"The Church at Thyatira" Revelation Chapter 2

Book of Revelation chapter 2, verse 18 to 29.

Revelation 2:18–29

We're in to tonight. Let's read the whole letter to

the Angel of the church and Thyatira write and these things

says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, his

feet like fine brass. So very powerful titles he gives

himself. It starts to tell you exactly

when he presents himself what's coming.

I know your works so he knows love, service, your faith and

your patience. As for your works.

The last are more than the first verse. 20.

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you

allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.

Remember Paul, whenever he would write Paul the Apostle and he

would say because Jesus had made him an apostle, a lot of people

today make themselves apostles. That's dangerous to teach, and

this is what she was doing to teach and seduce my servants to

commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

Now here we see God's grace, and I gave her even her time to

repent of her, but she did not of her sexual immorality and she

did not repent, so she refused. Indeed, because of that I will.

This is Jesus speaking, cast her into a sick bed and those who

commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they

repent of their deeds, I will kill her children with death.

Now, that's not something you're kind of like, Oh yeah, Jesus was

at church the other day. He said I will kill her children

with death. So that's what we did in Sunday

school this last Sunday. We talked about Jesus killing

children with death. No.

So we understand the language here is powerful.

And he's saying those who follow this false prophetess who

followers who refuse to repent, they will suffer.

And the term, the language here is pestilence, sickness will

come upon them. And it's a judgement of God.

All the churches shall know that I am he who searches the minds

and hearts. So God searches our thoughts and

our hearts. And he says, I'll give to each

one of you according to your works.

Now do you, I say unto the rest in Thyatir, as many as do not

have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, Wow,

how bad is it? As they say, I will put on you

no other burden, but hold fast what you have till I come.

And he, whoever comes 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.

Speaking of Jesus, they shall be dashed to pieces like the

Potter's vessel. Second coming of Jesus.

He comes as a judge, as I have also have received from my

Father. I'll give him the morning star.

Now He says this, if you're listening, He wears an ear.

Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Take note of what I said today there are many people who claim

to be prophets. We see them advertised all the

time coming here, prophets so and so prophetess.

It's a big thing. Today we have the travelling

minstrel show, people coming around and calling themselves

prophets of God and they tell us that God talks to them, gives

them special messages, and this is usually in addition.

No one else is getting that message, No one else is being

told this stuff. This is in addition to what God

has already given to us in His word, the Bible.

Hebrews chapter 1 says this, this one long ago God spoke many

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.

He used the prophets. Now in these final days you and

I live. He has spoken to us through His

Son. God promised everything to the

sun as an inheritance. Through the sun He made the

universe and everything in it. The sun reflects God's own glory

and everything about Him represents God.

Exactly. John 11.

In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word

was God. Would you take note of this?

The Church of Fire Tyra fell to following, in this case, a false

prophetess. Jesus gives her a label Jezebel,

even though that's not her name. Later on, when Fire Tyra didn't

learn from this woman Jezebel, they followed another false

prophet, a guy who claimed to continue continue to receive

continuing and direct revelations from God apart from

Scripture. Now the Bible doesn't say this,

but God is telling us this. This is called the Monetarist

heresy. And what happened after

following that person? The Church of Thyatira

disappeared in the end of the 2nd century.

Gone. The danger of this should be

obvious. No matter how sincere the

individual may appear and be a giving, giving teaching is right

or wrong. How is teaching governed by you,

by us to be right or wrong? Well, it was just impact, man, I

felt this. Nope.

Well, they're popular. They're going around church, the

church, the church is going wow this, but oh wow should see what

happens. No, a given teaching is right or

wrong based upon the authority of the Bible, not the

personality, not the claims of an individual.

I know the Bible doesn't say this, but I'm telling you, God

has spoken to me. I've experienced it.

I felt it. No, no matter who they are.

Hear what Paul says in Galatians chapter one, verse 8.

Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches

any other message than the one we told you about what we have.

Even if an Angel comes from heaven and preaches any other

message, let him be forever cursed in the background of

Thyatira. Thyatira means continual

sacrifice. It's located again in Turkey, 40

miles southeast of Pergamos. It was a small city.

