“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.” – Revelation 2:24 (NASB)
We’ve been looking at a biblical reference to a heresy that proponents referred to as “the deep things of Satan.” (Here are the links to articles one, two, and three in the series.) Based on other verses in Revelation 2, we learned that this teaching advocates pagan worship practices of eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality.
As we’ve seen, the Bible describes food and sex as foundational for earthly life. The devil corrupted these blessings, and by the time John wrote Revelation (around the year 95), many Christians had adopted these skewed ideas about such matters.
Believers recognize how the enemy contaminated what God had made pure. How then should Christians deal with the basics of existence on this planet? In what way can they prove their spiritual ability to rise above what has fallen?
The heretics split themselves into two camps to provide an answer. We’re going to look at the first group in this post. Next week, we’ll wrap up the series by discussing the other option.
(And since they’re both heretical, neither choice is a good one!)
The first alternative is austerity. Since the devil’s defiled the world, the thinking goes, nothing’s good about it. Best to stay away from anything natural and unspiritual.
It sounds like overkill, but some Christians adopted this perspective. Paul wrote to Timothy about it:
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. – 1 Timothy 4:1-5 (NASB)
Verse 1 tells us that “some will fall away from the faith.” This implies that the ones falling away used to occupy a positive position. Paul’s writing about believers who departed from the simple gospel of Jesus Christ.
What drew them away was the supposed wisdom offered by evil spirits and demons.
Why were these souls vulnerable to the lies of the devil? We’ll get to that in a minute.
But in the meantime, Paul doesn’t blame only the enemy’s minions. He includes people in the mix, too. Referring to them as hypocritical liars, the apostle condemns these heretics for not living up to what they were telling others to do.
Part of the reason for this was their calloused consciences. They could no longer tell the difference between right and wrong. Their spiritual beliefs so distorted their view of the real world, that they could no longer recognize the harm they were inflicting on themselves and others.
In verse 3, Paul identifies the core elements of the heresy: food and sex. The false teachers advocated abstinence out of proportion to what the gospel called for. Marriage? Not for you! Food? Only if you’re starving. (Besides, pizza will give you heartburn!)
This is self-discipline taken to the extreme. It’s not self-denial, it’s self-deprivation. One could even call this dismal view suicide in slow motion.
But if the world is captive to Satan, believers have to avoid anything that’s a part of it. And that includes the foundations of earthly life. This is why some saints bought into the logic of the heresy.
But Christians ought to know better. Paul declares that we understand the truth about creation.
Verses 4-5 explain how we deal with the world. We recognize that what God made is good. We don’t have to fear His handiwork. Since the Lord is good, so is what He created.
As a result, we’re grateful for what He’s given us. We don’t fear nature; we rejoice that the Lord made this world for us.
While we’re not cowards, we’re not gullible, either. We can see the corruption around us, so we have to take steps to steer clear of the traps of the enemy. We dedicate earthly blessing for heavenly purposes. That’s what it means to sanctify something. We set apart the basics of life for God’s glory.
Now, we might not know what the Lord intends for us. We could be uncertain about how to please Him with what He’s entrusted to us.
But we have the Word and prayer!
Through Scripture, God reveals His mind to us. And through prayer, we share our hearts with Him.
If we don’t avail ourselves of these spiritual resources, we’ll be vulnerable to the evil forces pervading much of this world. We might even end up exploring “the deep things of Satan,” seeing unclean spirits lurking behind every natural item and circumstance. We’ll live in fear rather than faith. Without relying on Jesus, we’ll abandon creation itself as beyond redemption. In this mindset, self-deprivation becomes the measure of spiritual success.
But Jesus trains His disciples to live a God-centered life right here and right now. We don’t have to fall prey to the lies of the devil. God’s truth will bless us and help us to bless others.
“In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following.” – 1 Timothy 4:6 (NASB)
Next week, we’ll cover the other heretical option. And as you can guess, it’s quite different from austerity.
But what’s superior to both is the gospel of Jesus Christ! Let’s always stay true to His message!
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