Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church 2080 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, Michigan 48208 Pastor Nathan Johnson, D.D., Senior Pastor
Pastor’s Bible Study A Bible Study Series Based on the book "Revelation Four Views" by Steve Gregg
March 19, 2013
Part I The Seven Letters Revelation 1–3 Letter To Thyatira
Thyatira: The Church that Tolerated Sin
Letter To Thyatira ““Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality. “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star! “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 2:18–29, NLT)
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Letter To Thyatira Thyatira was named by Alexander the Great in commemoration of the birth of his little girl. This place is smaller than the first three cities, yet, received the longest letter of all the churches. Letter To Thyatira It was established as a military town to guard the capital city of Pergamos, thirty miles away. This town gave Pergamos, the capital of Asia, time to prepare for an attack of any invading army. So the city was destined to be destroyed and rebuilt. Today it is known by the name of Ak-hissar in the country of Turkey. Letter To Thyatira Thyatira was also known for industrial activity. The city contained labor unions for potters, tanners, bronze workers, and dyers of wool. Manufacturers exported brass armor. A coin of Thyatira shows Hephaestus, the divine smith, hammering a helmet on an anvil, with the word "colibanos" which means "fine brass." Letter To Thyatira The wool trade and dyeing industry was very strong. The water around Thyatira was excellent for dyeing wool. The bluish-purple dye, known as tekhelet, was made here and was extremely expensive. The ribbons or the tallits of the Jewish prayer shawl, the garments of the High Priest, and the veil of the Tabernacle were dyed with this royal blue or purple color. The colors are used interchangeably. Letter To Thyatira Lydia, a seller of this purple wool, may have started the church in Thyatira. She was saved in Philippi and used her wealth to help start this church. She was the first recorded convert to Christ on European soil. Mattoon's Treasures - Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Revelation. Letter To Thyatira It is known that the city had many trade guilds, and it would have been difficult to make a living without participating in one of them. Yet the guilds practiced idolatrous rites at their gatherings, which Christians could not countenance. Therefore, the Christians in Thyatira may have been hard pressed to support themselves and their families without resorting to some measure of compromise with idolatry. Steve Gregg, Revelation, Four Views: A Parallel Commentary (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Re 2:1829. Letter To Thyatira For some people today tolerance is the only real virtue and intolerance the only vice. The message to Thyatira goes against the grain of modernity by setting limits to tolerance. The main criticism of the angel of Thyatira is that he has tolerated something— and someone—that should not be tolerated (v. 20). J. Ramsey Michaels, vol. 20, Revelation, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Re 2:18.
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Letter To Thyatira Jesus is introduced as the "Son of God." This is the only time the Lord is referred to as the Son of God in Revelation. That title may have been used here specifically because Thyatira boasted of their temple to Apollo, the sun god. Jesus makes it clear that He is the Son of God. Letter To Thyatira Jesus is referred to as the one with eyes like unto a flame of fire. Fire is piercing. Everything melts and yields to it. Jesus' searching and scrutinizing eyes look through everything. He sees through masks, coverings, hidden things, motives, and hypocrisy. Jesus Christ knows the hearts of men. Letter To Thyatira His feet are like fine brass. Christ is identified with brass, a symbol of judgment. His judgment will be strong and righteous. Mattoon's Treasures - Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Revelation. Letter To Thyatira A church may feel satisfied with itself, have a good reputation in the community, or even with other churches. But the penetrating eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ see it as it really is. MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Revelation 1-11. Letter To Thyatira I know your works and charity. Where love was waning in Ephesus it was gaining here. The Lord is very aware of what we are doing for Him and the love we show to others. Letter To Thyatira I know thy service. Ministry is love in action. The Greek word for service is diakonian which means "ministry." This word is used of the collective ministry of the church. The Lord takes note of what a church is doing. Churches that have become social clubs and nothing else will be held severely accountable for their unconcern for the souls of men. Letter To Thyatira I know thy faith. The Greek word for faith is pistos which means "faithfulness and loyalty." They were dependable. Some Christians start well, then give out or are led astray. Paul addressed this issue. Letter To Thyatira I know your patience. The word for "patience" is hupomone. It means "to abide under.“ We are to abide in Christ when under tribulation. Trials cause our patience to grow and help us mature in Christian character. We are to run our race for Christ with patience. Letter To Thyatira I know thy works, the last being more than the first. Twice the Lord mentions their works. These people were known for their continued progress and Page 3 of 8
