The Message to Thyatira

The Message to Thyatira

Book of Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 18 through 29

Thyatira was another city of Asia Minor, on the borders of Lydia and Mysia. Its modern name is Ak-hissar which means "white castle."

It is here where we find another one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation.

Lydia, the seller of purple, or rather of cloth dyed with this color, was from this city.

Act 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

This city is still to this day is famous, for its dyeing. Among the ruins, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in that city in ancient times.

What will we find in this church as the main problem? Compromise!

To compromise between two different parties is to allow concessions to the claims of one or more of those parties.

What do we know about the Word of God? God will never yield to the teachings of man!

God will never compromise for any reason.

The Lord Jesus will never alter the "Gospel" to allow for compromise with sin.

The Holy Spirit will only lead people to Jesus. He will never lead anyone astray!

Let's listen to the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Rev 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;

Rev 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.

What is the one thing we had better get straight about the Lord Jesus Christ?

Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

Jesus knows everything that is going on in every church.

Jesus knows everything that is going in every Christian.

Jesus knows everything that is going on in every person.

Jesus knows everything that is going on in this world and He always will.

Jesus is the only One we have to please in this world and in our lifetime!

Jesus says to this Pastor, "I just want you to know who is speaking to you".

This Pastor is the recipient of these words from our Lord.

It is the Pastor who is responsible for the direction of the church.

It is the Pastor in charge, who received this message who is to preach this message from the Lord, to his congregation.

This letter is a letter of knowledge, "Jesus Knows" and then a commandment "to repent"!

If the members of a church begin to compromise the Word of God and give in to the world, it is the Pastor or Minister or whatever He is called, to preach the truth of God and warn those who are giving in to the world!

What is the truth of people? They will sell their souls for possessions, or for power, or for the so-called pleasures of this world!

What is the reality? We owe our lives to Jesus Christ!

We cannot jeopardize our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by giving in to the world and still be considered to be a child of God.

How did the Holy Spirit put it?

2Co_6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

This is why we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the same Father!

If we look back at the Church of Ephesus, they had left their first love and a church is not a church if they do not love the Lord Jesus Christ above all else!

The church at Thyatira was a busy church.

The church at Thyatira showed the love of God to everyone.

They supported missions.

They had a great youth program.

They had a great senior program.

They supported orphaned children.

They supported single parents.

They fed the hungry.

They would help the poor.

This was a great church! Their faith was strong! They loved the Lord and it showed!

This church was growing, but here lies the problem.

*****Rev 2:20 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.

This church was growing so fast, that they did not have enough qualified teachers and this church allowed teachers to teach who compromised with the world.

They allowed the newcomers to be baptized, without a confession of faith.

They allowed newcomers to be accepted into the church, without repenting and separating themselves from the world.

So who is this Jezebel?

First the original Jezebel: Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab of Israel. She was the daughter of a heathen king who claimed Baal as her god.

She was crafty, she was malicious, she was revengeful, she was cruel, and she hated God's people.

She had no fear of God, nor did she fear any man, and she ruled her own husband.

She spared no pain in maintaining idolatry all around her!

Her idolatry was the most debased and sensual kind!

She was a seducer!

She was the daughter of Satan in her actions as seducer and murderer.

When the Lord says Jezebel, this is the type of persons that had been allowed into this hardworking church at Thyatira and in a short time this church was ruined!

It seems that this hardworking church had been contaminated through the seductive influence of a corrupt woman.

We should remember that it was a corrupt woman who had prayer and the Bible removed from our schools and the schools are now just as corrupt as she was.

There is another corrupt woman who is now in her 80's but she does not miss a chance to slander the Word of God and the American women listen to her. I believe her name is Gloria.

We see that she called herself a prophetess. This meant that she claimed her message was from Jehovah when it was a false message made up from listening to Satan.

he claimed that it was Jehovah who had called her and ordained her and because of the great love this church had, she was allowed in to teach all the church.

She taught contrary to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

John wrote:

2Jn_1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

2Jn_1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

The church became contaminated with the world and began sinking!

It was the Pastor that allowed this to continue!

The members of the church began to associate with the world.

They would attend the feasts where animals were offered to false gods.

They would then eat from the tables of those feast sitting before the altar of a false god.

Thyatira was known for its trade guilds and unions because dying of cloth and wool industry.

