The Letter to Thyatira (Rev. 2:18–29)
The Letter to Thyatira (Rev. 2:18–29)
Thyatira
was a city of the province of Lydia in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey)
situated on the road from Pergamos to Sardis.
The
apostle Paul’s first convert in Europe was “Lydia,” a seller of purple from the
city of Thyatira (Acts 16:14). The modern name of Thyatira is “Akhisar,” which
means “white castle.”[1]
The
Correspondent
2:18 “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:
The title
“the Son of God” and the two descriptive phrases drawn from the vision of the
risen Christ in 1:12–17 identify the writer as the Lord Jesus Christ. As
noted, in introducing Himself in the seven letters, Christ chose the phrases
from that earlier vision that best fit His approach to each angel of the seven
churches. The words the Lord Jesus Christ chose here focus on His role as
divine Judge.
The title
“the Son of God” emphasizes Christ’s relationship with God, stressing His
oneness with the Father (John 5:18). “The Father judges no one but has
committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
The Lord
Jesus Christ has “eyes like a flame of fire” (Rev. 2:18). A church may feel
satisfied with itself and have a good reputation in the community or other
churches. However, the penetrating eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ see it as it
is.
Describing
the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ like “fine brass” is reminiscent of (Rev.
19:15), as the Lord Jesus Christ treads “the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
The
Commendation
2:19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your
patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.
The Lord
Jesus Christ praised the angel of the church at Thyatira before voicing His
concerns about him. He assured him that He had not forgotten his righteous
works (Heb. 6:10), dividing them into four categories.
Showing Love
First,
the angel of the church of Thyatira was showing love for God and one another. This
love was fragile since there was not a strong foundation of unified sound
doctrine. However, in some ways, Thyatira was strong, where Ephesus was weak. The
church’s angel at Thyatira is the first of the angels of the seven churches
that the Lord Jesus Christ commended for his love.
Having Faith
Second,
the Lord Jesus Christ commended him for his faith. The New Testament frequently
link faith and love together
(1 Cor. 13:2,13; 2 Cor. 8:7; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 1:15, 3:17; Col. 1:4; 1 Thess. 1:3,
3:6, 5:8; 2 Thess. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:14, 2:15, 6:11;
2 Tim. 1:13, 2:22, 3:10; Titus 2:2).
Having Patience
Out of
faith and love, grow service and perseverance. Those who love will express it
by meeting the needs of others. Those faithful will steadfastly persevere in
the faith (Matt. 16:24–26; 24:13).
Having Greater Works
Not only
did he possess these virtues, but his later deeds were marvelous in number than
his first. His loving service was becoming more consistent, and his faithful
perseverance was growing stronger. So, he was growing in grace, maturing in his
Christian life, and advancing the cause of Christ (2 Pet. 1:8). For that
behavior, the Lord Jesus Christ praised the angel of the church in Thyatira.
The Concern
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.
Despite
the angel’s commendation from the Lord Jesus Christ, all was not well with him.
The Lord Jesus Christ discerned serious error in him and warned him as a
result.
Tolerating Jezebel
The angel
of the church in Thyatira allowed “Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess,”
to teach in the church, in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12, which says women are
not to teach in the church. Jezebel had no sound doctrine. She taught and
seduced Christ’s servants to “commit sexual immorality and eat things
sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:20).
“Jezebel” was probably not the actual name of
the false prophetess in the church of Thyatira. Instead, it might be a symbolic
name referring to the infamous wife of King Ahab. Both the false prophetess and
Jezebel were Satan’s agents to corrupt God’s people.
The Old
Testament Jezebel was such an unspeakably vile woman that the Bible connects
her name with wicked King Ahab’s evil deeds (1 King 16:30–31). Through Jezebel’s corrupt influence, Baal worship
became widespread in Israel.
Like her
Old Testament counterpart, the woman in Thyatira falsely called herself a
prophetess. She had led Christ’s servants to live in sin so that they committed
immoral acts and ate things sacrificed to idols. Jezebel may have believed that
no matter how much God’s people sinned, God would graciously forgive them.
Whatever
the specific content of Jezebel’s false teaching, she led most believers in
Thyatira astray from truth and righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ describes
the severe consequences for those who lead believers into sin (Matt. 18:6–10).
