Thyatira: The Adulterous Church

Revelation 2:18-29 Snug Gospel Chapel: August 23rd, 2015

This morning we’re going to be continuing our series in the book of Revelation, looking today at the letter

to the church at Thyatira. Open your Bibles with me, if you would, to Revelation, chapter 2 and verse 18.

Revelation 2:18.

Before we read God’s Word, let’s come to the Lord in prayer. Let’s pray.

Father, as we open your Word this morning, I pray that you would cause your Holy Spirit to open our eyes,

that we might not only listen, but truly hear what your Spirit says to the churches. Lord, let us see and

understand how this passage applies to us, that you might drive us to live pure and holy lives before you,

uncorrupted by the world and wholly given over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you that this is

very much the Revelation of the King – that your Son radiates from every passage, every verse, every word

of this incredible book – and we pray that we might leave this place today with a new vision of the King of

Kings and Lord of Lords, glorious and mighty, holy and majestic.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

We’re going to be looking this morning at the letter, written by Jesus Christ, to the church at Thyatira.

We’ve come a long way through this book already, from the Revelation of the King in Chapter 1, to the

churches of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos in Chapter 2. In these three churches, we’ve seen the

prophetic progression of the historical church: Ephesus, the First-Century church, Smyrna, the suffering

church from 100AD to 313AD, Pergamos, the Adulterous Church, from 313AD to around 600AD, and now

we’ve arrived at Thyatira.

Thyatira, as we’ll come to see, represents the church throughout what’s commonly known as the Middle

Ages – from around 600AD to the Reformation in 1517. Keep that in mind as we read through this

passage. Before I go any further, I’d like to make a brief statement about the content I’ll be discussing

today. I’ll be talking in some detail about the church of the Middle Ages, and primarily addressing the

Roman Catholic Church. I want to state up front that I think Scripture makes it abundantly clear

throughout this passage, and the rest of the book of Revelation, that the Roman Catholic Church is not a

Christian organization – but I also want to be very clear in stating that I do not consider, and would not at

all presume, that there are no Christians within that church. That’s not true now, and certainly was not

true during the Middle Ages.

Now, to our passage.

Revelation, Chapter 2, verse 18.

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,

‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than

the first.

20 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.

21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent; 22 Indeed I will cast her

into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their

deeds. 23 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.

24 “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.

25 But hold fast what you have till I come.

26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

27 ‘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; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

We’re going to start this morning by looking at the history of Thyatira; but unlike previous weeks, we’re

not going to focus so much on this angle of the letter. Our primary focus today will be the prophetic

application.

The History of Thyatira

Thyatira occupies a unique place in the history of the seven churches of Revelation. While you could safely

argue that each of the cities we’ve looked at previously was in competition, both in economic terms and in

terms of their passion for idolatry, Thyatira was neither a significant nor a particularly major population

center at the time of the writing of this book. Probably the best way to describe the town is that it was a

necessary stop on the route between many of the major cities described in these chapters. Both goods

and people were forced to pass through the city en-route to the more major centers of Ephesus, Smyrna or

Pergamos. To those involved in imports and exports, Thyatira was the centre of the world. To everyone

else, however, it was a city barely worthy of note. In fact, Thyatira was so significant to the Roman world

that it is literally described in historical documents as a ‘buffer city’ - meaning that any potential invaders

would be forced to busy themselves destroying Thyatira before advancing to the more major cities to the

west, thus buying extra time for their own defenses.

In Biblical terms, most of what we know about Thyatira actually comes from this passage. The only other

reference we have, you may remember from the book of Acts – but even there we’re not told about how

the gospel reached the city itself, but we are told about a particular woman whose primary trade was in

exporting the rich purple cloth that was uniquely produced in Thyatira. That woman’s name was Lydia.

The trade in purple cloth, a key export from Thyatira, was particularly lucrative. Made from the madder

root, this dye was quite expensive, and often in great demand. It was such a prominent export that it finds

mention in Homer’s classic The Iliad, while the second century historian Pliny suggests that this dye was

used by the elite to colour the fleeces of living flocks of animals as an expression of wealth and ownership.

With such widespread trade, and so much money, passing through Thyatira, it comes as no surprise to

learn that the city became a hub for a variety of prosperous trade guilds. Each of these guilds had its own

headquarters in the city, each of those constructed under the banner of a patron god. As I’m sure you can

imagine, this would have created quite the conflict for a Christian. Running a business without the support

of the trade guilds would have been nearly impossible – and yet in order to gain that support, the Christian

would be forced to accept and adopt the idols of Rome.

