Revelation 2:18-29
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Introduction
Introduction
The longest letter written to the smallest city
The most outstanding feature in Thyatiran life was probably the institution of trade-guilds. . . . At Thyatira there were guilds of bakers, potters, workers in brass, tanners, leather-cutters, workers in wool and flax, clothiers, dyers; the workers in wool and the dyers were probably the most numerous, for the manufacture and dyeing of woollen goods was a Lydian speciality, in which Thyatira excelled.139
Not surprisingly, religion played no major role in Thyatira’s way of life, for it was not a major center of Caesar worship or Greek worship; its local god was Tyrimnus, a horse mounted god, armed with a battle-ax and a club. The only notable thing about Thyatira religiously was that it was home to the oracle Sambethe, an oracle presided over by a female fortune teller.140
There is the loveless church, suffering church, compromising church in doctrine, and a tolerating church on sin!
Title Revelation 2:18
Title Revelation 2:18
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;
Son of God - Speaks of His divinity.
Revelation 1:13
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
But here it is the Son of God - He is not emphasizing His humility but divinity
Son of a thing has the nature of the thing
This is the first instance in the letters to the seven churches where the self-identification of Christ is in the form of a title rather than a descriptive attribute.
Eyes like unto a flame of fire
the eyes like a flame of fire indicate His omniscience and omnipresence. He is well aware of what is happening within the church at Thyatira, especially those things he opposes
Penetrating Judgement
They are like a divine laser. They can see through to the fatal flaws in the church
Feet like brass
His purity because brass is pure and highly refined in the fire. It also emphasized
His steadfastness, because brass was the strongest known metal in the ancient world, and feet like fine brass would be strong and unmovable.
He will stump out the wickedness
This is a threatening picture
Pleased - Revelation 2:19
Pleased - Revelation 2:19
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.
Charity - Love
Service
Minister to the needs of others
Patience - Cheerful Endurance
The fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The grammar implies that love, service, faith, and patience may be an elaboration of their works and that their love and faith are evidenced by their service and patience.
They are growing in these areas.
Notwithstanding - Revelation 2:20-21
Notwithstanding - Revelation 2:20-21
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.
Notwithstanding - Despite all the good you’ve done
They tolerated sin
In Matthew 16, we have the first mention of the church. However, In Matthew 18 we have the first instruction to the church - Matthew 18:15-20
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Acts 15:29
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
It is not until you get to the end of this letter that you realize Jesus is not referencing the whole church in this notwithstanding.
The reference speaks to the leadership of the church.
Source of toleration on sin - Jezebel
O.T. - This name had the same ring as Adolph Hitler today
She was one of the most evil characters of the Old Testament
She was self-called
Some ancient Greek manuscripts state the phrase that woman Jezebel as your woman Jezebel or your wife Jezebel. Based on this, some (like Dean Alford) think that Jezebel was the pastor’s wife, or that Jesus meant Jezebel was the pastor’s “woman” in a symbolic sense.
Sins
Here, Jesus described the specific sin of this woman “Jezebel.” Mainly, she was an immoral and ungodly influence on others, and led others into sin. Jezebel led others into immorality and idolatry.
Because of the strong trade guilds in Thyatira, the sexual immorality and the eating of things sacrificed to idols was probably connected with the mandatory social occasions of the guilds. Perhaps a Christian was invited to the monthly meeting of the goldsmith’s guild, and the meeting was held at the temple of Apollo. “Jezebel” would allow or encourage the man to go - perhaps even using a “prophetic” word - and when the man went, he fell into immorality and idolatry.
The draw to the guilds and their meetings was powerful. “No merchant or trader could hope to prosper or make money unless he was a member of his trade guild.” (Barclay) Nonetheless, Christians were expected to stand in the face of this kind of pressure. One ancient Christian named Tertullian wrote about Christians who made their living in trades connected to pagan idolatry. A painter might find work in pagan temples or a sculptor might be hired to make a statue of a pagan god. They would justify this by saying, “This is my living, and I must live.” Tertullian replied, Vivere ergo habes? “Must you live?”
Taught - Deep things of Satan
Two explanations of ‘the deep things of Satan’ are widely held:
that the phrase is an ironical retort to the claims of Jezebel’s followers to esoteric knowledge of ‘the deep things of God’
that the opposition actually boasted of a knowledge of ‘the deep things of Satan’, saying that the spiritual man should experience all evil to demonstrate his superiority over it.
Smyrna was being assaulted by a synagogue of Satan; that was Jewish, that was the Jews who rejected the gospel. Pergamos was being assaulted by the throne of Satan; that was Gentile religion. But Thyatira had plummeted into the deep things of Satan. And this was not something that was attacking them from the outside, this was behavior that was going on on the inside.
Seduced - To cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way
He gave her time to repent
Peter explains that the delay of God in judging evil is motivated by His longsuffering and that none should perish. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2Pe. 3:9).
Punishment - Revelation 2:22-23
Punishment - Revelation 2:22-23
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.
She will be cast into a bed of great tribulation
Cast - to violently throw
Great - Meag
Tribulation - Pressure anguish
Bed - sleep, sickness, sitting or eating
It is not just her
I will kill her children
“The children of Jezebel possibly included actual illegitimate children of her promiscuity, but the term more definitely refers to her converts. As Timothy was a ‘son’ of Paul (1 Timothy 1:2) ‘in the faith,’ so Jezebel had won many to her hedonistic brand of pseudo-Christianity.”
Unless she repents - Still another act of mercy from Jesus
All the churches shall know
Middle voice, γνώσονται [gnōsontai]: “the churches themselves shall know.”
Here is the explanation of Christ’s selection of title in the letter to Thyatira: “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame” (Rev. 2:18+). Nothing escapes his gaze. See
I search the reins and hearts
I give according unto your works
I will not add any additional burden on others
You is plural (ὑμῖν [hymin]). The question then becomes if you refers to the members of the Thyatiran church (and not just the angel), then who are the rest? The MT and NU do not have the conjunction “and” (καὶ [kai]), and read to you, the rest. The TR kai could possibly be translated by “even,” that is to you . . . even the rest. In either case, it appears that you and the rest denote the same group of individuals: the members of the church at Thyatira beside the angel.
Hold fast - The church at Thyatira was to actively hold onto the good things they had until the coming of Christ
Conclusion
Conclusion
Overcometh
Keepth
Eat of the tree of life
Shall not be hurt by the second death
Eat of the hidden manna and have a white stone with a new name
Power over nations