The Church at Thyatira: A Corrupt Church - Revelation 2:18-29 - 1/31/10
Turn with me this morning to the last book in the Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 2. We want to continue on today, looking at the question, “What does God think of His church?” Here in Revelation 1, we find the disciple John, living on an island off the coast of Turkey, writing about 95 AD, some 65 years after Jesus has died and resurrected. He is given a vision of Christ, and Jesus gives John a message in chapters 2 & 3 for 7 churches in Asia Minor, the area we know today as Turkey. Jesus has words of encouragement and words of rebuke for these churches. And we want to look at these churches to see what message God might have for us as well.
First we looked at the church of Ephesus. It was a CARELESS church. This was a large church, an active, working church, a well-taught church, a weathered church, they hard faced trials -- yet it was a church that faced a rebuke. We often look at large, active churches as healthy churches, but often they are not. Jesus told the church at Ephesus they had lost their passionate love for God. And we want to make sure that we are always more concerned about who we ARE, in our hearts, than just being concerned about what we DO.
Then, we looked at the second church, the church at Smyrna. It was a CRUSHED church and a CROWNED church. They faced pressure and poverty and putdowns, but they faithfully endured, and so they received commendation from the Lord. The Lord tells them that persecution will come, but to continue to live faithfully and He would reward them greatly. We want to be faithful, even when life gets difficult.
Then we looked at the church at Pergamum. It was a COMPROMISING church. It was a city where Satan had set up camp; but the church had tolerated Satan’s presence. The Lord calls the church to repent. We want to make sure as well that we do not compromise and tolerate evil.
Today we look at the church at Thyatira. It was a CORRUPT church. And we want to learn from God’s message to this church about what God’s desire for us is today. Let’s pray. PRAY -
(set up video segment - “Lean In”) Today, as we think about how God wants us to worship, let’s watch a short video clip. PLAY “Lean In” clip.
What a smooth talker Satan is! It is so easy to listen to his lies, and they actually sound quite good; they sound wise and sincere. And before we know it, we have strayed from the truth of the word of God.
That’s what happened at the church in Thyatira. Thyatira is located about 40 miles southeast of Pergamum. [SHOW MAP] There were no real distinguishing features about the city. It was not situated on a harbor like Ephesus or Smyrna. It wasn’t on a hill like Pergamum. It was in the middle of a valley. It had no natural fortification at all and although at this time a Roman garrison was stationed there, their aim was not to defend Thyatira, but to delay the invaders long enough for Pergamum, the capital up the road to be prepared for the coming attack. Tt was situated well away from the Mediterranean Sea, on the road which connected Pergamum and Sardis. This was the Imperial Post Road. The army and all those connected with it traveled on it - so while Thyatira may not have been a large city - it was a thriving city. Because of its location along trade routes, Thyatira became a prosperous commercial center. It was a city of merchants and manufacturing: there were carpenters, dyers, sellers of goods, tanners, weavers, tent makers, etc all making a living from their trade. There were merchants in wool, linen, apparel, leatherwork, tanning, and excellent bronze work.
Lydia, a seller of purple, the woman the Apostle Paul converted to Christianity at Philippi was from the city of Thyatira. Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Macedonia and the Continent of Europe, and at her urgent invitation, Paul and his missionary associates were guests at Lydia’s home. Then later, when Paul and Silas were released from one of their imprisonments, they returned to the home of Lydia and were her guests once again. Lydia was probably an overseas agent of a local Thyatiran manufacturer and was probably arranging the sale of purple dyed woolen goods at the time Paul met her. This purple was obtained from the Madder root, and was still produced in the district into the 20th Century under the name "Turkey Red".
