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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 1 - BEHOLD, I AM COMING QUICKLY! (REVELATION 1:1 - 3:22)
PART 1.2 THE FIRST VISION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ON EARTH: THE APPEARING OF THE SON OF MAN TO SANCTIFY HIS CHURCHES (REVELATION 1:9 - 3:22)
PART 1.2.2 THE LETTERS OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN ASIA MINOR (REVELATION 2:1 - 3:21)

4. The Letter of Jesus Christ to the Church Leader in Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29)


REVELATION 2:18-29
18 “To the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished brass, says these things: 19 I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works. 23 I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don’t have this teaching, who don’t know what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you. 25 Nevertheless, hold that which you have firmly until I come. 26 He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. 27 He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father: 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”

And to the Angel of the Church in Thyatira Write: The command to John to write to each one of the church leaders is repeated. The words revealed in the letters are not human words, but revelations of the resurrected Lord and Savior.

Thyatira was a city located between Pergamos and Sardis, northeast of Ephesus and Izmir. It was the birthplace of Lydia, the seller of luxurious purple-dyed garments, who later lived in Philippi. The modern name of Thyatira is Akhisar (Acts 16:14-40).

Some commentators believe that the church in Thyatira was too small to be called a church. According to Jewish customs, a synagogue had to be composed of at least ten people. Yet in New Caesarea, there had been a bishop appointed for a church which included only 17 Christian believers. Most of the members of the church in Thyatira had attached themselves to an attractive prophetess and had fallen away from the simple teachings of the church minister. The leader of the church in Thyatira was possibly Saint Corpus, who had gathered around him the rest of the faithful congregants.

The Son of God has Eyes Like a Flame of Fire, and Feet Like Fine Brass: The self-introduction of Jesus Christ in this manner lifts all fog and penetrates into his previously mentioned names. We hear from His own mouth that He is the Son of God. In Thyatira he does not speak as the Son of Man, neither as the Savior and Redeemer of the world, but appears in His shining divine glory to judge and destroy the evil spirit in the church, in order that the kingdom of his heavenly Father should not suffer damage.

This rather uncommon self- testimony of Jesus is one of the short yet decisive indicators in the book of Revelation regarding the mystery of the Divine-Sonship of Christ and the Fatherhood of God. With this testimony Jesus refers to a promise in Psalm 2 where, 1,000 years earlier and in dramatic fashion, the testimony of His Father had been revealed: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” (Verse 7)

In the Second Book of Samuel (7:14), the Lord put the mystery of the God-Sonship of Jesus before the Prophet David’s eyes and confirmed to the king that it was not he who would build a house for God; rather, the Lord Himself was going to build David a house (dynasty). For this purpose he chose a son of David who, at the same time, is God’s own Son, who should build the spiritual house of the Lord, that is, His church.

In (Psalm 2:8-12) we read that this divine Son of Man will rule not only the sons of Jacob but all the nations. He will destroy all the devilish forces in them (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), cast out the ruler of this world (1 John 3:8), and initiate the divine kingdom of peace. All the kings and judges must change their minds, repent, and kiss the feet of the unique Son of God (Philippians 2:12; Hebrews 12:28; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15).

The Son of God appeared to John with eyes like a flame of fire, such that no thought or deed could be concealed from His view. He sees everything in depth and judges with supreme justice. He separates light from darkness; no lies or tricks remain hidden before His eyes. His feet are like fine brass - a sign of the immediate and unstoppable execution of justice. He will tread the rebellious spirits and make them ashes. God Himself will make His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1).

In His shining glory the Son of God spoke to the leader of the church in Thyatira. Only to this priest had Christ revealed Himself as the Son of God. With this appearance He also confirmed to the exiled John on Patmos His previous testimony that Jesus is the incarnate Word and the only begotten Son of God. He came to Thyatira to judge, consume, deliver and purify His threatened church.

