Thyatira: Love Without Truth

Thyatira:

Least of the 7 cities mentioned

Not politically important, but economically

Full of Religious Trade Guilds

In order to make money you had to participate in their religious practices

Lydia From Thyatira (Acts 16:14)

Lydia was a trader, a seller of purple goods

From: The Son of God (Rev 2:18)

1. Son of God

Will come in later

2. Eyes like fire

All seeing

3. Feet Like Bronze

Will pursue evil

The Good: Exceeding Works (Rev 2:19)

3 Things Mentioned:

1. Faith

2. Love

3. Endurance

Exceeding in Works (Rev. 2:4)

This Church is directly in contrast to Ephesus

The Bad: Tolerating False Prophetess (Rev 2:20)

Tolerating this Jezebel (1 Kings 16:30-31)

Issues with this “Jezebel”

Matt. 7:15-20

False Prophet (v24) Deep things of Satan.

Acts 15:28-29

Convincing people to follow pagan religious practices:

1 Cor 8:4-6

Food sacrificed to idols

1 Cor. 6:19-20

2. Sexual immorality

1 Timothy 2:12

She’s a woman

The Judgement and Call to Repent: Sickness and Hardship (Rev 2:21-23)

We get a little more details about this Jezebel

Time to repent

God has given her time, its been going on for a while

Ironic Judgement of “Jezebel”

Called an “adulteress” thrown into a bed. A sickbed.

A Call to Repent

The rest are now called to repent knowing that they too will follow suit with “Jezebel”

The Encouragement: Hold Fast to Truth (Rev 2:24-29)

To the rest of you

There are some that are not doing this, just tolerating

Hold Fast (1 Timothy 6:20)

Do not get caught up in the “Secret” Things

Psalm 2:7-9

Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)

The morning star is Jesus Christ

Questions:

Why is it important that we as Christians have a Biblical sexual ethic?

As we have seen in both Thyatira and Ephesus, we have a tendency to go to extremes when it comes to truth and love. Why is it important to have both?