In the book of Revelation, Jesus tells John to write letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
To the church at Thyatira, he sends a letter advising them on Jezebel.
Revelation 2 v 20-22
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. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.
This church was located in Western Asia Minor. The city was allegedly named by Seleucus I Nicator in 290 BC, after hearing his wife had given birth to a daughter. Thyatira is a similar word for daughter in Ancient Greek. There were many trades in the city, ranging from bronze-smiths, cloth makers and slave markets.
The shrine of Sambathe was located at Thyatira. It was inhabited by an oracle, similar to the Oracle of Delphi. They would give patrons prophetic words and hidden knowledge.
The city was also related to the Greek god, Apollo. In terms of Near Eastern paganism, Apollo and Baal were seen as similar deities. So in the letter to Thyatira in Revelation, the woman in question may not have actually being called Jezebel, but she was acting like Jezebel and was connected with either the cult of Apollo (Baal) or the oracle. It appears this Jezebel was seducing the local Christians into sexual immorality and ‘eating food offered to idols’.
Food offered to idols is mentioned several times in the New Testament. There seems to be two different contexts. In St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he talks at length about eating food offered to idols. In this instance, food was taken to the pagan priests to sacrifice to the gods. The gods were offered the offal and the rest of the animal was sold in the Corinthian meat markets. So in essence, only part of the food was offered to the gods and the food in people were buying in the markets weren’t fully partaking in the sacrifice.
The other context is found in Revelation 2. Here Jezebel is encouraging the Christians to partake in a meal with a pagan god. This is the heart of pagan sacrifice, when the worshipper communes with the deity. During the ceremony, some of the food is burnt and the smoke goes up to the god and the rest of the food is cooked and eaten by the worshipper.
According to Revelation, just like Jezebel who led the Israelites into sexual immorality and idolatry, this woman at the Thyatira church was leading the faithful astray.
Why is Idolatry Banned?
Idolatry is not banned in the Bible because God wants all the worship for Himself, like some narcissist. But it is the presuppositions it holds which cause significant problems.
In a world where humans don’t have total control over reality, paganism provides a spiritual technique to manipulate it. Over millennia, humans have developed both physical and spiritual technologies in order to better relate with other people/communities, the material world and the unseen realm.
Whether these are simple tools or quantum computers, methods of rhetoric or AI algorithms, or even pagan practices and prayers. They are all ways in which we interact with Creation.
Pagan idolatry is a technology which attempts to manipulate the spiritual powers to work for you. Whereas in Christianity, we do not manipulate God with gifts, but let Him to take control, allowing His will to be done.
In fact, Jesus shows us this in the Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6 v 9-10
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Whereas a Christians seeks to be aligned with God’s will, a pagan seeks to manipulate the gods to help them get what they desire.
There are other presupposition which causes me concern, but I won’t go into them here.
Sexual Immorality in the New Testament
In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem sets outs the requirements for gentile Christians.
Acts 15 v 20
Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
This relates to pagan worship, the eating of live animals and sexual immorality. All these are prohibited for Christians.
The definition of sexual immorality has become rather slippery amongst Western cultures. Since the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s, more and more activities have been removed from this category. At this moment, I wondering what remains.
Some in our modern culture rework biblical interpretations on sexual immorality to make the Scriptures say something it doesn’t. Other proponents of sexual promiscuity argue that we should ignore the Bible’s view as its from a context which is culturally backward.
The Bible holds a very firm on stance on sexuality and I expect this experiment into sexual freedom will not deliver the promised utopia. In fact, I have a suspicion it will deliver the exact opposite.
Below the paywall I discuss more controversial ideas. Unfortunately, we live in a culture where if someone is offended by something in the Internet, they can cause real world problems. By having a paywall, it protects myself and my family from unwanted attention.
This time I will talk about the academic research into the impact of sexual immorality on a civilisation. If you wish to read further, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
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