Thyatira: The Corrupt Church Pt.1

Before we get into the message and the meaning of this passage of Scripture let us first get a little background of Thyatira. Thyatira was located about 20 to 30 miles South East of the city of Pergamum. This would be the fourth stop of the postman of that time period. Now this city is really of no great significance. It wasn’t some huge city, it wasn’t the center for worship to Caesar or any other god, it wasn’t called the Crown of Asia like Smyrna, it wasn’t on a hill like Pergamum, this city laid in a valley. This meant that this city had no natural fortification to use as a barrier for protection in case of a battle. Ironic as it seems, this city was actually a barrier. If there was an attack Thyatira was to step in and hold off the enemy until Pergamum gets ready to come in. It was looked at as a dispensable city from a military point of view. If they lost it, no big deal.

Pliny the Elder, naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, described it as, “Thyatira and other unimportant communities.”

Thyatira was NOT:

• It was not a city of political importance. It wasn’t the capitol of a province.
• It was not a city of particular religious importance in the 1st century. Unlike Pergamum, it was not a center of either the worship of Greek gods—or of the worship of the emperor.
• Thyatira had no glorious past. No famous figure was born there. George Washington did NOT sleep there.
• Finally, it was not a cultural—academic center. It had no harbor or library—and as far as I know, it had no theater.

This was an unimportant, insignificant, “plain Jane” type of church. One thing that did make Thyatira famous was their “trade guiles” or as we would know them their “Trade Unions”.

As with trade Unions today in order to work you have to be a part of the union requirements. (You have to picket, carry signs etc.) The guilds were closely connected with the religions and temple worship of the place. Workers had to attend regular annual festivals, which involved immoral practices and idolatry.

Lydia of Thyatira a businesswoman, mentioned in Acts 16, sold her dyes in Philippi and was a member of the dye guild or union. The Gospel may have come into the town of Thyatira from Lydia.

Acts 16:14-15
“¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She 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

Although the city itself may have been regarded as unimportant, the church there was certainly not, and neither were its problems! It was a congregation in which the Lord found several positive qualities to commend, but one in which there were also some serious problems. No matter how big or how small a church is, God still cares about it. God still calls them live a certain way.

Opening to the Church

Revelation 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

As we know from the past studies that this letter is being written to the pastor or overseer of the church here in Thyatira. We know that this is Jesus speaking to the church as He identifies himself as the Son of God. One thing we need to know that God sees & knows everything that goes on. Here in Revelation 2: 18 states His “eyes are like blazing fire.” His powerful eyes even give Him constant, intimate knowledge of our secret thoughts and motives.

Jeremiah 16:17
“¹⁷ My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.” - NIV

Jeremiah 17:10
“¹⁰ I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” – NIV

Hebrews 4:13
“¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” - NIV

Isaiah 29:15
“¹⁵ Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” - NIV

Everything we do God knows about. Even though this city laid in the valley, kind of hidden from everyone, God still knew everything about them. The Christians of Thyatira probably figured we are in the valley and surrounded by cliffs so no one will even notice we are here doing what we are doing.

I Know Your Deeds

God doesn’t just see the wrong things we do in life, but God also sees the good things that we do and God is fair and just and He does commend those who follow Him. In fact of all the churches of Revelation no church got more praise than Thyatira.

Revelation 2:19
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.” - NIV

Jesus started off by saying there are those in this church who are “let(ting) your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mat. 5:16) I know your good deeds, I know of the love that you show towards others, I know of the faith that you have in Me, I know of your service and how you try to reach to those around you, I know of your perseverance through the many trials and tribulations that you face, not only that, but I know that you are now doing more than you did when you first started, you are closer now than you were last year and for all of this I commend you for! Great job church! BUT!

This I Have Against You

Even though they were doing good and showing all these great aspects of Discipleship there was a problem. In fact a big problem.

Revelation 2:20
²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” - NIV

To help us understand how evil this Thyatiran woman was—let’s remind ourselves of the FIRST Jezebel—whose story is recorded in 1st Kings 16-19. Jezebel was married to Ahab king of Israel.

1st Kings 16:20-31
“³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. ³¹ He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.” – NIV

And as though it were not enough to follow the example of Jeroboam (who also made idols), he married Jezebel who worshipped Baal and other gods. God said he did more evil because of this. In verse 33 the Bible says, he “did more to provoke” God than any other king before him. This is why God didn’t want kings to begin with. He wanted to be king…the King, but God let them have their way and if we resist hard enough God will let us have our way too.

Romans 1:28
“²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” - NIV

Jezebel had influence over Ahab and he was in really hot water with God.

Acts of Jezebel

· Influenced Baal & Ashera worship
1st Kings 16:32-33a
“³² He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made an Asherah pole…” – NIV

· Massacred Prophets of God
1st Kings 18:4a
“⁴ While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets…” – NIV

· Tried to Kill Elijah (Prophet of God)
1st Kings 19:1-2
“¹ Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” – NIV

· Committed Forgery, Plotted a Murder, & Stole Land
1st Kings 21:7-10
“⁷ Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”  ⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. ⁹ In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. ¹⁰ But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” – NIV

· Involved in Idolatry & Witchcraft
2nd Kings 9:22
“²² When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”  “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” – NIV

Ray Stedman writes, “She was a ruthless, Godless, calculating, power-mad seducer of the people.” In short, Jezebel was not a good person. No—she made it her goal to corrupt Israel as Balaam had done before her—and Ahab lacked the moral conviction to withstand her. By the way, she died as it had been prophesied—thrown from the palace window into the courtyard below, where her body was set upon by dogs who licked up her blood. Since then the name JEZEBEL has been used an adjective to describe a wicked, evil person.

As we see here in Scripture there is a woman in verse 20 who’s actions reminded Jesus of the actions of Jezebel and the Christians of Thyatira allowed her to continue – they tolerated- her actions. For some reason or another they allowed this false self proclaimed prophetess continue to teach her false doctrine which was not of God.

Earlier I said living as a tradesman the Thyatiran Christians had to belong to a trade guild but belonging to a guild meant they were pressured and probably required....to participate in immoral sexual practices and idol worship. So, these believers were confronted with a decision—in their minds they could remain faithful to God which would probably mean their families would starve....or they could go along with the trade union crowd and become involved with idol worship and the immorality that always goes along with it. This woman in the church was teaching that it was ok to be a part of both worlds. That God understood. It was ok to submit to the cultural pressures.

If this sounds familiar that’s because you’ve heard it before. Jezebel was basically advocating the same kind of compromise that the Nicolaitans and the followers of Balaam did. But in Thyatira it was different.

Church of Ephesus
Revelation 2:6
“You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” – NIV

Church of Pergamum
Revelation 2:14a-15
“¹⁴ There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam…. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” – NIV

In the Church of Ephesus they hated the Nicolaitans and Pergamum only they were opposed of it because only some held to it, but here in Thyatira they tolerated it! Unfortunately there are churches & Christians today who allow this sort of thing to happen. They ignore Scripture and what God says on how to live our lives. Too many today pick and choose what they want to obey in God’s Word forgetting that we cannot add or take away from the Scripture.

2nd Timothy 3:16
“¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – NIV

Time to repent

Revelation 2:21-23
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.” - NIV

Revelation 2:24-29
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 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

²⁶ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” - NIV