The Church at Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Introduction

The circular route for a letter carrier after leaving Pergamum would travel southeast about forty miles. That route would take them over a range of small hills, and finally into the fertile Lycus plain. Thyatira, known for its manufacturing, was not a military stronghold, or a city of Roman importance like Ephesus or Smyrna. What it was known for is its guilds: potters, tanners, weavers, robe-makers, and dyers.

At one time in your life, you probably had to go through the interview process in your job hunting. You prepare your resume as best you can and then submit it for review. If called, you find yourself sitting on the other side of a table from the interrogator. Through your experiences, you already know many of the questions they will ask you. Somewhere near the end of the interview you might be asked, “Would you be willing to work extra hours and/or weekends if required?”

However, what if you were asked, “Do you worship Tyrimnas?” “Would you be willing to sacrifice to him daily as a prerequisite to membership in our union/guild?” You would say no that you worship the One True God only. What if you knew your response would cause you to lose most of your customers? How would you respond if they said they would only do business with you if you repented and followed the sun god Tyrimnas? That was the life of a shop owner in ancient Thyatira.

The main religion of Thyatira was the worship of Tyrimnas, also known as Apollo the Sun god. Tyrimnas is a warrior god, riding into battle, armed with a double-edged battle-axe.

Archeologists also found remains of a shrine built outside of the city that was dedicated to Sambatha; the name means prophetess or fortuneteller.

There were no synagogues in Thyatira, as they did not have a large population of Jews in the city. Our first introduction to Thyatira in the New Testament was when Paul was at Philippi during his second missionary journey. He went down by the riverside and spoke to some women. One of them was Lydia, a “seller of purple.” She was from Thyatira and when she listened to the message, she became the first convert in Macedonia (Acts 16:14).

The church at Thyatira has been called “the Corrupt Church.”

The Greeting and The Reference to Christ

Revelation 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; (refers to Revelation 1:14-15)

This epistle to the brethren at Thyatira follows the organization of the three previous letters to the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum.

“These things saith the Son of God” – interestingly, this is the only place in the Book of the Revelation that this term for Jesus is used. The city had a temple built to the “sun god.” No wonder Jesus introduces himself as the “Son of God.”

The Apostle John had to deliver a stern message of warning and judgment to this congregation of believers. Jesus’ description of the “eyes of flame” which sees into each persons “reins and the hearts” (verse 23), and the “feet of fine brass” are judgmental. John is telling the churches that judgment is coming and that Jesus will tread down His enemies.

For the church at Thyatira, this description must have struck a chord as the “fire” and “brass” description of Christ emphasizes Jesus promise to judge the false teachers and their followers. This city was governed by female-dominated businesses, most importantly the cloth and dye industry. the problem is the congregation’s error in allowing the female dominance of one prophetess.

I Know or The Commendation

Revelation 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

Revelation 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

When Christ reviews the church, He commends them for many wonderful attributes. The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia discussing the “fruit of the Spirit”. He stated that love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance were important in the life of the believer. Note that in this letter to Thyatira, Jesus points out some of their wonderful works.

“Works” is to toil, an action in deed and doing. It is intense labor.

“Charity” is agape, an unconditional love which cannot be known without Jesus.

“Service” is the primary focus of ministry given in the name of Jesus. Particularly it is as a servant and officially as a teacher or deacon. The way we show that we are followers of Jesus is by our ministry of work in His name.

“Faith” in this case is not a denomination but instead a belief and conviction built on Jesus for salvation, truth, assurance, and trust. In this verse, faith would include trusting in Christ for salvation, and devotion in service.

“Patience” is not just the ability to wait, but is built on endurance and consistency which comes through trails

In this grouping, we find a two pairs of commendations: “thy works, charity and service” and the second set of “faith, patience and work”. “Faith, patience and work” will produce “love, service and work.” That is the proper order; faith, patience and labor will produce works, love and ministry in the believer.

Notice what Jesus says about their work; it is growing. He commends them that their last work is more than the first even with everything going on around them. We can draw from this that they did not get discouraged in the work of the LORD. They may even have become more patient and increase in love because of their faithfulness.

With all of this going for them, you would think things were great in this church!

