To The Church Of Thyatira Series

To the Church of Thyatira

In this series on the Seven Churches of Revelation, we have examined the Church in Ephesus, the Church in Smyrna and the Church in Pergamum. Today we will look at the Church in Thyatira and not only how our Church compares to it, but also how we as individual Christians compare to the Christians in Thyatira.

Let’s stand as we read:

Rev 2:18-29

18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

22 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.

23 I will strike her children dead. 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.

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you):

25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.

26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--

27 ’He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’-- just as I have received authority from my Father.

28 I will also give him the morning star.

29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

(NIV)

(Prayer)

Thyatira the smallest city of the seven churches was about 35 miles east of Pergamum. It was perhaps the least important from a political and religious standpoint. We know little about the city, but it was not a main center of any kind of pagan worship. Thyatira is only mentioned one other time in the Bible.

Let’s read:

Acts 16:14-15

14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

(NIV)

When Paul was in Philippi preaching the Gospel, Lydia heard Paul’s message and was his first convert in Philippi. It is assumed that Lydia was a rich merchant because the purple dye that was made in Thyatira was very expensive. The dye came from the madder root and a shellfish called murex. Lydia may have played an active part in establishing the church there.

Let’s look at the message for the Church at Thyatira.

Rev 2:18

18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

(NIV)

Jesus is making it clear that this letter is from Him, the Son of God. He is also telling them and us that nothing is hidden from His view. Jesus, the Son of God is able to penetrate the secret recesses of the heart. If a person thinks that they can hide their secret sin from God, then they are gravely mistaken. There is nothing that God doesn’t know about us, even our innermost thoughts. As Christians we are told to be the light of the world, but if we have dark thoughts, then we don’t have a light to shine to the world. To be the light, we must first light the flame inside us. This means having Christ live in our hearts and obey His teachings. Sometimes we may think that we get away with a "little" sin. Maybe we take a pen from the office or we get back to much change from a store clerk and we think that no one will ever know. Jesus knows. There is no sin that Christ doesn’t see. We can never hide anything from God.

Jesus says that His feet are like burnished bronze. Bronze or Brass is a symbol that the Bible uses for judgment. The word burnished means just or accurate. So Christ judgment of sin is accurate and righteous. There are many Christians that believe God does not punish His people for sin. God is a righteous God and deplores sin. If your son or daughter, whom you love dearly, disobeys you, then you punish them so that they will learn to obey you and hopefully by obeying they will learn right from wrong and will have a must better life when they go out on their own. God wants us to have a better life, so He punishes us when we sin, so that we will learn to live life to the fullest in God’s grace.