In our study today we will look at the message to the church at Thyatira. Thyatira was a city with a strong military and was located about 30 miles southeast of Pergamos.
In this study we want to answer the following five questions:
1) Who is sending the message to this church?
2) What are they doing right - that is what things being done here are pleasing to the Lord?
3) What are they doing wrong- that is what are they doing that is displeasing to the Lord?
4) What will happen if they continue in their sinful behavior?
5) What will be in store for the overcomers?
So let's beging by looking at Revelation 2: 18-29
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;
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.
20 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.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 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.
24 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.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 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.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
1) Who is sending the message?
Verse 18 tells us that it is Jesus, the Son of God. These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
His eyes are like unto a flame of fire. This means that He sees through everything. There is no hiding anything from Jesus. You can not hide anything from the Lord Jesus no matter how hard you may try. He sees what we do in the dark as well as in the light. He sees what we are doing when we think no one is watching. He even knows each of our thoughts before we even think them. And He is in all places at all times.
2) What is the church at Thyatira doing right?
Jesus lists several things that He has observed:
a. - works - obviously good deeds done to those in need
b. - charity ( also translated love ) - all our good deeds must be done in love in order to receive the Lord's approval
c. - service - perhaps Jesus means that He noticed the time various people spent doing jobs of service in the church - helping out in the parking lot, in the nursery, cleaning the church building, teaching the children and youth, spending time with the elderly and lonely persons, etc.
d. - faith - Faith is very important because the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God but that he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
e. - patience - The Lord took note of the fact that the people were showing patience. Patience is waiting on God to work and while we wait we serve the Lord the best we know how. Waiting in not sitting around doing nothing. Waiting is trusting God to act in His time and while we wait we are not taking matters into our own hands. As we wait for God to act we seek to be faithful to Him and to serve Him in the opportunites that come our way. An example of this would be my Dad. It was revealed to him by the Lord that he was chosen to be a preacher of the gospel at an unknown but appointed time. So while my Dad waited for the call to come through the church, he did whatever jobs needed doing at the church. He was the songleader, a Sundayschool teacher, on the church board, a friend to those needing a friend, doing other odd jobs - what ever became available, he would put his heart into it for the Lord and so he waited. His preaching career began at the age of 51.
3) What is the church at Thyatira doing wrong?
They are allowing a woman to teach who is seducing people to sexual immorality and idolatry.
Wow! - We might say Oh, that would never happen in our churches today - really? What about those in the worship bands who dress very seductively? Those teaching our children who are consummed with the lastest fashions and so teaching the young ones that inappropriate dress is the way to be fashionable, to get the attention they crave and lure men to adore them. What about the pornography that is commonplace among the so called Christian men?What about the church promoting sports events, putting on swimming parties, and other youth events that are mere entertainment and have no spiritual value in it whatsoever? All these things are idolatry because they take "away" from the message of the gospel. Time and funds and effort put into these things take the place of God in our churches. Everything we do as Christians should be for the Lord Jesus. Is anyone of our preachers speaking up about these things? I think we need to take a good hard look at our own churches today and see if these very things are not also happening among us. We need change and repentance. We need to stop conforming to the ways of the world and stop living like those who live only for this life.
4) What will happen if they continue in their sinful behavior?
The answer comes in verses 22 and 23
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 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
Three things:
1) great tribuation - He does not elaborate on what this will look like but any kind of great tribulation would be exceedingly terrible and we do not want to live in immorality and idolatry and have to experience this as a result.
2) kill her children with death - children and death are two words that we cannot bear to see together like this
3) everyone will receive according to what he or she has done - this is a very important truth. Each of us will face what we personally have done. You will not give account for my actions and I will not be required to give account for your choices and actions. Each of us stands before God alone.
5) What will be in store for the overcomers?
A. Hold fast till Jesus comes
B. Power to rule over the nations
C. Receiving of the morning star
I just want to expand a little on the receiving of the morning star. This means Christ Himself. This means that not only do we experience being in Christ's presence once we have passed away and entered eternity - no this means that we can be in the Lord's presence while we are here on earth also. Then in eternity we will share in the splendor of heaven.
