For the past several weeks we have been studying the letters to the Seven Churches found in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.

There are two bed rock things we must keep in mind as we study these churches: First, they were historical churches, that is they existed as real churches with real pastors and real buildings and, second, they are at the same time pictorial churches, meaning that as we observe these churches we can see something of the strengths and weaknesses of our own churches. 

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For the past several weeks we have been studying the letters to the Seven Churches found in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. There are two bed rock things we must keep in mind as we study these churches: 

1. They were historical churches, that is they existed as real churches with real pastors and real buildings and 
2. They are at the same time pictorial churches, meaning that as we observe these churches we can see something of the strengths and weaknesses of our own churches. 

We come today to the church that was located in a city called Thyatira. In ancient times the city of Thyatira was called Pelopia, then the name became Semiramis. In 290 BCE the name was changed again. This time to mark a military victory by Seleucius I. Nicator. On the same day he won a battle his wife gave birth to a daughter so he named the city Thyatira – daughter. Today it has yet another name –Akhisar [white castle]. 

As a city Thyatira was not much. It was not a large city. For that matter, it was not even an important city. However, it was in a great business location being on one of the Roman trade routes. In spite of its size and its low reputation – it had managed to carve out a niche for itself. 

1] Thyatira was famous for dying fabrics. In particular, it was famous for its purple dye. Church people are generally aware of this fact since Paul’s first convert in Europe was a woman by the name of Lydia. She was from Thyatira and was a seller of purple. [Acts 16]

2] Secondly, it was famous for being a center for trade guilds. No other city in the Province of Asia had nearly as many trade guilds as Thyatira. These guilds not only trained workers but protected specialized trade secrets such as dye recipes and the like. They were tight knit groups. And as we will see, these guilds were a major force in the city and this, as a result, had a major impact on the church and church life in Thyatira. 

Clearly there was a church in Thyatira but what is not so clear is how Thyatira actually got a church. Some think that maybe it was founded by the Apostle Paul on one of his missionary journeys. But we have no record of that. Some think that maybe Lydia, after her conversion in Philippi [Acts 16], went back home to Thyatira to witness to her family and that is how the church began. 

But all of this is mere speculation. In fact, there is a lot of speculation about the church at Thyatira. We are going to skip over the speculation and get to what the text itself has to say. 

This letter to Thyatira is very similar in form to all of the other of the seven letters. They all have a common outline. Bible scholars describe the outline in different ways but they all agree there is a common outline. So in that sense, the letter to Thyatira is similar to the other letters. 

Yet in some ways, this letter is very different. For example –

1] Even though this letter is sent to the church in the smallest and most insignificant city – it is the longest letter of the seven letters. 

2] It is considered by many to be the most severe of the 7 letters. And yet it is the only letter of the seven that actually commends a church for being loving.

So, let us begin our examination of the text by reading the text. [Rev. 2:18-29]

Like all of the other letters this letter begins with a description of Jesus. But this description of Jesus is like no other – THESE ARE THE WORDS OF THE SON OF GOD!!! These are not just the words of anyone – they are the words of the Son of God! This is the only time that this description of Jesus is used in the entire book of the Revelation. Listen to this introduction. 

¹⁸ “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Now, if there ever was a ‘no messing around’ introduction, this one is it!!! In fact, it has three components: 

1] we are told about who is speaking: the Son of God; 

2] we are told about his eyes; they are like blazing fire; 

3] we are told about his feet they are like brazen metal, a consistent  symbol of judgement in the Bible. 

In the vernacular this text would sound something like this: 

Hey you!!! God speaking. I see you!!! I see everything you do, I know everything you think, I know everything about you, I am a God of judgment!!! NOW THAT JUST MIGHT GET YOUR ATTENTION. 

And so, we are ready for judgment!!! We are looking for a list of all the faults of the church in Thyatira. And yet, what we find is exactly the opposite. 

Look at verse 19

¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

What a surprise! We are ready for judgment – but we are getting praise. Jesus says, “I know your deeds!”

 Then he breaks the deeds down into two couplets.        

            1] Love and Faith

            2] Service and Perseverance 

As Ray Steadman puts it – Love leads to Service and Faith leads to Perseverance. 

Remember, as I mentioned earlier – this is the only church that is commended for being loving. This church has it all. It is a community of love – you are welcome here. It is a church where there is deep belief in God. It is a church that provides every service you can imagine. It has a programme for everything. And the people in that church – well two things:

1] they never give up – THEY PERSEVERE!!!

