Thyatira

Two Sundays ago we looked at the Church in Hell’s Back Yard…the Church of Pergamum. Many within the church here had caved into the pressure that was around them and COMPROMISED and had allowed the teaching of Balaam to influence them.

Today we will look at another church that was guilty of COMPROMISE…the Church at Thyatira.

As we look at this church let’s notice Revelation 2:18

Revelation 2:18 ESV

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

The Place (v. 18)

According to Gwyn Pugh, Thyatira was located about 40 miles east of Pergamum. it was situated in a valley and had a thriving economy. It was a city that had been established by Alexander the Great after the destruction of the Persian Empire (Walvoord).

Thyatira produced wool, linen, garments, leather, pottery, bronze and was known for its baked good. However, Thyatira was probably most well known for its production of a purple dye.

You may remember a lady from Lydia that we looked at several months ago by the name of Lydia. Remember what the Scripture said about her in Acts 16:14-15

Acts 16:14–15 ESV

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Lydia was from Thyatira and notice what she was selling. She was selling purple garments. Remember, the city was known for its purple dye and the garments that were made from there. They were a highly sought after commodity.

Another interesting thing about Lydia…she became a follower of Christ and was baptized. Scripture doesn’t give us any record of evangelization efforts made in Thyatira, so its reasonable to assume that God may have used Lydia to take the Gospel back to her hometown and as a result a church was established there.

Just like the rest of the cities we have spoken about, the city ran rampant with idolatry. Tyrimnos, who was also known as the “sun god” was considered the city deity. In cities like Thyatira different workers were members of what was called “guilds.” They were forerunners to unions. Each person who had a particular skill was expected to not only be a member of the guild, but to pay homage to the “gods” that would bless the guilds and the workers. Of course this was a problem for believers because they were to only be loyal to the ONE, TRUE GOD!

This false god, Tyrimnos, was no match for the Lord Jesus who had EYES like FIRE and whose legs and feet were like BRONZE.

Pugh says this about Jesus’ eyes:

The eyes of Jesus can be both compassionate and frightening, at times communicating forgiveness but at others holy concern directed at those who persist in sin.

There was absolutely no comparison, and the Christians who followed Jesus understood this and knew that Christ and Christ alone was worthy of their loyalty!

According to Dr. Barnes the message to the church at Thyatira was the most severe of all of the seven messages. Before we address the problem, let’s look at the Praise...

The Praise (v. 19a)

“The Praise” once again begins with the penetrating phrase, “I KNOW.” Those penetrating eyes KNOW the Church at Thyatira and those penetrating eyes KNOW the church at Erie! The Lord Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves.

Notice what He knows from Revelation 2:19

Revelation 2:19 ESV

“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

Although many of the believers in the church had succumbed to the pressure and had given into compromise, many others were known for their “works.” It’s always important to remember that WORKS do not save us, but we are saved UNTO GOOD WORKS! Faith in Jesus is the ROOT of our salvation, but good works are the FRUIT of our salvation and the church here was known for their good works.

Their works were carried out in LOVE. In other words they were motivated by the right thing. They had not abandoned their love, but rather was motivated by a love for God and a love for people.

They were also known as people of “FAITH” who “SERVED” and who were “FAITHFUL” in spite of the difficulties around them.

Thank God for the faithful few that were not part of the problem at Thyatira!

What about YOU? Jesus is looking at me and Jesus is looking at YOU with those fiery eyes today. Yes, in one sense they are eyes of compassion, but in another sense they are eyes of fire that wants to burn away the impurities of sin in our lives.

Now it’s time for those fiery eyes to expose the TRUTH about THE PROBLEM in Thyatira...

Revelation 2:20–25 ESV

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.

The Problem (vv. 20-25)

The Lord Jesus once again uses an OT reference to refer to a NT problem. He did that with one of the other churches when he talked about “Balaam.” Now he speaks of a woman named “Jezebel.” Even if you don’t know much about “Jezebel” you’ve probably heard the name used in a negative context. Most parents don’t name their daughters Jezebel and if you get called a “Jezebel” it’s probably not meant as a compliment.

