds when things are difficult. And it’s easy for us to compare ourselves to others who seem so powerful and influential in comparison to us, and assume that there’s nothing we can do. But that’s not the call that God has for us in our lives. Remember the widow in the temple that Jesus and his disciples saw at the end of Mark 12. She was oppressed and had a very difficult life. And compared with the other people who could give so much to the temple, she had practically nothing. We can try to excuse ourselves from faithfulness with all sorts of statements:
• We’re just a little struggling church. We can’t do much to reach out to our community.
• I’m living on a fixed income (or, I’m just a student). I don’t have much to give. Other people should do it instead.
• I don’t have the training to do much of anything helpful.
• I’m a new Christian. Or, I don’t know my Bible very well. Someone else would be better than me to talk about faith.

To review: we’re not always as oppressed and powerless as we think that we are. And when we think that we are (either rightly or wrongly) we may use it as an excuse to fudge on our faithfulness to God, we may overlook our own faults and the problems we cause others, and we think that we are too weak to do anything. All of these are errors to avoid. And it appears that the Philadelphians were able to do so. And that’s why God was able to praise them without any reservations.

With all these qualifications and caveats, it is good to read Jesus’ message for the Philadelphians. It’s a message for us when the world is crashing down on us: when our resources are drained, when the challenges we face overwhelm us, when people around us are attacking us. The good news is that none of these things affect God’s care for us. Nothing we experience can beat down the power, the assurance, the care, and the plan that God has for us. In the times when we’re beaten down, overwhelmed, or overpowered, it’s good to hear that news. God will not let anything interfere with his plan for you. He is in control. As Jesus told the Philadelphians, no one can close the door that God opens for us.

Those who appear to be so powerful, to be in control, to be calling the shots, can’t do a thing about it. God will not just unravel their dastardly plans so that his will succeed. He will make them a part of those plans! The time will come that they will acknowledge God’s power and goodness. And in the process, they will be reconciled with us and acknowledge a healthy relationship with us. The way Jesus describes it, it sure sounds like the reconciliation that happened between Joseph and his brothers. They did everything but kill him (and were seriously considering doing that), but the time came that they honored him and recognized his role in God’s designs for them all.

It’s easy to be disheartened, at times when it seems that everything is stacking against you. We can be tempted to think that the powers of darkness and despair are going to win, and that God’s plans will translate into nothing more than good intentions. (That, by the way, is ultimately the answer that Rabbi Kushner offers in his best seller “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People”). We may think that God really cares for us, but when it really comes down to it, we need to be practical. We have to take care of ourselves. And if we can’t, well, we’re screwed.

Jesus’ message to the Philadelphians is that this version of practicality is poppycock. The most practical thing in the world is to hold onto God’s goodness and promise, despite whatever trials we’re undergoing. It may be scary, because it goes against every common-sense bone in our body. But God’s care for us is not restricted by common sense.

Jesus offers a message of real power and support. If you maintain your faith in the midst of the harsh realities of a difficult world, you’ll become a pillar in his temple. By the way, First Peter also talks about becoming part of God’s temple. This promise was offered after the “real” temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed. That was the quintessential catastrophe for Jews, and Jewish Christians. It looked like dastardly powers like the Roman Empire could do whatever they want. The assurance is that something even more powerful and profound is on the way, and that there’s nothing they can do to stop it. When Jesus returns, the faithful will be marked with God’s name, and they will become part of the new holy city.

Revelation 3:1-6 - Skating on Your Reputation

Poor Michael Phelps. Sure, he still has his gold medals and is still the winningest Olympian ever. But a stupid encounter with a bong has tarnished his reputation. He’s young, so he may still recover and gain back his endorsement deals. It’s another matter for Michael Jackson. The “king of pop” has gone from superstar to creepy weirdo, and there doesn’t seem to be any chance of recovery for him.

Reputations matter. How people view you makes a difference. Over the past few years, a number of people have become celebrities not because of their talents, accomplishments, or even their looks. They’re famous for being famous. What exactly is Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian famous for, other than perhaps really poor impulse control? It doesn’t really matter. Now that they have a reputation for being famous, that’s all that matters.

As our kids were growing up, we taught them about the “halo and horns effect” that my wife learned in her psychology training. Once you’ve been identified as a devil, either because of your own deeds or those of your friends, teachers and other authority figures are going to be harder on you. But if people think you’re a perfect angel, you can get away with more, at least up to a point. Be careful what kind of a reputation you earn for yourself, because it’s going to have at least as much of an influence as what you actually do.