There are a few notable things about the city from a religious perspective. First, it had a local god by the name of Apollo Tyrimnus, whose image was on their coins. Tyrimnus was a warrior regarded as the patron of the guilds and was honored at their social gatherings. It seems he was somehow linked with Apollo, the Sun God, the son of Zeus. Both Tyrimnos and the Emperor were considered sons of Zeus, the chief deity. Secondly, it possessed a fortune telling shrine presided over by a female oracle called the Sambathe, a Sybil or prophetess. Thyatira was home to several powerful trade guilds, all of which paid allegiance to one or more of the patron gods of the city. As such, it is interesting to note how the letter to Thyatira opens:
Look at verse 18 with me. These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Notice that here John uses, for the first and only time in the book of Revelation, the title the "Son of God." There are people who claim that Jesus never said that he was the Son of God, but here is one of several places in the New Testament where he makes that claim very clearly. This means, of course, that He is stressing his deity. By using the title, Son of God, Jesus was setting himself against Apollo as the only rightful Son of the true and living God.
He also describes Himself as a warrior with eyes "like blazing fire" and feet "like burnished bronze." As the Son of God He has "eyes like blazing fire," eyes that can pierce the facades, the disguises, the postures and pretensions of his people and get right to the heart of what they are doing. Christ’s eyes of flame are able to penetrate the darkness of sin and expose all falsehood, . . . There are no secrets hidden from our Lord.
Jesus knows everything we do: the good the bad and the ugly. He knows it all. When you helped the little old lady across the street - He saw that. The extra money you slipped into the offering box - He knows that. The time you spend in prayer and scripture reading, He sees that. The time you cussed out the driver out who cut you off in traffic,that too. The hurtful thing you said to your spouse or neighbor - what you read, what you watch and listen to, how you behave. Someone said that character is how you behave when no one is watching. Well, remember, Jesus is watching. And if you have any reason to doubt what I say listen to what Jesus says a little further along in the letter. Revelation 2:23 says, “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” Now with that said, Jesus begins to tell them what it is that he knows about the church at Thyatira.
He has feet "like burnished bronze" which can trample sin under foot and severely punish that which is wrong, if need be. Both are needed in the church at Thyatira. It is the most corrupt of the seven churches that are presented here. The bronze feet symbolize his strength—his staying power. The city was known for the brass armor made there. A coin of Thyatira showed Hephaestus, the divine smith of the Greek pantheon, hammering a helmet on an anvil. (show LYDIA coin)
So Jesus presents Himself to this city as the one true Son of Almighty God who comes in judgment as He gazes discerningly into the lives of these church members. He starts by giving them this commendation: " I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first." Jesus commends their love. This isn’t the word that can be used for anything from enjoying pepperoni pizza to undying loyalty to your spouse. Instead, this is Agape love - an all-giving kind of love. A selfless love. A love that loves regardless of ‘what’s in it for me’. And this type of love can only be put in your heart by Christ himself. It is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is obvious from this statement that these dear, hard-working Christian men and women were in love with the Lord, each other, and their neighbors. This agape love was missing in the church at Ephesus, but appears to have been fully expressed by these believers. Jesus said that this selfless love would be the way the world would know a Christian.
Then Jesus commends their Faith. This faith isn’t just a believing faith - it’s the idea of faithfulness. It is a perseverance that overcomes. It is the highest form of loyalty. They were growing in their faith in the Lord by the power of the indwelling Spirit, which in turn enabled them to face the many daily trials they encountered in the trade guilds, their business pressures, and their social contacts.
Then Jesus mentions their service. St. Augustine said, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
Jesus commends these people for their patient endurance. This endurance comes from the faith that God is in control and is coming again. It’s not a resignation to whatever happens, “Oh well, can’t change it! I might as well live with it.” Instead it is the belief that God is in control, no matter what. This book is full of promises - promises for today and promises for tomorrow. Promises for the here and now, and promises for the there and then. But unless you read the book you won’t know what the promises are. If you know the promises it will instill a hope, a trusting expectation, and it will enable you to endure. They had perseverance.
And then Jesus says, I can see your constant improvement in all these things. They showed growth. The church in Ephesus was criticized for losing their first love. Often as time goes by, we lose our first passion for serving God. But that wasn’t the case here. They just kept getting better and better. Christianity isn’t supposed to be stagnant. It is supposed to be vibrant and exciting. It’s supposed to get better and better. It’s supposed to be about growth.
