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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
March 16, 2025
▣Thyatira – The Church That Tolerated Sin
Revelation 2:18-29
Introduction
I am grateful to the Lord for providing Ed Colón to preach while I was away and even more so when Mark Artis hurt his back and Ed filled in for him too. The Lord has blessed our fellowship with many capable men who love Him and His word and are able to exposit the Scriptures and preach with conviction. Sam Ramac, Ed Mendoza and I had a wonderful time at the Shepherds’ Conference. Though the first couple of days were cool and wet, the fellowship was warm and there was encouragement and good challenges in the various main sessions and many seminars. Diane and I were glad to see our family out there, but also glad to be back home with you. I have a full schedule of ministry with some special things planned between now and our celebration of the Lord’s resurrection on April 20.
▣This morning we return to our study of Revelation 2 as we examine the fourth of the seven letters from Jesus to the particular churches in Asia at the end of the first century. While each of these letters deals with the particular issues in that specific church at that period of time, the message to it was also meant to be either an encouragement or warning to any church or any Christian anywhere at anytime who was in a similar situation or had a similar failure in their walk and obedience to Christ. That is why we can study these letters more than 1900 years since they were written and find them still very relevant to us.
▣If you have not heard or read the introductory sermons to this series on Revelation or those explaining chapter 1, I encourage you to go to our website’s page on Sermons on Revelation and follow the links to do so since it will be very helpful to you in understanding the background of this book and why it is so crucial to interpret it according to its historical and grammatical context in order to properly understand it. Much confusion and even serious theological error has crept into the church by the use of allegorical and mystical interpretation of the Bible for it allows the musing of man to replace God’s communication to us.
▣ Review
Ephesus. The first letter was written to the church at Ephesus which received commendation for their deeds, toil and perseverance in a place that could be difficult for Christians. I pointed out in my sermon on this letter that the emperor cult during the reign of Domitian had a strong following in Ephesus resulting in persecution of those that would not participate in it. That was the reason John had been exiled to Patmos to work in the mines there though he was a very old man by that time. The Ephesian church was also highly praised for their moral and doctrinal integrity. They both tested those that claimed to be messengers sent from God (apostles) and found them to be false, and they would not tolerate those who were of low moral character which included the deeds of syncretistic Nicolatians which merged the practices of the surrounding pagan culture into the Christian life.
▣The problem with the Ephesian church was they had left their first love of Christ which had allowed their strong orthodoxy to become an academic faith with a rigid legalism without proper Christian charity. Their strength had become a weakness for the command to “admonish one another” was actively practiced while the rest of the one another commands that guide proper Christian life became neglected.
▣The solution was for them to remember what they had previously had, repent from where they had allowed it to fall, and then do again the deeds of love they had done at first. The command to Remember, Repent and Re-do works for both your relationship with Christ and your relationship with other people.
▣The promise given to the overcomer, the true Christian, is access to the tree of life in the Paradise of God which is described as part of the new earth in Revelation 22. What was lost due to Adam’s sin is restored to those whose sin has been forgiven by faith in Christ. (See: Ephesus – Orthodox but Lacking Love)
▣Smyrna, about 35 miles north of Ephesus, was a more difficult place because the emperor cult was stronger there resulting in greater oppression for Christians who by conscience could not offer the incense and say “Caesar is lord” to get the certificate of participation. Without that certificate they were excluded from many activities in society including economic ones resulting in them being impoverished in regards to the things of the world, yet rich in the things of God. Being blasphemed by the Jews that had rejected the gospel increased their level of tribulation. They were warned that a short period of greater persecution was about to come upon them and then encouraged to continue in their faithfulness even to the point of becoming a martyr. ▣ Their reward would be the crown of life and the promise given to all that overcome, all true Christians, that they cannot be hurt by the second death, God’s wrathful condemnation to the everlasting lake of fire described at the end of Revelation 20. (See: Smyrna – The Persecuted Church)
▣Pergamum, the capital of the Roman province of Asia was located about 65 miles north of Smyrna, and it was even more dangerous for Christians. The emperor cult in Asia had started there and it continued to be the leading city of its practice. Failure to comply with its demands could result in execution as had already happened to Antipas who refused to deny the faith and maintained his witness for Christ. This is why Pergamum was marked as the place of Satan’s throne and where Satan dwelt. The church there was commended for continuing to dwell there and holding fast to Jesus’ name. It would have been a lot easier and safer for them to flee it.