It was easily conquered over and over and over because it had no

natural defences, so the city was repeatedly destroyed and

rebuilt. It was a commercial, commercial

profitable location due to its location being on the

thoroughfare, a major route to most of the prominent cities.

Historically, this period of Fire Tyre and church history

covers from the time of 600 AD through to the 1500 AD.

Again today there are churches like this.

The flavour of Fire Tyre can be still seen in some quarters, the

city of Fire Tyre, as were many others.

In the day of John's writing, John's about 90 odd years old,

9293 old. He's on the Isle of Patmos.

He's been exiled, had many trade guilds.

Thyatira was a commercial city, so they had what they called

guilds. I don't know if they use that

term in England at all, and they operated throughout the city.

Guilds is the same as we what we would use the term a union.

You've got to be a member of the union.

Each Guild over a certain enterprise had a deity, had

their own God, the God of the carpenters, the God of the this,

the stone Masons, and so forth and so on, in whose honour

feasts were held. And the feasts included feasts

of meat that have been sacrificed to that idol.

And then following that sacrifice, part of the worship

of that idol would be to involve the prostitutes that were linked

to that Guild, to that union, to the, to that that God, that

deity. Now to hold a job or to be in

business in Thyatira, you had to belong to one of these guilds.

Christians didn't because they didn't couldn't work, couldn't

get a job, couldn't sell, couldn't buy, couldn't prosper,

couldn't have a business. So maybe you were like this as

many of them became Christians and you had this thriving

business. Well, the moment you receive

Christ, you found out I can't do that anymore.

And, and and so your monetary support and all those that were

linked to you gone cut off. It was from Thyatira.

You remember in the book of Acts chapter 16 that a woman called

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Lydia came from and she was a seller of purple for the

Fremantle Football Club. That's where it's it's has this

and it's made out of these snails they use and, and, and it

was only purple was used for for royalty.

So I just wanted to elevate again just which football team

you should be following. This letter is the longest

letter written to the smallest church.

The title Jesus always gives, gives it says this is it.

And then you go, whoa. He's saying that this is how

he's presenting himself gives us the flavour of the letter.

Verse 18. It's the only place, the only

location in the entire Book of Revelation that we find the

term, the title the Son of God. John is about to write a letter

of great warning and impending judgement to this church.

That's the title Jesus gives himself to put on the opening of

the letter to this church is he who is saying these words is

none other than the Son of God himself.

Bit of a bit of white there. Jesus called for his church, our

church, to every church that names the name of Christ, to be

holy and to maintain its purity by dealing with sin.

Psalm 119, David tells us how not to keep sin in their heart.

Do you remember that as a youth? How do I not keep?

By by having your word, your word, by by hitting my heart

that I may not sin against you. And so by having the word of God

as the central theme in the Church of God, it's what sin

will keep us from this and this book will keep us from sin.

Jesus said in Matthew 18 verse 15, if another believer sins

Matthew 18:15

against you, go privately point out the offence.

If the other person listens and confesses it, you've won that

person back. But if you're unsuccessful and

take one or two others with you witnesses, go back again so that

everything you say may be confirmed by two or three

witnesses. This is where the term where two

or more are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of.

It's in the context of actual church discipline.

If the person still refuses to listen, hear what Paul says.

Can you imagine this today? Take your case to the church.

Then, if he or she won't accept the church's decision, treat

that person as a Pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Wow. Imagine church discipline always

has two motives or objectives. One, to call sinning believers

to get the person who is sinning back to righteous living to get

them to come back. Look, hey, I know what you're

doing, but you, you can't live together.

It's just, it's not right. So you guys need to sort it.

You need to separate. You need to work out on this

relationship what you're going to do, get married and get

married. But you can't just live together

and come to church. We can't have that.

So it's the call sinning believers back to righteous

living. I'm using that as an example.

Secondly, it's to remove, if necessary from the church those

who stubbornly cling to this sin.

Well, I, I don't care what you say, we're still going to live

together and we're going to come to church.

It can't happen. We're sorry.

You know you, we love you, and Jesus died on the cross for you.

But you can't do that. We can't have you coming here

now and just staying here and just living immorally.

It's it's, it's fornication, it's wrong, it's wrong before

God, Thyatara made of blue. They tolerated sin.