Now that we understand Thyatira’s situation, and a little of her history, let’s move on to look at the text.

A prophetic progression

Thyatira is, on the surface, a church that seems to be doing well. Look with me at verse 19.

I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience.

I think you’ll agree that this is a great start. If you were in the church at Thyatira, you’d be feeling pretty

good about yourself at this point. In fact, the church at Thyatira has more virtues listed than any of the

churches we’ve looked at so far. This is a church that is excelling in works, in love for their fellow man, in

service, in faith, and in patience. What a great report card! …but there is a caveat.

“and as for your works, the last are more than the first.”

If you were here for my sermon on the letter to the church at Ephesus, you’ll remember what the ‘first

works’ are. Jesus said: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all

your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). This is Job One for the Christian. It really doesn’t get

any simpler than this. Your great obligation, your one response to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the length and

breadth and height and depth of His love for you, is this: that you “love the Lord your God with all your

heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength.”

Job One! …and yet here, in Thyatira, it was not their primary work. Their last works, their service to their

fellow man and to one another, had taken center stage in their walk with the Lord. If that sounds familiar

to you, it’s because this is the same criticism levelled at the church at Ephesus. This is a church that hasn’t

rectified the chief problem of Ephesus – and more than that, they’ve made things worse. Read on. Verse

20.

20 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.

21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent…

This church has come a long way since Ephesus, and clearly the outlook here isn’t good. What the Lord is

saying here, however, is explicitly linked to a woman named Jezebel. Now, while I’ve no doubt that the

Lord is speaking of a literal woman in this congregation, there is a prophetic element at play here too – and

if we’re going to understand the prophetic, we need to look first at the historical. So, let’s look briefly at

the woman at the center of this play: Jezebel.

There are two primary connections between Jezebel and the church at Thyatira, and I’d like to examine

them both in sequence. What we’re going to see here is first, the Queen of Idolatry, and second, the

Queen of the Inquisition.

Let’s look at Jezebel: The Queen of Idolatry.

Jezebel: the Queen of Idolatry

Jezebel was the daughter of Eth-Baal, the King of Sidon and Priest of Astarte. She was married to King

Ahab to seal an alliance between Israel and the Phonecians, and immediately put her stamp on the

Kingdom of Israel. Jezebel sought to exterminate all of the prophets of Israel, elevated the prophets of

Baal to high positions in the Kingdom, and established a period of idol worship unparalleled in the history

of Israel. Take note of this, because we’ll be coming back to it later. Jezebel is perhaps the most

prominent figure in all of the Old Testament in terms of importing the worship of Baal into the nation of

Israel. Baal, importantly, is the Phonecian name for the Babylonian god Tammuz, the son born to Nimrod’s

widow, Semiramis.

I mentioned earlier that the church at Thyatira is representative, prophetically, of the church of the Middle

Ages. As you can see from what we’ve learned about Jezebel, and as history teaches us, it is at this point

that idolatry rises to form an integral part of church worship. What I’d like you to really notice here is the

form that this idolatry takes. It is extremely significant that it is a woman that is leading the church down

this dangerous path. Thyatira’s Jezebel, much like her predecessor, is instrumental in bringing idol worship

into the church – and not just any idol worship, but specifically Babylonian idolatry. Not only does she

bring this idolatry into the church, but she weaves it into the practices of the church in such a way that to

many, it barely seems like a compromise at all.

Now, at this point, I have to be honest with you. There is one aspect of the history of Thyatira that I

neglected to share with you earlier. Its original name was Semiramis.

If we put these pieces together, we can see and understand what is happening in this church.

Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod, was the primary goddess of the Babylonian system that was exported from

Babylon, to Pergamos – and now we find this same woman here in Thyatira, and in the Church of Middle

Ages. Semiramis is described as “the Queen of Heaven”, and the most typical representation we find in the

ancient world is that of Semiramis as the Madonna, with a child in her arms.

This Babylonian idolatry found a new home in the Medieval Church. It was here, for the first time, that

Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, began to be venerated as the “Queen of Heaven”. – and with the rise of

the ‘Cult of the Virgin’, churches begin to proliferate the image of Mary as the Madonna with child. What

was even worse was that the Medieval Church came to view Mary as redeemer, exalting her to a status

that had previously been reserved for the King of Kings Himself: Jesus Christ.

What we saw in Pergamos as the marriage of the church to the world became, in the Roman Catholic

Church of the Middle ages, the full-fledged adoption and integration of Babylonian pagan religion,

consolidated into traditions, doctrines and practices dressed up in a thinly-veiled mantle of Christianity.