Jezebel, and her husband Ahab lived hundreds of years earlier and were two very wicked and very perverse people. Jezebel not only hated God’s prophets, but it’s pretty clear she hated God Himself. As a result she had many of God’s prophets murdered to silence the message she tired of hearing.

There was a woman in this church who reminded the Lord Jesus of Jezebel. She was leading people in the church astray and leading them into fornication/immorality.

There are SEVERAL characteristics of the original Jezebel that may have shown up in the church at Thyatira and these characteristics are ones that we should watch out for today as well. We cannot deal with and expose the “Jezebel spirit” if we don’t know what it looks like.

It PROMOTES EVIL. A person with a “Jezebel spirit” isn’t just involved in evil themselves, but they are actively promoting evil. It’s not just enough for them to rebel against their Creator, but misery loves company. They encourage and incite others to join them in their wickedness. Note this about Jezebel and her wicked husband Ahab…1 Kings 21:25 “(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.” In the OT Jezebel promoted and incited EVIL REBELLION against the King of kings and Lord of lords and the “JEZEBEL SPIRIT” is not only alive and well in the world today, but it was alive and well in the Church at Thyatira and is alive and well in many churches TODAY. Is it alive and well at Flagship, maybe, maybe not but we must guard ourselves against ANYONE, in the church or outside the church that PROMOTES REBELLION AGAINST GOD AND HIS WORD! Notice again what she was ACTIVELY PROMOTING IN THE CHURCH…Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.”

IT WANTS TO SILENCE THE TRUTH. In 1 Kings 18:4 we find that Jezebel “cut off the prophets of the Lord.” The phrase “cut off” can mean “to destroy” or “to kill.’ Why would she want to destroy God’s prophets…because God’s prophets are the one who delivered God’s message of TRUTH to the people. A Jezebel spirit wants to SILENCE the truth by whatever means necessary. The Jezebel in Revelation 2 was trying to silence the truth by promoting her own version of the truth. There are many people in churches today who want to SILENCE the TRUTH. Are there some at Flagship, maybe, maybe not, but God being our helper Flagship Church should always be a BEACON of TRUTH in Erie, Pa!

IT USES FALSE ACCUSATIONS TO GET WHAT IT WANTS. Do you remember the story of Ahab and Jezebel. One day Jezebel found her husband Ahab POUTING. I know most men don’t pout, but Ahab did. He was so upset he wouldn’t eat and he had a bad attitude. In I Kings 21 we find Jezebel trying to get to the bottom of what was bothering him and she found out that Ahab wanted a vineyard that belonged to a man by the name of Naboth. Naboth was unwilling to sell the vineyard to Ahab so Ahab began to pout. Take a look at what Jezebel did next…I Kings 21:9-10 “And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”” Jezebel was willing to DESTROY Naboth with false accusations, knowing that as a result of this crime he would be killed and his land would then go to her husband. Are there people at Flagship who would be willing to lie about others to get what they want…maybe, maybe not, BUT remember, God “searches mind and heart.” If you are here God knows you who are!

IT WILL ABUSE AND MISUSE GOD’S GOOD GIFT OF SEX. Notice what the Bible says about the original Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:22 “And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?”” When Jezebel heard that Jehu was coming to town, guess what she did…2 Kings 9:30 “When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.” Why do you think Jezebel got all dolled up? She was hoping to use her beauty to seduce Jehu, but it didn’t work. Look at Revelation 2:20-21 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.” God’s good gift of sex was given to HUSBANDS and WIVES to enjoy in an EXCLUSIVE and PERMANENT marriage relationship. God gave the “Jezebel” in the church an opportunity to REPENT and she chose not to. What will YOU do with the opportunity God has given YOU?

IT SEEKS TO CORRUPT GODLY PEOPLE. Ask yourself the question...”WHERE was the Jezebel spirit at work?” Was it at work at the idolatrous temples? NO, IT WAS AT WORK RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHURCH…IT WAS SEEKING TO SEDUCE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST! Jesus said the church was “TOLERATING” it! The Jezebel spirit doesn’t just find a church that agrees with them, no, they join up with a church that DOESN’T agree with them so they can INTENTIONALLY lead other astray!