Reputations matter. It’s true for matters of faith as well. We’re told not let our witness to Christ be tarnished by unseemly conduct. Be all people to all things. Don’t let even the hint of impropriety touch you. Create and guard a good reputation so that you’ll be held in high regard by everyone.

Reputations matter. At least, they do when it comes to other people. We care about what people think of us, and we base our evaluation of others on what “they” think of them. It’s almost impossible to live down a bad reputation, and a good reputation must be tended carefully. If not, well… ask Michael Phelps, A-Rod, Michael Jackson, and Eliot Spitzer.

Reputations matter so much to people that it’s easy for us to think that they also matter to God. But they don’t. That’s the constant theme that we find throughout Scripture. The people who think that they matter, because everyone tells them how wonderful they are, get passed over by God. And the people that everyone thinks are scum, not even worthy of consideration, find a place of honor and respect. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Cor. 1:27-29). Consider just a few examples from the Bible. First, a couple of people with big reputations that didn’t get the treatment they thought they deserved.

NAAMAN (2 Kings 5): Naaman was the commander of the Aramean army: second only to the king in one of Israel’s rival nations. When it came to human reputation, he was about as high as anyone could get in that time and place, unless you were born to a royal family. But he put his pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. His high status couldn’t spare him from contracting the most dreaded disease of the time: leprosy. It was painful, disfiguring, and disgraceful. But Naaman thought his troubles were solved when he heard that a prophet in Israel could heal him. So he showed up with all his pomp and finery at Elisha’s humble little country home. But Elisha, the man of God, didn’t care two figs for Naaman’s reputation. He didn’t even come out of the house to greet the man: a simple act of courtesy for a host to pay to a visitor. Instead, he sent out a servant to tell Naaman to wash in the Jordan River to be cleansed. Naaman’s dignity was insulted: not just by the snub that Elisha wouldn’t come out to greet him, although that was bad enough. After all, he was Naaman! He was used to having people ten time more important than Elisha grovel before him. How dare he treat him this way! But what was even worse was that he was supposed to find healing in the dirty water of the tiny little Jordan River. (I’ve seen the Jordan River, by the way. Naaman was right. The Conequenessing Creek could give the Jordan a run for its money.) It was beneath his dignity to bath in that disgusting river. Fortunately for Naaman, one of his servants suggested that he set aside his concern for his reputation for a moment and give it a try. And he was healed.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER (Luke 18:18-23, with parallels in Matthew and Mark): As Jesus did his preaching thing, he started to develop his own powerful reputation. Celebrated people tend to hang out with each other: do you really think Brad Pitt would have George Clooney as a best friend and Angelina Jolie as a girlfriend if he was a normal guy like the rest of us? So one of the powerful people came up to Jesus and asked what he could do to connect with him. That’s a good networking technique, after all. But this powerful, rich, influential young man wasn’t expecting what Jesus had to say. Perhaps he thought that Jesus would upgrade his group of friends: get rid of some of this embarrassing yokels and include people like himself. He could pull strings with the Jerusalem establishment and open doors to the halls of power for Jesus. Because of his reputation, he could make things happen for Jesus. But Jesus’ response? Sell everything, give it away, and follow me. That was more than the rich young man could handle, and he walked away sadly. Jesus didn’t want what he had to offer! Well, actually Jesus did. But it wasn’t his reputation and his influence that Jesus wanted.

Now, for a couple of other examples: people with not much of a reputation at all that God selected and blessed.

BARTIMAEUS (Mark 10:46-52): Not long after Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler, the city of Jericho opened its arms wide to greet him as he arrived. The streets were packed with people who wanted to see this miracle worker from Galilee who was on tour down south and had come to their town. The scene was probably almost as wild as the Steeler victory parade in Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago. The mayor and all the important people were lined up in the most prominent place to give Jesus the keys to the city and have their photos taken with them. But of everyone in the crowd cheering for Jesus and calling out his name, who does he stop to take notice of? A poor blind beggar squatting in a corner asking for help! (Luke tells us that he also stopped to talk with Zaccheus, the most hated man in town, but that’s another story. Same point, though.) The people of Jericho didn’t even know the beggar’s name: they just called him Timaeus’ son. Talk about the opposite of a good reputation: totally ignored! But he’s the one that Jesus wanted to bless.

