Revelation 2:18-29

The fourth church to which Jesus addressed a letter was the congregation at Thyatira. Located 35 miles southeast of Pergamum, this city was well inland. Historically, the city was originally founded around 300 BC as a military outpost by Seleucus I, a successor of Alexander the Great. By the first century CE, Thyatira was a center for textiles, manufacturing, and other industry. In fact, it was renowned for having more trade guilds than any other city, an important indicator of its highly diverse industrial base. Despite all this industry, though Thyatira never became a commercial center. Instead, its traders traveled far and wide selling their wares. Indeed, Acts 16:14 reveals that the apostle Paul met Lydia, “a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira” in Philippi, some 200 miles and the Aegean Sea away!

Industrial diversity also led to religious diversity. Each of the myriad trade guilds had a patron god, and guild functions routinely involved the worship of these gods. Moreover, because the guilds controlled who could work, buy, sell, etc., virtually everyone in town was somehow involved in pagan worship. As a result, pagan sacrifices, prostitution, and numerous other temptations were prevalent.

With this tidbit in mind, Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira, which John recorded in Revelation 2:18-29, makes a great deal of sense:

Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze: I know your works—your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works, will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works. I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known “the so-called secrets of Satan” —as they say—I am not putting any other burden on you. Only hold on to what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations— and he will rule[o] them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery — just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus knows our works.

As we have seen with each of Jesus’ letters, our Lord begins his letter to the church at Thyatira by introducing himself. In this case, he identifies himself as “the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze” (vs. 18). It was, once again, a reference to Revelation 1. In this case, the reference is to vss 14-15, where John described Jesus in the same way, and it may also allude to descriptions of the Messiah in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Moreover, Jesus described himself as “the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame.” Industrial workers would have instantly recognized this as the image of a furnace, which was used to refine and temper bronze in order to produce a product which is both pure and strong. Thus, Jesus described himself as able to peer into the lives of the saints at Thyatira, burn away the stuff that was not quite right, and leave them stronger than before.

Further, the “feet like fine bronze” that Jesus described stood in stark contrast to the feet of Daniel 2, in which a statue is described with feet of both iron and clay. The fine bronze feet of Jesus’ image would have been heavy, strong, and unyielding, making them perfectly suited for crushing his enemies. Thus, Jesus introduced himself to the church at Thyatira as the one who sees and destroys the less-than-pure and crushes those who do not yield.

It is this Jesus, then, who says, “I know your works.” How intimidating this greeting must have been! He knew what they had done, could discern whether it was right or wrong, and would crush it if it was wrong. Would he deem their works incendiary? Would he deem them traitors or enemies?

Fortunately, he continued, “Your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance…” Clearly, these are not specific examples, but one gets the impression that Jesus could cite specific instances of each of these motivations. Surely, it is no coincidence that these are the same motives repeatedly espoused throughout the gospels. In other words, when Jesus looked at the church at Thyatira and its members, he saw the stuff that he had commanded and was happy. Even better, though, he concludes, “Your last works are greater than the first.” In other words, in Jesus’ estimation, the church at Thyatira had actually grown bigger, stronger, and better both as believers and in their ministry to the community at large.

Just as Jesus knew the works of the church at Thyatira, he knows our works. Good or bad, he knows the stuff that we have done and the stuff that we are doing. He knows even what we are going to do. More importantly, he knows why, and as he peers into our hearts and lives, he can tell whether or not we are growing closer to him. In fact, in verse 23, he says that very thing explicitly: “Then all the churches will know that I am the One who examines minds and hearts.”

For Jesus, works are not just about the stuff we have done. Indeed, we can do all sorts of great stuff, but if it was done for the wrong reason, with the wrong motives, then in his eyes, it is nothing more than dross, the stuff that will be burned away by the refining fire of his eyes and crushed to pieces under the weight of his fine bronze feet. All because Jesus knows our works.

We must not tolerate sin.

In verse 20, though, Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira takes a turn. Although they were doing the right stuff for the right reasons and growing steadily in their faith, generally speaking, there was still a problem in Thyatira: “You tolerate that woman Jezebel.”

