MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
Revelation 2:1- 3:22
Part 4
Thyatira – The Permissive Church
Revelation 2:18-29
Good News Christian Fellowship
August 27, 2006
BUCAS, Daraga albay
Introduction
A. Brief review on the messages to the Church at Smyrna, Ephesus, and Pergamum.
B. Today we come to the fourth of these churches, the church at Thyatira.
The Recipient (2:18a)
A. The Minister - "And unto the angel…” The minister is responsible for the church; therefore, the Lord addresses this letter to him. The minister is to proclaim the truth to the church that had become entrenched in the world.
B. The Church - “… of the Church in Thyatira”
1. Its Beginning.
The gospel probably reached Thyatira at the time of Paul’s third missionary journey, when Ephesus was the base of his missionary activities (Acts 19:10). He may not have visited it personally, however. Of all the seven cities, Thyatira was the least important. None the less, the church there received the longest of the letters in Revelation, undoubtedly because of the city’s large Christian population, and because the church there faced a problem that has troubled many churches through history--a strong internal movement advocating compromise with worldly interests (www.ourfatherlutheran.net/biblehomeland/sevenchurches/thyatira)
2. The Name . name means "a perfume;" "sacrifice of labor;" "odor of affliction." Modern Akhisar, Turkish for "white fortress" or “White Castle”
C. The City. Thyatira was a commercial center located inland, halfway between Pergamum and Smyrna (modern Izmir), The oldest information on the city is that it may have been one of several strongholds founded by Antiochus I (269-197 BC) controlling possible invasion routes from central Anatolia (the ancient name for Turkey). Despite its strategic importance, Thyatira lay on flat land and it had no acropolis from which to mount a defense in case of a prolonged attack.
Thyatira had no special religious significance. It was not a center for the worship of the Greek gods or the emperor. It did have a temple to Tyrimnos, its tutelary deity who, in Hellenistic times, became identified the Greek sun-god Helios (often confused with the god Apollo).
Thyatira was a city of craftsmen and merchants and the home of numerous trade guilds. First century coins attest to industries like cloth dyeing, garment-making, (www.ourfatherlutheran.net/biblehomeland/sevenchurches/thyatira)
The Author (2:18b) Note how Christ describes himself:
1. He declares that He is the Son of God. Here, He is stressing His Deity. There are those who teach that Christ is not the Son of God. They teach that Christ is a created being; a human being. However, in this verse Christ Himself stresses His Deity.
2. His eyes are like blazing fire - What does it means? It means Christ sees all. He sees what the Church is doing. He sees their licentious lifestyle. “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.” (Ray C. Stedman)
Jeremiah 16:17, we read, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.”
The reference to His eyes being “like blazing fire” and the brilliant reflections of His feet emphasize the indignation and righteous judgment of Christ. (John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Scripture Press, Wheaton, IL, 1983, 1985, electronic media.)
3. His feet are like burnished bronze – He rules all things and acts with absolute strength and perfect steadiness. His works of providence are deliberate and irrepressible. He rules and He judges. His feet will crush those who tolerate sin.
But there were some good things going on in this church. Our Lord tells us what they are.
The Commendation (2:19) The Church was a very active in all kinds of deeds for the Lord.
1. Works of love and faith – They show care and interest, concern and provision for the ministry of the Church. They have zeal for the works of the Lord. What a contrast to the church at Ephesus! Take note, the Church at Ephesus has sound doctrine but they forsake their “first love.” Their love for the works of the Lord had grown cold. They were not lukewarm, half-hearted religious , but faithful followers of Christ. Faithfulness is the one thing God requires of his people, and the one thing all his people give (I Corinthians 4:2)
2. Deeds of service and patient endurance - You keep at your work; you do not quit. So here was a church that had many people that loved God and served his people. They had faith in his word, and they patiently endured hardship. The church may have feel inadequacy and incapability, but they accept the challenge, believing God and going ahead and persevere. “Tribulation worketh patience” (Rom. 5:3).
3. Their works or ministry grows – The church grew and expanded. It reached out more and more. Their last works were better and more numerous than their first. Others had left their first love and lost their first zeal. Not these people!
However, Christ had something against them. They have love and zeal for the works, but they are poor doctrinally. The Church is reproved for her tolerance of false religion.
The Condemnation (2:20-21)
Tolerating immorality and idolatry – The church was tolerating Jezebel or false prophetess to teach within the church. The people never got rid of her; they allowed her to exist in the church.
We don’t know specifically if Jezebel is indeed her name. But our Lord called this woman, Jezebel. He compared her to Ahab’s wicked wife, Jezebel, because she encouraged the patronage of false religion, kindness to false prophets, and the acceptance of idolatry. She seduced God’s servants to engage in the pagan festivities connected with idol worship, including fornication! (1 Kings 16:31-33; 2 Kings 9:30-37).
She did all this in the name of God, pretending all the while that she was promoting the worship of Christ! And people believed her!
John MacArthur commented:
We don’t know who the Jezebel in Thyatira was. She is called Jezebel because she parallels the Old Testament Jezebel. The latter was the notorious daughter of Ethbaal, who was the king of the Sidonians (1 Kgs. 16:31). The Sidonians were famous for worshiping the false god Baal. When Jezebel married Ahab, Baal worship was set up in Israel. Elijah became upset and forced the issue at Mount Carmel. He said, "We are going to decide this issue. If God is God, then He will send fire; if Baal is God, then he will send fire" (1 Kgs. 18:20-40). Temples to Baal had been set up everywhere. Donald Grey Barnhouse said that the priests of Baal were wicked sex perverts. That was the kind of perversion that Jezebel had brought into the church at Thyatira.
