Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Thyatira: No Compromise!

Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Thyatira: No Compromise!

Revelation 2:18–29

Main Idea: The Lord attends the church in Thyatira and commends their hardworking diligent faith but warns that tolerance at the expense of truth leads to judgment.

Revelation 2:18–29 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. “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 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 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Introduction

The key to this letter is the preeminent Son of God - v.18

Revelation 2:18 ““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.”

Son of God

Christ is first noted as the “Son of God”, a title found only here in Revelation

It stands in contrast to the pagan god Apollo, son of Zeus, who was popular in Thyatira.

It is Jesus who is the true Son of God not Apollo, son of a lifeless idol

Jesus is the eternal and majestic Son of God

Eyes like a flame of fire

Look at Revelation 1:14 “The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,”

Also, turn to Revelation 19:12 “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.”

This speaks of His omniscience; his penetrating, perceptive, and piercing ability to see all things

He sees all actions, thoughts and emotions

Nothing escapes His vision

Jesus says I am walking among my churches judging the heart seeing the real you

Which means He can see through the deceptive teachings of the Jezebel

Feet are like burnished bronze

speaks of strength and splendor

His bronze feet are of a metal far superior to any made in Thyatira (where military-grade brass was made)

and no one can stand before the feet of him who tramples those who do evil

Revelation 19:13 “He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.”

Just like the Church of Pergamum there’s compromise inside the church

it’s this idea in the church of Thyatira

We got to make a living!

Compromise for the sake of business and “making a living” (active or passive)

The idea of Go along to get along

The issue is holiness in our every day going out and make a living life

Question: Do the principles of worldly business trump our desire to reflect Christ in our businesses and work?

We sometimes tend to think of the early church as pristine, pure, and untroubled by serious error.

The truth is wasn’t that way at all

From the very beginning, the enemies of truth launched an effort to infiltrate and confuse the people of God by mangling the truth and by blending lies with Christian doctrine.

Attacks against the truth regularly came from persecutors on the outside, but not always

they also came from false teachers and professing believers within the visible community of the church

The most dangerous threat to the church is not persecution, but compromise background...

Thyatira was the least known, least remarkable, and least important of the seven cities to receive a letter from the Lord

Yet the letter addressed to it is the longest and most difficult to interpret

The obscurity of the letter and the enigmatic character of certain words and phrases are largely due to the fact that background information on the history of Thyatira, specifically the cultural conditions and circumstances in the first century, is almost wholly lacking.

Its spiritual condition, on the other hand, is similar to that of Pergamum:

there is toleration of falsehood and moral compromise in their midst

Thyatira lay at the mouth of a long valley which connected the valleys of the Hermus & Caucus Rivers

In the ancient days the greatest roads of the word traversed thru that valley

In 290BC Thyatira emerged as a key military center that was the stopgap from enemies attacking Pergamum

Therefore Thyatira was destined to be attacked, destroyed and rebuilt

Thyatira was not a religious center but it was of great commercial importance

It was a key city for the wool and dyeing industry

Thyatira was a wealthy and prosperous city due to the numerous trade guilds

The threat of the church came from these powerful trade-guilds

At the center of this was a woman Jesus calls Jezebel

This name was taken from Ahab, the King of Israel’s wife that led Israel into idolatry and immorality

She like Baalam was a prototype of false teachers within the church throughout history

The issue was that no merchant or trader could hope to make it unless they were a member of one these trade guilds. (46)

This would be like an employee of a business that voted in the union and they refused to join

He had little hope of getting or keeping a job

So why should believers not join these trade-guilds?

These trade guilds were intimately connected the heathen worship

They would share common meals together that its food and wine came from the libation to the gods and was in itself considered like “saying” grace” to the gods

Not only that, these meals often turned into debauchery

The issue was believers were tempted to compromise in order to take care of their families and continue their businesses

People who rejected the trade guilds were committing commercial suicide and faced poverty of not only them but their families

And Jezebel was insisting that believers should join these trade guilds & participate without fear or guilt

The existence of the church is dependent on her commitment to be holy, that is different from the world

The Lord Commends His Church For Their Faithful Works v.19

Revelation 2:19 ““ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.”

