Revelation 2:18-29: Letter to the Church at Thyatira

The seven churches of Revelation 2

The city of Thyatira was at the intersection of two important trade routes which ran from the eastern part of Asia Minor to port cities of Ephesus and Smyrna. Today, it is the modern city of Akhisar in Turkey.

Thyatira was a center of manufacturing and trade. Craft workers in the city included wool and linen weavers, dyers, bakers, bronze smiths, potters, and tanners. The city was famous as a source of purple cloth, with the purple dye produced from the roots of a plant native to the area. Purple clothing was a mark of royalty and wealth. Purple cloth was very expensive and highly prized throughout the Roman world.

The city was the home of Lydia (Acts 16:14), whom Paul had encountered in Philippi, in Macedonia. She was a dealer in purple cloth who traveled to sell her goods. She heard the gospel from Paul and became a Christian.

Acts 16:13-15 gives us the record of her encounter with Paul:

“¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 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.”

Thyatira, like Smyrna and Pergamos, was part of the Roman empire. The city was an outpost for the Roman military, which was there because the city was in a narrow valley and had no natural defenses against invasion. It had been invaded and conquered many times in its history prior to the establishment of the Roman garrison there in the first century B.C.

Citizens of Thyatira were required to worship the Roman emperor. The city also was the home of worship of the pagan religion of Apollo, a mythological Greek god of the sun, truth, and knowledge.

In Thyatira, the trade guilds ruled the economy and the municipal government. A  craft worker had to be a member of a guild in order to practice his or her trade.

The trouble for Christian craft workers was that the guilds were not simply unions like we know today. Guilds were tied in with the culture and its religious practices. Guild meetings were all-day or all-night religious ceremonies, where members were required to take part in worship of the pagan god Apollo and the Roman emperor. Trade guild meetings included prayers and worship of these pagan gods, sacrifice of animals to them, and a banquet where sacrificed meat was served and consumed as part of the guild member’s religious obligation. The worship of Apollo also included prostitution of the priestesses from the temple of Apollo.

Remember from our discussion about the church at Smyrna that the Christians there were poor and persecuted because they would not worship the Roman emperor? That was not the case in Thyatira. Rather than stand against the pagan worship and immorality, the Christian craftspeople there took part in the pagan worship so they could learn trades and work. Worse, the church accommodated it.

This situation is at the heart of Christ’s letter to that church.

In the letter’s salutation, the designation “…Son of God…” (v. 18) is a reminder that Christ, and He alone, is God; “…whose eyes are like blazing fire…,” used here and 1:14 and 19:12, paints a picture of one with penetrating sight who sees into the depths of His people and His church; “…whose feet are like burnished bronze…” is generally interpreted to show purity and is a reference to Christ’s position of perfection and holiness from which He has the right to judge; and “…burnished…” means polished or perfect—His glowing, hot brass feet, are a sign of divine judgment. The word picture here is of Jesus with the burning, perfect feet of judgment moving through His church to judge and eliminate sin and reminding the Christians at Thyatira that He, and not Apollo or the emperor, is God and that He sees their sin and may judge them.

Christ’s commendation to the church at Thyatira occurs in v. 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.”

Their good deeds and works of service were growing, presumably including such acts as sharing the gospel with the lost, caring for each other in sickness and times of trouble and mourning, and giving help to the poor and the widows and orphans. All these were important works of the early church. Jesus also commends their “…love…” and “…perseverance…,” which recognizes their love for Christ and for each other. The “…perseverance…” of people in the church is better understood as “steadfastness” or “patience,” and means constant, steadfast efforts to serve and do good works. Today, as in the past, the Christian’s faith is demonstrated to others in good works.

In vv. 20-23, Jesus turns to reprimanding the church:

“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. 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.”

The church was permitting the teaching of false doctrine and thus was facilitating sinfulness among the Christians. These included sexual sin, pagan worship, and eating food consecrated to idols as a part of pagan worship practices.

The influence of false doctrine can creep into the teaching in the church. A church does not just decide one day to accept obviously false doctrine, but over time, it can happen.

Remember our discussion about the church at Ephesus? It was doctrinally on target but lazy when it came to love for God and each other. The church at Thyatira was just the opposite. Christ commended them for works, service, love, faith, and steadfastness, but they were weak doctrinally, tolerating polytheism among the congregation and the sinfulness of secular culture.

The Christian craft workers in the city are a good example. In order to work, the craft worker had to be a member in good standing in the guild, and in order to stay in good standing, he had to take part in the worship of Apollo and the Roman emperor, eat the meat sacrificed to the pagan gods, and participate in the sexual activities that were part of that worship.

Sadly, the church at Thyatira accommodated itself over time by adjusting its ideas about Christian doctrine to fit in with the culture and requirements of guild membership.

There are a couple of prevailing opinions among about just what was being taught and practiced in the church there. One idea is that it was entirely permissible to accommodate to the secular culture. If Christian tradespeople needed to submit in order to make a living, then the church grew to accept that. The craft workers could continue to contribute financially to the church, and God, in His grace, would overlook their sin. The other opinion among church historians is the idea that cultural practices or pressures came to actually define church doctrine. From what we know about Thyatira, some Christians first yielded to the temptation to go along with the pressure to fit in with their culture and the practices of the guilds. This became more and more accepted until the cultural practice dictated the doctrine, rather than vice versa, as God intends.

You may notice that the sins of this church are in contrast with the church at Smyrna, where Christians suffered persecution, and poverty because of their refusal to accommodate to the sinful cultural practice of emperor worship.