I Know Your Works, Love, Service, Faith, and Your Patience; And as for Your Works, the Last are More Than the First: Never had a church leader been so broadly commended by Jesus for his faithful service as this man in Thyatira. Jesus had watched him long with His eyes that are like a flame of fire, seen into the depths of him, and understood him. He had seen that the messenger of this church was neither a philosopher nor a public speaker, but had served practically to glorify the Son of God. He loved the members of his church, his family and his enemies, and served them not out of selfishness or self-assertion. The love of God had rather been poured out in his heart by the Holy Spirit, who was working in him (Romans 5:5). His ministration had been established on faithfulness and leadership of the Spirit. He did not intend to revive his church by his personal power but waited patiently for what the Lord would do. He did not mercilessly criticize the difficult members of his church or reprove them before others, but endured them with longsuffering of the Spirit.

This man was compassionate, kind and enduring in his church. Though antichristian spirits dwelt in his church, he did not fall away from his first love like the minister in Ephesus. His services had not become routine works. The more he worked the more he produced. The maturity of his love was being realized in his growing ministries both in quality and in longsuffering. He was faithful and experienced in sufferings.

The judicial inventory of the Eternal Judge resulted in a most honorable and long-lasting commendation of the minister of Thyatira. But the Lord found a weak point in him: in his patient endurance and plentiful love, he was ashamed of punishing the evil woman in his church. Maybe he had not the gift of discerning spirits, and thus endured with longsuffering the deceiving woman who tempted the members of his church with her divination. He lacked the ability to rule and punish, and, therefore, his Lord hastened to help him. He had to reproach His faithful servant for letting this dangerous woman steal into the church and nest in it.

I Have “a Few Things” Against you, Because you Allow That Woman Jezebel who Calls Herself a Prophetess: Jesus' words signify a terrible warning. A false prophetess had brought about a break in of satanic powers into the spiritual realm of the church in Thyatira. In the Old Testament, God had commanded that every false prophet immediately be killed. (Deuteronomy 13:5-6; 18:20; 1 Kings 18:19,40; Jeremiah 14:14-15; 28:15-16). Paul cursed every spirit that preached any other gospel than what he had proclaimed (Galatians 1:8-9). The Lord considered the false revelations and demonic seductions that had penetrated into the church of Thyatira to be of such extreme importance that He had risen up and hurried as a Judge to condemn the false prophetess personally.

In the Old Testament Queen Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab. She did not allege herself to be a prophetess, but had, nevertheless, brought four hundred prophets of Astarte from Tyre into the holy land and had the true prophets of the Lord killed mercilessly. She symbolized the powers opposing God, which infiltrated into the spiritual territory of God and wanted to fight against His influence.

False prophets are of great danger to the church of Jesus Christ. They may have different names and appearances, attractive slogans, as well as enticing teachings, like those of Rousseau, who taught that man is good in himself, or Karl Marx in his book “Capital”, or Hitler in his “Mein Kampf”, ( in which he purposed to make the Aryan race dominant), or Muhammad in his Qur’an, in which he denies Christ’s divinity. Christians who deify the Virgin Mary affiliate with false prophets. They take away the hearts of people, bind them to their own gods or empty ideals, and fill them with a strange spirit. They mislead people into spiritual fornication, that they might not love Jesus “alone”, but the devil – who is represented through his shining emissaries.

Paul taught, “Let your women keep silent in the churches” (1 Corinthians 14:34). Jesus reproached the minister of the church because he let this modern Jezebel teach regularly in the meetings. Maybe the speaker did not have the gift of preaching and delivered his sermons in a boring manner, without the use of attractive words, and was, therefore, thankful to this woman for bringing activity and winds of change into his church. Yet he did not recognize that she was a medium for a strange spirit, one that struggled for woman’s rights and more. The Holy Spirit did not speak through her. This woman was so attractive, clever and charming that she seduced even the righteous men with her sweet talk. The minister of the church did not test the teachings of these spirits in his heart, but tolerated them. He did not immediately recognize that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were no longer the center in the feministic preaching of this woman. She led the members of the church to penetrate deeply into the study of Satan, with a generous indulgence being allowed for adultery and fornication, which were explained as the practical application of “love”.