That's all right. They had false teaching in their

midst. Spiritual and physical adultery

was occurring. Thus Jesus description of

himself at the beginning of this letter is titled the Son of God.

He comes to this church as the divine judge.

Look at the wording as he talks about has he ended this?

He talks about he he shall rule them with rod of eye and he's

not talking. You know, hey, you guys, we're

just going to hang out together and we'll negotiate things.

No, it's strong language. Look at the description of who

he says. We see that pick that up from

chapter 1, the description John saw of Jesus.

He says eyes like a flame of fire, eyes that are that see

everything I know, I know what's going on.

I see every thought, I see every mood, every motive, every

action. If you drop down to verse 23 for

a moment, remember Jesus says I am he which searches the reins.

That's the Greek word nephros. Those of you into medicine would

know the term kidney nephrons or the working of the kidney.

It's through that that's the that's the part of the kidney.

So it's it's a place where the range, the thoughts are are here

and your heart. It's the term cardia.

It's the Greek word cardia. It is I know your your nephros

and your Cardia, your thoughts and your motives.

The deep part. I know what's going on.

It says he's feet are like fine brass.

Brass is always through the Bible, symbolic with judgement.

After seeing all that we think, say and do, Jesus now says

judgement will come to those who reject the warning.

He says, I'm giving you time, but they didn't change.

He is about to give as though his feet were in a wine press

pressing out the wrath of God. Feet of brass.

Jesus is trampling out not wine, but impurity.

I'm going to crush it out. Why such a big deal over this

title? Why such detail on the matter?

Good question. Because the church, remember the

pastor of the church got this. Then he said, hey church got a

letter from John going to read it to you.

Everyone listen up. That'd be great because the

church needed to know who was about to examine every DNA

thread of this spiritual condition.

You know, the Bible searches our heart.

You ever sat there and gone? God's just nailed me.

I've sat there. And you know, David did that and

he tried to get away with a few things, tried to get away with

adultery, tried to get away with murder.

And Nathan said you're the man. You're the man God.

God's word gets to us. The church needed to remember

His authority, who He is, was and is to come, and that He knew

everything about this church and every individual believer.

The question is this, is it possible to be a church that had

love, They did, works they did, patience they did.

You'd still be easy or compromising on sin.

They did. You see, appearances can

deceive. It matters not what the church

thinks of itself. Doesn't matter what we think

about Calvary Chapel, Secret Harbour.

It doesn't matter what the community thinks of Calvary

Chapel, Secret Harbour or Thyatira.

It doesn't matter what other churches think about us.

What matters is what Christ thinks about us.

Only Christ's eyes see the church, this church fire, fire

as it truly is. I know your thoughts, your

motives. As I said, look to verse 19.

This church had a lot going for a lot of pluses, a lot of ticks.

They're a busy lot. They're involved in sacrificial

ministry for the sake of others, but it's still the works.

Programmes were on the increase and they had faith, love and

patience. This was not mere religious

activity, but Jesus. But I have this notwithstanding,

he doesn't just go, Oh yeah, you know, you know, isn't that the

problem with you and God? God doesn't allow you just to

bowl along. It's it's just a just carry on

as you are. He doesn't do that, does he?

No, because he's changing us from day to day to to be to be

more like his son. He says in verse 2420 to 24.

Notwithstanding God gave them in verse 21.

Jezebel and those who are following a time to repent, but

they refused. Sin had nestled comfortably in

the church and it was allowed to grow without eradication.

The church had love, faith, works and patience.

Patience, but it didn't have holiness.

One Corinthians 11, Paul says verse 12 to 14.

But I will continuing continue doing this to cut the ground out

from under the feet of those who boast that their work is just

like ours. Paul said these people are false

apostles. They have fooled you by

disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

But I'm not surprised, Paul said.

Even Satan can disguise himself as an Angel of light, so there's

no wonder his servants can do it by pretending to be godly

ministers. In the end, they will get every

bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

In Matthew Chapter 7 verse 15 to 16, Jesus said beware of false

Matthew 7:15–16

prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep.

But really, Jesus says, they are wolves that will tear you apart.

You can detect them how? By the way they act.

