Not Tolerating Tolerance: The Church of Thyatira
Introduction: We are entering the heart of Summer, which means we are entering the heat of Summer. Last week I briefly mentioned the thorny soil in Mark 4 – it got me thinking how we usually begin Spring with great relief because of warmer days ahead and if you are like many people with spring fever, you go out on the first nice day in May and get flowers for the flowerbeds, or seeds for a vegetable garden. The first week or two you work that garden pulling weeds with enthusiasm, and the third and fourth week, while you still maintain it, you pull the weeds with a little less enthusiasm. Then during the fifth and sixth week the hot weather comes in and the garden becomes more work than enjoyment, and after that you let it go for a couple of days and say “I'll get it later” or “I'll do it tomorrow or next week” then you look out the window and you notice your once pristine garden is now completely overrun with weeds.
Just like weeds in the garden that we just don't have the desire, concern, or will to pull out anymore Thyatira didn't pull out the weeds of sin and corruption began to take over. If we don't labor to pull out sin immediately and persistently – it will take over.
Last week we studied how the church of Pergamum was warned about their worldly compromises. They had a few weeds in their garden that needed to be removed, but what was just beginning to happen in Pergamum had come into full bloom in Thyatira. As one person put it, “If the church married the world in Pergamum, in Thyatira they were celebrating anniversaries. This is the church that tolerated sin, absorbed sin, and lived happily ever after with it.” Sin? What sin? I don't see any sin? That was Thyatira. The Lord introduces himself accordingly in verse 18 saying “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.”
Jesus says “These are the words of the Son of God” This is the only time in Revelation the name “Son of God” appears. 'Son of Man' is used to emphasize Jesus' humanity but 'Son of God' emphasizes Christs' deity. He lets them know that He has the authority of God “whose eyes are like blazing fire” His piercing eyes sees their condition through all facades and darkness with perfect knowledge. “and whose feet are like burnished bronze” Bronze was the strongest metal during this time so He lets them know that He sees them from a position of strength and holiness.
Transition: We learn three things about the Church of Thyatira; The church of Thyatira had potential, they had problems, and they had a promise
The Church of Thyatira had Potential
Even among this corrupted church, Jesus graciously finds something good to say about them. He doesn't flatter them, but He encourages the few that were still earnest in their relationship with him, that they are improving.
“I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” Rev. 2:19
After hearing that you would think this is the model church. It should be our desire that our last works are better than our first. Each day should be better than the day before. We sing the hymn “Just a closer walk with thee” that is our hope and our desire. Every week we should be closer than the week before, doing more than we did at first.
Thyatira was the only church out of the seven that was commended for their love. This church is not only loving but they are growing and acting out of that love, and looking from the outside this would have been an impressive church. They were growing, working, ministering to the needs of others. When I leave this world I want my last day to be my best day. I want to be like Enoch walking so close to God that once I die the only surprise is the surroundings.
Before we praise them too much, let's keep in mind that you can find love outside the church just as easily as you can find love inside one. The church in Ephesus lost their love, remember? One can find love in some of the most unlikely places. You can find love in third world slums, where you might expect nothing but pain and suffering but surprisingly, there are those who sincerely care and love to help one another. This will shock some of you, but you can also find love amongst inner city gangs, who grew up without a family but they found a family in a local gang, they may hate everyone else but they do love each other. (even the police will tell you this) I don't mean to diminish Thyatira's love, my point is is that love isn't exclusive to the church. We can have a church that loves and still be far from the church that Christ desires. Both churches in Pergamum and Thyatira prove that.
There can be many good things that at least on the surface seem very effective, like numerical growth, warmth of fellowship, faith in God and perseverance. Yet at the same time evil can take root and dominate the church. Some might have said about the same church today, “Wow! The sky is the limit for that church! They are a very accepting and loving church and just look at all the activity and all the people, and all the growth!”
We seem to have two extremes in churches the ones that are, strict holiness, doctrinally narrow-minded perfectionists who are loveless, ruthless, and offensive. Then there are those who are purely emotional, sensational, sentimental, mushy, lovey-dovey with absolutely no regard for holy standards whatsoever.
Ephesians 5:2 says “walk in love just as Christ also loves you,” but in the next verse we read “But do not let immorality or any impurity be named among you.” In other words: Be loving, but be holy. Be filled with love but don't be filled with sin. Don't let your love, blind you to sin
Transition: In spite of all the good indicating the church in Thyatira had potential, verses 20-23 show us that the church of Thyatira had problems.
The Church of Thyatira had Problems
“Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” -Rev. 2:20
Thyatira was a wealthy trade town on the Lycus River in the Roman province of Asia. (Turkey) It was basically used as a shield for Pergamum. Every Conqueror that came to conquer Pergamum conquered Thyatira to get there. Their history shows that they were constantly being destroyed, taken over and rebuilt, perhaps because it was the smallest of the seven cities in Revelation that it was easily conquered or perhaps it was because they had no defense; they had no military, they had no strategic positioning. But we read in the next verse:
Just like the conquerors who had their way with Thyatira, this false prophetess had her way with their church and for the most part she conquered it, because there was no will to stand against her.
