The Seven Churches - Thyatira

Notes from our Wednesday night Bible Study...

Revelation 2:18-29

• Last week we talked about Pergamum which was a major and important city in the area.

• Commerce, science, religion

• 45 miles due east – Thyatira.

• Not an important city like Pergamum
• More of a blue collar city
• Fabrics, clothing
• Leatherwork
• Bronze work

Jesus’ Introduction…

• The Son of God
• Eyes like blazing fire
• Piercing, penetrating
• Illuminating
• Feet like burnished bronze
• Brilliant, polished, smooth, glossy
• Solid foundation / strength
• I think people in this blue collar community could appreciate a Jesus like that.
• I know your deeds.
• He says this to three churches. (Ephesus, Thyatira, Laodicea)
• What we DO is important.
• Jesus is watching what we do or don’t do.
• You are doing more now than you did at first.
• Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to happen?
• Growth was happening.
• Churches can’t keep doing the same thing if we want to please God.
• We’ve got to do more
• I know your love, faith, service, perseverance.
• Love (philo)
• Personal attachment or affection
• Toward each other
• Faith (faithfulness)
• Unswerving commitment to the Lord Jesus in a hostile environment.
• Service
• Toward the world
• They knew they had mission and mandate from the Lord.
• Go into all the world and make disciples.
• Perseverance
• Persistent determination, especially through adversity
• 2 Peter 1:6 – perseverance leads to godliness
• Romans 5,3-4 – produces godly character
• I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the church in Thessalonica.
• 1 Thes. 1:3 – “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• This church was doing something right.
• Nevertheless, there is a huge flaw in the church.
• Jesus has a few things against them.

Tolerating Jezebel

• When he calls her Jezebel, he is referring more to her character than her actual name—she is a Jezebel.
• This comes from 1 and 2 Kings.
• Ahab was one of the worst kings Israel ever had.
• It has a lot to do with his wife, Jezebel, who led Ahab to worship Baal and caused all of Israel to fall into idolatry.
• She led them astray into sinful practices, and that’s just what this woman was doing to the church in Thyatira.
• She claimed to be a prophetess.
• What that means – she led them into immorality, claiming that it was God telling her to do so.
• This was similar to the Nicolaitans and the teaching of Balaam that we discussed last week.
• She called her practices “the deeper secrets/truths.”
• They were actually what the Bible calls the doctrine of demons.
• Born from the pit of Hell.
• Food sacrificed to idols
• Acts 15 – The council at Jerusalem
• Prohibited gentile believers from eating food sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, eat the meat of strangled animals, consuming blood.
• This was to separate them from the pagan religious practices around them.
• This woman led them into the first two.
• They participated in the pagan practices of the world around them.
• They mixed worship of God with worship of idols.
• They worshipped God in the same way they would worship pagan idols.
• We’re going to see that Jesus will deal with her, but the problem he had with the church is that they tolerated her.
• They let her hang around—ignored her.
• Tolerance – not only recognizing, but respecting the beliefs and practices of others.
• Does this fit with our faith?
• Now about her…
• He gave her time to repent.
• Why would he do that?
• In the meantime, she was leading people away from God.
• Romans 2:4 – God’s patience leads us to repentance.
• Is that why the church was “tolerating” her?
• God was willing to tolerate her for a while.
• His tolerance was not acceptance, it was more like endurance.
• But he knows if someone is going to repent or not, so why wait?
• Was it more of a testing of the church?

Consequences…

• It seems to be directed more at her unwillingness to repent rather than what she was doing.
• Specific for her and her children—those who followed her.
• I will cast her onto a bed of suffering.
• She made her bed, now she’s going to lie in it.
• She was a spiritual adulterous and caused other people to do the same thing.
• If that’s what they want…that’s what they’ll get.
• I will strike her children dead.
• This will happen, unless they all repent of her ways.
• The punishment will fit the crime.
• I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
• Then everyone will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds.
• I’m the one with the eyes like blazing fire who sees past the exterior and into the heart and mind.

Encouragement…

• For the rest of the people in Thyatira, those who have not followed this Jezebel, keep up the good work.
• Jesus is totally satisfied with what they are doing.
• I’m not going to put any more demands on you because I don’t need to.
• Just get rid of Jezebel woman.

To him who overcomes…

• Then he adds “and does my will to the end.” ONLY HERE
• Jesus’ words, Matthew 24:13 – he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
• Keep doing what you’re doing.
• Continue to do more and more.
• Result…
• Receive authority over the nations.
• ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’ – quote of Psalm 2:9
• Refers to the millennial reign of Christ.
• We will reign with him.
• We will participate with Jesus in fulfilling that Scripture.
• The morning star
• Jesus is called the morning star.
• Rev. 22:16
• We will be united with him forever.
• He is our gift, our life.

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

• This is how he ends his letter to each church.
• It’s a general exhortation to listen and obey.

General message…

• Last week, no compromise.
• This week, zero tolerance for sin.