increased usefulness. They were not slipping back, nor standing still, but advancing steadily. Mattoon's Treasures - Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Revelation. Letter To Thyatira The church is strongly rebuked for tolerating a false prophetess with her teaching which promoted immorality and idolatry. She was evidently teaching that a believer’s freedom in Christ allowed them to not only belong to the trade guilds, but to participate in the immoral and idolatrous feasts that very often included cultic prostitution. J. Hampton Keathley, III, Studies in Revelation (Galaxie Software, 2002), Re 2:20. Letter To Thyatira Jezebel refers to a literal woman who falsely claimed prophetic powers and who had somehow taken a position of leadership, perhaps because of her unusual gifts. Her actual name was probably not Jezebel, but she was a virtual Jezebel in her actions (1 Kings 16:31–33; 2 Kings 9:30–37). Letter To Thyatira As the Jezebel of the Old Testament enticed God’s servants to abandon their loyalty to the Lord and to participate in her idolatrous practices, so this woman of Thyatira was enticing Christians to abandon their loyalty to Christ and a separated life. J. Hampton Keathley, III, Studies in Revelation (Galaxie Software, 2002), Re 2:20. Letter To Thyatira The risen Jesus makes no distinction between prophets who condone idolatry and immorality and those who practice such things. He compares Jezebel to a prostitute, like the prostitute “Babylon” in chapters 17–18. She has had time to repent, but has not done so. Her punishment is to be put to bed (v. 22), “a bed of sickness in contrast with the bed of adultery” (Beckwith 1922:467). Letter To Thyatira Her followers at Thyatira (those who commit adultery with her) still have time to repent, but are similarly in danger of intense, though unspecified, sufferings (v. 22). Letter To Thyatira As for her children, that is, anyone who perpetuates her teaching, they will be struck dead by a plague (v. 23)*. Like Jezebel of old, her name and her influence will disappear from the earth (compare 2 Kings 10:1–28). Letter To Thyatira * 2:23 I will strike … dead is literally I will kill … with death, but the expression is not as redundant as it sounds. Death is probably used here in the sense of disease or the plague. The reference is not to sexually transmitted diseases, but is simply a traditional way of listing divine judgments on the world (as in 6:8, sword, famine and plague, where again the word plague is literally death). J. Ramsey Michaels, vol. 20, Revelation, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Re 2:18. Letter To Thyatira
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In the view of historicists and some futurists, Thyatira represents the church of the period of papal triumph and persecution (606–1517). “It is the middle church of the seven, and likewise covers the Middle Ages.”
Letter To Thyatira Thyatira (says Caringola) means “to be ruled by a woman.” In this case, the woman is likened to Jezebel in the days of Ahab and Elijah. This woman made immorality and idolatry official policy for the society. Letter To Thyatira Uriah Smith wrote: “A more striking figure could not have been used to denote the papal abominations.” As Jezebel caused Israel to worship the mother goddess Ashtaroth (called the “Queen of Heaven” in Jer. 44:17, 18, 25), so the church in the Middle Ages introduced the worship of Mary, “the Queen of Heaven.” Letter To Thyatira Jesus threatens to “kill her children with death.” Some say that refers to the terrible plagues, including the Black Death (beginning 1347), that decimated the European population in the Middle Ages. Steve Gregg, Revelation, Four Views: A Parallel Commentary (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Re 2:1829. Letter To Thyatira It is a relief to turn from this dark picture to the remnant to which the Lord now addresses Himself: “But unto you I say [the word “and” should be omitted], 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.” (vv. 24, 25) Letter To Thyatira Verse 24 offers an important clue about this immoral teacher with immoral teachings: Satan’s so-called deep secrets. Cults and “mystery religions” flourished in the first century. Letter To Thyatira A common feature was the delicious promise that after persons were initiated into the cult, they gained “deep secrets” or special wisdom. No doubt this was part of “Jezebel’s” allure. The irony was that she who claimed to be God’s prophet supplied only knowledge from hell. Christ’s servants must stay alert never to be enticed away from the simple teachings of the gospel. Kendell H. Easley, vol. 12, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 41. Letter To Thyatira There were in Thyatira simple believers who did not hold the doctrine that had wrought such mischief, and were ignorant of Satan’s devices. On them no judgment should fall; but surrounded as they were with evil, they are counseled to hold fast what they had “till I come.” Letter To Thyatira Page 5 of 8