▣The problem at Pergamum was the compromise in the church caused by not removing from among them some that held to the teaching of Balaam and that of the Nicolaitans. Balaam was a prophet described in Numbers 22-24 who would not directly curse Israel as desired by king Balak of Moab but blessed Israel instead. However, Balaam was greedy and wanted the reward Balak offered so he taught him and the Midianites how to bring God’s curse upon them by sending in their women to entice them to participate in the sacrifices and feasts to their pagan gods which also included sexual immorality. The result was the death of 24,000 Israelites who abandoned their faithfulness to Yahweh. When Israel conquered Midian, Balaam was killed because he was found with the five Midianite kings. Someone in Pergamum was leading people in the church astray by teaching that it was okay to participate in the pagan rituals by eating what had been sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality that was also part of it. The Nicolatians were a different heretical group operating within the church though their syncretistic teaching was in the end similar because it also encouraged Christians it was okay to participate in the pagan culture though that was contrary to holiness.
▣Jesus commanded them to repent and warned that if they did not do so He was coming quickly to make war against them. This was contrasted with the promise to those that would overcome, the true Christians, of giving the hidden manna to them and the white stone with a new name written on it. I pointed out in the last sermon that this was a reference to attending the marriage supper of the lamb described in Revelation 19. (See: Pergamum – The Compromised Church).
▣The Letter to the Church at Thyatira – Revelation 2:18-29
The Recipient – Revelation 2:18
This morning we come to the longest of the seven letters. In verse 18 Jesus commands John, “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write.” As in the previous letters, the “angel” here is a human messenger and not one of God’s holy angels. This messenger will represent the church at Thyatira as well as take the letter to them.
▣Let me give you some background on this city in order to understand the letter to the church located there. About 40 miles southeast of Pergamum located in a long agriculturally rich valley that ran north-south that connected the Hermus and Caicus river valleys was the small city of Thyatria. There was a small village already present when Seleucus, one of Alexander the Great’s four generals that divided his empire, gained control of it and brought in a large number of people to settle it as a defensive position. However, its location was not very defensible, so it was more of an outpost to delay an invasion to gain time for the defensive army to prepare in order to repel it. ▣ Thyatira was on the border of the territory controlled by Lysimachus, another of Alexander the Great’s generals, who then gained control of it as a defensive outpost against invasion of Pergamum by Seleucid forces. When Philetaerus revolted against Lysimachus in 282 B.C., it was brought under control again by Seleucid forces and a defensive position against invasion by the Pergamenians who later conquered it and made it a defensive position against the Seleucids. Whichever army was invading had to conquer it and rebuild it as a defensive position for itself. ▣ It was not until Roman gained control in 190 B.C. and brought pax Romana – Roman peace – that the city became stable and grew.
Thyatira’s location on the major north-south road that had made it subject to being destroyed so many times by invading armies now became an asset and it became a communications, trade and commercial center. By the end of the first century A.D. it had become very prosperous with many trade guilds including those for potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronze smiths, tanners, leather craftsmen, fabric dyeing, and workers of wool and linen. Dyeing and manufacture of garments were major industries there. We get a sense of this from the mention in Acts 16:14 that Lydia, one of the first converts to Christianity in Macedonia, was from Thyatira and was a “seller of purple.” She appears to have been a representative of a Thyatiran business that manufactured purple garments. This would have been high end clothing since purple dye was expensive which is why it was considered the color of royalty. Only the very wealthy could afford it.
These trade guilds are very important to understanding the situation of the church in Thyatira. The emperor cult was not of much importance there and the chief deity of the city was Apollo, though there were also temples to Artemis and Tyrimnaios with a shrine to Sambathe, an oriental Sibyl. ▣ There appears to have been at least a small Jewish presence since Lydia was a “worshiper of God,” a reference to a Gentile that had become a proselyte of Judaism in order to worship the true God. In addition the letter contains a reference to Jezebel, wife of king Ahab of Israel, written about in 2 Kings. Jews would have know about her, but Gentiles would not. However, there is no evidence the Jews were of much influence to cause problems for Christians as they did in Smyrna. ▣ The pressure on the Christians actually came from the guilds for each had its own guardian god and members of the guild were expected to participate in the festivals to that god held by the guild. This would include the sacrifice, the feast, and often the licentious gross immorality that often followed the feast. To refuse to participate was very offensive to the rest of the guild and could get you kicked out it, and you could not work in that trade unless you were part of a guild for it. Your livelihood could then depended on participating in pagan rituals and practices of worship of false gods.