Jesus said. Just as you can identify a tree

by its fruit. You don't pick grapes from thorn

bushes or figs from thistles. So what's the fruit of a false

apostle? False prophecies, false

doctrine, false teaching. Soon as you hear that, you go

hang on a minute. What's going on here?

They're they're saying there's something ring, ring, ring.

There's something wrong here. God's love does not mean we

tolerate sin. Don't ever get that.

It's not tolerant. It deals with it.

Love requires and gives discipline.

Jesus says in Revelation 319. As many as I love parents, I

rebuke and chase them. Be zealous therefore and repent.

So if I don't discipline my child, it's a show that I'm not

loving them. Oh well, I know I let them go.

No, you're not loving them because you only discipline and

go the hard yards with someone to show that you love them and

you don't want them to get hurt. It's actually child abuse when

you don't discipline your child. No one wants to confront, rebuke

or discipline believers today, do they?

Paul said to Timothy on Timothy 520.

Those who sin should be reprimanded.

Hear what Paul said to Timothy in front of the whole church.

I got you guys line up. Imagine they have a liner.

Yeah, there's the mob. They're up here today.

This will serve a strong warning to others.

This is Paul writing to young Timothy while he was pastoring

an Ephesus. Thyatira was allowing one of its

members to teach outrageous licence, and apparently no

attempt was being made to restrain her.

She was let loose. Thyatira here was the opposite

to Ephesus, moral depravity and erroneous teaching.

Who is this Jezebel? A real woman?

Her name was not Jezebel, but she was a real woman.

Prophetess, self proclaimed title.

Jezebel who Jesus is referring her to that spirit.

In First and Second Kings we find about this woman called

Jezebel. She was the wife of Ahab, one of

the worst kings. Jezebel's father was F Bal, the

priest of Astarte, which was the same God as Aphrodite Venus.

Each one of those deities encouraged gross sexual

immorality under the guise of worship.

She personally supported 850 prophets, false prophets, and

haunted, down and killed the prophets of Jehovah.

I have her husband did absolutely nothing to stop his

wife. In her evil ways.

She wore the pants she dominated.

Why? Because he was weak, spineless,

and a tragic reflection of a man.

He was not a man. This woman in Thyatira, who was

operating in the same scandalous, bold and brazen

manner, was manipulating and beguiling the servants of Christ

to indulge in immoral practises. It's all right, It's all right

because God has revealed this to me and I'm revealing this to

you. This is what you can do.

Wow, can we? Yes.

Verse 24. This woman and her followers,

there are always those who will follow such a personality.

Bit like the suckerfish on the underbelly of a great white

shark. They all prided themselves on

their mature experiences of life.

Well, I've experienced what I've learned, and this is what I

believe. It doesn't matter what you've

experienced, what you've learned, or what you believe.

What does the Bible say? What does the Bible say?

Creating a spiritual aristocracy.

Her and her followers in Thyatira.

Jesus said this because he knew everything that was going on.

Remember, He just pulled it. This is what's happening.

He uses the term she's teaching the deep things of Satan.

It's the Greek word deep there bathos.

Remember as a kid reading about the bathosphere, the bathosphere

was remember the the thing always the, the, the

submersible. It just exploded.

Well, it was Bathosphere was the first machine, submarine,

submarine built to go down into the depths of the ocean.

And here, the Greek word here, bathos, this is the

profundities, the intellectually deep.

This is what she's teaching. Man, we had a great meeting.

She taught it the other night. Oh, man, we hadn't heard those

things. How deep?

Yeah, deep. All right.

Dark. Jesus says, oh, put on upon you

no other burden barrows, which means white.

These words come from the same Greek word basis.

Jesus is saying. This woman is claiming to

profess some new deep things, but I cast upon you no other

deep things. There are no deep things.

Do you know that, that you already have a need?

Now we learn the Bible. We grow in our knowledge of the

Bible. We grow in our knowledge of God

through the Bible, but there's not parts.

Oh, that's only for certain people.

That's where during the dark ages was.

Just remember, only the priest knew this stuff.

This, this was in that period. Don't be fooled by this and this

academia, academia theology talk.

Well, you wouldn't know. You wouldn't understand.

Remember the Pharisee in the the public and that were praying

together and once in a while. I'm glad I'm like this guy.