Jezebel, most likely wasn't her real name. Jesus gives people names based on their character. No one during this time would've named their daughter Jezebel. Because Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, whom king Ahab married and she brought paganism to Israel. Why the king of Israel would marry the daughter of his enemy is another sermon. But we do recall Elijah, whose exploits are legendary, a great prophet who called down fire from heaven on mount Carmel, He took on the 450 priests of Baal, and raised a dead boy back to life, and yet we read I Kings 19:3 that He ran for his life from this woman, Jezebel. Along with Judas, She was the most wicked, immoral, shameless person in the Bible. She would defile Israel at any cost and didn't care how she had to do it or who suffered to make it happen. She was thrown out of a window where dogs came along and ate her up to the point when they went to bury her there was nothing left but a skull, palms and feet, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy of her. And here in verse 22, Christ gave this woman the name Jezebel because she had the same character and he gave her time to repent and just like the Jezebel of the old testament, she arrogantly defied God to the end. A proud heart makes a hard heart, and there is nothing more shameful than to see a hard heart defy the grace of God.
This is where things get complicated, but interesting, You see in Thyatira there was many trades: bakers, potters, tanners, basket makers, and dye traders. Lydia, the seller of purple in Acts 16 was from Thyatira and some suggest she could have started this church. Thyatira had trade guilds or unions. And each union had it's own god, so if you were employed with a trade guild or union you were in a religious group that was associated with immorality and debauchery.
As Christians we may complain about our spouses company picnic, where there is offensive behavior or there is too much drinking, smoking, and cursing at the annual Christmas party but imagine belonging to a trade guild that meant attending feasts in honor of false gods or idols, and then afterward participating in fornication, debaucherous orgies. So there would have been those participants showing up in the Thyatira church, where a very domineering woman, Jesus calls Jezebel, was not only defending idolatry and immorality but was promoting it in the church, and sadly a majority had fallen in line with her, apparently.
How did she do this? No one knows. She may have very cleverly; albeit demonically reasoned to them “Hey, it's okay to participate in those activities, Paul said we live under grace not the law” but more than likely she lured them away by suggesting dualism - “It's the spirit that concerns God, not the flesh.” “after all you can't change it, you can't control it, so don't worry about what it does.” “Your body belongs to the god of this world (devil) and your spirit belongs to the God of Heaven.”
It's amazing what wicked things we allow in our lives with some twisted theological rationale attached to it. She couldn't just walk into the church that was founded on the rock and say “Listen up everyone, I am a prophetess and you are now free to participate idolatry and sexual immorality.” No. She had to slowly make sin seem normal, you know its just a part of the job (which sadly it was) and then once guilt came over them, purposefully misinterpret scripture to justify their sin. Amazing that one phony can do.
Ill. I read about a farmer who asked a restaurant owner if he wanted a million frog legs. The owner always looking for a new menu item, thought that would be a good idea, and asked the farmer where the farmer could possibly find so many frogs. The farmer said “My pond is overflowing with them. Their croaking is driving me up the wall and I'd love to get rid of them.” So the farmer and the restaurant owner agreed that the farmer would bring as many as he could the next week. He came the following week with one scrawny frog and a look of embarrassment, “I was wrong about the million frogs. It was just this one making all the racket. I never knew one frog could make so much noise.” Just one person was corrupting the whole church in Thyatira – but one is all it takes.
Those indulge the bed of sin, will be forced onto the bed of suffering, and Jezebel's children will die. (verse 22,23) This isn't referring to her biological children but all of her spiritual children- those who listened to her and believed her and followed her. It's not just a wicked tree that must die but all of it's evil fruit as well.
Transition: The Church of Thyatira had serious problems, but they were not without hope, because the church of Thyatira also had a promise.
The Church of Thyatira had a Promise
When we come to verse 24 we read “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): Only hold on to what you have until I come.”
What amazing grace! The only thing Jesus asks of those who didn't follow the false prophetess was to simply “hang in there, I am coming!” “Hold on, I'm on my way!” He commended this group in the beginning of this letter and promises in verse 26 that they will have authority over the nations. The Son of God has been given authority so authority is his to distribute to whom he wishes. Just as in Luke 19:17 have authority over ten cities, He offers rewards to those who overcome this 'Jezebel' prophetess.
Conclusion:
Ill. A certain man wanted to sell his house in Haiti for $2,000. Another man wanted to buy it, but because he was, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door. After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The moral of the parable is, If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation.
The church was teetering on going the right way or the wrong way. They had a choice to make; they could follow Jezebel (22, 23) or they could follow Christ. (24, 25) History shows that this church didn't heed Christ's warning because this church fell prey to a heresy and they went out of existence at the end of the second century. In I Kings 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him,” But the people said nothing.” What does it say about a people when given a choice between two Gods that they remain silent? It says the same thing about Thyatira, a church that tolerated Sin hanging around in their church and ended up being their downfall.
Make a point to pull those sins out as quickly as you can or else they will take over run the whole yard. And if we do, Christ promises rewards for all those who overcome.