Could Jesus look down at your Christian life and say “I can see your constant improvement in all these things?” Or did you grow for a little while and then you stopped? Many people blame the pastor saying “Well I’m just not being fed on Sunday.” To which I like to reply, get your own fork! What would happen if you only ate food on Sunday? You’d starve to death – eventually. For some of us it would take longer than for others. But we need to eat daily, and we need to feed our spirit daily, feasting on the word of God. The word of God is like milk, helping us grow; it is like meat, challenging the mature Christian; it is sweet like honey; it sustains like bread.
So here was a church that had many people that loved God and served his people. They had faith in His word, and they persevered. They helped many, and they kept it up. As others then got involved, the church grew. So the deeds, or the works, of the church were far more when this letter was written than when it first began. That is the way a church grows. If you and I had been there at Thyatira, we would have been greatly impressed by this church. It was a busy, bustling, active church with some wonderful people in it who obviously manifested love and faith, concern and care for others. It might not have been big, but it was active. It must have seemed a very attractive church.
This sounds good doesn’t it. It sounds like an ideal church - so what could Jesus have to be angry with? What could have prompted the use of the name “Son of God” and the images of fiery eyes and feet of bronze? The answer is in the next verse (vs 20) 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.
Just one person was corrupting the whole church in Thyatira - but one is all that it takes. She is called Jezebel. That probably isn’t her given name; it’s doubtful she was actually named “Jezebel”, since that’s not a Greek or Latin name, but a Hebrew one, and no religious Jewish family would have named a child that.
But everyone probably knew who he meant by the way he describes her. The readers of this letter read John’s description of this woman and said “Jezebel…we don’t have a – oh, I know who he’s talking about.” It would be like if a member of your church name Bill betrayed you, and your preacher wrote you a letter referring to a “Judas” in the church – even though that wasn’t the guy’s name, you know who he means.
Jesus told the church in Ephesus that He knew their works, to the church in Smyrna that He knew their worries, and He tells the church in Pergamum that He knows their whereabouts, He knows where they live. Now, He tells the church at Thyatira that He knows the woman in their midst. He knows her whoring.
So, here comes Jezebel in the church. Evidently there was in the church at Thyatira a woman who was a very dominant leader. Jewish Christians in Thyatira would recognize her name as being one of the most reviled queens in history, on par with bringing up the name ‘Hitler’ for comparison today.
The Old Testament Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, King of Israel. Her primary sin was that of leading the Israelites into worship of Baal and Ashteroth, the fertility deities of Palestine, both sexual and economically. Baal was a fertility god, and his worship involved immoral and licentious practices. There were temple prostitutes, both male and female, associated with the worship of Baal. Jezebel did not have a quarrel with those who wanted to worship God. Her only quarrel with God was his “monopoly.” Jezebel also worshiped Astarte or Ashteroth, later called Aphrodite, whom the Romans called Venus, the goddess of lust. When Ahab brought Jezebel to Israel she brought her religion with her. Jezebel built a temple to Baal and an altar to Astarte and passionately promoted their worship. She set up temples and altars to Baal side by side with altars to God. Many of those who worshiped at the altar of God in Israel also worshiped at the altar of Baal. Thus, she compromised and polluted the people.
This was exactly what was happening in the church at Thyatira. They had a wonderful spirit and great vision for reaching the world around them. But they had begun to tolerate and encourage this Jezebel, who taught that one could serve God and do things contrary to his purpose. She taught that it was all right for Christians to indulge in sexual immorality and in idolatry.
As we’ve said, Thyatira was a large trading center, and it actually had a large number of trade guilds, which were the early equivalent of modern day labor unions. So it could be said that Thyatira was a strong union town. It was not a center of Caesar worship like Pergamum, or of Greek worship like Ephesus. Religious persecution was not an issue in Thyatira. It was very much “live and let live” when it came to religion.