Thyatira was renown for its trade and business union. First century coins attest to industries like cloth dyeing, garment-making, leather tanning and brass-working, amongst others. In order to make a living they had to belong to a union. If they did not belong to the union, they was a possibility that they will lose their job. However, to attend the union was to become involved, or to be sorely pressured to become involved, with the worship of idols and with licentious and lascivious debauchery.
Imagine what it will be like in those situations. The Christian at Thyatira give in to the pressure. They have to make a choice. Jezebel had succeded in pressuring the believers. The people never got rid of her; they allowed or permitted her to exist in the church.
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. Have you ever heard that argument?
The Judgment (2:22-23)
1. Casting Her into Bed - “Bed of sickness” forms a sharp contrast between her luxurious and licentious couch of immorality and the pain of God’s divine judgment that awaited her for her rebellion. She is to be cast into bed of suffering.
2. Thrown into great tribulation – Those who go along with her will suffer intensely. And everyone that commits adultery with you and follows other gods, idols, false prophets, sin, and immorality, will be thrown in that bed with you." There will be severe affliction, deep suffering and pressing distress.
3. Killing Her Children - Everyone who imitates Jezebel’s activity is in danger of death at the hands of Christ. That is serious! The warning could refer to unbelievers, or to believers who are totally out of fellowship with Christ. Associated with the church are unbelievers who are hypocrites, and believers who are living in sin. The people who live like that are called the children of Jezebel because their lives are patterned after her conduct. Christ says, "I will kill them." Why?
"... and all the churches shall know that I am He who searcheth the minds and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (v.23b)
Christ is saying, "The churches will know that they can’t hide anything from Me. If something like what has happened at Thyatira occurs at another church, I may remove some of its members until it realizes its sin." That’s how much God hates sin.
Jesus Christ died to purchase the church and present it blameless to God, "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ..." (Eph. 5:27). When the church becomes polluted with sin, Christ removes that sin because He wants to keep the church pure. We often think of Christ as the loving Savior--and He is--but when He judges, He is seen with eyes like a flame of fire and feet of burning bronze. If the church does not keep its ranks pure with discipline, then Christ will make it pure by removing the stain.
Will Christ Take the Life of a Believer?
It is possible that Christ will take the life of a believer. For example:
1 CORINTHIANS 11:29-30 -- In verse 29 Paul accused some of the Corinthians of misusing the Lord’s supper. In verse 30 he says, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Some of them died because of how they treated the Lord’s table of remembrance.
The Counsel (2:24-25) There is the counsel to hold on.
1. Repent and break off the compromise. - Christ is talking to professing Christians, not true Christians. He may also be addressing true Christians living in sin. If you call yourself a Christian, but are married to the world, living in sin, and defiling your covenant with Christ, then repent before Christ removes you. That is a solemn warning. Christ wants a pure church. There is no place for worldliness or compromise. Sin must be dealt with.
Note the counsel: we are to hold fast until Christ comes. We are to hold on fast…
• In the commitment that we have already made to Christ
• To the spiritual growth that we have already achieved
• To the ministries that we have already launched.
The Exhortation (2:26-29)
First John 5:5 identifies the overcomers: "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" Whoever is redeemed is an overcomer.
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end ..."
That is the proof that a person is an overcomer.
A. The Promises (vv. 26b-28)
What will the overcomer be able to do?
1. TO SHARE IN THE REIGN OF CHRIST (vv. 26b-27)
"... to him will I give power over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of My Father."
When Christ returns in His Kingdom, He will reign for a thousand years on earth. The overcomer is given authority over nations. During that time, Christ will reign as King of kings. He will rule :
With Judgment . Jesus says, "He will rule them with an iron scepter."
Christ will rule with a rod of iron--there will be instant, divine judgment upon sin. He will not rule alone; all of the overcomers will rule with Him.
"He will dash them to pieces like potter’s vessels"
making souls humble and contrite; or of the irreparable ruin and destruction of antichrist, when the saints shall consume and destroy him.
In this promise, the Lord promises a dominion and a splendor just like His own.
2. TO RECEIVE THE MORNING STAR (v. 28)
"And I will give him the morning star."
You say, "What is the morning star?" Revelation 22:16 says, "I, Jesus, have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Someday, the morning star will be mine--and the morning star is Jesus Christ. He will be yours and mine. There won’t be any distractions in eternity. I totally belong to Christ now, but I will never experience all that He is until the day I see Him.
Why is Jesus called the "morning star"? Because He will be like the dawn of the Kingdom. The first thing that rises in the day is the morning star. When the morning star rises at the dawn of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ will be fully mine.
Application
Read Ephesians 5:27. How does Jesus Christ want to present the church to God? If that is what Christdesires for the church, what responsibility does each member have? What are you doing to keep the church pure? What are you doing to keep your own life pure? Are there any areas of your life that are married to the world? Name them. Confess them to God and repent of them. Make the commitment to keep your life unspotted by the world.
Jesus Christ commands the faithful members of the church at Thyatira to hold fast to what they already had (Rev. 2:25). Christians need to do that because Satan wages a strong fight. As a result, how should Christians hold fast against Satan? Look up the following verses: 2 Cor. 4:4-6; Eph. 4:27; 6:11-16; Js. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8. Make a list of the many provisions that God has given you to have victory over Satan. Apply those things to your life every day.
1. Ask God to give you a heart of diligence, that you may serve Christ faithfully.
2. Ask him to give you a heart of discernment, that you may know truth from error.
3. Ask the Lord to give you a heart of determination, that you may persevere in the faith of the gospel, firm unto the end (Col. 1:21-23).