▣The church there may have been founded by the evangelistic efforts that emanated during Paul’s time in Ephesus as with many of the other churches in Asia (See Acts 19). However, because Lydia was from Thyatira, it is also possible that she and some of those in Philippi that had also become Christians and had an affiliation with Thyatira may have planted a church there since her conversion was a year or more before Paul went to Ephesus.
▣The Author – Revelation 2:18b
Look now at the description of the author given in Revelation 2:18
“The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:” This matches the description John gave of the glorified Christ in 1:14-15. A difference here is in John’s earlier description he used the Messianic title “Son of Man” which emphasizes Jesus’ humanity and here he uses the title “Son of God” which emphasizes His deity. It must always be remembered that Jesus is fully God and fully man. Any emphasis upon one that diminishes the reality of the other results in heresy. Jesus is not a man infused with aspects of deity as some liberal theologians claim and some heretical sects teach. He is the second person of the triune God Himself who became a man in order to redeem us from our sins by His own sacrificial death on our behalf. The description here demonstrates that Jesus fully retains His deity.
His “eyes like a flame of fire” is a description of eyes that shine forth like bright lamps. Jesus is described again in this same way in Revelation 19:12 when He returns as the conquering king. This is neither science fiction nor allegory but the reality of what is supernatural to us. A similar description is given of the angel in Daniel 10:6. It is the other descriptions of the eyes of the Lord that search to and fro throughout the earth (Zechariah 4:10) to see all things open and laid bare in His sight (Hebrews 4:13) that confirms that this particular description is given here to show that Jesus knows everything about them as will be emphasized in verse 23 that He “searches the minds and hearts.”
“His feet are like burnished bronze” is also similar to the description of the supernatural appearance of the angel in Daniel 10:6 and visions Ezekiel had of God (Ezek. 1). The shiny, glowing appearance of His feet also emphasize His deity and also movement to both be present to know all things and to carry out His will. You can neither hide from God nor avoid Him as He carries out His will.
▣The Commendation – Revelation 2:19
Jesus’ knowledge of them is brought out directly in the next verse. 19 “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.” Once again the particular word and tense for the verb translated as know here expresses that Jesus has full knowledge of them and will continue to have full knowledge in the future. ▣ Jesus knows their deeds or works (e[rgon / ergon) which is then expressed in the four specific areas of love, faith, service and perseverance including that their deeds have increased in recent days. That is their commendation. Unlike the Ephesians, their love had increased which was demonstrated in their voluntary service to one another. ▣ It should be noted that among the seven churches only Thyatira is commended for their love and service. Similar to the other churches their circumstances were difficult so having faith to persevere in the midst of persecution is commended. Though there were severe problems in the church, as we will see in a few minutes, being commended for an increase in their works which would include their faith and perseverance indicates they did not yield to any heresy concerning Christ Himself or salvation from by God’s grace through faith in Him.
As I already mentioned, the danger for Christians in Thyatira would be related to the pagan rituals associated with the gods or goddesses of each guild. To refuse to participate could get you kicked out of the guild and therefore unable to work in your trade. It is compromise with these pagan rituals that brings about their condemnation described in verses 20-23.
▣The Condemnation – Revelation 2:20
20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
▣ In order to understand this strong condemnation and the warning that follows it you must know something about Jezebel. She was the wife of king Ahab of Israel (874-853 B.C.), the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, one of the pagan Phoenician kingdoms that settled along the coast. She brought the practice of Baal worship into the house of Ahab to which Ahab added the worship of Asherah (1 Kings 16:31-32). This paganism then became dominate in the kingdom of Israel. Recall that 1 Kings 18 records Elijah’s showdown on Mt Carmel with “450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 1 Kings 19 records that God responded to Elijah’s complaint that he alone was left of all the sons of Israel that had not forsaken Yahweh that there were yet 7,000 is Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal and kissed him.
Jezebel was a thoroughly evil woman who in addition to her paganism killed the prophets of Yahweh (1 Kings 18:4) and sought Elijah’s life too (1 Kings 19:2). She also arranged for wicked men to slander Naboth of Jezreel resulting in his execution by stoning so that Ahab could take his property. 1 Kings 21:25 specifically cites her as the one that incited Ahab to do so much evil in the sight of Yahweh. She was eventually killed by some who sided with Jehu when they tossed her out the window and the prophecy concerning her end was fulfilled when the dogs ate her and licked up her blood (2 Kings 9:33-37).