Jesus graciously praises this church for the good things He sees

The Lord is always righteous and fair to His people

Even when He rebukes and corrects them, He will affirm and encourage them

The church in Thyatira was a growing church, not so much in terms of size as in Christ-like qualities.

They had learned that the Christian life is one of growth, progress, development, and spiritual increase.

Merely maintaining the moral status quo, whether individually or corporately, is inadequate.

Thus whereas Ephesus was backsliding, Thyatira was moving forward

We may therefore add this as another quality of the church that Jesus approves:

to the doctrinal orthodoxy of Ephesus, the suffering for righteousness’ sake of Smyrna, the love of Pergamum, we now add the growth and development of Thyatira

Every church would be wise to follow in Thyatira’s footsteps in v.19 What is commendable? Love, Faith, Service, and Patient endurance

These four virtues are probably meant to be paired

We see cause and effect

Charity issues in service; faith issues in endurance

The first two are motives; the second two are deeds.

Love for others had produced service; faith in Christ had assured perseverance in their commitment to him

Their love is producing service

Service (diakonian, “deacon-acts”) and endurance (upomonen; NIV, “perseverance”)

They differ from the church at Ephesus in being commended for their love—

Their love for God and for fellow believers is alive and radiant, animating their work

They are faithful and engaged in service to one another

Turn to Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

In love… we serve - cause & effect

A person with a servant’s heart is one, with longsuffering and steadfastness, who will give himself deliberately, voluntarily, sacrificially and joyfully to others in order that he may help meet their needs

They will walk away from their own concerns and private interests

and give their time, wisdom, knowledge, talents and gifts in order to help others

Here are things every church should do: Be Dependable (trustworthy), loyal, loving, patient

Their faith is producing endurance

The church in Thyatira was pursuing the right thing & practicing the right things

Turn to 1 Timothy 6:11 “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”

Faith is proven in triumphant living

“The possession of a virtue can only be proved and guaranteed by a life that fits it.”

Their faith is growing

They are saluted for their works—they are not a church sitting idly by, doing nothing

While the love of the Ephesian church had decreased (2:4),

the practical expression of love at Thyatira had grown (“you are now doing more than you did at first”)

WG are we growing in faith, love, service and perseverance?

Turn to 2 Thess 1:3 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

Jesus likes these characteristics of His church.

He also loves that “Your last works are greater than the first.”

They are not stagnant or satisfied in their service to their King

They were doing more than ever!

“Do good things and grow in good things” is a wonderful goal for any church of Christ

and that goal had been met in the church at Thyatira.

Still, there was “a dark spot of cancerous sin eating away from the inside” (Swindoll, 59).

The Lord now moves to address the serious spiritual sickness that impaired the health of this body

This is a letter of warning and criticism.

Real criticism must always encourage and never discourage.

Biblical criticism is always driven by genuine love and a desire to help

Criticism is most effective when it begins in praise

The Lord Condemns His Church For Their Tolerance v.20

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.”

This is a church known for its love

but love can lose its strength and moral center and alter into a toleration of evil

which is what was happening in Thyatira

Their love had turned to permissiveness, allowing a false prophet to exercise poisonous influence in their midst

As Stott said, “In that fair field a poisonous weed was being allowed to flourish. In that healthy body a fatal cancer had begun to form. An enemy was being honored in the midst of the fellowship”

Here we see the similarity between Thyatira and Pergamum and their joint dissimilarity with Ephesus.

The Ephesians could not bear the presence of falsehood and took no uncertain steps in ridding the cancerous error from their assembly.

But as noted earlier, it was done at the expense of love.

Not so with Thyatira.

While abounding in love they had lost their sensitivity to error

and had compromised the glorious truths of both doctrinal and moral uprightness

The exact nature of the heresy in Thyatira was wrapped up in the person and practices of one whom Jesus calls “Jezebel.”

The false prophet was a woman identified here as “Jezebel.”