2:21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality,
and she did not repent.
Graciously
the Lord Jesus Christ “gave her [Jezebel] time to repent of her sexual
immorality, and she did not repent” (Rev. 2:21). She loved the darkness rather
than the light (John 3:19). Jezebel despised the riches of God’s goodness and
patience, and she did not know that God’s kindness was to lead her into
repentance (Rom. 2:4).
2:22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who
commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their
deeds.
Jezebel’s
refusal to repent would lead her to a possible terrible judgment of death (1 Cor.
11:30; 1 John 5:16). The sentence would affect her and her spiritual children,
who committed adultery with her. The Lord Jesus Christ declared, “Indeed I will
cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds” (Rev. 2:22). He also declared, “I
will kill her children with death” (Rev. 2:23).
This
severe judgment again reveals God’s passion for a pure church with sound
doctrine and the holiness of the Lord. “Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of
water by the word… that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph.
5:25–27).
The Lord
Jesus Christ will do whatever is necessary to purge His church of sin, even if
it means taking the lives of false teachers. Therefore, all teachers in the
church should be sure they are speaking the truth (James 3:1). Also, Christians
who follow false teachers or live in immorality need to repent of their sins
lest they face divine chastening.
2:23 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.
The
judgment against the church’s angel in Thyatira serves to warn against the evil
of tolerating sin. We cannot hide anything from the eyes of the Lord.
God is
the righteous judge “who will render to each person according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). In the second coming
of Christ, He will judge everyone according to their deeds (Matt. 16:27; Rev.
22:12). He will not punish the innocent with the guilty.
The Command
2:24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many
as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they
say, I will put on you no other burden.
Having
warned the practitioners of false doctrine to repent, the Lord Jesus Christ
addressed words of comfort to the others in Thyatira, who did not hold to
Jezebel’s false teaching. He defines true believers as those “who have not
known the depths [the deep things] of Satan” (Rev. 2:24). They have not adhered
to the teachings that said, “Let us do evil that good may come” (Rom. 3:8).
To the
true believers, who had not received the alleged knowledge of Satan through
Jezebel and her followers, Christ promised, “I will put on you no other burden”
(Rev. 2:24). This promise is reminiscent of God’s words of comfort to those who
feared Him and esteemed His name. He said, “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the
day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own
son who serves him” (Mal.
3:17).
The Counsel
2:25 But hold fast what you have till I come.
In case
the angel of the church in Thyatira became weary, Christ encouraged him, “hold
fast what you have till I come” (Rev. 2:25). All believers are to “cling
to what is good” until the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom.
12:9; 1 Cor. 10:12).
2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end,
to him I will give power over the nations — 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;
Power Over the Nations
Christ
offered His promise to those who overcome and keep His works until the end.
This promise has its roots in Psalm 2:7–9, in which God declared He would give His
Messiah all the nations as His inheritance and put them under His feet. Similarly,
God will grant those who overcome authority over the nations in Christ. They
will rule with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5; 19:15).
In (Rev.
2:26–27), the Lord Jesus Christ declares that the faithful are partners with
Him in His glory. He said to His disciples, “in the regeneration when the Son
of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit
on twelve thrones” (Matt. 19:28).
2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
Receiving the Morning
Star
Christ
also promised to give His faithful followers “the morning star” (Rev. 2:28).
Some connect the morning star with Daniel 12:3 and Matthew 13:43. However, it
is better to see the morning star as Christ Himself, which He assumed in (Rev.
22:16) and (2 Pet.
1:19). When the life of Christ, the morning star, dwells in the faithful
believers, they will know the depths of the love of God, which surpasses all
knowledge, and reflects His glory.
2:29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.”
Hearing the Words of the
Spirit
These concluding words charge the church’s angel in Thyatira to heed the letter’s message. Three essential truths stand out: First, this letter reveals the seriousness of practicing and tolerating sin. God will judge the unrepentant sinners in the church. Second, God marks the true Christians by a pattern of obedience. Finally, God graciously promises the faithful that they will experience all the fullness of Christ and reign with Him in God’s kingdom. Those churches, like Thyatira, who fail to heed the message, will receive divine judgment; those who do heed its message will receive divine blessing.
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