But there was still a type of economic persecution that came as a result of these trade guilds. They represented different trades in the city - but they were much more then that. The guilds operated much as service clubs do today - like Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions. Their influence in the community was pretty great if you were a businessman. It was very difficult for the blue collar tradesmen and women to make a living unless they were a part of one of these guilds.
They differed from trade unions, however, in that they were linked with the worship of other gods. Each guild had its particular guardian god and as a member, you would be expected to attend all its functions and participate in its activities which included offerings, feasts and often immoral behavior. These guilds held banquets, which often were held in an idol’s temple. They would begin and end with a formal sacrifice to the various gods. The meat served during the meals would have been meat offered to one god or another. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the meals often became an excuse for drinking and other “festivities”, which were often public and sexual in nature. So, it would be somewhat of an understatement to say that being a Christian and a guild member in Thyatira, at the very least, provided a challenge to one’s witness.
The members of the church in Thyatira were torn between making a living on the one hand which meant having to be part of the guilds and on the other hand staying faithful to Christ and his standards. And so the question was: Should the Christian be involved in the guilds when their involvement would include, at the very minimum, attendance at these events. The other option for the Christian of course was to not belong to a guild. However due to the influence of these organizations this option would virtually guarantee economic ruin. Christians in Thyatira who did not belong to one of the guilds were also faced with many challenges. Should they buy and sell from spiritually corrupt guilds? If they spoke out against the practices of the guilds, they risked economic – if not physical – persecution. Personal involvement in them would cause these Christians to compromise their basic moral and ethical standards and their witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The difficult decision for Christians in a city like Thyatira was how much of pagan society to accept and how much to condemn.
Have you ever been in a position where you’ve had to decide between playing it safe at work and staying silent or speaking out to take a stand for something you believe in? It isn’t easy. Restaurant owners struggle with the question of whether to permit liquor sales to make a profit; do you say something about the boss’ unethical financial dealings; do you work on Sunday, after all, you’ll get double-time pay for it, or do you honor God and go to church; musicians wonder whether they should sing a certain type of music or play in a certain kind of club. These are Thyatira questions. Is life spiritual, or is it business? Is it possible for us to divide life in such a way that the sacred and secular can be separated from each other so that faith can be a private matter and business a public one?
* The answer is NOT total isolation and separation. Jesus said we are IN the world, but not OF the world. So we are not to isolate ourselves in little Christian communities. But,
* The answer is NOT in complete immersion with culture either. Jesus calls us to be separate from the world. Love not the world, neither the things of the world. Instead,
* The answer is found in Holiness. Holiness is expressed in knowing and discerning righteous limits and never violating them. God calls us all to holiness.
So here is this Jezebel, calling the Christians to be unholy in character and impure in activity. Most likely Jezebel had begun to teach that it was all right for them to go along with the requirements of the guild, that they needed to submit to the pressures of the world around in order to make a living, and that God would understand and overlook this. Her philosophy was what you often hear today: "Business is business." If business practices collide with your Christian principles, then your principles have to go -- because you have to make a living.
This mentality of embracing the world plays out in every area of our lives. Some churches approve of homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle. Many do not discipline their members when they fall into sexual immorality. Others allow pornography to go unchallenged in their midst.
But notice that the Lord holds the church responsible. His accusation to them is, "You tolerate that woman Jezebel." This is a problem that church leadership has to face in our day just as it had to face it in the 1st century. The problem was not that there was a Jezebel in Thyatira - every town has them. The problem was that the church was allowing itself to be influenced and led by this false teacher.
Notice it says of her, that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She was a self-proclaimed prophetess. One who claimed to speak for God. But she did not. Rather, she was a servant of Satan, bringing deceit, lies, and heresy into the church. The church of the 21st century has many self-proclaimed prophets, claiming to speak for God. But beware, many of them are just like Jezebel, teaching the lies of Satan.
