Message to the Church in Thyatira
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things
saith The Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet
are like fine brass;
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy
patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou
sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and
to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto
idols.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented
not.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery
with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall
know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto
every one of you according to your works.
But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have
not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak;
I will put upon you none other burden.
But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him
will I give power over the nations:
And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a
potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.
And I will give him the morning star.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what The Spirit saith unto the
churches.
Rev 2:18-29 KJV
Thyatira was a city of the proconsular Asia, bordering
upon Mysia on the north and Lydia on the south, a town of trade situated on the
road from Pergamos to Sardis.
Thyatira was a thriving manufacturing and commercial
center.
The Apostle Paul's first convert in Europe was "a
certain woman named Lydia [a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira] (see
Acts 16:14).
The form of each epistle is very much the same; and in
this, as the rest, we have to consider the inscription, contents, and
conclusion.
The inscription.
To whom it is directed:
To “the angel of the church of Thyatira.”
By whom it was sent:
It was sent by “The Son of God, who hath His eyes
like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass” (v. 18 KJV).
His general title in this message is: “The Son of God”
that is, ‘The Eternal and Only-Begotten Son of God,’ which denotes that He has
the same nature with The Father, but with a distinct and subordinate manner of
subsistence. The description we have here of Him is in two characters:
The first:
“His
eyes are like a flame of fire”; signifying His
piercing, penetrating, perfect knowledge, a thorough insight into all persons
and all things, One Who searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children
of men (v. 23), and will make all the churches to know He does so.
The second:
“His
feet are like fine brass”; signifying that the outgoings of
His Providence are steady, awful, and all pure and holy. As He judges with
Perfect Wisdom, so He acts with Perfect Strength and Steadiness.
The contents or subject-matter of this epistle, includes:
The honorable character and commendation Christ gives
of this church; and this given by One Who was no stranger to them, but well
acquainted with them and with the principles from which they acted. To this
church Christ makes honorable mention of their charity, service, ministration,
faith, patience, and their growing fruitfulness: ‘their last works were better
than the first.’ This is an excellent character; when others had left their
“First Love,” and lost their zeal for The Lord, these were growing wiser and
better.
A faithful reproof for what was amiss: the church's
fault was that she connived with some wicked seducers who were among them. These
wicked seducers were compared to Jezebel, and called by her name. Jezebel was a
persecutor of the prophets of The Lord, and a great patroness of idolaters and
false prophets. These seducers attempted to draw the servants of God into
fornication, and to offer sacrifices to idols. They made use of The Name of God
to oppose the Truth and true Worship.
They abused the patience of God to harden themselves
in their wickedness. God gave them space for repentance, but they repented not.
Where God gives space for repentance, He expects fruits
meet for repentance.
Where the space for repentance is lost, the sinner
perishes with a double destruction.
Why should the wickedness of Jezebel be charged upon
the church of Thyatira? Because that church suffered her to seduce the people
of that city.
The punishment of Jezebel (v. 22, 23) in which is
couched a prophecy of “the Fall of Babylon.”
“Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery
with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.”
“I will kill her children with death.”
That is, the second death, which does the work
effectually, and leaves no hope of future life, no resurrection for those that
are hurt by ‘the second death,’ but only to shame and everlasting contempt.
This was also an instruction to other churches:
“All the churches shall know that I am He that searcheth the reins
and the hearts; and I will give to every one of you according to your works.”
God is known by the judgments that He executes upon
the wicked; and, by this He would make known:
His infallible
Knowledge of the hearts of men, their secret inclinations to symbolize with
idolaters.
His impartial
Justice, in giving every one according to his work, that the churches should be
no sanctuaries for sin and sinners.
Jezebel calls herself ‘a prophetess,’ her worshippers
refer to her doctrine as: “the depths of Satan”—which they claim are profound
mysteries, and insight into religion.
But, The Lord reveals that “the depths of Satan” are
Satan’s ‘mystery of iniquity’—‘the secret power of lawlessness.’
How tender Christ is of His faithful servants:
"I will lay upon you no other burden; but that which you have
already hold fast till I come” (v.
24, 25).
(I will not overburden your faith with new mysteries,
I only require your attention to what you have received. Hold that fast till I
come).
The conclusion of this message (v. 26-29).
The promise of an ample reward to the persevering
victorious saints:
‘Dominion over the earth’—‘Power over the nations,’
when the saints shall sit down with Christ on His throne.
Knowledge and Wisdom, suitable to such Power and Dominion:
“I will give him the morning-star. Christ is “The
Morning Star.” He is “The Light of Life” and “The Light of the world,” and He
will give His people that perfection of Light and Wisdom which is requisite to
the state of dignity and dominion that they shall have at ‘the Resurrection.’