INTRODUCTION
If Christ’s Pergamum letter was the hardest to understand, Christ’s letter to Thyatira is the hardest to relate to. Not only is their setting so foreign to our understanding, but the letter also forces us to ask questions we normally don’t consider.
Slide 1
What outside influences have the greatest impact on your life? Who are your role models? By God’s blessing does the company you keep prosper your faith? Or do you find yourself more frequently tempted to faith compromise? The three generations present here tend to answer these in different ways.
Most here are modernists who entered adulthood pre-1970. The norms you adopt are often passed down through faith and moral law. You tend toward high trust in institutions with church, school, government. You place a high value on family. Friendship is often lifelong. Your long-held role model is often a family member or institution member you highly respect.
Post-modernists came into adulthood during the 70’s to early 2000’s. We tend toward low trust in institutions. Our adopted norms blend faith, family, and outside influences. Friends are more tied to frequency of contact rather than lifelong. Our long-held role models are more often someone outside of our family whose presence impacted us.
Since the early 2000’s came the meta-modernists. They are the questioners and skeptics. They seek direction from social media and other influencers as they are anxious about getting adulting right. Their norms are frequently self-determined. Friendships play a crucial support role but trust is fragile. Rather than one key role model, meta-modernists are likely to hold several over a lifetime. After all, today’s Twitterland hero is tomorrow’s pariah. Yet their impact is real.
Slide 2
No matter the generation type – the lesson is the same. Who you look up to, who your role model is, and the outside influences in your life really do matter. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” And Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you know his ways. This letter is a cautionary tale of paying attention to outside influences and the faith impact they have. It’s often times that we are around friends or rolemodels – or even online with the use of technology, we are less prone to have our filters active because we let our guards down. Let’s begin with the letter:
Slide 3 THYATIRA
Compared to the other six cities, Thyatira is probably the most unfamiliar. It’s few remaining ancient ruins are surrounded by modern day buildings. Because it was located on a flat geographic plain offering little defense, it frequently fell to superior armies meaning its culture was determined by its occupiers. What defenses they did have were not made up of expert generals – but leaders from each of the merchant guilds who cooperated. Some compared the city to a gigantic flea market. Advanced in metallurgy – they were known for brass and other alloys. And their unique vegetation and artistry offered unique clothing dyes.
For instance, from Acts 16 you may recall Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. On becoming Christian, God opened her heart, then she opened her home in Thyatira to Paul and his companions after baptizing her household. Historians credit her house church as the founding church there. Nothing more is said in Scripture of the city. The best estimates say 40 years passes between Acts 16 and Revelation 2.
Slide 4 Christ-Titles:
Unique to this letter, there are three Christ-titles instead of two:
1. The first is the Son of God – It was thought Christ used this title to set himself apart from the merchant God, Apollo, the Son of Zeus. Furthermore, throughout this letter phrases are quoted from the Royal Psalm – Psalm 2 that highlights Christ’s royal identity and lineage.
2. Next, Christ introduces himself with eyes like flames of fire which are capable of all seeing and knowing. Nothing at all is hidden from God’s sight. That quality can be taken two ways – on the one hand it comes as great encouragement for those who are doing right – So in the case of the church here, Christ praises them for their deeds of love and service for all to see. They are in fact praised for what the Ephesians came up short on. On the other, with piercing eyes who can see absolutely everything – even the heart and motives that are hidden from our view, it would discourage sin or even stoke concerns for the purifying fire of judgement.
3. Finally, whose feet are like burnished bronze – This may be a reference to the dream Daniel interpreted in Daniel 10 – but it also highlights the impact of the local metallurgy and how believers were negatively influenced by the guilds whose spiritual practices were inseparable from guild life.
That’s where the question of outside influences impacts them negatively. Out of his love for the church, Christ brings it to their attention to address immediately.