2] they keep getting better – THEY ARE DOING MORE NOW THAN THEY EVER DID!!! [Your deeds are increasing.]

This is a church that you might recommend to your friends.

A lot of nice people in that church!!! 

A lot of good things happening in that church.

A loving atmosphere in that church.

But, as the saying goes – sometimes our strengths become our weaknesses!!! Our virtues become our vices!!! And for sure that is the case at Thyatira!!! Their strength was love. Their weakness was love. 

Listen to what Jesus says:

²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 

There is a woman in the church at Thyatira who considers herself to be a prophet. Jesus calls her Jezebel!!! Whether or not that is her real name we are not sure. 

What seems to be sure is that Jesus is using Old Testament examples to show how sin infiltrated Israel and through those examples shows how sin could and would infiltrate the church. 

He reminded the church at Pergamos of Balaam the prophet who could not curse Israel no matter how hard he tried! [It is a very funny story. It is a big story!!! It takes almost 4 chapters to tell the story.] Balaam may not have been able to curse Israel but he did know how to corrupt Israel – simply send in the Moabite women!!! 

Since we are not studying the church at Pergamos today we will not go into who Nicolas was or for that matter who the Nicolaitans were or what they taught! But, I will tell you this, it is a story of how quickly a fall into sin can happen and how the misuse of the Scripture can bring incredible harm to believers. 

But, back to the text at hand and this woman Jezebel. 

The mere mention of the name Jezebel brings to mind the most horrific woman of the Old Testament. She was not a Jew but was the daughter of the King of Sidon. She was married to Ahab, possibly the wickedest King in the whole line of Israelite kings! This woman brought her religion, Baalism, to Israel. 

If you look at Jezebel and Ahab – he might have been the King but she was the power behind the throne! A power to be reckoned with! Through her power Baalism became a popular religion in Israel. It brought with it not only idolatry but immorality since there was a fertility aspect to this religion. 

She herself sponsored over 800 prophets of Baal. And when Elijah, that great prophet Elijah, stood up against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel Jezebel determined rid the earth of Elijah. She was such a power that Elijah ran for his life! She was one evil woman. 

So when Jesus calls this woman in Thyatira JEZEBEL – He is making a very clear point. This woman is a corrupting force in the church. 

According to the text Rev. 2:20

By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

How does this happen? Well, there are two things that contribute to this issue:

1] Remember earlier I referred to the guilds that were present in Thyatira. Commentators agree that to have any success in Thyatira you would need to belong to a guild. And, that presented problems. 

William Barclay puts it this way: “These guilds met frequently and they met for a common meal. Such a meal was at least in part a religious ceremony. It would probably meet in a heathen temple, and t would certainly begin with a libation to the gods, and the meal itself would largely consist of meat offered to idols.”  

We might add here that following the meal given the erotic sexual nature of the gods worshipped – immorality was sure to follow. This was the situation in Thyatira.

The question is clear – how could a Christian survive in such an environment? 

Jezebel had the answer. It was easy! God is a god of grace. He is a god of forgiveness. He is a loving and kind God. He understands! He is tolerant!!!

This is the voice of compromise. It is the voice of capitulation!  It is the voice that says – you got to do what you gotta do. It is the voice that says sometimes you have to do evil to do good. It is the voice of one of my old friends in Kazakhstan – Vera Polina – the Bible is the Bible but Life is Life and in her mind – life was more important than the word of God. Life trumped the word of God.

Can you imagine Daniel speaking like this?

Can you imagine Esther speaking like this?

Can you imagine Paul speaking like this?

Can you imagine John the Baptist speaking like this?

Their voice is the voice of conviction!!! 

But you need to know something today. Jezebel – is not the only problem!  

2] The church at Thyatira is a problem. They do nothing to stop this woman. Jesus says of them – “you tolerate that woman”.  You know what she is doing. You know what she is teaching. You know what affect her teaching is having on the church – and you do nothing!!!

This is where the love at the church of Thyatira goes wrong. 

It loves peace more than truth. 

It loves good will more than good theology. 

It loves acceptance more than accuracy. 

To put it simply – it is a very Canadian Church. Tolerance and Acceptance are its prime values. Truth is left in the dust!!!

We see Canadian churches compromising on way too many fronts. 

Is Jesus the only way? This is a Jezebel question!

Is sex before marriage wrong? This is a Jezebel question!

Is sex outside of marriage wrong?  This is a Jezebel question. 

Is Jesus really the incarnate Son of God? This is a Jezebel question.