So, this is the first connection with Jezebel. The second is Jezebel, the Queen of the Inquisition.

Jezebel: The Queen of the Inquisition

In the first book of Kings, we find the story of Naboth and his vineyard. For the sake of time this morning,

we won’t read through it all, but I’ll provide you with a quick summary. Ahab, King of Israel, saw and

coveted Naboth’s vineyard. He attempted to buy the vineyard, but Naboth stood firm, and refused.

Upset, Ahab retreated to his palace to sulk. Jezebel ultimately promised to solve this problem on his

behalf, and devised a plot to acquire Naboth’s land. Listen to these verses from 1 Kings 21, starting at

verse 11:

11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to

them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and seated

Naboth with high honor among the people. 13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and

the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has

blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he

died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

Now, we could go into a great deal of detail and break this passage down into all its parts, but we can skip

that this morning if we understand these basic points. Having coveted Naboth’s Vineyard, Ahab, the King

of Israel, hands the power of His position to His wife and Queen. She, Jezebel of Sidon, arranges false

witnesses, a condemnation, and an execution.

Do you see what’s happening here?

This isn’t a trial; it’s an inquisition.

The parallels that exist between Jezebel and this letter to the church are just too great to ignore. Prior to

this period in church history, heresy had been treated primarily as an internal matter, dealt with through

disciplinary proceedings and managed relatively quietly. Under the Medieval Roman Church, however,

various institutions were established in order to not only address heresy, but to persecute, torture and

even execute the accused. These practices were written into ecclesiastical law by Pope Innocent IV, who,

apart from having a rather ironic name, allowed for the use of any and all methods of torture to acquire a

full confession.

What this meant in practical terms was the relentless persecution of Christians whose doctrine and

interpretation of Scripture did not fit the Catholic mould. What was even worse, however, was the fact

that the Inquisition not only meant a death sentence for non-Catholic Christians, but that the land and

possessions owned by these Christians was then transferred to the Inquisition itself. As you can no doubt

imagine, this provided great incentives for corruption, which led to unimaginable crimes for the sake of

acquiring wealth. This problem became so great, in fact, that even one of the Popes, Sixtus IV, protested

that, and I quote:

…the Inquisition has for some time been moved not by zeal for the faith and the salvation of souls but by

lust for wealth. Many true and faithful Christians, on the testimony of enemies, rivals, slaves, and other

lower and even less proper persons, have without any legitimate proof been thrust into secular prisons,

tortured and condemned as relapsed heretics, deprived of their goods and property and handed over to the

secular arm to be executed, to the peril of souls, setting a pernicious example, and causing disgust to many.

As horrific as this is, the picture fits. Thyatira is the Jezebel Church; the false church of the Inquisition.

For the sake of time today, I’m not going to go into any detail about exactly how the Inquisition carried out

their responsibility – suffice to say that entire groups of Bible-believing Christians were obliterated from

history by their crusade. I mean that quite literally; very few people have heard of the Waldenses or the

Lollards, or any of the numerous other groups that were either persecuted into non-existence or obscurity

by the Catholic Church.

It will no doubt be eye-opening to many of us to discover that while the Catholic Church may dominate the

historical record, it is not, and never has been, the sum total of the church of Jesus Christ. Much of the

history we're told, the history we're taught... assumes that the Catholic Church has always been the true

church of Christ, which simply lost its way prior to the Reformation. Well, that’s not the picture that

Scripture presents here, and it’s not the true history of the church.

We would do well to remember that, as the Lord has repeatedly shown in Scripture, there is, and always

has been, a remnant preserved for the Lord. We don’t have time to look at it now, but you may remember

another incident in the life of Jezebel, in which the prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a ‘God

contest’. Immediately after that great event, however, Elijah fled Israel for Sinai, and hid himself in a cave

there in the desert.

Alone and afraid, Elijah cried out to the Lord – and the Lord responded:

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 So [Elijah] said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have

forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left;

and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kings 19:9-10)

Do you remember the Lord’s response?

I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that

has not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18)

This same preservation occurs here. Even in this church, the corrupt, idolatrous, adulterous church of the

Middle Ages, the Lord reserved a faithful remnant for Himself. This is true here in the text of Revelation 2,

and it’s true historically.

Allow me to give you one example: the Waldensians.