If we have Jesus we have all we need!
In this study we want to answer the following five questions:
1) Who is sending the message to this church?
2) What are they doing right - that is what things being done here are pleasing to the Lord?
3) What are they doing wrong- that is what are they doing that is displeasing to the Lord?
4) What will happen if they continue in their sinful behavior?
5) What will be in store for the overcomers?
So let's beging by looking at Revelation 2: 18-29
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;
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.
20 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.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 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.
24 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.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 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.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
1) Who is sending the message?
Verse 18 tells us that it is Jesus, the Son of God. These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
His eyes are like unto a flame of fire. This means that He sees through everything. There is no hiding anything from Jesus. You can not hide anything from the Lord Jesus no matter how hard you may try. He sees what we do in the dark as well as in the light. He sees what we are doing when we think no one is watching. He even knows each of our thoughts before we even think them. And He is in all places at all times.
2) What is the church at Thyatira doing right?
Jesus lists several things that He has observed:
a. - works - obviously good deeds done to those in need
b. - charity ( also translated love ) - all our good deeds must be done in love in order to receive the Lord's approval
c. - service - perhaps Jesus means that He noticed the time various people spent doing jobs of service in the church - helping out in the parking lot, in the nursery, cleaning the church building, teaching the children and youth, spending time with the elderly and lonely persons, etc.
d. - faith - Faith is very important because the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God but that he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
e. - patience - The Lord took note of the fact that the people were showing patience. Patience is waiting on God to work and while we wait we serve the Lord the best we know how. Waiting in not sitting around doing nothing. Waiting is trusting God to act in His time and while we wait we are not taking matters into our own hands. As we wait for God to act we seek to be faithful to Him and to serve Him in the opportunites that come our way. An example of this would be my Dad. It was revealed to him by the Lord that he was chosen to be a preacher of the gospel at an unknown but appointed time. So while my Dad waited for the call to come through the church, he did whatever jobs needed doing at the church. He was the songleader, a Sundayschool teacher, on the church board, a friend to those needing a friend, doing other odd jobs - what ever became available, he would put his heart into it for the Lord and so he waited. His preaching career began at the age of 51.
3) What is the church at Thyatira doing wrong?
They are allowing a woman to teach who is seducing people to sexual immorality and idolatry.
Wow! - We might say Oh, that would never happen in our churches today - really? What about those in the worship bands who dress very seductively? Those teaching our children who are consummed with the lastest fashions and so teaching the young ones that inappropriate dress is the way to be fashionable, to get the attention they crave and lure men to adore them. What about the pornography that is commonplace among the so called Christian men?What about the church promoting sports events, putting on swimming parties, and other youth events that are mere entertainment and have no spiritual value in it whatsoever? All these things are idolatry because they take "away" from the message of the gospel. Time and funds and effort put into these things take the place of God in our churches. Everything we do as Christians should be for the Lord Jesus. Is anyone of our preachers speaking up about these things? I think we need to take a good hard look at our own churches today and see if these very things are not also happening among us. We need change and repentance. We need to stop conforming to the ways of the world and stop living like those who live only for this life.
4) What will happen if they continue in their sinful behavior?
The answer comes in verses 22 and 23
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 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
Three things:
1) great tribuation - He does not elaborate on what this will look like but any kind of great tribulation would be exceedingly terrible and we do not want to live in immorality and idolatry and have to experience this as a result.
2) kill her children with death - children and death are two words that we cannot bear to see together like this
3) everyone will receive according to what he or she has done - this is a very important truth. Each of us will face what we personally have done. You will not give account for my actions and I will not be required to give account for your choices and actions. Each of us stands before God alone.
5) What will be in store for the overcomers?
A. Hold fast till Jesus comes
B. Power to rule over the nations
C. Receiving of the morning star
I just want to expand a little on the receiving of the morning star. This means Christ Himself. This means that not only do we experience being in Christ's presence once we have passed away and entered eternity - no this means that we can be in the Lord's presence while we are here on earth also. Then in eternity we will share in the splendor of heaven.
If we have Jesus we have all we need!
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