▣The reference here in Revelation 2 is to someone that was of like nature of Jezebel who claimed to be a prophetess but was instead teaching and leading those who belonged to Christ, His slaves (dou:loV / doulos), so that they would join in the pagan worship practices of the gods and goddess of the various guilds which commonly included sexual immorality and feasting on what had been offered to idols. She is a deceiving false prophetess with the result being the same problem as was occurring in Pergamum though a different source for the false teaching and deception. Paul had made it clear in his writings some 30 years earlier that women were not to be in the ecclesiastical role of teaching in the church (1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Corinthians 14:34). This woman was already out of bounds even before what she was teaching was considered and the church there should have known that. Her deceptive teaching made this far worse.
▣The specific condemnation here is the toleration in Thyatira for this woman and her teaching. In this they were the opposite of those in Ephesus who was not tolerate those who were of such evil character or those who practiced such deeds but lacked in love. Both Thyatira and Ephesus were out of balance. ▣ All of the one another commands need to be practiced so that there is a balance between love and compassion in being patient, loving-kind, encouraging, helpful and forgiving, while also holding firmly to orthodoxy and the pursuit of holiness to teach, correct and admonish as needed to bring about the obedience of faith to whatsoever things Christ has commanded. The Corinthians where like the Thyatirans. They considered themselves to be very spiritually minded in their toleration of a sin not even known among the Gentiles (1 Cor. 5). Paul had to admonish them stating he wrote to them to “not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” This lack of balance is still common among Christians and in churches today. ▣ Some lack enough love to put into practice Galatians 6:1-4 of humbly coming alongside a brother who has been caught in a transgression to restore them in a spirit of gentleness by bearing one another’s burden and instead are critical, impatient, harsh and condemning. Others are the opposite extreme to tolerate or even celebrate flagrant sin with a false belief that is being loving. It is in fact not loving of either God or a brother or sister to leave them in their sin for it leaves them in danger of God’s judgment as Jesus warns in Revelation 2:21-23
▣The Warning – Revelation 2:21-23
21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”
▣The beginning of this warning is at first specifically to this woman and then extends to anyone following her in her teachings and practices. The fact she was given time to repent also indicates she had been confronted about her false teaching and deception, but she refused to repent because she had no desire to do so. How great is the patient long-suffering of God to give such a warning before judgment falls! This is seen throughout the Scriptures with the many, many warnings by the prophets which then extends to warnings by Jesus and the apostles about how God responds to those who sin and do not repent. ▣ In this case it would be a bed of sickness for her and great tribulation for those following her. That is a reference to severe trouble and suffering they will experience as a result of their sins and not a reference to the period of Great Tribulation Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24:21 that is part of final seven years of the prophecy in Daniel 9.
▣While the immorality here, porneiva / porneia, would certainly include acts of sexual sin as described in the previous verse, both this and adultery with her would be a figurative reference to her false doctrine and the religious infidelity it generated. Such religious infidelity was often referred to as harlotry in the Old Testament and Jezebel is specifically charged with this and witchcrafts in 2 Kings 9:22. In this case as well as in pagan Baal worship, sexual immorality was part of it.
▣If those who fall for her deceptions and follow her teaching, her spiritual progeny referred to here as “her children,” do not repent, they will be killed with “pestilence.” This is the word qavnatoV / thanatos which is normally translated as in the NKJV as “death,” but if the usage here is following what is common in the Septuagint (LXX), it would be pestilence as the means of death (see Ezekiel 33:27). The purpose of this is so that it would be known to all the churches that the Lord searches the hearts and minds – a reference to a person’s thoughts and core beliefs – and judges according to a person’s deeds which exposes such thoughts and beliefs (See Matthew 15:18-19). It should be noted that 1 Corinthians 11:30 describes an example of the Lord causing sickness and death among disobedient Christians.
▣The Encouragement – Revelation 2:24-25
The warning here is serious but Jesus recognizes those that have not stumbled and gives hope. 24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. 25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”
These are those who have not fallen for the deceptions or followed the teachings of the Jezebel of the church of Thyatira. ▣ They have not known what they call the deep things of Satan which refers to a Gnostic type heresy of having hidden knowledge that enabled them to participate in the pagan practices including the immorality without sinning. ▣ Something similar shows up in correction given in 1 John 1:8 & 10 that those who claim they do not sin are self deceived and do not have the truth in them and that those that claim they have not sinned make God a liar and do not have God’s word in them. The confidence of the true Christian is God’s character of faithfulness and righteousness to keep His promise to forgive and cleanse those who confess their sins to Him as stated in 1 John 1:9. It is not uncommon for those that profess to be Christians but are licentious and do all sorts of things contrary to holiness and Christ’s commands to ridicule the true Christians striving to walk in holiness. Such would have been the case here. A similar problem showed up earlier in Corinth among those that claimed knowledge that enabled them to eat in an idol’s temple and even that doing so would help the “weaker” brother to also eat things sacrificed to idols. Paul rebukes them for this pointing out it ruins such a brother and is a sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8:10-12).