The woman drew the men to her, bound them to herself, and eventually led them into the dissolute festivals of idol worship, with accompanying orgies. The course of the church in Thyatira began with committing sexual immorality, and proceeded to eating things sacrificed to idols, whereas the course of the church in Pergamos ran the opposite (Revelation 2:14). It has repeatedly been found that spiritual adultery leads to physical adultery. Wherever the fear of God disappears, the holiness of the one God becomes obscured in the Holy Trinity. Unclean works soon appear.

I Gave her Time to Repent of her Sexual Immorality, and she did not Repent: Jesus gave the demon-possessed false prophetess time and opportunity to repent. She had still the freedom to choose. Those that are bound to evil spirits can say whether or not they want to be delivered from the slavery of their sins. They can cry out for help and throw themselves at the feet of their Savior, so that He may deliver them from the power of the devil “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. … Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:34,36).

The false prophetess in Thyatira, however, was not willing to abandon her sins. She loved the unclean spirit that ruled in her. Jesus repeatedly called the people of Jerusalem and their leaders to come to him, yet they were not willing (Matthew 23:37-39). They cut themselves off from His salvation so that He could not deliver them (John 5:37-40). Therefore, God’s judgment became inevitable. By casting off and rejecting their Savior they condemned themselves.

Indeed I Will Cast her into a Sickbed, and Those who Commit Adultery with her into Great Tribulation, Unless They Repent of Their Deeds: The Lord did not kill the great deceiver immediately, in spite of the hardness of her heart. He again gave her hours and days to repent before He inflicted her, perhaps with Plague, which none could then be cured of. Her tribulation may be compared to the sickness of Aids, which incurably inflicts many through the slavery of their lusts.

Those who had committed adultery with her became exceedingly frightened and did not know whether they had been inflicted by the same disease. Furthermore, the whole city spoke about the “unclean pious”. They kept away from them because the danger of contagious infection was still present. Disgrace, isolation and the fear of death were the result of the teaching of the false prophetess. Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:16)

I Will Kill her Children With Death. And I Will Give to Each one of you According to Your Works: The children of this multicultural adultery fellowship would all die, just as David’s first child, the fruit of his adulterous intercourse with Bathsheba, died. The false prophetess needed one final thrust into her heart before death overtook her. The pain and suffering for her dying children should yet drive her to repent. Yet not all children of adulterers would have to die, for otherwise millions of small children would perish. Jesus taught us never to curse adulterers when he said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7).

The straying members of the church, whom the Lord still called in verse 20 “My servants”, who had been seduced by the false prophetess and committed adultery with her, needed to recognize in this judgment of the Son of God what we often read in the Holy Bible, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). They had to recognize that they had not only sinned against themselves and the church, but above all, against God. As soon as deceived ones recognize and confess their sins and go on to regret, hate, and leave them they can receive grace and forgiveness.

The renewal movement through the Son of God’s judgment was not only to revive the church in Thyatira, but also all the churches in Asia Minor. They had to begin understanding that the Lord is alive! He is holy and tolerates no sin. His judgment begins with the church. We, too, are no better than brothers who stray. Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Are we all adulterers before God?

A wholesome fear of the Son of God’s holiness must spread in all churches; they need recognize that grace is not cheap. He who employs it as a pretense to cover his iniquities will fall from grace and be condemned according to his own evil works. He who worships other gods, spirits, saints and prophets beside God, and honors them above all else, will see that they are all dead sinners and unable to help him in the last judgment. Only those who cling to Jesus and abide in His shelter, dwell in His humility and under His spirit’s guidance, will be favored with complete forgiveness. He who abandons his Savior will see how things take their course for him in judgment without His grace. Every word, every deed and every thought will be weighed in the light of God. The spirit of God will examine his heart and mind through and through to see where his intents and lusts lay. Neither dignity nor self-righteousness will remain, but only guilt and an all-too-late remorse. Judgment awaits everyone who turns away from grace and builds his future on the foundation of his own works or the achievement of other people.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, keep us from predicting, talkative teachers, ministers and ladies that they may not lead us to Satan's sciences and lies. You scolded the seducer in Thyatira who was not prepared to repent and You foretold her death with her children. Cleanse our churches from deceitful teachings and let not the Evil One kill the spiritual life in Your followers.

QUESTION:

  1. Why was Christ angry about the faithful pastor in the church of Thyatira?

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