A. Revelation 2:18 (READ)
1. I am going to be FRANK with you, the letter to the church of Thyatira is the most CHALLENGING
of all to PREACH. It just doesn’t sound very “JESUSEE”. (You know what I’m talking about it?)
a. If you thought Christ’s words to Pergamum: the compromising church were HARSH, get your
SECURITY BLANKET ready because He doesn’t mix any words in His message to this church.
b. Christ is ANGRY with the TOLERANCE of WICKEDNESS that He sees HAPPENING in the church of Thyatira, and He wants it STOPPED or ELSE.
2. Notice in this VERSE how Christ describes Himself.
a. First, He refers to Himself as “The Son of God.”
COMMENT:
This is the only place in the entire book of Revelation that Christ is called “The Son of God”. John referred to Him as “the son of man” (Revelation 1:13), which speaks of His HUMANITY—
how Jesus left HEAVEN, came to EARTH and became one of US.
But here He tells the church of Thyatira that He is “THE SON OF GOD”, which speaks of His DEITY. This is not a MESSAGE from a mere MAN that has no POWER behind it, this is GOD addressing the WICKEDNESS and the TOLERANCE that is going on in that CHURCH.
b. Second, Christ says He has “eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze”, which speaks
of Christ as ALL SEEING and ALL POWERFUL. (In the Old Testament the description of “feet like bronze or brass” referred to God’s righteous judgement against His enemies.)
B. BACKGROUND OF THE CITY: The city of Thyatira was located 37 miles southeast of Pergamum. Today the city of Akhisar, Turkey sets on the location of Thyatira, but some of the ANCIENT RUINS of
the city still STAND.
1. Unlike the other CULTURAL CITIES of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum that DEPENDED a lot on
COASTAL TRADE and TOURISM, Thyatira was a TRADE CITY (Industrial City).
a. It was a LABOR TOWN—they BUILT stuff there.
COMMENT:
Of the seven CITIES of Asia Minor listed in Revelation, Thyatira was the SMALLEST. It wasn’t PRETTY. It was a PASSTHROUGH town sandwiched between Smyrna and Pergamum. No
one HONEYMOONED there, or went there to VACATION or SIGHTSEE.
b. There were no ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS, or magnificent TEMPLES built for EMPEROR or PAGAN WORSHIP.
2. Thyatira was known for its TRADE GUILDS (sort of like UNIONS today).
a. However, each GUILD had its own god, and a SHRINE erected to that god that they sacrificed to.
b. To be a MEMBER of the GUILD (so that you could practice your TRADE and support your family) you had to WORSHIP that god with sacrificial offerings and participation in pagan feasts
that included eating of meats offered to idols, excessive drinking and sexual immorality.
c. This, of course, left Christians in a very difficult position—either they become MEMBERS of a GUILD and participate in its IDOLATROUS and IMMORAL practices, or their family STARVES.
3. “Lydia, the seller of purple cloth who Paul baptized in a river outside of Philippi, was from Thyatira”- Acts 16:14-15. (Undoubtedly, the manufacturing of expensive FABRIC was one of the TRADE GUILDS in that city).
MESSAGE:
I. THE COMMENDATION OF CHRIST- Revelation 2:19 (READ)
A. WOW! This is how every CHURCH wants to be DESCRIBED.
1. If you were MOVING to a new TOWN and wanted to find a CHURCH to ATTEND, this would be
the kind of CHURCH you’d be LOOKING FOR.
ILLUSTRATION:
YELP would give it 5-stars. The REVIEWS would be glowing: “The people are LOVING group. They are full of FAITH. They love to SERVE their community and PERSEVERE under pressure. They are DOING MORE than when they first started—they’re growing.”
COMMENT:
This is the CHURCH that we want to PART OF. We want Garfield Christian Church to be all these things.