John picks up the name of Ahab’s wife, who played a central role in introducing Baal worship in Israel (1 Kings 16:31),

just as he referenced Balaam earlier, in the letter to Pergamum (Rev. 2:14)

It was surely tempting to participate in activities in pagan temples, for trade guilds and other social activities centered on the pagan temples

The “modern Jezebel” in the church of Thyatira was also leading people away from the true God.

She had done the following:

She claims to be a prophetess (spokesman for God)

She was a teaching God’s people

She was deliberately leading believers into sexual immorality

She encouraged violation of conscience regarding food sacrificed to idols

So another words: “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

The deceit of this “Jezebel” is connected to her spreading the “deep things of Satan”

Look at Revelation 2:24 “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.”

Jezebel symbolizes the corrosive powers of false religion that infiltrates the people of God.”

The church was weak and spineless just like Ahab was to his wife

Swimming against the currents of the culture will be hard and almost always unpopular.

However, as Peter and the apostles said in Acts 5:22, “We must obey God rather than man”

Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Their primary sin was tolerance, not participation

Jesus has something against this church:

“You tolerate the woman Jezebel.”

This is most certainly a descriptive title and not the woman’s actual name

I do believe this talking about an actual person.

This woman was a powerful personality who had built her own following

She was smart; influential in personality and powerful in speech.

It was easy to follow her because she was a great speaker and she made since on everything she said.

However, like Jezebel of old, she was evil and deceptive, idolatrous and sexually immoral

She lead them into slavery and away from God and the Lordship of Jesus

We must guard against our theology

A false prophet will mix truth with lies.

Not everything they say will be false or wrong

They will add just enough truth to deceive the gullible and shallow

Look at v.20b Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants

Her doctrine was attractive and seductive

it seemed insightful, deep, perceptive

Her teachings promised freedom

false teachers promise prosperity, and life

It seems like they are exalting Jesus, but in actuality they dethroned Jesus

Jezebel claimed to have the truth but really God’s standard was perverted and God’s Son removed from His preeminence

The church must never lose sight of the fact that doctrine matters.

Theology matters. Truth matters.

We must continually be on guard.

Truth is too easily compromised then lost

We must guard against morality

She had deceived God’s servants to

commit sexual immorality

and participate in pagan idolatry

Leon Morris explains:

“The strong trade guilds in this city would have made it very difficult for any Christian to earn his living without belonging to a guild.

But membership involved attendance at guild banquets, and this in turn meant eating meat which had first been sacrificed to an idol.…

That these meals all too readily degenerated into sexual looseness made matters worse.

But we can understand that some Christians would welcome a heresy of this type.

It enabled them to maintain a Christian profession while countenancing and even engaging in immoral heathen revels”

Jezebel “taught” that there was nothing wrong with a Christian taking part in the feasts and celebrations, for it was merely civil

It was compromises in belief and behavior that set the Lord “against” His church

God calls us to holiness not adultery

He calls us to purity not spiritual adultery

God calls us to spiritual fidelity not spiritual adultery.

God calls us to follow Him not follow the world

Turn to 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

The Lord Corrects His Church vv.21-25

It’s too late for “Jezebel” - v.21

Revelation 2:21 “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”

The Lord gave the Jezebel “time to repent.”

However, “she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.”

He gave her time to “change her evil ways.” She said no, now she will experience judgment

Very likely the phrase “cast her on a bed” is intended as irony:

her “bed” as the place of adultery is now a place of illness

since she is playing the role of a harlot with regard to the truth

Severe punishment is about to be measure out to Jezebel and her adulterous associates

The Savior’s discipline is always wrapped in grace, love and mercy

Twice we see the word repent, meaning to change your mind that results in a change of action

She will have no occasion to question the justice of God’s judgment

Jeremiah promises it; Jer 17:10 ““I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””

Paul promises it; Romans 2:6 “He will render to each one according to his works:”

Even Jesus promises it; Matt 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

It’s not too late for her followers and those deceived by her - v.23

Revelation 2:23 “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.” Repent and live

