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The Seven Churches: Thyatira (Wrong Doctrine), Revelation 2:18-29
Updated: Oct 9, 2020
The Lord's Revelation
"These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass" (Revelation 2:18)
Daniel 10:6: "His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude."
Revelation 1:14: "His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters."
Revelation 1:15: His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many...
Revelation 19:12: "His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself."
Strengths of the Church
"I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first." (Revelation 2:19).
Psalm 1:6: "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish."
Psalm 37:18: "The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever."
Nahum 1:7: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him."
John 10:14: "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."
2 Timothy 2:19: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Revelation 2:2-3: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary."
Faults of the Church
"Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent" (Revelation 2:20-21).
1 Kings 16:31: "And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him."
1 Kings 21:25-26: "But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 26 And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel."
2 Kings 9:7-10: "You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both (K)bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her."
2 Kings 9:22: "Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?"
2 Kings 9:30-35: "Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands."
Exodus 34:12-16: "Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall (Y)destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods."
Instructions to the Church
"Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Romans 2:5: But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for...
Revelation 9:20: But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of...
Revelation 16:9: And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over...
Revelation 16:11: They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of...
Warning to the Church
"I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:23).
Psalm 7:9-10: "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart."
Psalm 26:2: "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart."
Psalm 139:1-7: "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
Jeremiah 11:20: "But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause."
Jeremiah 17:9-10: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
Matthew 16:27: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."
Luke 16:15: "And He said to them, “You are those who (H)justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Acts 1:24-25: "And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
Romans 8:27: "Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
Challenge of the Church
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come." (Revelation 2:24-25).
2 Timothy 3:1-9: "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."
Acts 15:28-29: "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well."
Revelation 3:11: "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown."
Promise to the Church
"And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26-28).
John 6:29: "Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
1 John 3:23: "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."
Matthew 19:28-29: "So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
Psalm 2:7-12: "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
Revelation 12:5: "She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne."
Revelation 19:15-16: "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS ANDLORD OF LORDS."
2 Peter 1:19-21: "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
2 Corinthians 4:5-7: "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."
Revelation 22:16: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
Background Information about Thyatira: Weakness Made Strong
Thyatira, a small town. founded by the general Seleucid Nicator under Alexander the Great in about 300 BC.
Location:
About 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Pergamum
Boasts:
Military garrison greatly strengthened the city.
Was known for commerce and guilds such as tanners, coppersmiths, potters, and purple dyers.
Worship Idols:
Emperor
Thyatiran war hero
Tyrimnos
Trade guild gods (for example, bronzesmiths worshipped the god of war, Pallas Athena)
Founding of the Church:
How the church was established is unknown.
Lydia, "a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira" came to the Lord under Paul's ministry in Philippi (Acts 16:14-15).