IT’S DRAWN TO PASSIVE PEOPLE WHO TOLERATES THE SEDUCTION AND MANIPULATION. Notice again the word “tolerate” in Revelation 2:20. People who TOLERATE the Jezebel spirit are the people who are in danger of being led astray and led into heresy.

It REFUSES TO REPENT. Notice again Revelation 2:21

Revelation 2:21 ESV

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

IT ALWAYS LEAVES CASUALTIES BEHIND. Think about all the families of the prophets that Jezebel killed. Wives were left without a husband and children were left without a father. Naboth’s family had to stand over his grave, knowing that he hadn’t cursed God and done the things that were said about him. We see the same thing happening in Revelation 2:22-23 “Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” There are ALWAYS CASUALTIES and CONSEQUENCES when the spirit of Jezebel is alive and well and allowed to be tolerated in our families and in our churches.

IT WILL BE USED BY GOD AS AN EXAMPLE TO THE CHURCH CONCERNING HIS WRATH UPON SIN AND THOSE WHO WOULD LEAD HIS PEOPLE ASTRAY. Do you remember what happened when Jehu paid Jezebel a visit? She got all dolled up by painting her eyes and getting her “hair did”, but Jehu was having none of it! God had prophesied in 1 Kings 21:23 that the “dogs would eat the body of Jezebel.” God don’t play! 2 Kings 9:33-37

2 Kings 9:33–37 ESV

He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’ ”

Notice again Revelation 2:23

Revelation 2:23 ESV

and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

God don’t play with Jezebels. God will EXPOSE them and God will use them as an EXAMPLE to demonstrate to His people that it doesn’t pay to play with her either!

God had been gracious to her and gave her an opportunity to repent of her immorality (v. 21) but she refused. As a result of her refusal of God’s grace and mercy she will face, instead, God’s judgment.

However, notice the end of verse 22. Once again God gives an opportunity for repentance. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He wants them to repent and gives them ample opportunity to do so.

One reason I personally believe this adultery is a reference to spiritual fornication and adultery is because God says He will strike her children (v. 23) with death. I personally believe the “children” referenced here is the religion that would be produced from the mixture of Biblical Christianity and the Jezebel spirit. This religion would be judged by God and eventually DIE!

We are also introduced to the concept of “the depths of Satan” in verse 24. Gwyn Pugh says this may reference the Gnostic idea of indulging the flesh by exploring sinful behaviors, done under the wicked pretense of trying to understand those behaviors better. Regardless of what the depths of Satan is, it certainly isn’t good.

Finally we see, this judgment will not effect the faithful. Christ has no other burden to place on them (v. 24). They need to continue to reject the false doctrine and to endure and remain faithful until Christ comes.

Finally we see...

The Point (vv. 26-28)

Revelation 2:26–28 ESV

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.

This point is this…it’s not just how you start the race that matters, it’s how you END it!

These genuine believers, people who are part of the church of the Lord Jesus, were being tempted and seduced by the Jezebel spirit.

Christ tells them that they are to “CONQUER” and to “KEEP HIS WORKS UNTIL THE END.” They are to endure through faith in Jesus until He returns.

There will be a time of accounting and they are to remain faithful to the BRIDEGROOM and not allow the spirit of Jezebel seduce them into thinking they can compromise the truth and everything will be ok. It won’t be OK!

If they do remain faithful and continue to trust in the Lord Jesus, Jesus promises them a reward…they will have places of responsible leadership in His kingdom!

They will also receive the Morning Star, which is Christ Himself! I love what Dr. Barnes said:

Jesus is the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16)…no more precious words could be spoken than these! Overcome, and I will give you Me!

Remember:

He Knows (v. 19)

He is Gracious & Merciful In Spite of Your Rebellion and Failures (vv. 21-22)

We will Give an Account to God One Day (v. 23)

Finish Well (vv. 25-29)