To Thyatira || You’ve Got Divine Mail! || Part 4

Have you ever sat in church and heard a sermon that doesn’t sit right with you? Have you ever been in a Bible Study and listened to a teaching that triggered a visceral reaction? You see your church struggling and asked the ultimate question, “Does God care about the church?” The idea is about the group of believers gathered under one building, but we are called the church as well.

We’re in a series called “You’ve Got Divine Mail!” Jesus had John send out letters to seven churches to celebrate their successes and offer resolutions for their problems. The goal of this series is to help you feel encouraged. To be encouraged to serve the church and help the body reach its best potential, and for you to serve God’s people to change the world.

In Part 3, we talked about the letter sent to the church in Pergamum. They were accepting false teachers in their church. Jesus wants them to repent from their ways and the idolatrous worship with the teachings of the Bible. If they can overcome, they will get eternal manna, shiny white stones, and a new name.

In Part 4, we’re talking about the letter sent to the church in Thyatira.

Revelation 2:18-29

18           “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

19           “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

20           “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 

21           I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

22           “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 

23           I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

24            “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 

25           except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. 

26            To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.

27           They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.

28           They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

29           “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Let’s break down the letter:

INTRODUCTION:The letter to the church in Thyatira is written to the messenger of the church to share with the congregation.

POSITIVES OF THE CHURCH: Jesus commends their love, faith, service, patient endurance, and constant improvement.  Jesus is thankful for the followers that resisted Jezebel’s teaching, encouraging them to hang on to their laurels until he returns.

PROBLEMS OF THE CHURCH:Jesus is upset about their worship to Jezebel. Jesus has been patient with her to repent of her ways, but time is up. Her and her followers will suffer, ending the following she once had.  

BLESSINGS:If they are victorious in the battle, they will see receive authority like Jesus had and will receive the morning star.

Thyatira was the working person’s town, which had my trade groups for cloth making, dyeing, and pottery. Lydia, Paul’s first convert in Philippi, was a merchant from there. The city was a typical secular town, with no focus on any religion. Believers were celebrated for growing in their good works regardless of the sinfulness surrounding them. Like them, we must remember not to be complacent in our worship or stop encouraging new believers. How we show our faith, and love must be different from the typical world. There’s a lot of different styles and formats in worshipping God, each containing their own substyles. Whatever your flavor of worship is, we must not condemn others for doing their own version. There are some areas where we can argue that it’s helpful to intercede, but we must do that with love, not anger. We can talk about it in ways that expresses concern, but no judgment.

A woman in the church was teaching that immorality was not a concern. Her could have been Jezebel or could have been described as Jezebel by John. Jezebel was a pagan queen of Israel and considered the evilest woman who ever lived. So, why was sexual immorality so serious? Sex outside of marriage can hurt someone. It could hurt in the following ways:

• It can hurt God.
  • It shows that we prefer to satisfy our desires our own way instead of following his principles or waiting for his timing.
• It can hurt others.
  • It violates the commitment necessary to a relationship.
• It can hurt us.
  • Our sin separates us from God, and this can lead us away from God’s plan for us.

Overall, sin violates the plan God has for us. It can make our hearts hard to and indifferent to the chaos sin can cause. What this means, about sexual immorality, is that sex and sexual acts committed in a very careless and laissez-faire mindset, can cause different types of physical, mental, and spiritual distress. When we’re very particular and very mindful of who we have as partners, when we have it, how we have it, and why we have it, we can find God’s response and plan for us. Sexual immorality can destroy relationships, families, communities, and more because it undermines the integrity and trust that God-firs relationships are built on. God wants to protect us from hurting ourselves and those around us; thus, we are to have no part in sexual immorality. What defines it can be found in my series “Boundaries for Your Sexuality,” where I take the biblical words etymology for them, denominational perspectives, and legal definitions to reach a conclusion for how to view it in our world today.

In pagan temples, meat was often offered to idols. Then the meat that wasn’t buried was sold to shoppers in the temple marketplace. Eating food offered to idols wasn’t wrong on its own, but there were possible mental consequences. It could violate the conscience of weaker of Christians who might be bothered by it. Jezebel didn’t care though. She was more concerned about her own selfish pleasure and freedom than about the needs and concerns of the believers. She didn’t want to turn away from her actions. She didn’t want to repent.

To repent means to change your mind from your sinful behavior and its consequences and turn towards God and eternal life. Through his forgiveness and mercy, God allows us this chance to follow him. Our stubbornness and hard-heartedness can get in our way. The truth of the matter is that he knows our hearts and minds, and still loves us, despite our stubbornness. The reason we need to still confess our sins is to show our intentionality to change and be ready to make things right with God.

The “deeper truths” of Satan were either false teachings advocated by heretics (those who support the opposition of Christianity) or the secret insights of false believers promising to promote deeper spiritual life. More than just new ideas or topics for preaching, these impacted a believer’s soul – challenging the essence of who they are. It may have been helpful to hear that whatever you do to your body is inconsequential and therefore it’s fine to fulfill your sexual desires outside of marriage. Another appeal to these “deeper truths” may have been the sense of pride and ego that you’d gain while holding this knowledge. Folks, all this is to say that we need to keep close the basics of the Christian faith and view teachings of the Bible with caution because people can manipulate it to their own agenda and advancement. Be mindful to the church communities as well and even our own foundation of faith to make sure at the center of it all is God.

Christ says that those who are faithful until the end and continue to please God will rule over his enemies and reign with him as judges’ evil. This promise of work gives us a great reason to still be focused in our faith. The next time you feel unfairly treated or unjustly perceived, remember that you will receive victory one day.

Jesus refers to himself as “the bright morning star” in Revelation 2:16. A morning star appears just before dawn, when the night is its coldest and darkest. At the world’s darkest point, Jesus will arrive, exposing evil with his light and the bringing his promised reward of eternal life for those who believe in him. Jesus will shine through our darkness and promise a victory that will last today and forever.

Today, we learned about Thyatira’s dealing with Jezebel. Jezebel infiltrated the church and taught their followers to eat worshipped food and commit sexual immorality. Jesus gave her and her followers time to repent, but she didn’t. Jesus had a punishment fitting to her. When we dedicate our worship towards something other than God, we will face consequences. We must remain faithful, patient, strong, and courageous to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Next time, we’re covering the letter to Sardis. Until then, stay blessed!

Associated Scripture

• Rev 2:18:             Daniel 10:6, Revelation 1:14-15
• Rev 2:19:             Revelation 2:2
• Rev 2:20:             1 Kings 16:31, 2 Kings 9:7, 22
• Rev 2:21:             Revelation 9:20
• Rev 2:22:             Revelation 17:2
• Rev 2:23:             Proverbs 24:12, Jeremiah 17:10, Matthew 16:27, Luke 16:15, Romans 8:27
• Rev 2:25:             Revelation 3:11
• Rev 2:26-27:      Psalm 2:8-9, Matthew 10:22, Revelation 12:5
• Rev 2:28:             Revelation 22:16
• Rev 2:29:             Revelation 2:7