The Criticism or Rebuke

Revelation 2:20-21 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

No matter how much good this church was exhibiting and accomplishing, God had much to expose and condemn in this congregation. The problem with the church at Thyatira was not external persecution, but was internal corruption.

The focus of the Criticism centers on the problem with a woman, called Jezebel, who was corrupting the congregation with teaching them to compromise with the pagan world. Whether Jezebel is a real person or not, is debated by theologians. Some even believe that it refers to the wife of the “angel” of the church.

Going back to the Old Testament, we know that Jezebel was the wife of Ahab king of Israel and she was not a Jew. The king married her anyway and she brought her gods with her. Ahab accepted her beliefs and “served Baal, and worshipped him.” (1 Kings 16:31). She installed her priests, built a temple of prostitution, and practiced eating things offered to idols. The result was

1 Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

We can see the aligning of the teachings of the Nicolaitans at work in the church at Thyatira. They taught that “fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” was acceptable for the church.

I believe that Jezebel is a real woman as the next part says she “which calleth herself a prophetess.” She is a woman who announced to the brethren that she has received revelation from God and is to teach them a new doctrine.

Christ condemned such teaching. They were compromising with things condemned by God and there can never be a compromise with evil. Believers must be discerning in order to see evil for what it is.

Christ announces that he gave Jezebel “her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” There is an important lesson here. Whether Jezebel was a real person, or the teachings of the Nicolaitans, is open for debate, but God gave time for her, or them to repent, and she/they refused to repent.

Warren Wiersbe wrote:

“It is interesting to contrast the churches at Ephesus and Thyatira. The Ephesian church was weakening in its love, yet faithful to judge false teachers, while the people in the assembly at Thyatira were growing in their love, but too tolerant of false doctrine. Both extremes must be avoided in the church. “Speaking the truth in love” is the biblical balance (Ephesians 4:15). Unloving orthodoxy and loving compromise are both hateful to God.”[1] (Wiersbe, Be Victorious, 1985)

The Command, Warning or Charge to Repent

Revelation 2:22-23 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Revelation 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Now the message to the “angel” of the church, the Warning and the Charge to Repent is delivered. God has allowed Jezebel to continue to commit adultery (both physical and spiritual adultery) but all who practice this adultery will need to make a decision to repent and change or else. If not, God will kill her children with death so that all the churches who read this letter will understand that He “searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” He knows who is sincere and who the liar is.

Those that have not committed the sins of Jezebel must hold fast the name of Christ and not follow into her sins.

An Exhortation to Listen and A Promise

Revelation 2:26-28 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” - Now that you have read this passage and heard this message you will find yourself under either the “Warning or the Promise.” You must make a decision. Are you wholly following the teachings of Christ or are you following the sirens of the world. Are you following Truth or error?

Those that overcome will have “power over the nations.” Christ will rule with a “rod of iron” in judgment of the nations.

That day is coming for everyone, those waiting for His return and the ungodly, who loved darkness because his or her deeds were evil. He is coming and for those that adhere to God’s Word and overcome, they will shine like the stars forever and ever.

Conclusion

Therefore, what do we make of this fourth church?

It does not matter that there are outward signs of works and sacrifice going on in a church, God will judge quickly for tolerance of evil within its membership.

Every church, no matter how many activities and good works they accomplish are always in danger of evil and false doctrine. The church must hold fast the truth of God in every aspect of their lives. This church must be careful popular trends and false doctrines. They are rampant today even invading the Southern Baptists Convention. For example, the failure of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) to adopt the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000, caused this church to make a doctrinal decision to align itself with the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention. The BGCT has trifled with scripture, such as the ordaining of women as pastors, and this is prevalent within the Bell Baptist Association. This is the teaching of Jezebel. Moreover, God will punish those churches and the association for these errors. He will give them time to repent but if they do not, God will judged them harshly.

We as Believers must be discerning in order to see evil for what it is. From my childhood, my father taught me; “It is never right to do wrong to obtain right.” In other words, truth is always truth and a lie is always a lie.

Whether Jezebel was a real person, or the teachings of the Nicolaitans, is open for debate, but God gave time for her/them to repent, and she/they refused to repent.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Victorious, (Colorado Springs, David C Cook Publishing, 1985) 33