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18“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
22Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
23and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.
25Only hold fast what you have until I come.
26The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
27and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
28And I will give him the morning star.
29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 2:18–29 ESV)
People often say, behind every great man there is a great woman. Besides, every notorious man there might be an evil woman too! All I want to say is that women are very influential. Undeniably, wives are the influencers of their husbands. In many cases, women contributed the successes to their husbands, and some wives caused the downfalls of their husbands as well.
Politicians are influential, and so are their spouses. Presidents are powerful, and so are the first ladies. Male rulers are always in the limelight and they seem to be very dominant and powerful. Although their wives are less visible, this does not mean these women are less prominent.
In the Old Testament, Jezebel was the malicious wife of the infamous king Ahab. Ahab was evil and Jezebel also contributed much to his downfall. Interestingly, the Book of Revelation speaks of a woman by the name of Jezebel. Most probably, Jezebel was not her real name. Since Jezebel has long become a symbol of wickedness, and no wonder Jesus Christ called this false and evil prophetess the same name.
In the letter to the Church in Thyatira, Jesus Christ pointed out the virtues and the vices of this congregation. If we want to understand this message better, we must first learn the background of the Thyatira church.
- The Pagan-Influenced Thyatira Church
Not a Religious Hub
Although Thyatira was not an important religious centre, the Christians are under pagan influences. In this city, most people worshipped the Greek sun god, Apollo. Being a Christian in such a place is never easy. Imagine you are living in a Buddhist or Islamic state now, it is never easy for you to stand up for your Christian faith.
Direct Challenge to the Imperial Cult
Back then, emperors claimed to be the deities and the saviours of their kingdoms. Intentionally, Jesus identified Himself as the Son of God (Revelation 2:18), which was a way to challenge the imperial cult of that age. Isn’t strange that some human beings dare to claim to be demigods!
The Influences of Guilds
Thyatira had numerous guilds. Guilds are more or less today’s labour unions. In this city, the main industry was the production of wool and dyed goods. Many people were involved in this trade, and workmen had to abide to the rules and regulations of their guilds. If you need a job or run a business in Thytira, you must belong to a guild. As each guild had its own patron deity, their members would offer sacrifices to their idols. If members refused doing so, they would lose their jobs. In other words, they would lose their livelihood. Very likely, Christians in these guilds had to face this kind of pressure on a daily basis.
Pagan Influences
The World is a big cultural hub. As members of the global village, we are bombarded by all kinds of ideas and thoughts. Undeniably, some viewpoints are good, some are eerie and even harmful. As a matter of fact, Christians have to live out their faith in a non-Christian environment. Although pagan influences are everywhere, we have to stand our ground and make wise choices. One of the many missions of Christians is to test every teaching.
- The Improving Thyatira Church
Christ’s Commendation
Jesus told the church in Thyatira, 19I know everything about you, including your love, your faith, your service, and how you have endured. I know that you are doing more now than you have ever done before. (Revelation 2:19 CEV) In short, the church in Thyatira is not declining, but it keeps on improving.
Car Industry
Every industry is very competitive. If manufacturers don’t improve their products, they would be eliminated through competition. When I was a kid, Japanese cars weren’t that popular and European cars flooded the market. But slowly more and more people chose to drive Japanese cars because they were more affordable and reliable, and eventually Japanese automakers took over the market.
Spiritual Improvement
As Christians, we must improve our spiritual condition. The church in Thyatira keeps on improving, and that is why Jesus Christ commends them.
Four Virtues
For sure, this church has at least four virtues. First of all, they have love, which is essential for believers in Christ. Second, they have a good faith, meaning that they continue to trust and depend on God. Third, they have a heart to serve God and people. Fourth, they persevere in their faith. These are not past virtues, but virtues on the move.
Defects offset the Virtues
20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20 ESV)
Interestingly, there is a “but” in verse 20. Jesus Christ speaks of the defects of the Thyatira believers. In short, the defects of these Christians offset their virtues.
We All Have Virtues
I think it is safe to say that every human being has some sort of virtues, but it is true that all of us have moral flaws. There are no perfect humans on earth, and that is why we need Jesus Christ as our Redeemer.
Spiritual Flaws
All Christians have virtues, but at the same time, we must identify our own spiritual flaws. Since some Thyatira believers didn’t test the validity of Jezebel’s teaching, they were led astray from the truth. As you can see very well, one of the missions of Christians is to test every teaching that we hear.
- The Careless Thyatira Church
20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20 ESV)
The Sin of Tolerance
At first, the Thyatira believers tolerate the teaching of Jezebel, but they eventually receive her instruction without any hesitation. I call it the sin of tolerance.
Sin Creeps in
Although the church in Thyatira was improving on love, faith, service and perseverance, the believers were careless to fend off impurities. They let sin creep in. They were unaware the false teaching of Jezebel. Eventually, the self-professed prophetess led them astray.
A Church which Lacks Discernment
The Thyatira church might be thriving in some areas, but they were sucked into the false teaching of Jezebel. Sadly, some of the Thyatira believers were careless and were lack of discernment. I would call the Thyatira church a careless church.
Dying Gradually
Some scientists conducted the following experiment. They placed a frog in water and increased the water temperature gradually. The poor frog didn’t move a bit, but at the end of two-and-a-half hours, it dropped dead. Small flaws would gradually creep into us, and if we are not watchful, they could eventually destroy our integrity. As Christians, we must test every teaching with the Bible. Our mission is to test every teaching. However, if a believer is unfamiliar with the Bible, how can he or she test the truth?