The Lord’s coming is now held out before the faithful as the object of their hope. This is ever the point to which He directs the eyes of His people. When He is put aside, and the world takes the place to which He alone is entitled in the Church’s affections, He reminds those whose hearts are still true to Himself that He is corning, and bids them wait patiently for this blessed hope. T. B. Baines, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Galaxie Software, 2005), 42. Letter To Thyatira These verses identify three kinds of persons associated with the congregation. Christ has a word for each group. It is a matter of repaying each of you according to your deeds. Letter To Thyatira First are those who commit adultery with her. This does not mean that Jezebel had literally opened a brothel, but that some church members were struggling with her teachings, falling into some degree of moral compromise. These faced the prospect of intense suffering unless they repent, but the Lord meant for this discipline to restore such backsliders. Letter To Thyatira The second group are called her children. Again, this is not literal, but refer to those who had wholly committed themselves to Jezebel’s doctrines. She had become their spiritual mother. Like their mother they were unwilling to repent, so Christ was about to strike them dead. Letter To Thyatira Third, Christ spoke to the rest of you in Thyatira. These are the faithful believers who do not hold to her teachings. Christ is so pleased with these believers that he will not impose any other burden. They are to hold on to what you have until I come. Kendell H. Easley, vol. 12, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 41. Letter To Thyatira How could one know which of the three groups a particular church member belonged to? This might be difficult to determine. However, because Christ searches hearts and minds, he will reach a correct verdict that all the churches will acknowledge. Kendell H. Easley, vol. 12, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 42. Letter To Thyatira In Revelation 1:6 believers had been called a “kingdom and priests” Now this is expanded by the quotation from Psalm 2:9. They will share in Christ’s authority over the nations. Christ will rule with an iron scepter (to maintain control, as a shepherd keeps control over his flock). Believers will share this rule, even going so far as to dash them in pieces like pottery. Letter To Thyatira The full establishment of the kingdom of God, after Christ returns to earth, will require all forces of evil, all hostile powers to be completely subdued. Letter To Thyatira The Father granted Christ the authority to rule the nations because of his willing death (Phil. 2:6–11). Christ, in turn, wills to share that ruling authority with those Page 6 of 8
who overcome. (Matt. 19:28 and 1 Cor. 6:2 also teach the role of saints as judges.) Kendell H. Easley, vol. 12, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 42. Letter To Thyatira A further reward of the overcomer is to receive the morning star. Morning stars appear only when night is over and a new day is at hand. The key for interpreting this is Revelation 22:16, where Christ is called the bright Morning Star. The reward is Christ himself, who will end the long night of sin’s rule in the universe. Kendell H. Easley, vol. 12, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 42. Letter To Thyatira Christ Himself is said to be the morning star (Rev. 22:16+). What is the purpose of the morning star, but to serve as an indicator of the approaching dawn? Those who see the morning star are encouraged by the fact that the long night is almost over and soon the sun will shine in its brilliance dispelling all traces of darkness. Anthony C. Garland, A Testimony of Jesus Christ: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Galaxie Software, 2006), Re 2:28. Letter To Thyatira What is the morning star and how does it picture Jesus Christ? Technically, the morning star is one of the planets, particularly Venus, but could also be Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. Letter To Thyatira The morning star was the caboose on the night train and the trumpeter of the dawn, shining brightly at the end of the night and at the beginning of the day. It was the first and the last. Letter To Thyatira Jesus was the herald of a new day. When He came upon the scene of humanity, time was split in two... before Christ and after Christ. The star shines brightly in the ebony of night like diamonds on black velvet. Christ appeared at a dark time in world history giving light to the world. Letter To Thyatira Among the Orientals, the morning star is the favorite emblem of a great ruler and wise teacher. To call a man a "morning star" was to classify him high among heroes. Rabbis call Mordecai a "morning star." Jesus Christ is the bright and morning star. He is King of all kings, Lord of all lords, the Teacher of all teachers. He is the Hero and Savior of all mankind. Letter To Thyatira The morning star was a symbol of hope. The darkness was ending and the dawn was coming. Jesus Christ is our hope. The morning star was also a symbol of joy. It was radiant and beautiful. Christ is the altogether lovely one. Joy is found in Him. Letter To Thyatira
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The morning star was also a symbol of direction and guidance. Sailors charted their paths by the stars. The stars were maps that gave them direction. Sailors used morning stars to check their courses and positions by its position. Christ gives us direction in our life. Looking to Him and using Him as our plumb line will help us stay on course. Letter To Thyatira As the morning star calmed the fears of the sailors by enabling them to get their bearings, Christ calms our fears too. The morning star was the first thing to arrest the eye in the morning. It is a reminder that Christ should be the first thing to grab the attention of our heart each day. The Morning Star is also known as Evening Star. So the same star is the beginner and the end of the day. Alpha and Omega, the first and the last , the author and finisher of our faith.
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