For all we know, Jezebel may have been this woman’s real name. Scholars, however, agree that it was more likely that Jezebel may have been a symbolic name, comparing the real-life woman of Thyatira to Jezebel of Tyre, wife of the notorious King Ahab in 1 and 2 Kings. Jezebel of Tyre, of course, was the nemesis of Elijah and the woman who almost singlehandedly compelled the northern kingdom into idolatry through seduction and, when necessary, brutal force. Similarly, Jezebel of Thyatira made idolatry and adultery look and sound good.

How did she do this? Some of her methods are hinted in Jesus’ letter. In verse 18, for example, Jesus introduced himself as “the Son of God.” It is the only time in the book of Revelation that this phrase is used, and it is difficult to believe it was a coincidence. Jezebel was apparently suggesting that Jesus was a good teacher and a fantastic moral leader, but not the exclusive Son of God. A second hint may be found in verse 23, where Jesus made a point to say that he is “the One who examines minds and hearts.” It would seem that this Jezebel aimed to convince the saints at Thyatira that Jesus was not the One, that there was someone else who judged, or maybe just others who also judged. That is, this Jezebel aimed to convince the church there that Jesus was not the Son of God, but rather merely a way, a truth, and a life.

And if all that failed, if this Jezebel was anything like her namesake, then she did not hesitate to apply pressure, subtle and not-so-subtle, to push people to accept her idolatry and adultery.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Jesus saw that their works and motives were good, the church at Thyatira was growing. Indeed, most of the saints in the church at Thyatira were growing. Where the church at Ephesus identified and rejected false teachers, however, the church at Thyatira tolerated.

Please do not misunderstand me. There is a very fine line to walk here. We cannot force people to believe. The Bible says Jesus came to save, not condemn, and that really does compel us to a whole different attitude and paradigm for life. Moreover, we are called to minister to non-Christians and wayward Christians wherever they are right now. Therefore, we do not go around whacking people over the heads with our big, black Bibles! At the same time, we must never embrace the world’s definition of tolerance, which says that a life of sin is just as valid, just as right, as the life of holiness to which we are all called by God.

No, we must not tolerate sin! Not now. Not ever. Because every time we tolerate sin, allowing it to go unchecked and unchallenged in our lives or the lives of others, we are really saying that the thing God said was bad is, in fact, actually okay. In this case, we would do well to heed the warning of Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

But why is this so important? Why is getting along with our neighbors so bad? Why must we never tolerate sin, particularly if a person is not hurting anyone? Consider again what Jesus says of this so-called prophetess Jezebel. In verse 20, Jesus revealed that she was teaching and deceiving the saints at Thyatira. Indeed, sin never really occurs in a vacuum, even if people are not actively advocating for sin like Jezebel. Further, in verse 21, Jesus explained that he had given her plenty of time to repent, but she persisted in her sin. As a result, Jesus was going to “throw her into a sickbed” (vs 22); “throw… those who commit adultery with her into great affliction” (vs 22); and if neither of these compels her and her followers to repent, “strike her children dead” (vs 23). It should be noted that the Greek word which we see rendered in vs 23 “children” can refer to either biological or spiritual children, or both. Also, the word Jesus here used of “death” is the same that John the Revelator uses of spiritual death in John 5:24. These children, then, may not die physically as a result of their sin, but they will die spiritually. More, they will eventually suffer the second death! The bottom line, though, is that people get hurt when sin is tolerated in our lives or in our churches.

Indeed, this is why tolerance, as the world defines it, is so very, very bad. It gives people the impression that it is okay to sin. Everything is going to be fine. God will not do anything. Maybe God cannot do anything. In reality, however, this could not be farther from the truth! Sin will ultimately cause us to lose everything! When we tolerate sin, then, we are misrepresenting God, lying about who he is and what he’s going to do.

Now, please do not misunderstand me. Refusing to tolerate sin does not equate to bashing people over the head with a Bible or being a jerk and looking down our noses at sinners! Remember, our objective and approach should be just like that of Jesus, who came into the world not to condemn, but to save (John 3:16-18). We, then, must be tossing sinners a lifeline, not hanging a noose about their necks. Which brings us to Jesus Battle Plan for addressing the stronghold of tolerance, which we’ll discuss in the next installment!