2. Jesus KNOWS this CHURCH is placed in a very DIFFICULT town, and whose MEMBERS are
under constant PRESSURE to join TRADE GUILDS and participate in their IDOL WORSHIP.
a. He COMMENDS them for remaining STRONG in their LOVE and FAITH and SERVICE and PERSEVERANCE, and are actually PROGRESSING and DOING MORE than when
they first started out.
b. Do you recall the COUNSEL that Jesus had for the Ephesian church: “Remember the height
from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first”- Revelation 2:5a.
COMMENT:
The Christians at Thyatira are not only “DOING the things they did at FIRST, they are
DOING MORE.”
B. In a lot of ways the church of Thyatira was the most EFFECTIVE of all the CHURCHES we studied
so FAR.
1. Christ is genuinely pleased with the GROWTH and PROGRESSION that He sees in this church.
COMMENT:
Undoubtedly, that’s what Christ would like to see in every CHURCH.
2. And, frankly, that’s what makes the next WORDS of Christ even more PAINFUL to HEAR.
II. THE CHASTISEMENT OF CHRIST- Revelation 2:20-23 (READ)
A. WHEW! . . . I KNOW . . . you’re ENVIOUS of me right now IN trying to EXPLAIN all of this, aren’t you? . . . you’re just a little bit JEALOUS.
1. There is a WOMAN in this CHURCH that Jesus describes as “JEZEBEL”.
a. I believe this is a real WOMAN, but I don’t think THIS is her REAL name.
COMMENT:
It is applied symbolically, like we would call someone who had BETRAYED us a “JUDAS” or call someone a “BENEDICT ARNOLD” if they were a TRAITOR.
b. By calling this woman “Jezebel”, Christians familiar with the OLD TESTAMENT would immediately think of someone who was CONTROLLING and MANIPULATIVE—who was SEDUCTIVE and out to DESTROY you. (That’s why we don’t name our DAUGHTERS
“Jezebel”.)
ILLUSTRATION:
You can read about Queen Jezebel in the book of 1 Kings. She was the wife of Ahab, the King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. She INFLUENCED her husband to WORSHIP the Egyptian god BAAL—the god of FERTILITY, which included INFANT SACRIFICES, ORGIES and other forms of SEXUAL IMMORALITY.
In fact, Jezebel OUTLAWED the WORSHIP of Yahweh, the God of Israel, and consequently KILLED many of the PRIESTS and PROPHETS of God throughout Israel.
So EVIL was her INFLUENCE on her husband King Ahab that 1 Kings 16:33 records that “…he did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did ALL the kings of Israel before him.”
c. This was SATAN at work, and he used Queen Jezebel as the DRIVING FORCE behind it.
2. Christ sees this same SATANIC INFLUENCE spreading through the church of Thyatira coming
from this UNGODLY WOMAN He calls “Jezebel”.
a. She calls herself a “prophetess” claiming that her TEACHINGS come directly from God.
COMMENT:
She MISLED some in that church to believe that they could still JOIN the TRADE GUILDS and WORSHIP their gods with SACRIFICES and SEXUAL IMMORALITY, while along still SERVE and WORSHIP Yahweh.
b. It’s that familiar TEACHING that came out of the church of Pergamum and still being taught today either by WORD or PRACTICE or BOTH: “You can LIVE for the WORLD and still LIVE for GOD.”
B. Christ said, “You tolerate that woman Jezebel’s false teachings and ungodly practices.”
1. Is God against SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS?
a. Of course not, it’s His IDEA. However, there are PERIMETERS in which He wants those RELATIONSHIPS to be ENJOYED.
b. Jesus tells us what the INTENT that Elohim the GODHEAD (the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit) had in mind when they CREATED Adam and Eve- Mark 10:6-9 (READ).
COMMENT:
That RELATIONSHIP is BEAUTIFUL and BLESSED when it is between one MAN and one WOMAN as HUSBAND and WIFE. Otherwise, it is a SIN.
c. Yet the church of Thyatira was well aware that Jezebel was committing sexual immorality and adultery EVEN with some of their own MEMBERS that Christ described as His “SERVANTS”, and were TOLERANT of it and allowing it to CONTINUE.