▣The only burden, bavroV / baros, a difficult requirement or hardship Christ placed on them, was to hold fast to what they already had until He came. Continue to faithfully follow Christ and never let go of Him or His teaching. Do not yield to heresy. Do not give in to peer pressure. Do not fall to the temptation to follow a teaching that would remove the difficulties of being an outcast from the rest of society. This is a truth we still must follow in our own lives for there is so much in society and often even in churches that pressure us to do what is contrary to Christ’s commands or at least to not say anything about the sin others are committing in the name of false ideas about love. It is not loving to join in with those who are practicing sin or to tolerate it in those professing to be fellow believers. ▣ True love of God and for our brothers and sisters in Christ demands we flee from sin and pursue holiness and help them do the same. The true Christian should expect to be different from the rest of society and even to suffer for it for as stated in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
▣The Reward – Revelation 2:26-28
The letter concludes with a description of the reward to be given to those who remain faithful to Christ. 26 “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.
▣The overcomer is the true Christian who is more specifically described here as the one that continues in following the example of Christ’s works of good deeds which is set in contrast to the evil works of Jezebel. ▣ The first promise is sharing in the Messiah’s victory and receiving ruling authority over the nations. This is the first definitive reference in Revelation to Messiah’s millennial kingdom with verse 27 coming from the prophecy of it in Psalm 2:8-9. He will rule with absolute authority and shatter His enemies like a clay pot as described in Revelation 19. His authority comes directly from God the Father.
▣The second promise to the overcomer is being given the morning star. Several ideas have been proposed concerning this including that Jesus is promising to give Himself since He calls Himself “the bright morning star” in Revelation 22:16. Another reasonable view ties this to 2 Peter 2:19 and its promise of a future time when the prophetic word, the Scriptures, to which we are to “pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place,” is supplanted by direct knowledge of God Himself when “the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” This may also be tied to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 13:43 that at the end of the age “the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” ▣ Whatever the specific reference, all of them occur for the believer at the beginning of Messiah’s future reign. This second promise then reinforces the first. After Messiah conquers His enemies, the true Christian will have a role in ruling with Him in His kingdom.
▣The Call – Revelation 2:29
The letter ends in the same way as in all these letters with the first phrase being used by Jesus many times as a call to everyone to pay attention to what He said and heed it as we just read in Matthew 13:43. 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ▣ Though this is a specific letter written to a specific church at a specific time to deal with specific issues in that church, the principles in the letter are from the Spirit to all churches and to anyone that will pay attention to it throughout time and in all places. That means that every church and every individual is to pay attention to the principles taught in it.
▣Take to heart the encouragements, warnings and promises made in this letter. Jesus is the omniscient judge who knows everything about your external actions as well as your internal thoughts and desires. Our deeds of love and service to one another as well as our faith and perseverance regardless of circumstances should increase over time. We must be very wary of and never tolerate those who deceive and teach compromise with the world. None of us are to allow ourselves to be conformed to the world but are instead to pursue holiness (1 Peter 1:16) by being transformed by the renewing of our minds into the image of Christ (Romans 12:1-2). Our freedom in Christ is never to be an excuse to join in worldly practices. ▣ We are to hold fast in living for Christ in all circumstances knowing Jesus will crush His enemies and the true Christian will be a ruler within His future kingdom. And so we say, maranatha, Lord, come quickly.
