Revelation 2:20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
The two problems many early Christians faced were sexual immorality and idolatry. The Corinthian church faced the same challenges as the Thyatiran church with sexuality immorality (1 Cor 5-7) and food sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8-10). Most if not all ancient cities of the Roman Empire, especially in Asia-Minor, had many idols to the pantheon of various gods and goddesses. Most meat would have been sacrificed to the honor of the gods before consuming. Another major problem was the rampant immorality in the cities of the Roman Empire. Some temples and religions made prostitution a sacred practice. There was little commitment to purity in marriage, especially among pagans.
Jesus is calling the church in Thyatira to be different than the culture around it. These practices could easily enter into church communities because the new believers came from these lifestyles. They did not know better in some cases. The preaching of the gospel would bring new knowledge and conviction. The gospel calls for holiness, and in most cases, this will call us to be distinct and separate from the lifestyles of the cultures in which we live. This will inevitably cause friction. The darkness will reject the light, leading to the persecution of believers. The temptation becomes to compromise in our lifestyles so that we fit into our cultures in acceptable ways. This temptation can lead to sin and to rejection by Christ. This is a choice each individual must make and the church together must make. The decision is reinforced through preaching, teaching, and modeling by the leaders.
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