Slide 5 THE ISSUE
The issues named are similar to the Pergamum Church – sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols but their root cause was different. In Pergamum, believers were compromising their faith to lessen the chance of brutal persecution. In Thyatira, believers in Thyatira were being led astray by someone who said you could have it both ways. You could be a faithful Christian and be a full-fledged guild member in good standing with their temple prostitution and feasts.
Christ names the deceiver – possibly even an insider – who is pushing the message you can have the best of both worlds. Her name is revealed as Jezebel. Like the reference to Balaam, Jezebel is infamous in the Old Testament. She is the wicked queen, wife to King Ahab. Her father was the priest king of Baal. Yet she became insider by marriage and frequently counseled Ahab and Israel to commit great sins.
Jezebel’s identity in Thyatira is unknown. A legend speaks of her being the wife of the angel or elder there, but there is no proof. Or she could be representative of those who persuaded Christians to participate. Verse 21 indicates she was given time to repent, but now it’s too late with serious consequences. Her deceptions would find her on a bed of suffering and the loss of her children – not biological but all those who fell for her deceptions.
“Verse 22, Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” That gives indication that the deceivers will have to give account – but it also comes as an ominous caution for the one deceived.
SLIDE 6 INTENTIONS
Not every person of influence has the best intentions. It’s important we choose our role models carefully and just as cautiously heed their advice with a filter rather than go in with a blind trust. That where questions around role models and outside influences are of such importance. In the end, they become our teachers whether we realize it or not. Most of us here can cite an example from our past – an instance where we had to question a role model or negate their influence over our lives.
Jezebel’s sin was leading them into a dualism where you could have the best of both worlds, so long as you check your faith at the door - a sort of bipolar faith that you lived one way in church or in the presence of other believers – but another way once believers were out of sight. But not only does Jesus see all with those piercing eyes – in the Gospels he said it was impossible to serve two masters.
He doesn’t leave room for part time faith when it is convenient. Jesus sacrificed his all for us and he desires the entirety of our hearts. Any benefit we might gain following the Jezebel influences in our lives will be short lived. Each one will be held accountable. We can’t pass the blame to someone else. For Jezebel, she ran out of time to repent, for us who have fallen under someone’s influence, there is still time. Friends in faith who follow Jesus – to have a community of support around you upholding you is crucial to preventing outside influences from setting in.
And in cooperation with Jesus Christ and in step with the Spirit – Christ bestows these gifts to the believer. Again, they aren’t earned or dependent on us but are together intertwined with the gift of grace given us.
SLIDE 7: GIFTS
The first gift: authority
While most earthly kings cling to power at all costs – even so far as eliminating those who might attack to steal it – Christ in complete opposite fashion shares both his victory and his authority. In Matthew 19, Christ wet his disciples anticipation for the twelve thrones overseeing the twelve tribes of Israel. And referencing back again to Psalm 2:8-9, Jesus changes the pronoun from himself to his church: They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots – They will have the same authority I received my Father – a participation in his royalty.
The second gift: the morning star.
No one explanation has been offered for this symbol. In most biblical instances a special star signifies God’s special work or action such as the star of Bethlehem. We also call the morning star – the sun which faithfully brings sunshine into our lives and on which we depend for life itself – just like Christ named himself the morning star in Revelation 22:16. Christ who held the seven stars in his hands – so perhaps this again adds a double emphasis that the believer will participate in Christ’s victory and reign.
For the believer, receive this text in the grace that Christ has given you his righteousness out of his great love for you. He desires our perseverance and gives us others in our lives and the Spirit to aid us, to guide us, and to be of good influence on us. Watch out for false teachers who say we can play Christian and blend in. Surround yourself with friends and influences who help build your character and aid you toward becoming more Christ-like. Likewise avoid those outside influences and people in your life who say you can have the best of both worlds. Christ’s love for his church knows no bounds. In promoting faithfulness, He spotlights these concerns so that in cooperation with the Spirit we might fully share in his victory.