2. What was the PROBLEM with this CHURCH, according to Jesus? CHRISTIANS WERE MORE TOLERANT THAN CHRIST, HIMSELF.
COMMENT:
(PAUSE) I told you that this was a CHALLENGING LESSON, and one that is not POPULAR in the WORLDLY CULTURE that has INFILTRATED the CHURCH. Yet, this is
an ISSUE that Christ took SERIOUSLY and has SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.
a. So, let me ask you: “ARE YOU A TOLERANT CHRISTIAN?”
COMMENT:
That sounds like a LOADED QUESTIONS, doesn’t it? No one wants to be called “INTOLERANT”. I’m not a HATER! I certainly don’t believe that EVERYTHING GOES, but I’m a CARING, LOVING person.
b. So, is Christianity a TOLERANT FAITH—are we a TOLERANT PEOPLE?
COMMENT:
As Christians who hold a HIGH VIEW of Scripture . . . who actually believe that the Bible is the LITERAL Word of God, this puts us in an UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION.
In our CULTURE today—the United States of America 2021, TOLERANCE is the number one CELEBRATED VIRTUE. More and more, if you don’t hold an OPEN TOLERANT VIEW, which means that you AGREE, AFFIRM, SUPPORT, and APPROVE of everyone and everything, then you are a BIGOT.
So, if you are a Christian who holds to the ETHICAL TEACHINGS of Jesus Christ regarding SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP between a HUSBAND and WIFE . . . you are INTOLERANT and have committed THE CULTURAL SIN of the 21st century.
c. “TOLERANCE” used to mean being ACCEPTING of one another even if we DISAGREE, but now it has come to mean APPROVAL.
3. There is a big difference between ACCEPTANCE and APPROVAL.
a. ACCEPTANCE means that you show LOVE and RESPECT to everyone, even if you DISAGREE with them, because they are made in God’s IMAGE and are worthy of
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
b. Today, however, people believe that TOLERANCE means you must UNCONDITIONALLY
APPROVE of everything I do.
-Romans 15:7- “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (BY ACCEPTING OTHERS, WE BRING PRAISE TO GOD!)
COMMENT:
Jesus Christ ACCEPTED everyone—no matter WHO they were OR what they DID, Jesus extended an OPEN INVITATION to COME to Him. And so should we.
But He DID NOT APPROVE of everyone. He demanded OBEDIENCE. Even to the woman caught in ADULTERY that everyone else wanted to STONE to DEATH but Jesus showed MERCY, He said “Go now and LEAVE your LIFE of SIN”- John 8:11. (He did not APPROVE.)
C. And that same MERCY extended to the “woman caught in adultery”; Christ also extended to Jezebel.
1. Look at v. 21a- “I have given her TIME to REPENT of her immorality…”
a. Church, don’t think for one MOMENT that Christ wanted Jezebel to LOSE her SOUL.
b. No MATTER what she was GUILTY OF or how many people she had LED ASTRAY, Christ wanted this WOMAN to be with Him in HEAVEN.
- 2 Peter 3:9¬- “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is PATIENT with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish [to be lost eternally in HELL], but EVERYONE [including Jezebel] to come to repentance.”
2. If you are STRUGGLING with IMMORALITY in any FORM, Jesus Christ LOVES YOU and
wants you to REPENT—to TURN AWAY from the SIN and TURN to Him.
COMMENT:
He is PATIENT with YOU. And He’s already sent the HOLY SPIRIT to PRICK your
HEART.
Have you FELT the TUG? Do you FEEL the REMORSE? Do you HEAR the still small voice of the Holy Spirt PLEAD with you—“Please don’t do it! Don’t flirt with that guy! Don’t go in that room! Don’t click on that website!”?
D. Because of Christ’s LOVE for this woman, He has “given her time to repent.” …But then Christ said,
“…but she is unwilling”- v. 21b.
1. Those are the SADDEST WORDS recorded in the letters to the Seven Churches.
COMMENT:
Christ had patiently waited for this WOMAN to REPENT of her IMMORALITY because He wants her SAVED! And, yet, she is UNWILLING!
