Thyatira - The Polluted Church Pt. 1

Introduction

Thyatira is smaller than the first three cities, yet, received the longest letter of all the churches.

Thyatira was established as a military town to guard the capital city of Pergamos, thirty miles away. This town gave Pergamos, the capital of Asia, time to prepare for an attack of any invading army. So the city was destined to be destroyed and rebuilt.

The name "Thyatira" means sacrifice or sacrificial offering. Isn't that interesting? They as a church were willing to sacrifice their faith on the altar of compromise. And what began as a small compromise into a little false doctrine quickly became them sacrificing truth in order to accept others. Abandoning what is true for what is convenient.

The only way to work there were the guilds, we talked about those guilds a little last week preaching on the church at Pergamos...

Remember? They were sort of like unions, you had to be part of them in order to work, but the problem was each one had a god they worshipped and sacrificed to.

Your membership in the guild would signify that you worshipped it’s god. You would also be expected to eat the food sacrificed to those gods, and after the feasts, all sorts of immoral acts of fornication would begin...

God’s saints at Thyatira had to face problems of this kind everyday, in much the same way that many of God’s people do, to varying degrees, in this degenerate age.

There was a prophetess in the church at Thyatira called Jezebel who claimed to have a solution to the problem.

She reasoned that in order to conquer Satan, you must get to know him. Her philosophy was this: ‘You will never be able to influence the idolaters if you condemn them and refuse to go along with their religion. You do not have to deny Christ, but you cannot expect to get along in the world if you do not accept the world’s religion, or at least accept it as an acceptable form of religion. After all, who are we to condemn another man’s religion? You just cannot say that someone’s religion is false!’

The Lord Jesus sends a hard letter to the pastor of the church in Thyatira and to the people in the church of Thyatira. This church may have had:

a fine meeting place,

a great budget,

programs of ministry that many were involved in,

growing attendance records,

they may have had a good reputation with the people within the city,

but Jesus says that they were decaying from within; they were polluted...

Notice with me as we study this letter…

The Master Described

Revelation 2:18 KJV 1900

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;

Now, Jesus comes to this church in verse 18 and presents Himself in three ways. He comes as:

1. The Saving One—“The Son Of God”—

He reminds these people that He is the Savior and that He alone is worthy of worship.

2. The Searching One—“eyes like unto a flame of fire”—

He comes as one Who sees all. He sees the works of the hands and the motives and thoughts of the heart. He comes seeing all. He comes, not as the meek and lowly Jesus, but with His eyes ablaze with anger over sin.

3. The Sovereign One—“feet like fine brass”—

Brass, or bonze, in the Bible is always symbolic of judgment. Jesus not only comes as One able to see all; He also comes as One able to judge all.

Secondly, we see…

The Message Dispensed

Revelation 2:19 KJV 1900

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.

This message contains praise…

As is the case with these letters, the Lord always focuses first on the positive aspects of the church...

William Barclay said, “Real criticism must always encourage and never discourage. When we have a reason to rebuke or criticize anyone, we must make it clear that we are doing so, not because we dislike him, but because we like him; not because we hate him, but because we love him; not because we think he is useless but useful; not because we want to hurt him but to help him. Constructive criticism is most effective when it starts out with praise.”

Notice what the Lord had to say concerning the works of Thyatira...

1) Works: This fellowship had hard workers that were known for their actions, not just their beliefs.

2) Charity: The church at Thyatira, in contrast to Ephesus, had love for many people. In fact, they are the only church that Jesus commended for having love. But this could prove to be a downfall.

4) Service: This church was heavily involved in ministry and in serving others.

3) Faith: Their deeds and love were motivated by their faith in Christ.

5) Patience: They had patient endurance/steadfastness.

6) Even More Work: Their latter works exceeded the first. That means they were growing in their faith, not just resting in something God did for them in the past.

I look at the church today, and I wonder if the same commendation could be said of us: We have great deeds, love, faith, service, perseverance.

We would not find anything wrong with a church like this but Jesus did, because:

This message also shows a problem…

Revelation 2:20 KJV 1900

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.

Jesus said the church in Thyatira TOLERATED Jezebel.

