The Letter to Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29)
The common thread in these first four churches is the idea of compromise and impurity. Each of the churches, save Smyrna has a mixture of faithful followers and sinners. In each of the four cases, tribulation is coming or has come. This testing will serve to weed out the unfaithful and to reward those who are true followers of Christ.
Thyatira was a city of workers. It was known for its trade guilds. A common practice among such trade guilds in the ancient world was the worship of patron deities. And that is where the problem arose that Christ addresses with this church.
Similarly to Ephesus, the church in Thyatira was (lately at least) hard working. But unlike Ephesus, they had not lost their passion. Unfortunately, also unlike Ephesus, they were tolerating false teachers. In this case, they were more like the Church in Pergamum.
The false teacher is called Jezebel. It could be that was her name, but more likely it is a literary reference to the infamous queen in Israel’s history. Like that queen, this lady was teaching the Christians in Thyatira that apostasy and syncretism was permissible. By saying that she was teaching believers to fornicate and eat meat offered to idols, John is accusing her of promoting idol worship.
Jesus calls Himself the “Son of God” in this letter. This is not an unusual title for Christ in Scripture, but it is a unique occurrence of the term in Revelation, and the only case where Jesus calls Himself that. What makes it so relevant for the message to the seven churches, is that it was the common title adopted by the Roman Emperor. Emperor worship was a pervasive problem for Christians of the day. And in the city of trade guilds, the workers who were believers in Thyatira would have additional pressures to participate in idolatry.
So we are back to the same old problem that all of the churches in the first century faced; and that we face still today. It is the age-old problem of sin. It all boils down to idolatry. We worship any power that offers us security, prosperity, or the desires of our rebellious hearts.
We might think that we are beyond idolatry because we no longer bow down to or pray to statues, thinking it will improve our chances in life. But our compromise and idolatry is not unlike that of the Romans. We still show more passion and devotion to things, people, and ideas than to God. We turn to strong men for power and protection and shiny baubles to fill our hearts with joy. Are we so different from the workers in Thyatira?
Christ concludes this letter with an appeal similar to the other messages. Faithfulness and endurance will be rewarded. Here, it is they that “keep His works” who will live. Elsewhere, John exhorts his readers that “truth and action” are more important than “words of speech” when it comes to love. For a city of workers, it is an appropriate appeal to sound devotion.
Thyatira was a city of workers. It was known for its trade guilds. A common practice among such trade guilds in the ancient world was the worship of patron deities. And that is where the problem arose that Christ addresses with this church.
Similarly to Ephesus, the church in Thyatira was (lately at least) hard working. But unlike Ephesus, they had not lost their passion. Unfortunately, also unlike Ephesus, they were tolerating false teachers. In this case, they were more like the Church in Pergamum.
The false teacher is called Jezebel. It could be that was her name, but more likely it is a literary reference to the infamous queen in Israel’s history. Like that queen, this lady was teaching the Christians in Thyatira that apostasy and syncretism was permissible. By saying that she was teaching believers to fornicate and eat meat offered to idols, John is accusing her of promoting idol worship.
Jesus calls Himself the “Son of God” in this letter. This is not an unusual title for Christ in Scripture, but it is a unique occurrence of the term in Revelation, and the only case where Jesus calls Himself that. What makes it so relevant for the message to the seven churches, is that it was the common title adopted by the Roman Emperor. Emperor worship was a pervasive problem for Christians of the day. And in the city of trade guilds, the workers who were believers in Thyatira would have additional pressures to participate in idolatry.
So we are back to the same old problem that all of the churches in the first century faced; and that we face still today. It is the age-old problem of sin. It all boils down to idolatry. We worship any power that offers us security, prosperity, or the desires of our rebellious hearts.
We might think that we are beyond idolatry because we no longer bow down to or pray to statues, thinking it will improve our chances in life. But our compromise and idolatry is not unlike that of the Romans. We still show more passion and devotion to things, people, and ideas than to God. We turn to strong men for power and protection and shiny baubles to fill our hearts with joy. Are we so different from the workers in Thyatira?
Christ concludes this letter with an appeal similar to the other messages. Faithfulness and endurance will be rewarded. Here, it is they that “keep His works” who will live. Elsewhere, John exhorts his readers that “truth and action” are more important than “words of speech” when it comes to love. For a city of workers, it is an appropriate appeal to sound devotion.
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