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| Image sources: https://churchofchristarticles.com/blog/david-hersey /thyatira-the-church-that-condoned-sin/ & https://believehim.org/church-of-ephesus/#more-823 |
The Message to Thyatira
18 Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this:
19 "I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.
20 "But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion?
21 I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business.
22 I'm about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games.
23 The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I'll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don't impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what's coming to you.
24 "The rest of you Thyatirans, who have nothing to do with this outrage, who scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity, be assured I'll not make life any harder for you than it already is.
25 Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.
26 "Here's the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You'll rule the nations,
27 your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you -
28 and with it, the Morning Star!
29 "Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches." The Message
(the following is from www.easyenglish.bible)
"Verse 18 This is the longest letter and it is the most difficult. We know less about Thyatira than the other cities. It is south and east of Pergamum at a distance of 40 miles. It was famous for its trade. There were many trade unions in Thyatira. Each one of these was for a particular trade. These trade unions had a relationship with the worship of the gods. This caused real problems for the Christians. They had to belong to the union in order to get work in their trade.
Jesus describes himself as the Son of God. This is very different from the local god. His name was Apollo Tyrimnos. He was both the Roman king and the god of Thyatira. People thought that he was the son of a god called Zeus. But Jesus really is the Son of the real God.
The eyes of Jesus were like a flame of fire. He could see all the problems of the Christians. He could see through all that Jezebel taught. Nobody can hide from the eyes of the Lord. He sees all things. So, he knows all that happens in the church in Thyatira.
The feet of bronze show that the Lord is powerful. He is able to deal with all the problems. Bronze seems to shine as it reflects the light. This shows that Jesus is more magnificent than any false gods, or even the king of Rome. So, the church in Thyatira should give honor to Jesus and not to these false gods.
Verse 19 The Lord Jesus is aware of all that his people do. He knew all about the Christians in Thyatira. He liked so many of the things that he saw.
They had not lost their love. It had not grown weak as it had in Ephesus. Their love for the Lord Jesus seems to have grown. They believed in him. They trusted him completely. They served God and not the local gods. There was progress in this church. They were doing more now than they did before.
Life in Thyatira was difficult for them. But they accepted all the problems and they did not turn from the Lord.
What we do for each other shows our love. When we love the Lord, we work for him. As the love of the Christians in Thyatira increased, they did more.
Verse 20 In the church, there was a woman who called herself a prophet. The Lord calls her Jezebel. And the church allowed her to stay and teach.
There had been a queen, also called Jezebel. She was the wife of king Ahab. She was a wicked woman. Because of her, king Ahab of Israel turned from God. He then worshipped and served the false god called Baal (1 Kings 16:31). Jezebel encouraged Ahab to do all kinds of wicked deeds (1 Kings 21:25). She even tried to murder Elijah, who was the prophet of God (1 Kings 19:2). She was responsible for the deaths of many people in Israel (2 Kings 9:7).
The Lord uses the name Jezebel for this wicked woman in Thyatira too. This woman was probably very clever. She was able to convince people that she was right. She said that she had special knowledge from God. She taught the Christians to live as the people in Thyatira did. She said that it was right to join the trade unions. This meant that Christians would join the worship of the false gods. They would eat meals in the temples. They would even think that it was not wrong to have sex with different partners.
This is an important question for Christians of all times. They have to decide how much they can join in with the local activities. They must not deny what the Bible teaches. But they are members of the society in which they live.
Verse 21 In some way, the Lord had shown Jezebel that she was wrong. What she was doing was evil. She knew it. The Lord had been kind to her. He had warned her and he had given her time to change. He desired her to repent of all the wicked things that she had done. But she would not repent.
Verse 22 The Lord would soon punish her. The bed here is a place of illness and pain. She will suffer much for the evil things that she had done.
All those who have sinned with her will suffer with her. They too will suffer illness and pain. But they still have the chance to avoid the punishment. If they repent, the Lord will forgive them. They must not do those things that they knew to be wrong.
Verse 23 These are not her children by natural birth. These ‘children’ mean those who accepted Jezebel as their leader. She was like a mother to them. They did not just sin as she sinned. They believed all that she taught. The Lord will cause these people to die.
The Lord searches the hearts and minds of all people. He sees all that we do. He knows all about us. He will be the judge of every person. He will punish or reward them. They will get what they deserve. We know that none of us deserves a reward. We all deserve death. But those who trust in the Lord will have life. However, he will be the judge of what Christians do. And he will give rewards to some Christians.
Verses 24-25 Jezebel argued that Christians should join in the things of the false gods. She probably said that the false gods were not really bad. Therefore, there would be no problem for the Christians. They would know the secret things of Satan. What she taught was false.
Most Christians in Thyatira did not follow Jezebel. The Lord adds no extra tasks on them. They must continue in love and service to God. They must trust the Lord completely.
The Lord will come. His people must continue to love him and to trust him. And they must continue until he comes.
Verses 26-27 The rewards of the Lord are for those who overcome. They continue to the end. They serve the Lord until death or until Jesus comes.
Jesus will give power to his people when he comes to rule on earth. They will share with Jesus as he rules. They will lead the nations as those who lead sheep. They will be able to encourage the people.
A man who makes pots uses an iron bar to break any bad pots. So, the Lord’s people will destroy the bad nations.
Jesus has this power which God the Father gave to him. Jesus will share this power with his people.
Verse 28 We do not know what the morning star means. But this is a description of Jesus. He is like the bright morning star (22:16). The Lord will be with those who overcome.
Verse 29 The Lord tells us to listen to the Spirit. We need to hear what he says to the churches. What he wrote to Thyatira is also for the whole church, and for us now."
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