The Seven Churches Of Revelation Lesson 5 - The Church At Thyatira Series

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Revelation 2:18-29 – The Church at Thyatira

(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)

Introduction:

Hello everyone. This is lesson five in our study of the seven churches of Asia from the Book of Revelation. In this lesson, we will examine the message that Jesus sent to the church at Thyatira. Let’s begin with a word of prayer.

Thyatira was originally founded by Alexander the Great as a military garrison. His soldiers worshiped the god, Apollo, known as the sun god. Thyatira was an average town but had major commodities that drove its prosperity. Its lead commodity was textiles. The city’s water also was so rich in minerals that no place in the world could make a red textile so brilliant and so bold. The textile was desired worldwide. Lydia, who met Paul in Philippi and there accepted Christ, was a seller of purple – from Thyatira. The city’s bronze-smiths were famous and the silversmiths made some of the best silver pieces in the world. Its pottery also was coveted.

The entire social, industrial, and religious structure of Thyatira was built around the guilds. Every craft had its own guild and they were more than labor unions. They were the heart of the city’s social function, their religious function, as well as their work. Thyatira was a closed-shop town. For example, if you were an electrician, but you were not a member of the electricians’ guild, you could not work in Thyatira. The same was true if you were skilled in bronze or silver. No matter how good you were – you could be the very best – but if you were not a member of that guild, you could not work in Thyatira.

Periodically, the guilds would hold great festivals for all of their members. The problem for Christians living in the city was that these festivals were held in the temple to Apollo, who as I mentioned earlier, was the patron of the military garrison and the guilds. During the festivals, they would worship Apollo, eat, fellowship, and involve themselves in sexual immorality. Guild members who did not participate in the festival would lose their jobs and their livelihoods. So, what was a Christian supposed to do? Many would say the answer is complicated. Rodney, would Jesus agree with that assessment?

Rodney: No, Jesus would not agree with that statement. As we get into what Jesus said to this Church that will become very clear. So let’s get started.

Verses 18-20:

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: the Son of God, Who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: (19) I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. (20) 'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”

The Son of God…. This is the first time that the name of the speaker is referred to. In each of the other letters, only some attribute of the Savior is mentioned. Here, possibly because of the severity of what was to come, John was led to ensure they knew who was speaking to them. When he writes, “Who has eyes like a flame of fire…” it demonstrates that His eyes are light and nothing can be concealed from His view. Remember, light chases away darkness and the two cannot exist in the same space. Jesus’ eyes see all of their good and bad works. So when Jesus commends them, He lets them know upfront that their current works were better than before. In other words, they were demonstrating improvement.

In His words to this Church, Jesus does not talk of removing their candlestick but instead recognizes the growing effectiveness of His servants. He commends them by saying, “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.” The church in Ephesus was best at first and worst at last, but Thyatira's last works were best – they had improved.