I'm I'm learning and I'm religious and the Republican

needs to beat his chest and say, oh God forgive me.

Who was closer to God? Who was more righteous.

Be careful what we have each one of us is all we need.

This is not a book about only certain levels of class can read

certain passages. There's no new thing.

Solomon said that there's no new mystery to be revealed.

Be careful because it's going to come in this day in which you

and I live. They'll be travelling,

travelling, proper tests and prophets, travelling, bringing

the next new thing. There's no new mystery revealed.

Jesus says beware of any who claim to have such.

Psalm 23. The Bible says the Lord is my

shepherd, you living translation.

I have everything I need. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want this woman was teaching deep things.

Indeed Jesus said you know how deep they are.

They're the deep things of Satan.

Things you shouldn't talk about, know about or touch the church

like I have of the original. Jezebel was allowing this woman

to make to commit great sin. She was allowed to get away with

it. That was the problem.

Where were the leaders? Ephesus hated the works of the

Nicolaitans, could not endure them.

Pergamos had some who held the doctrine of Balaam and

Nicolaitans, but Thyatira, it allowed them.

They were part of the programme. So what's the application?

This church either had a poor conscience or a very feeble

courage like I have no spine. It did have very poor

leadership. Verse 20 because Jesus said

because you allow this woman shouldn't have been allowed

during this period of church history, as I said before

covered by Thyatira. The following things came into

being. The doctrine of purgatory, Latin

as the only language for prayer of worship, because who was

going to learn it? Only this group, prayer to Mary

was introduced. She was given during that

period, the title of Mother of God.

The celibacy of priests came into it.

This select secluded special group, the sale of indulgences.

That means you could buy indulgences and then when you

send you say, I don't worry, I've covered that.

Here's why I bought that off the church.

That's how the church was built and run.

The doctrine of transubstantiation came into

being. That means when you take

communion, the, the, the bread and the, the wine actually turns

into the body and blood of Christ.

They taught the Bible was forbidden to be read by lay

people. And in that during that time

came the infallibility of the Pope.

What the Pope said when not what this said.

Well, Keith, I'm not into any of that stuff, and that's good.

The fornication spoken of here in this letter also covers

idolatry, the worship of other things before God doesn't have

to be a God. You make it a God.

What or who gives you your cues, your passions, what directs your

life? I think many in Australia today,

their God is money. They, they, they work and throw

it. You know, we work now more hours

than the Japanese people did look at our our our society now

how how many the shifts of the hours that we're working,

working, working. We're driven can't serve God and

mammon. So there's another one that

they're serving. Jesus has told us intimately

that he searches our minds, our thoughts, our motives.

He tells us in verse 25 to hold fast till I come today this

evening. Are you looking for Jesus return

or does this return even figure in your thinking?

I pray that you think about it every morning when you wake up,

every night before you go to bed, hold fast to his word.

Jesus says. Jesus says in verse 28 he will

give you the morning star. That is the title of Jesus.

You get Jesus, you get him. His gift to you is he himself

because you stuck with him, you listen to his voice.

You did not tolerate false teaching.

Philip. One time, said Jesus, if you

could just show us a photo, What's God the Father like, man?

We just want to know what God's like.

Philip. It's the closest I think

anyone's coming to get in a slap across the face.

Jesus said to Philip, Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the

Father. The Bible, God's Word, is for

you and I to keep straight, to keep our focus on Jesus, not to

be deceived. In November 18, 1978, there was

a massacre of 918 people. It was called the Jonestown

Massacre, the People's Temple. Guyana Jones was a minister and

then one time he got his Bible and he threw it to the back of

the stage where he was on. So I don't need that anymore

because God speaking now directly through me, 918 people

followed him, women, men, women and children.

Jones developed a belief called translation in which he and his

followers would all die together and would move to another planet

for a life of bliss. Mass suicides were practised in

which his followers pretended to drink poison and fell to the

ground. My question has I read that for

the first time? When it occurred was when he

threw the Bible to the back. When he stopped using that,

where were the people who sat there with Bibles in their

hands? Should all go up and walk down,

but they stayed because they listen to someone over the word

of God. Jesus warns us of false

teaching.