Act_16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

The church at Thyatira had begun in her home. It was a house church at first.

Act_16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

The church members were encouraged to attend those union gatherings to be secure in their jobs.

These were some of the things that this Pastor had to contend with, when he prepared his sermon.

If these people lost their jobs they could not tithe!

This church decided that they needed to fit in with society.

They decided they would be politically correct.

We must remember idols are anything that we put in place before our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, still the foundation of the Church.

Listen to this message to the church and the Pastor from the Apostle Paul:

2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

2Th 3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;

2Th 3:8 Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:

2Th 3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

What did Jesus say?

*****Rev 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

This person knew that what she was doing was wrong!

This person knew she was teaching against the Word of God.

This person had felt Holy Ghost conviction and rejected Him!

The Lord dispatched the Holy Spirit to this woman to show her the error of her ways.

Num_32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

She rejected the Holy Spirit and everything that Jesus stands for.

Her intent was to permanently ruin this church!

Her father was Satan!

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

So, here comes the warning, or the "or else".

*****Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Rev 2:23 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.

One man wrote, "the bed of her sin shall be the bed of her sickness and anguish".

There is an old saying, "she made her bed, she can lie in it" meaning she brought about her own destruction.

Everyone who rejects the Word of God, do bring about their own destruction!

As we see this Coronavirus as it goes from nation to nation, it may be that God is nearing the end of His patience!

Yes, we must not be confused, God did say these things would happen!

Luk 21:10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

Luk 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

It can also be called a plague or epidemic.

Lev 26:25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

The "judgment" of this Jezebel will match her sin!

Sadly the teaching of this "Jezebel" has caused many more to place something terrible in the place of our pure God!

What happened to the Jezebel of the Bible?

2Ki 9:7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy 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.

2Ki 9:8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

2Ki 9:9 And 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:

2Ki 9:10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

Before anyone could get to her dogs had eaten her and deposited her remains

2Ki 9:36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

2Ki 9:37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

There comes the judgment of God upon all those who give in to Jezebel's seduction and lifestyle. Those who refuse to turn to Jesus Christ and separate themselves from the world!

There is a warning to all those who feed at the table of Jezebel today!

Still, even such a woman is offered a chance to repent!

As long as we are alive and as long as the Holy Spirit comes to us with conviction, we can accept the truth of Jehovah God and be saved!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

We must remember Jezebel is a person of the Antichrist inside the church.

What did Jesus say to this Pastor?

*****Rev 2:24 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.

Rev 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

God will judge all those who compromise with the world. This is His truth!

So many today have twisted the truth of God into making Him a good old grandfather that would never harm His creation and they are fools!

Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Head of this universe and we will live or die according to the Words He has given to us!

This meaning is a Spiritual death without God or Eternal life in the presence of a Holy God!

Jesus told this church if they would just leave off compromising with the world and hold on the the truth of the Gospel and have patience, He would surely come and take His church home and out of this world of compromise.

I get tired of seeing our government and others doing what Europe does, when not much in Europe ever works very well.

I get tired of seeing our government compromise with things that have never worked, when the only thing that has ever worked in our nation is the Gospel and Freedom.

We fought to separate ourselves from the tyranny of England and gained our freedom. Why in the world would we want to give up our freedoms?

We cannot change to way the world thinks, but we can tell those we cross paths with, that there is a better way and patiently wait on the Lord to return!

He does not ask much from us but our commitment!

He says just be an overcomer!

*****Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Rev 2:27 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.

Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.

Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Who is an "over comer"? A Christian who keeps all the works of Jesus Christ, until he takes us home, either by our own death or the Rapture of the Church.

Now I do not know what that power over nations really means, but I do know what the Scriptures say.

Rev_1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev_5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

The "overcomer" will be given some power over nations.

This is then, ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ throughout eternity!

Jesus will return to conquer all the forces of evil.

To prove all those who will be with Him throughout eternity!

To give the overcomer the "morning star"!

What is this "morning star"?

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

If we open our eyes and our ears and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say knowing He will only lead us to Jesus, then all we have left to do is to overcome the weakness of our own flesh and let the will of God be our own will!

It is really a great time to be a Christian. Instead of looking down at all the wickedness in our world we just need to look up!

Luk_21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Amen

Let's Pray!