When Ronda’s dad was the head of the UB denomination, once a Bishop of another group came and publicly presented him a PhD. Of course, this other bishop was a self-proclaimed bishop. There was no academic qualifications to the PhD. It was meaningless. So also, this Jezebel claimed great things, but they were lies. What she was proclaiming as coming from God was contrary to God’s word.
Like an apple with a worm in it. This church looked good on the outside, but inside it was rotten. We often look at other churches and say, Look at all the people flocking to their services. Thyatira, was a small but growing church - a thriving church, filled with love and faithfulness - but they were rotten on the inside because they were following wrong doctrine.
What was this wrong doctrine that this prophetess was teaching? We read in Vs 20 that it led people to practice fornication and eat food sacrificed to idols - both of which were clearly condemned in the Word of God. It is likely that this prophetess was teaching that it was all right to be part of the trade guilds - “After all,” she’d say “you need to make a living and God doesn’t expect you to starve. Don’t be worried, - God has told me its all right - It is all right to go and be a part of the guilds and participate in the immoral and idolatrous worship that occurs in their meetings - after all we live by grace and are not under the law any more.” She had convinced them “SHE knew God’s will.” And who were the rest of the church to disagree with what was being said - they weren’t prophets were they? How can you argue with someone who speaks for God.
At our last church, we needed to buy some new carpet. Two ladies went looking for patterns to bring a recommendation to the board. The one lady, who ended up dividing the church over Charismatic issues, said they had looked at a couple choices, but introducing the one she liked said, THIS is the carpet that GOD led us to. Forget the fact that it cost twice as much as the other sample. Who can argue with God? I voted for the other sample, but everyone else voted for the one that she said was God’s choice!
Look at verse 18 - By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. Jezebel doctrines teach that something evil can be good. In our day, we find teachers in churches saying homosexual marriages are okay as long as they are based on love. Seeking after material possessions is okay as this is a sign of God’s blessing. Doing away with the bible is okay as long as you follow the leading of the Spirit. All these concepts are evil, but sound so good when these false prophets proclaim them.
Christians who follow these false teachers believe they are 100% right. They cannot see the deception at all. It is like members of other cults or religions - they believe sincerely that they are right - but this doesn’t make them any closer to the truth.
The Lord links sexual immorality with idolatry. We may find that strange, but actually one inevitably leads to the other. The reason is this: Fornication and adultery are both clear-cut violations of specific and explicit statements in the Word of God. Anyone who reads the Bible can see very clearly that God forbids these activities. It is wrong for believers to indulge in sexual immorality of any sort. When one does, he or she has deliberately violated the authority of God, therefore, in practice, if not in profession, God is no longer their God. Whatever you are living for, whatever makes life worthwhile to you, becomes your god. It may be the god of pleasure, even sexual pleasure. It may be the god of wealth. It may be the god of power, a lust for power and ambition. It may be the search for fame. Those who deliberately engage in sexual immorality are choosing not to follow the true God, and so they become practical idolators.
The key message to those of us in western society today is this: We live in a wealthy culture, where the gods of our world – sex, money and power – are worshiped, and in many parts of corporate America, require a level of loyalty that is idolatry. When faced with decisions that make good business sense but poor moral sense, we must decide against the business. We need to be committed to following God.
Look down in verse 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. Apparently this Jezebel was teaching the deep secrets of Satan. There are two ideas about what this might be.
First, it might have been the idea that to defeat Satan, we need to study him and his ways. We need to familiarize ourselves with sin. They had encouraged believers to venture into Satan’s territory, to go into the world and to learn his ways firsthand, to show that they could handle it, or perhaps to show that Satan was powerless over them.
What does God say about that idea? Romans 16:19 - I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. You say, “How can you know that it’s evil then?” We have this Book that tells us what is good and what is evil. God has revealed in His Word what is true, what is false, what is holy, and what is unholy.
Some Christians boast about the power they have over Satan. They claim power to bind Satan anytime they so choose. But they are foolish to think that they have that kind of power. If it were true, why would they ever face temptation or trial in life?