Did God really create? This is Jezebel question. 

Is gender really just a matter of the mind? Jezebel is everywhere?

Indeed, Jezebel is everywhere – and if you are not careful Jezebel will take you to the darkest Satanic secrets, seducing you into thinking you cannot truly fight with Evil if you don’t fully know what evil is!!! Unless you have walked in Evil’s moccasins!!! She is one tricky woman. 

As a good friend of mine once said – you don’t have to eat garbage to know that it is garbage. 

The Thyatiran church – is too complacent, too compliant to stop the corruption and disruption that this woman is causing. 

Where the church is nothing – Jesus will step in. In fact, he already has. Remember the blazing eyes and the burnished feet. Looks like judgment is coming. But before we jump to that conclusion – look at the text.

²¹ I have given her TIME TO REPENT of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, UNLESS THEY REPENT of her ways.

You must note in this text that before the judgment comes grace! God wants to forgive. God wants to restore. God wants to reconnect. They have time – but they don’t have time forever. The text makes it clear that SHE WILL NOT REPENT!

So, 

1] she will be thrown on a bed of suffering. [note the play on words – bed!!!  – this immoral woman is thrown on a bed not of pleasure but of pain.

2] those who follow her teachings will suffer great tribulation, and         3] her children [her devoted followers] will be killed!!!

God is going to stamp out this apostasy!!!

And, He is going to stamp it out in such a way that all of the churches will take notice and recognize that God is a God of judgment. 

But in all of our attention on Jezebel and her followers we have forgotten that in the church at Thyatira there were people who stood firm. People who did not cave. People who did not compromise. People of conviction. They remained faithful and true. 

No doubt, it was a battle. It is always a battle to stand for truth in a sinful world. We need to remember the teaching of Jesus – “blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake – rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven. [Matt. 5:11-12]

As Jesus looks at this church in Thyatira – he not only sees the heresy – he sees saints who are standing true. And listen what he says to them:

²⁴ Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

Two things stand out in this text – 

1] The grace of Jesus – he is not trying to burden us down, and

2] Sometimes it is enough to just ‘hang on’. Sometimes it is all that you can do to just hang on!!! It is enough!!! Because Jesus is hanging on to you. 

An old friend of mine shared with me his favourite poem pointing out that it was written in an iambic format. It is entitled: Keep On. 

            Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on

            Keep on, keep on, keep on… 

[repeat]

            [You get the point!!!]

And now Jesus continues –

²⁶ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[a]—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Now just as Pastor Josiah mentioned last week – these rewards that things can get very interesting and very complex at times. Fortunately today that is not the case!

Two rewards are promised to the person who hangs in there to the end. Now when I use this phrase ‘hang on’ I am using it in the light of the text we have been studying – so this person has “hung on” to two things:

1] This person has hung on to Biblical truth in the face of error. 2] This person has hung on to Biblical ethics and behaviour in the face of opposition.  

Jesus promises them two things:

1] The Promise

 He promises them that things are not always going to be as they are now. Evil will not always be a force to be encountered. There is coming a time when Psalm 2 will be literally fulfilled. The Son will be seated on his throne. The nations who have mocked and rebelled will be subdued. Evil will be overcome. Christ will reign. And, the saints – believers will reign with Jesus. Righteousness will be everywhere. 

When exactly is this going to happen? The simple answer is – when Christ reigns. But the question is “when will Christ reign?” 

Well – He will reign once for 1,000 years. It is what we call the millennial kingdom. But there is also a second reign. He will reign forever – King of Kings. That is the believer’s future. It may be tough now – but it is going to be great for eternity.  

But there is a second thing promised to the faithful at Thyatira. 

2] The Presence

²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. 

The Morning Star, of course, is none other than Jesus. You might say, they have Jesus now. And they do. But as Paul puts it in 1 Cor. 13 “now we see through a dark glass” – “then face to face”!!! As Paul puts it in Romans 8 – we simply have the first fruits – we simply have a taste of what is in store!!!

So today you and I are like the church in Thyatira – we are confronted with a choice. Who will we listen to? Who will we follow? Who is it going to be?  Jesus or Jezebel???

Jezebel – she is a beauty. Her message is simple. You can have it all! You can have adultery and purity at the same time. You can have lying and truth at the same time. You can be god and have God at the same time. You can have Jesus and everything else too!  

            Solomon puts it this way – there is a way that seems right unto man but the end thereof is the way of death. 

On the other hand – there is Jesus. His message is simple and straightforward – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father but by me. 

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