Study In Revelation 8 Series

Study in Revelation 8

Thyatira, The compromising Church: Rev.2: 18-29

We live in a world where people are looking to get their own way and they are willing to sell their souls to get it.

Some are willing to do anything just to get: attention * to be popular or accepted * to get that job they want * to get a promotion, etc.

Can the church be guilty of this?

Thyatira was guilty of this very thing. There were believers there who were compromising what they knew was right for what they wanted.

Thyatira was a frontier town that had no defensible surroundings. The city lay on the road between in a valley between Pergamos and Sardis.

Thyatira was a guild town, known for its business and social guilds, which brought a lot of traders in to the city. Their two main trades were dye and wool and the life of the community revolved around these trade guilds or unions. They would often have what could be described as “trade shows” which involved a meal that would usually be held in the temple area and sacrifices would be made o the gods. The people would most likely just end up in a drunken immoral affair.

Verse 18. The description:

Christ says that His eyes are like flames of fire.

This means that His eyes; are the color of fire flames are coming out from where His eyes should be

He has the ability to see every one of us AND ALL that we do

Christ can see in the dark * behind closed doors * inside parked cars * in offices and houses.

He sees the tongue that tells lies * the hand that steals [make your own list of things He can see]

His feet are like brass. This means He —used too much suntan lotion —He wears some real expensive boots

—when He steps on you, you get stepped on HARD

His judgment is final and His feet will crush those who compromise the truth for a lie

Scripture: Rom. 2: 16 * Jude 14-15 * Rev. 19: 15 * Ps. 96: 13

Verse 19. The Commendation:

Jesus Commended the church for being a working church, a loving church, a church of faith and patience.

The church was active and filled with energetic people who crowded the place BUT.

Verses 20-21. The complaint:

The church was allowing a teacher to teach who compromised with the world and that persons’ name was Jezebel.

Two things we need to look at here:

1. The church was allowing a false prophetess to teach in the church. She was made a prophetess by the authority of œGod œThe City Council œThe church œaccording to verse 20, her own authority.

Verse 20 says the she calls herself a prophetess. She claimed that God had called her and gifted her to teach. And the church said OK.

Just because someone says they are of God doesn’t necessarily mean they are. Just because someone wants to teach, be a deacon doesn’t mean they should.

2. The church was guilty of allowing false teaching, seduction, fornication and idolatry to take place right before their eyes.

a. The church had allowed Jezebel, the false teacher to come in and teach in the church. Her teaching was contrary to Christ and to the Word of God.

b. Jezebel was allowed to seduce the Lord’s servants. She was misleading, not only the servants but the followers as well and the church was letting her get away with it.

c. Jezebel was seducing the believers to commit fornication, which means, all kinds of immoral acts.

She most likely was teaching them that they could never completely separate themselves form the world. If they did they stood the risk of being looked at as exclusive or snobbish.

Another thing would be that the church needed to participate in the functions of those outside the church, in order to be seen as friendly, or to keep their job, get that promotion etc.

She was teaching that the church needed to reach out more into the world, fellowship more with the world and the functions of the world. By doing this the believers were putting themselves in a bad situation.

Many got caught up in the activities of the party and began to have that social drink. Many were caught up in what may have started out as just an innocent flirt, but ended up in a church full of believers participating in drunken orgies.

All this happened because the church set back and did nothing to stop it.

d. Jezebel was seducing the people into committing acts of idolatry. Some of the functions, held by the guilds and unions, were held in the temple areas of the false gods and she was convincing them to attend.