JEREMIAH (Jer. 1:4-16): Being a prophet was a hard job, but it was also a very influential one. As prophet, you would be the one to speak God’s word to the entire nation. You would advise the king and the temple leaders. So when God told Jeremiah that he would be a prophet, Jeremiah could hardly believe that it was true. He wasn’t qualified. He didn’t even think that he met the age requirement: he was just a kid, after all. Everyone told him that he didn’t really amount to much. But God thought differently. Today, all the important people of Jerusalem with big reputations have been forgotten. Their names are nothing more than tongue-twisters for Scripture readers. But Jeremiah, the little kid with no credentials, is still someone that we talk about.

Reputations really don’t matter to God. What Peter told Cornelius is really true: God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:34). And that’s the message that Jesus wanted John to share with the Christians of Sardis. They had a great reputation. Everyone thought that they were wonderful people. They were alive and vibrant in the faith. They were good faithful and honorable people. At least, that’s the reputation that they had. But God knew better. He knew that their reputations were empty: like the stars today who can sell movies or songs not because of their talent, but because of reputation. There was nothing to them. People thought they were alive, but they were dead. They were soiled like dirty laundry. Because of that, they were in danger of losing their place in God’s kingdom.

Reputations are like stereotypes. They get started because of some affinity with reality, but that doesn’t mean they’re accurate. When we start to care about reputations, ours or other people’s, more than reality, then we’ve gone off course. People may think that you’re “alive:” that you have a strong faith, that you’re devoted to the Lord, that you’re committed to discipleship and mission. But how accurate is that perception? Is it real, or just a reputation? If you’re active in church or a regular worship participant, does that really reflect the relationship you have with your God? Or is it just a smoke screen that confuses other people, and maybe even you?

Revelation 2:18-29 – Don’t Believe Everything You Believe

We live in a deceptive world. Things aren’t the way that they appear to be. This is one of the things that makes it hard for us to be faithful to Jesus. If everything really was the way that it seems to be, life would be so much easier for us. We could just take everything at face value, and act accordingly. But as the saying goes, you can’t believe everything you read. In the same way, you can’t believe everything you see, or hear, or experience. You can’t believe everything you believe. Part of being a disciple is questioning and examining everything. We need to test the spirits, as John wrote elsewhere (1 John 4:1), to see if they really come from God or not. The story of Joshua 9 is instructive: the Israelites fell for their own version of a Trojan horse and accepted a trick that the Gibeonites played on them to avoid destruction.

That’s not the way that we want to live. We just want things to be simple. “Give us some straightforward rules and direct explanations for us to accept. Why does everything have to be so complicated?” Things are complicated for two reasons. First, that’s the way God created the world. We marvel at the complexity of everything from the tiny cell to the immense galaxy. It’s one of the hallmarks of God’s creativity. So, if God set us in a complex world, why should we settle for what’s simple? That’s why he gave us sharp and inquiring minds: to be curious, to ask questions, to figure things out. Those simple puzzles that preschoolers play with are great for them, but adults can’t be bothered. God pushes us along in the same way. Second, the world isn’t straightforward because there are people and powers at work that are trying to undermine or destroy God’s good creation. We need to recognize who and what they are. It’s like a soldier on the battlefield, getting ready to cross a field in enemy territory. Wouldn’t it be easiest and simplest just to run straight across it and take cover as quickly as you can on the other side? Maybe, but a wise soldier knows that the enemy may have planted landmines in that field. Doing things the simplest and easiest way can get you killed.

There is an appeal to religious leaders who tell you just to accept whatever they say. There’s something nice about simple explanations of the Christian faith. That way you don’t have to think for yourself. You don’t have to worry about getting confused. You don’t argue about nit-picky aspects of theology. Simple unambiguous faith is a good place to start, as people are being introduced to Christianity. But it’s not where you stay. You start with simple puzzles with big pieces when you’re a toddler, but if you’re still playing with them in college, you’re not developing the way God wants you to. But because we like the simple and straightforward, there are leaders who are happy to supply it to us. That’s the appeal of fundamentalism, regardless of which religion you find it in. “Just tell us a few simple main principles for us to follow. Don’t confuse us.” One of the dangers of fundamentalism, beyond the failure to appreciate the complexity of human life and faith, is that there’s an inherent trust in the leader who’s telling you what to believe. Nobody’s perfect. So any religious leader who tells you just to trust the simple story they’re telling you isn’t going to get it right. It might be close, or it might be horribly far off the mark.

We see the same thing in politics. Here, we call them “sound bites.” Our elected officials need to balance an amazing number of different factors into each decision they make, and where they need to be working on multiple situations, each of which is very important, all at the same time. But we tend to base our selection of them on simple slogans (“Change we can believe in” or “Country first”), or on what we think of ten second blurb that gets squeezed into the evening news.