The leading teacher of doctrinal errors in Thyatira was a woman, whom Jesus refers to as “Jezebel.” She called herself a prophet. Jesus explains that “By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols” (v. 20).

“Jezebel” is a reference to the woman who influenced the Jews many centuries before to worship Ba’al, the pagan god of fertility. Ba’al worship practices included idolatry and sexual immorality.

Here is a little background about Jezebel. Jezebel appears in 1 Kings 16-22. She was the wife of Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the daughter of the king of Sidon (Lebanon today). King Ahab is called “…more evil than all the kings before him…” (1 Kings 16:30), and Jezebel was the dominant influence on him, striving to spread idol worship of Ba’al in Israel. Because of Jezebel, Ba’al worship had spread throughout the northern kingdom. She provided funds to the hundreds of prophets of Ba’al from the taxes the Israelites paid to the government.

We remember Jezebel for the showdown between Elijah and the 480 prophets of Ba’al on Mt. Carmel when fire came down from heaven and consumed Elijah’s sacrifice (1 Kings 18). Elijah had seen the Lord victorious over the prophets of Ba’al, but he ran in fear for his life afterward when Jezebel threatened him. We also remember Jezebel for the murder of Naboth because Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21: 1-16).

Ahab eventually was killed in battle and was succeeded by his son, Joram, whom God had not anointed. Instead, He had anointed Jehu and directed him to eliminate all of Ahab’s family (2 Kings 9). Arriving at the palace, he ordered servants to throw Jezebel out an upper window into the courtyard, killing her. Jehu reigned more than 50 years and is known as the only one of the northern kingdom’s monarchs who did not lead the nation to the worship of pagan gods.

In the letter to the church at Thyatira, Jesus reprimanded the church for allowing the woman He calls “Jezebel” to teach and thus seduce Christians to follow false doctrine. She was as evil as the real Jezebel of the Old Testament. He equates false doctrine with pagan worship.

As Christians, we must be diligent to know biblical doctrine and keep our church in it. The woman Jesus called Jezebel in the Thyatira church was regarded by some people as a prophet. She claimed to have special knowledge of things others did not know, revealed to her either by inspiration or by dreams and visions. Paul wrote to Timothy, pastor of the nearby church at Ephesus, to “…correctly handle the word of truth…” (KJV: “…rightly divide the word of truth…”) (2 Timothy 2:15). In other words, Christ expects us to know the Bible and recognize false doctrines.

The church at Thyatira was in error to allow the teaching of false doctrine. The false doctrine likely arose from the influence of secularism from the surrounding culture, when the practices of the secular culture came to define, in part, acceptable doctrine in the church. Likely, it came from the rules of the guilds to worship pagan gods and the emperor in order to be permitted to earn a living.

Regardless of the details, some in the church followed a teacher rather than scripture; false doctrine rather than the truth. The church allowed it, and evidently there were no voices of protest. It is always a sin to regard the teacher as higher than biblical truth. It is always wrong to let secular culture creep in to influence the church’s dedication to biblical truth.

We also must be diligent in our doctrine, not allowing the lifestyle choices of the secular culture around us to influence church doctrine. It is sin to do otherwise. Frankly, this is one problem in the U.S. church today. Many focus on numbers rather than teaching spiritual depth and on entertainment and neglect of ever-deeper spiritual understanding and growth.

Note in Revelation 2:21 that God patiently gave Jezebel time to repent. He is patient with all of us. To that end, 2 Peter 3:9,15 tells us, “⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance…¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

His goodness leads us to repentance when we are in sin, as Paul advises us in Romans 2:4: “…God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” As we grow spiritually, we understand more and find more clarity in our understanding of God and our practice of faith. Jesus expects the same of us. Commitment to growing spirituality, clarity of understanding, and dedication to the truth of scripture in the practice of our faith and the conduct of the local church are all vital. These are to be absolutes which are not compromised.

Vv. 20-23 are a stern warning. Some interpret the phrase “…cast her on a bed of suffering…” (v. 22) to mean that since this woman Jesus calls Jesabel taught and participated in immorality on her bed, God would give her a bed in hell on which to lie forever, perhaps meaning He would remove her from the church. This is not without biblical precedent. The book of Acts provides two examples in which God removed people by physical death because of their sin. One example is the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, who died suddenly because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-5). The other example is Herod, was struck down by an angel of the Lord for accepting worship as a deity, rather than giving glory to God (Acts 12:20-24). Both accounts indicate that the church benefited from their removal. After the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, the church was filled with awe for God and was of one accord, the apostles performed many signs and wonders, and multitudes of new believers were added to the church (Acts 5:12-14). Upon the death of Herod, Acts 12:24 relates that “…the word of God grew and multiplied.”

In the same manner, in Revelation 2:23 Jesus tells us that the punishment of Jezebel and “…her children…” would be so that “…all the churches will know that I am He who searches the hearts and minds.” Those in the church who followed her are referred to as her children.

The Lord concludes this letter with encouragement and a promise (vv. 24-28), quoting Psalm 2:9 in v. 27:

“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.”

He assures those in the church who follow truth (that is, the true believers who do not follow false doctrines or tolerate false teachers) that they will indeed receive the promises of God: “…authority over the nations…” (i.e., they will rule with Him) and “…the morning star…” Revelation 22:16 reveals Christ as “…the Bright and Morning Star.” This promise of “…the morning star…” most likely refers to the Christian experiencing Christ in His fullness in heaven when we are in His presence.