2. The SAD REALITY is, Christ’s PATIENCE does come to an END.
a. Christ- “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”- v. 22.
COMMENT:
There is NO MORE mercy for Jezebel—she will SUFFER consequences for her IMMORALITY. But notice that Christ is HOPING that the those who COMMIT adultery with her, will still “REPENT”. (Despite the EVIL and WICKED actions of these wayward Christians, Christ still holds out HOPE that they will TURN BACK to Him.)
b. But then Christ says, “I will strike her children dead”- v. 23a.
COMMENT:
The “children” that Christ mentions are not LITERAL CHILDREN, but all of Jezebel’s followers who have been led into SEXUAL IMMORALITY by her TEACHING and LIFESTYLE. These are the ONES who Jesus is BEGGING to REPENT, but if they don’t, they will be PUNISHED along with Jezebel.
3. Christ adds, “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”- v. 23b.
a. The GLORIFIED Christ—the “Son of God” who SITS on His THRONE looks over the churches (then and now) with His “eyes like blazing fire” and “searches every heart and every mind of every member” and will “repay us according to our deeds.”
b. Paul told the Corinthian church: “For we must ALL [that includes You and Me] appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him/her for the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad”- 2 Corinthians 5:10.
COMMENT:
But isn’t Christ full of GRACE and MERCY? Of course He is—if not we would all be
LOST. But there is a vast difference from STRUGGLING with sin and LIVING in sin.
Whatever our SINS are, we must CONTINUALLY strive to OVERCOME them—to TURN AWAY from them. …And the truth is, we may never ever be fully VICTORIOUS over some SINS in our LIVES, but as long as we are STRIVING to OVERCOME, we will be FORGIVEN.
III. THE COUNSEL OF CHRIST- Revelation 2:24-29 (READ)
A. There were some in the church of Thyatira who did not PARTICIPATE in the IMMORALITY of Jezebel and her FOLLOWERS, nor did they TOLERATE it. (They may not have been in positions
to STOP IT, but they wanted no PART of it.)
1. Jesus said, “I am not going impose any other burden on you.”
COMMENT:
It was hard enough to try to make a LIVING in a TOWN that demanded you JOIN their
GUILDS and WORSHIP their gods, but instead you CHOSE to try to make it on your OWN.
It was hard enough to be around people LIVING in IMMORALITY, even in the CHURCH, and you chose to remain FAITHFUL to your SPOUSE and to live a PURE life.
2. Yet, Jesus says, “Only HOLD ON to what you have until I COME!”
a. What is Jesus’ FINAL WORDS to a church surrounded by a CULTURE of TOLERANCE—that
EVERYTHING GOES?
b. Two words: “HOLD ON!”
ILLUSTRATION:
When your BOYFRIEND threatens to DUMP YOU unless you HOOK UP—HOLD ON!
When your CO-WORKERS want you to go with them to a STRIP CLUB to unwind after a
exhausting day at work—HOLD ON!
When you can’t find that special SOMEONE to MARRY and spend the rest of your LIFE
with, and you think the only alternative is an ESCORT SERVICE or PORN SITE—HOLD ON!
When you feel the PRESSURE by your worldly friends who call you “INTOLERANT” because of your BELIEFS of what the Bible says about SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS that ARE and ARE NOT acceptable to God—HOLD ON!
B. So, what are the PROMISES to the OVERCOMERS—to those who HOLD ON?
1. They will REIGN with Christ.
a. 2 Timothy 2:12- “If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also
disown us.” (We DISOWN Christ not only by our WORDS, but by our LIVES.)
b. 1 Corinthians 6:2a- “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?...”
COMMENT:
The OVERCOMER will be VINDICATED and VICTORIOUS over their ENEMIES.
2. They will receive the “MORNING STAR”.
a. Christ described Himself as “the Bright and Morning Star”- Revelation 22:16.
b. They not only get to REIGN with Christ in His KINGDOM, they get the KING.