At some level, we know this isn’t the way things really are. We might not like it, but we know that we need to take just about everything with a grain of salt. People can twist or select the facts to make them say whatever they want. In the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, the pirate captain tricked the woman into accepting the rules of “parley” by distorting the obvious intentions of the rules into something completely different (sorry; it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, so I don’t remember the details). But it’s something we see in real life all the time. We know that the politicians aren’t really going to do what they promise. We know that sales offer that seems too good to be true has a catch in it somewhere. We know that things aren’t as simple as they appear. And we know that we can’t trust everything that we see or hear, or that we’ve been told in the past. That, by the way, is the basis for scientific inquiry. It’s an attempt to see if the things that we’ve been told in the past by people we trust is really true. It’s a way to test things to see if they really operate the way that we think they do.

My PhD dissertation focuses on Jesus’ message of Mark 13, in which he describes what the world is really like, from a spiritual perspective, and what the future is going to be. Throughout his speech, he keeps telling the disciples to watch, to beware, to be alert, and to understand. In fact, that’s the whole point to the discourse (although there’s a lot of other very important things we can learn from it as well). Be sharp, because things aren’t what they seem to be. We don’t always recognize the way that God is at work around us and within us. The bad things may not be as bad as we think that they are. And what seems to be good and godly may actually be demonic and destructive.

Paul told the Corinthians pretty much the same thing: there are false and deceptive teachers all around us, pretending to be leading us in Christ’s way, while they’re actually moving us the other way (2 Peter 2 and Jude say a lot about it too). In the eleventh chapter of his second letter to them, Paul said that not only do false teachers appear to messengers from God, but that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Wouldn’t it be so much easier if the devil always appeared to be as horrible and evil and disgusting as he really is? But he doesn’t, because he’s cunning enough to know that doesn’t work. So he comes to us in a way that makes us think that he’s good and wonderful, holy and healthy. It’s only after we take the bait that we realize the trouble we’re in. The same thing is true for temptation: the urge to do something wrong. It will hurt us, or others, or God, or the world. If we realized the extent of the damage that sin causes, we’d never engage in it. But it always looks good at the beginning.

The Christians in Thyatira, the fifth of the seven churches that John wrote to, were too gullible for their own good. There was a prominent leader in their church (probably a woman, since John calls her by the name of one of the most wicked women in Jewish history) who was leading people astray. She was pretending to speak for Christ, presenting his message to the people. Jesus told John that she was leading them into idolatry and sexual immorality. Sound familiar? that’s what was going on in Pergamum as well. In the Old Testament, adultery and idolatry were often closely associated with each other. Hosea’s life was a living parable of this. And Ezekiel offered some shockingly graphic descriptions of it. So there’s at least a chance that the Thyatirans weren’t sleeping around like maniacs; that may be a representation of their unfaithfulness to God by worshiping other gods in addition to the Lord.

There’s a good chance that the teachings of “Jezebel” were a version of Gnosticism: the belief that there is arcane secret spiritual knowledge which will save you from the ugly messiness of the physical world if you acquire it. Gnosticism had begun as its own form of belief but tried to latch on to Christianity; the “Gospel of Thomas” is an adaptation of Christ’s life and teachings to make him look like a Gnostic guru. Since “Jezebel” offered “deep secrets” to her followers, she may have been a Gnostic as well.

Jesus, in contrast, is the one with blazing eyes who can search out and destroy falsehood. As we saw in Chapter Two, this description of Jesus shows that he’s the one with insight and understanding. And he is the one with power and authority, even when appearances may lead us to think that he’s not. The answer to the struggle for insight to discern error and deception is not just to rely on our own suspicions and cynicism (although to some degree that can be helpful). But as Proverbs 3 puts it, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

What does that mean? It means committing yourself to a lifetime of discernment. Exactly where is God leading me? What truths is he offering to me? How can I learn them? What are the dangers to avoid? There are times that we’ll get them wrong. At times our mistakes may be tragic. But if we trust that he truly is the one who has authority over the nations, and over our lives, even our mistakes will not undo his will. He will take our errors and direct them to his purposes, if we continue to do our level best not to settle for what other people tell us, and not to just follow our own “gut,” but to seek his will. That’s what Scripture is for. That’s what prayerful reflection is for. That’s what the church is for. Each of these are means by which we can discern God’s truth in a world of deception. We can misinterpret Scripture. We can fool ourselves about how God speaks to us through prayer. Churches can mess up. But if we continue to be diligent in our discernment, we will fall for Jezebel’s tricks less and less.