She represents the despicable woman from 1 Kings. If you remember, king Ahab was basically the most evil and dirty and demonic king that ever reigned in Israel, and he married this evil woman Jezebel.

And as soon as he married her, Ahab began to serve and worship Baal, the false god that was constantly a thorn to Israel. Jezebel led people to commit sexual immorality and to offer their food to idols. And Ahab, toward the end of his life, developed a sudden thread of a conscience, after he heard what God had to say. You can read about it in 1 Kings 21. But as long as he was with Jezebel, he was tempted to sin gravely against the Lord.

Jesus said that Jezebel was committing sexual immorality and was teaching and seducing people to do the same.

Someone hearing me today might say, "Well I don't struggle with that, so I'm good!"

But, listen to me right here...before we think we are off the hook, Scripture calls idolatry the same thing as spiritual adultery, like an unfaithful wife leaving her husband. So Jezebel in a sense represents things in our life that lead to idolatry--to worshiping things instead of God.

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.

It’s been said this way: “Either they will have full heads and empty hearts, or full hearts and empty minds, either extreme is deadly. God demands both love and sound doctrine.”

1 Timothy 1:5 KJV 1900

5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

“Speaking the truth in love” is the biblical balance.

So what was the false doctrine she taught? Well:

The social activities of the trade guilds were usually held in pagan temples. They ate food that had been dedicated to idols and their parties ended in drunkenness and immorality. If a person refused to participate in these heathen practices, he was committing economic suicide. The choice before the church at Thyatira was making money or being a Christian.

That woman Jezebel taught compromise with the world for financial success. She taught mixture with the world instead of separation from it.

False Doctrine is alive and well today and we shouldn’t tolerate it!

2 Peter 2:1 KJV 1900

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Peter says, “There will be false teachers among you.” Notice the words “among you.” Peter is writing to the church and says, “There will be false prophets among you.” So he is not talking about New Age people on television. He is talking about people in the local church, members of a local congregation.

There is no such thing as a pure church this side of heaven. You will never find it. The wheat and the tares grow together.

Warren Wiersbe writes: Satan is the counterfeiter. . . . He has a false gospel (Galatians 1:6-9), preached by false ministers (2 Corinthians 11:13-12), producing false Christians (2 Corinthians 11:26). . . . Satan plants his counterfeits wherever God plants true believers (Matthew 13:38).

So far, we have the master described, the message dispensed, and thirdly, we see...

The Mandate Declared

Revelation 2:21 (KJV 1900)

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

The Lord Jesus gave her time to repent but she would not repent. The Lord tells us of the stubbornness of this woman! She was dead set on doing things her way—it was her way or the high way—she was self—appointed and self—approved!

Through messengers such as John, Christ had given this false prophetess opportunity to repent of her sinful teachings and actions, but like many, she had refused…

But, thank God for His grace! He called for this wicked woman to repent! He calls all people everywhere to repent. The Lord is gracious!

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

John G. Butler wrote, “God’s action here showed (1) that no sinner is too great a sinner to repent, (2) that what Jezebel was doing was sin, and (3) that God is not unkind to punish people for their sins because He has given them ample time to repent. Those who go to hell have no one to blame but themselves.”

Don’t be stubborn—listen to the Spirit of God! Listen to the Word of God!

Turn from your sins—trust in the Lord Jesus to save you, forgive you, cleanse you!

The mandate was repentance!

Conclusion

I’ll have to finish this thought tonight…Come back at 6 and we’ll conclude this message...

Church history records that by the second century, they were no longer in existence. They didn't repent. They didn't heed these words.

Is there an area in your life--which seems maybe small or insignificant--perhaps it is doctrinal or practical, or on the border of sinful--and you aren't paying attention to it? Like Pergamos, Are you beginning to compromise your beliefs or your behavior?

Like Thyatira, are you already corrupted with compromise?

We can keep tolerating sin, but one day, its destructive effects will take hold of us. Like a toxin, sin will slowly kill us, one day at a time, one bad decision after another.

My prayer is that we will stand for truth, keep His word to the end and be the church that is known for speaking the truth in love.