It appears that her time for repentance had passed (v. 21)

but that “they [still had the opportunity to] repent of her ways”

These verses identify three kinds of persons associated with the congregation

1. Those who commit adultery with her. V.22

This does not mean that Jezebel had literally opened a brothel (red light district)

but that some church members were struggling with her teachings, falling into some degree of moral compromise

2. Those who called her children. - v.23

Again, this is not literal, but refer to those who had wholly committed themselves to Jezebel’s doctrines

She had become their spiritual mother

Like their mother they were unwilling to repent, so Christ was about to strike them dead

Don’t forget what I just said earlier

The Savior’s discipline is always wrapped in grace, love and mercy

He is the one who searches hearts and minds

He will repay each of you according to your deeds

The point is unless the church acts they will be judged along with Jezebel

Participation in this spiritual adultery may be active or passive. Both brings judgment

3. The rest of you in Thyatira

God speaks to the rest

Look at Revelation 2:24-25 “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.” These are the faithful believers who do not hold to her teachings.

Don't compromise!!

Christ is so pleased with these believers that he will not impose any other burden

They are to hold on to what you have until I come

Those who persevere to the end, those who endure until Jesus returns, will be saved

Turn to Colossians 1:22-23 “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

This verse captures the message of Revelation as a whole:

to receive the final reward, believers must continue to be faithful until Jesus returns

“Both right Doctrine and right living are absolutely essential and totally Inseparable for the true child of God. That is the consistent teaching of Christ himself.” (37, The Truth War)

Satans deep secret? v.24

It is more likely

however, that knowing Satan’s “deep secrets” is a reference to the view that in order to appreciate fully the grace of God one must first plumb the depths of evil

A common feature was the delicious promise that after persons were initiated into the cult, they gained “deep secrets” or special wisdom. No doubt this was part of “Jezebel’s” allure

So What?

The Lord rewards those who refuse to compromise truth for comfort V.26-28

Revelation 2:26-28 “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.”

We cannot promise any believer that standing on truth will not be costly.

We can promise you it has always been costly but it is worth the cost.

Real Authority

In Daniel 7:14 “And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

dominion and authority are given to the Son of Man so that all peoples everywhere will serve him.

The remainder of the vision in Daniel 7 reveals the Son of Man sharing his rule with the saints

The saints will possess the kingdom (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27) and rule with Jesus as the Son of Man

Believers who gave their lives for the Lord Jesus will sit on thrones and rule

Revelation 20:4 “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

This is not a special reward reserved for special Christians; all believers will enjoy this authority over the nations

Real Ruling

The theme of the rule of the saints continues with the wording of Psalm 2:8–9: the saints will rule with a “rod of iron,” and those who rebel against them will be shattered like clay pots

Jesus received his authority to reign from the Father, and believers receive their right to rule from Jesus

Rule here should not be identified with millennial rule

for the reward is comparable to the reward given to those who conquer in the other letters, i.e. , rule in the new creation, the coming heavenly city

Real Reward

Revelation 2:28 “And I will give him the morning star.”

The morning star = Christ Himself

More likely, the morning star points to Venus, which shines even before the sun rises, and here it refers to Jesus himself, as Revelation 22:16 explicitly says

The contrast : The church is the lampstand but Jesus is the morning star.

Jesus pledges to give us himself

The one who is faithful will have Christ himself as his reward

Real perseverance lifelong is needed!

The Christian life does not consist of one victory over sin, or one victory over temptation

it consists of a lifelong faithfulness that is constantly engaged in the battle of sin.

The Christian life is not a battle, it is a campaign

Real Holiness required

Holiness of life and character is another indispensable mark of a true church

A review of the letters so far reveals the mark of a true church is love, suffering, truth & holiness

Holiness is not only God’s will but his purpose

This is holiness that follows us to work, to our hobbies and to our homes for it is there what we truly believe is lived out

The call to the Church this morning is to hold fast to Truth and refuse to compromise no matter the cost for as Christ is faithful so are His children called to be