Thyatira

Thyatira, A Totally Corrupt Church
Rev 2:18-29

 Pergamos had major problems, but Thyatira had taken it all to a new level
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1. The City and The Lord—“…And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass…”

a. The City: Thyatira was: (From AT Robertson) “… forty miles south-east of Pergamum, a Lydian city on the edge of Mysia, under Rome since B.C. 190, a centre of trade, especially for the royal purple, home of Lydia of Philippi (Acts 16:14f.), shown by inscriptions to be full of trade guilds, Apollo the chief deity with no emperor-worship…”

b. The Son of God—

(1) Christ identifies Himself to them by His title of Deity

(2) As God, He has all authority, He is the ultimate judge of what is right and what is wrong.

c. Authority is going to be an issue here, because the sins of this church and the corruption of this church contradict the Biblical standards for behavior .

(1) And what is more, they thought they were right—even though they were very wrong.

(2) Pergamos was being corrupted, and where they were going was toward the corruption of Thyatira that we see here.

(a) Church Corruption always begins with human sin, then it progresses to a claim for Christian liberty or tolerance

(b) Those with standards, who hold for the Truth are misrepresented as being unloving and/or judgmental

(c) The next step is to solidify the corruption by teaching a corrupt theology.

(d) Then one morning the orthodox believers awake to find themselves outnumbered and the heretics in charge.

d. His eyes like a flame of fire

(1) The “X-ray” vision of God—nothing can be hid from Him—(Prov 5:21) "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths."

(2) (Heb 4:12-13) "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

(3) Christ Jesus sees what is going on, and He is angry about it—there will be no compromise with HIM!

e. His feet like burnished brass—He has His HEAVY boots on—pure brass, ready to take a stand and stamp out the heresy

2. The Commendations—19 "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first…”

a. First note: The commendations are minimal

(1) Works—and the latter are more than the first!

(a) A corrupted church can still produce works of charity; indeed that is often how corrupted churches assuage their feelings of guilt!
(b) Working “for the Lord” is no evidence of legitimacy, nor is it an evidence of individual salvation—(Mat 7:21-23) ""Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

(2) Love—there was some degree of agape there—from the true believers

(3) Service—there was genuine serving going on, again, most likely from the remnant of true believers

(4) Faith

(5) Patience

b. But one thing that is most definitely not mentioned is Truth

3. The Condemnations: a corrupted church—(Rev 2:20) ""Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols."

a. I have this against YOU

(1) Both pronouns are in the singular

(2) Jesus is talking to the Pastor!

(3) Again, the eldership of a church is charged by God with guarding the church and with dealing with false teachers or others who disturb the holiness of the church—(Acts 20:28-31) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

(4) Remember these warnings to preachers and teachers—

(a) (2 Tim 4:1-2) "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."

(b) (James 3:1) "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment."


b. This was a church where the majority was corrupt and the true believers were relegated to being a remnant—no doubt they had gone through the process that Pergamos was currently in the middle of, but they had seen the tragic results of “tolerance” of evil allowed to the point where it was the dominant factor and faction in the church

c. First—what was the substance of the false doctrine taught here?

(1) Early Gnosticism? “… doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say…”

(2) Gnosticism

(a) Special knowledge
(b) Libertarian lifestyle
(c) Usually syncretic

(3) (From AT Robinson)—“…The deep things of Satan (ta bathea tou Satanā). The Ophites (worshippers of the serpent) and other later Gnostics (Cainites, Carpocratians, Naassenes) boasted of their knowledge of “the deep things,” some claiming this very language about Satan (the serpent) as Paul did of God (1 Cor 2:10). It is not clear whether the words here quoted are a boast of the Nicolaitans or a reproach on the other Christians for not knowing the depths of sin. Some even claimed that they could indulge in immorality without sinning (1 John 1:10; 3:10). Perhaps both ideas are involved. As they say (hōs legousin). Probably referring to the heretics who ridicule the piety of the other Christians…”


d. Why is this woman called “Jezebel?”

(1) It could be that her name was Jezebel, but that is unlikely, given the negative history of that name

(2) It is most likely the case that she is “cut from the same cloth” as Jezebel, and perhaps she had a “familiar spirit” (a personal demon) which influenced the behavior.

(3) The Original Jezebel

(a) She was the true leader of Israel, since King Ahab, her husband, was totally under her thumb, a figurehead at best

(b) She was a Baal worshiper

(c) The came from a pagan nation

(d) She married in to Israel, but sought from the beginning to undermine and destroy Israel morally, and to transplant her pagan worldview and religion into Israel

(e) She was a practitioner of syncretism, combining Baalism with Judaism

(f) She was a lost tool of Satan, of the kind that Paul had warned against—(Acts 20:28-31) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

(4) The modern Jezebel: Her characteristics and sins

(a) She was the true leader of the church; the pastor was a figurehead at best, or maybe he had been corrupted as well.

(b) She was an adulteress, and rather than being ashamed and repentant, she gloried in her sin

(c) She was teaching God’s people that what we call syncretism is the true faith

(d) She also was teaching an early form of Gnosticism, since she was teaching the people that sinful behavior was OK with God.

e. She was, first of all a violation of Biblical leadership standards—“…20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach…”

(a) She was a woman teaching men—(1 Tim 2:12) "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence."

(b) She was a false prophetess teaching in the church

f. She was unrepentant, a sure sign of lostness—“…21 "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent….”

4. The Judgment—“…22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works…”

a. God’s judgment is going to fall on her and on the others who had followed her.

b. The Judgment against the woman

(1) There are a lot of speculations about exactly who was what

(2) There is some difficulty with the text here, but the best indications are that this “sickbed” is either place to die or is Hell itself.

(3) The punishment against her and anyone else who leads God’s children to sin—(Mat 18:6) ""But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

c. The judgment against her followers, many of whom were apparently saved people

(1) “…those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds….”

(a) There is no definite article here, so this is not talking about THE great tribulation, but it is talking about tribulation in general

(b) And this kind of behavior does lead to great tribulation in your life—as with David

(c) Some notable passages about the dangers here.

(Prov 5:3-5, 8-14) "For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell….) "Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9 Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12 And say: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14 I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.""

(Prov 5:20-23) "For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. 22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray."

(Prov 6:24-29) "To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. 25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. 26 For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. 27 Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? 28 Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent."

d. The Sin unto Death—23 "I will kill her children with death…”

e. The reason for the public nature of the chastisement—“… and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works…”


5. The Faithful Remnant—

a. A description of the Remnant

(1) They had not given in to this teaching“…24 "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine…”
(2) They had not participated in the lifestyle and its hidden codes—“…who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say…”

b. Comforting words for the faithful remnant—their church is too late to save as an institution, but they are to continue to worship and serve God in spite of it all…“… I will put on you no other burden…”

c. Which Coming is this:? 25 "But hold fast what you have till I come…”

(1) Is He coming to remove the candlestick (take away the church’s charter)?

(2) Is He talking about the rapture?

d. Words of comfort for all the saved—

(1) We will reign with Christ—. 26 "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations…”

(2) We will rule with Christ— 27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'; as I also have received from My Father;

(3) We will Shine with Christ—28 "and I will give him the morning star.

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