The other option is that they had claimed to be into the deep things of God, but really those things were not the deep things of God, they were the deep things of Satan. They were claiming, “We know spiritual realities that other people don’t.” The Scripture is saying here that these weren’t really the deep things of God; they were really the deep things of Satan. In the first century there was a group called the Gnostics who taught that if you were part of their group, you would get this special secret knowledge, spiritual knowledge. You can delve into mysteries. You can try to unlock hidden things, secrets of the universe. Today we call this idea the New Age Movement. The idea there are secret powers in crystals, pyramids, angels, auras, energy spots.
When I was in college, the guy across the hall was into “pyramid power” - he would build little paper pyramids to put over his contact lenses because he thought it gave them special powers.
This Jezebel at Thyatira led the Christians into sinful practices, and claimed to have special knowledge, but she was not from God. God sought her repentance - vs 21 - I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So, as a result, we see in verse 22 - Jesus says: "I will cast her on a bed of suffering." She likes beds, so I will give her one, but it will prove to be a bed of agonizing pain and hurt."
In addition to Jezebel, God’s judgment falls on those who commit adultery with her (22) - they will suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways." Those who commit adultery with her are those who practice, as she did, immorality and the consequent idolatry. The suffering is very likely a reference to sexual diseases. What invariably accompanies immorality? Some form of sexual disease. Gonorrhea and syphilis were well-known and widespread in the ancient world. Today, of course, we have the AIDS, HPV, genital warts, and many other types of venereal diseases.
Verse 23 says, I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. The result of judgment and discipline within the church is that the church is purified, strengthened, and helped.
In verse 24 then, Jesus addresses those in the church who were not led astray into error. He tells them, Only hold on to what you have until I come. Hold tightly! Be victorious! Don’t give up! What happened to the church in Thyatira isn’t limited to churches. Individuals can fall as far and as hard as an entire congregation. Men and women who once accepted the authority of Christ and the direction of the word of God, can began to falter. And one sin leads to another, and another, until finally they are no different then the world.
Today, take an evaluation of your life. Is there any difference between the way you live and the way your unsaved co-workers live? Is there any difference about the things you say? About the way you spend your money? About the way you treat your spouse? The teachings of Christ are not just for Sunday morning, but for all of life.
To the overcomer, those who don’t get misled by false teaching, God promises two things ..I will give authority over the nations. . . I will also give him the morning star. 1) He says that he will give authority over the nations. These Christians have been reminded that God has given Christ ultimate authority over all nations and now he says that he will give this authority to the church and we will reign with him. We don’t have to be worried about the world as it presses in on us. We know that we shall rule and reign with Christ. And second,
2) He says that he will give them the Morning Star. The Morning Star is Venus, the brightest star in the sky and the precursor to the new day. In Rev 22:16, the morning star is identified as Christ himself. The morning star is the one that appears just before the dawn, when the night is the darkest. The ministry of Jesus as prophesied by Isaiah was the joy of bringing the light of truth to a world that was walking in great darkness. The world will be found in the darkest moral night just before Christ returns, in all the brilliance and glory of his truth, to expose evil. And he will give those who are faithful to him the same ministry - exposing evil and standing for truth. We ultimately are given the greatest gift, Christ himself. Those who "hold on" (vs 25) to the truth will not only govern the nations, but possess the Lord of the nations. We shall enjoy the presence of the Lord forever.
The lesson learned in this letter is that the Lordship of Christ must touch all areas of our lives. If Christ is indeed Lord, He must be Lord of our education, business practices, social activities, and free time. His truth must guide our choices and our response to the values of society. We cannot allow ourselves to follow any false teaching that would lead us to embrace sin, but rather we need to lead holy lives, in the world, but not of the world. Instead, we live as a witness to the world. We tend to copy the people with whom we associate; we borrow thoughts from the books we read and the programs to which we listen, almost without knowing it. As Christians, we want to be impacted by the word of God, and remain faithful, and so impact the world around us. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. This week, let your light shine for all to see.
Let’s pray!