- The Head of Thyatira Church
Christ as the Son of God
In the letter to the church in Thyatira, Jesus reaffirms that He is the Son of God. The emphasis is not on His humility, but on His deity. All in all, Jesus Christ is greater than pagan kings and pagan gods. According to the description of 2:18–19, Jesus is referred as the Ancient of Days according to Daniel 10:6. In other words, Jesus Christ is God. One important thing is that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.
Christ’s All-knowing
23I will even kill her followers. Then all the churches will see that I know everyone’s thoughts and feelings. I will treat each of you as you deserve. (Revelation 2:23 CEV)
Omniscient Christ
The Saviour of humankind knows our thoughts and feelings, because He is God. In a nutshell, Jesus Christ is all-knowing.According to verse 23, we know very well that Jesus knows everything. Nobody can hide anything from Him. You might conceal your thoughts and secrets from all the people around you, but Jesus Christ knows every single detail about it.
Modern Technology
Modern technology is useful, but it is intimidating as well. Recently, I watched a BBC clip about face recognition technology. Police forces across America can upload your image and search databases containing millions of photos that they gathered from the internet. The scary part is that whether you have uploaded the photo yourself, or someone else has without your knowledge – you can be identified and tracked down.
Christ and God’s Spirit
Jesus Christ is omniscient, He does not need modern technology to search your heart! All in all, only Jesus Christ knows the truthfulness of every teaching. If you want to have the knowledge to test every teaching, you must connect with Jesus Christ. Also, Jesus Christ clearly points out that the Spirit of God will guide believers into all the truth (John 16:13–15). With the spiritual connection with the Holy Spirit, a Christian would have the knowledge to test every teaching.
- The False Prophetess of Thyatira Church
Jezebel the False Prophetess
Jesus mentioned Jezebel in His letter to the Thyatira church. He strongly condemned the wrongdoings of this false prophetess.
Old Testament Character
According to the Old Testament, Jezebel was the influential queen of the Northern kingdom. She was the pagan wife of Ahab.She was the close confidant of her husband and she once devised a bloodthirsty plan to kill an innocent person (1 Kings 21). Not only she advanced the worship of Canaanite fertility deities, she also supported several hundreds of prophets of foreign god and goddess at her royal table (1 Kgs 18:19). The worst of all, she heartlessly persecuted God’s prophets (1 Kgs 18:4).
Her Possible Teachings
What were the problems of Jezebel in the church of Thyatira? Most probably, Jezebel was a church member, who elevated herself as a prophetess. Perhaps, she had the opportunities to teach in church settings, and was eloquent and charismatic in her public speeches. And that is why, some churchgoers are drawn to her false teachings. Very likely, Jezebel and her followers acquire knowledge of divine mysteries. The teaching of Jezebel was not from God, but from Satan. Revelation 2:24 says, it is some sort of “deep secrets of Satan.” (Revelation 2:24 CEV) What does she possibly teach? We cannot know for sure, but here is what I surmise: as guild members have to participate guild banquets, including Christian workers, all have to eat meat which had first been sacrificed to a false god. If guild members did not conform to such a custom, they would lose their job. Most probably, Jezebel told the Thyatira believers that eating food offered to idols was perfectly fine (1 Corinthian 8:4). For the sake of easing social and economic tension, many Christians succumbed to the teaching of Jezebel. Eventually, some believers even committed sexual immorality.
Her Reluctance to Repent
God is gracious and He often grants people numerous opportunities to repent of their wrongful behaviour. Despite the fact that Jezebel committed a horrible sin, leading God’s people to sin, Jesus offered her a chance to repent. However, she was reluctant to repent of her horrifying deed.
- The Rewards of Thyatira Church
His Promises
Although Jesus pronounced judgment on Jezebel and her followers, He also promised the faithful believers rewards.
Iron Rod
Not only Jesus encouraged those faithful believers in Thyatira to persevere in faithfulness, He also promised to reward those who are loyal to Him. If believers stay faithful to Jesus Christ, they will rule the nations together with Him with a rod of iron. A rod of iron is a heavy shepherd’s staff of oak with an iron tip. It is a symbol of rule.
Morning Star
Also, Jesus Christ promises to reward those victorious and faithful believers with the morning star. In Revelation 22:16, the Lord Jesus identified himself as the bright Morning Star. Perhaps, the Saviour rewards the faithful believers His abiding presence. It can be understood as a reward is to be with the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion
Test every Teaching
Let me conclude here. The message to the Thyatira church is not just about the condemnation of Jezebel and her followers. It is also true that Jesus Christ wants to reward the faithful followers, but He wants to remind His followers to test every teaching. His message to His followers is to test whatever they hear – don’t blindly follow anyone who claims to have special knowledge or revelations. In a short sentence, the mission of Christians is to test the truth.
Reminder to Non-believers
Dear friends, do you know the truth? Have you ever experienced the love and the presence of Jesus Christ? I encourage you to test it. Read the Bible and find if it’s true. We witness to you that the love of Jesus Christ is amazing, but you must test it yourself.
Reminder to Believers
There are all kinds of teachings in Christian and non-Christian circles, but we must test it with God’s Word before acceptance. Dear believers in Christ, we must test every teaching with God’s Word!
Kenneth Thumb Ministry 譚約珥事工 