Sermon Notes – March 16, 2025
Thyatira: The Church That Tolerated Sin – Revelation 2:18-29
Introduction
Though each letter is to a ___________church in place & time, the principles apply to all church in all times
If you missed the introductory sermons, please go to www.GraceBibleNY.org to read or listen to them
Review – Ephesus
Commended for deeds, toil, perseverance and high doctrinal and moral _______________
Condemned for losing their _______________
Corrected to Remember, ____________ and Redo
Promise to overcomers – access to the ______________________in the Paradise of God – see Revelation 22
Review – Smyrna
Commended for faithfulness and _______________in the midst of severe persecution which would increase
Promise to overcomers – the__________________, they could not be hurt by the second death (See Rev. 20)
Review – Pergamum
Commended for _________________to Jesus’ name while dwelling in the city of Satan’s throne
Condemned for ______________________those that held to the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans
Corrected to ______________with Promise to overcomers to be part of the marriage supper of the lamb
The Letter to the Church at Thyatira – Revelation 2:18-29
The Recipient – Revelation 2:18
Thyatira is ~40 miles southwest of Pergamum in a rich agricultural _____between Hermus & Caicus valleys
A defensive ____________between Pergamenians & Selucids often captured, destroyed and rebuilt
Rome gained control in 190 B.C. and peace brought great _____________with many trade guilds operating
There was at least a small ______________presence, but it was not influential
Each trade guild had its own patron god / goddess which had to be _____________to be part of the guild
Church _____________by either Lydia & those with her or by evangelists from Ephesus
The Author – Revelation 2:18b
The description matches Rev. 1:14-15 and emphasizes Jesus’ __________ and omniscience
The Commendation – Revelation 2:19
Jesus knows their works of love, faith, service and perseverance all of which had ________________
________Thyatira is commended for their love & service though their circumstances were also difficult
The Condemnation – Revelation 2:20
Jezebel, a Sidonian, was queen to king Ahab of Israel. She made worship of Baal and Asherah ___________
Some woman, like Jezebel, was a false teacher and _________leading God’s slaves astray to pagan worship
The Thyatirans were condemned for _______________her & her teaching.
Their love was not balanced by orthodoxy and pursuit of _____________- See 1 Cor. 5
Galatians 6:1-4 _____________love with the pursuit of holiness and orthodoxy
The Warning – Revelation 2:21-23
God is patient and warns. This woman is warned first that she is about to be placed into a bed of _________
Her followers are warned they are subject to great ______________- severe trouble & suffering for their sins
Their immorality included sexual sin and religious _____________toward God (see 2 Kings 9:22)
Her spiritual progeny were warned of ________by pestilence if they did not repent – and Jesus is omniscient
The Encouragement – Revelation 2:24-25
The deep things of Satan refers to a gnostic type heresy that _______________________ pagan practices
Similar ideas are found in 1 John 1:8,10 & 1 Corinthians 8:10-12 – claims of being sinless though ________
Hold fast – keep faithfully ________Christ, do not yield to heresy, give in to peer pressure, fall to temptation
True love of God & others demands we _________from sin, ________holiness, & _____others do the same
The Reward – Revelation 2:26-28
The overcomer – the true Christian – follows Christ’s example of ____________________________
The first promise is sharing in the Messiah’s victory & receiving ______authority over the nations (Ps 2:8-9)
The second promise is being given the ________________- Christ? Full knowledge of God? Shining forth?
All three occur at the end of the age when Messiah’s future _____________begins
The Call – Revelation 2:29
The letter is specifically to the Thyatirans, but the principles are to ____churches & all who hear & will heed
Jesus knows you; increase in your good deeds; do not tolerate false teachers / deceivers; do not __________
Hold fast knowing Jesus will _____His enemies, set up His kingdom & the true Christian will be a ruler in it
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following:1) Count how many times a reference is made to Thyatira. 2) Talk with your parents about being loving and also pursing truth and holiness.
THINK ABOUT IT – Questions to consider in understanding the sermon and its application. What were the specific commendations of the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum? For what were they condemned? What was each commanded to do? What promises were made to those that overcome? What does the description of Jesus given in the letter to Thyatria reveal about Him? What would it have been like to live in Thyatira at the end of the first century? What commendation did Jesus give to the church in Thyatira? For what did He condemn them? Describe the character and actions of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab? What does this tell you about the character of the woman in Thyatira who is referred to as Jezebel? What reasons could explain the toleration of the church for her and her teaching? What is the balance between being loving and holding firm to orthodoxy and pursuing holiness? What did Jesus warn He would do to her? What did Jesus warn He would do to her followers and her children? What would be the purpose of such punishment? What are “the deep things of Satan” and how was that manifested in Thyatira, in Ephesus (1 John 1:8,10) and Corinth (1 Cor. 8:10-12)? What burden did Jesus lay upon those who had not followed Jezebel? What burden must you bear in following Jesus today? What promises are made to the one that overcomes – the one that keeps Jesus’ deeds? When will those promises be fulfilled? How will you heed the call to follow the principles given in this letter?
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