The Waldensians claim their origins from a visit by the apostle Paul to Spain. Scripture does not record

such a visit, though Paul does mention in the book of Romans that he has a desire to travel there (15:23-

28). History seems to support the possibility: several historical documents exist that suggest that Paul did

indeed visit Spain somewhere between 63 and 67AD. Ultimately, regardless of whether Paul himself

reached Spain or not, the fact remains that the Waldensians were able to draw on a rich history of

Christianity in Spain that did not have links to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Waldensians eschewed the doctrine of transubstantiation, believed in the priesthood of all believers,

considered the Papacy to be an Antichrist institution, and seem by all accounts to be thoroughly orthodox,

Biblical believers. Or at least, they were, until the 13th Century, when they were persecuted into oblivion

by the RCC and the Inquisition.

To make life even more difficult, many of the key documents of the Waldensians were destroyed – but

what we do know from what remains is that this was a church that held to the primacy of Scripture, and

longed for the Lord’s return.

So, it is clear that historically, there is a church, all throughout history, outside of the Catholic Church. The

question then is how this is reflected in Scripture. Look with me to Revelation 2 and verse 21.

21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent; 22 Indeed I will cast her

into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their

deeds. 23 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.

Look at the pronouns used here: “Her”, and “you”.

I gave HER time to repent…

…and I will give to each one of YOU according to your works.

We need to be conscious of the fact that both here in the letter to Thyatira, and even earlier in the letter to

Pergamos, the Lord refers repeatedly to two distinct group of people. How do we reconcile this? Well,

there’s really only one logical answer. We need to remember that these letters were written to local

churches – primarily to *a* church, as opposed to *the* church – and within each of these churches are

those who simply do not belong to Jesus Christ. The Lord makes this distinction in recognition of the fact

that each of these churches is no longer representative of a pure bride, but a corrupt harlot, whose fealty

to her Bridegroom has been compromised through an adulterous marriage with the world.

The Lord Jesus provides two diverse responses here, one for each of the two distinct entities.

Let’s look first at the Lord’s response to Jezebel. We’ve examined this a little already, but what we haven’t

done yet is look at the Lord’s representation of Himself here in the passage – which, as in each of the

letters we’ve studied so far, indicates to us not only the tone of the text, but also the solution for each

church. You may remember in Pergamos that the Lord identified Himself with the “sharp, two-edged

sword”, and that likewise the solution to the problems Pergamos faced was to adhere ever more closely to

the Word of God, which the sword represents.

Jesus follows the same form here in the letter to Tyatira.

Verse 18.

“These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass”.

Turn with me to a moment to the book of Hebrews, chapter 4.

What we’re going to see here is that the Lord Jesus Christ, in chastising the church at Thyatira, draws

attention to His own humanity. These things says the Son of God, He says. Look with me at Hebrews

chapter 4, verse 14.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let

us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our

weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

What we see here is Jesus Christ in His humanity. The Lord Jesus appeals to the church at Thyatira by

presenting Himself as one who has been where we have been, walked where we have walked, and yet was

without sin. What the Lord is doing by representing Himself in this manner is drawing attention to the fact

that He is the standard; He is the measure by which the church will be judged. He doesn’t stop there,

though – this Jesus has eyes like a flame of fire. Look at Hebrews 4 and verse 13:

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to

whom we must give account.

This is Jesus Christ – the righteous king come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and all things are

naked and open to His eyes. The deeds that Thyatira committed in the dark are laid bare before Him, and

there is nothing hidden from His sight.

Finally, we see “his fine feet, made like brass”. I talked about this a little my sermon on the opening

chapter of Revelation. This is Jesus Christ, the one who knew no sin, made sin for us. The brass, as we’ve

seen repeatedly throughout these letters, represents the judgment of God – a judgment that the Son of

God walked through Himself, for our sake. We can see this image summed up perfectly here again in the

book of Hebrews, chapter 2 and verse 10.

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to

glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

It’s important that we understand these verses. Just as the title, “Son of God”, indicates that He is the

measure by which we will be measured, so too the judgment He endured is the judgment we must face if

we do not repent. It is this same judgment that He promises to the adulterous Jezebel in Thyatira: that

those who falsely represent themselves as belonging to Jesus Christ, the unsaved within the church who

depend upon political power and human effort to maintain their status both within the church and before

the world, will be cast headlong into the Tribulation to be judged…

…unless they repent of their deeds.

If that’s not sobering for you, it absolutely should be. There is so much that could be said here, so much

more that can be detailed regarding this coming judgment – and over the coming months, God willing,

we’ll get to that. …but from beginning to end, Revelation makes one thing so very clear:

When the Lord returns, you’re either in Christ (and coming with Christ!), or you’re in judgment. There is no

middle ground here. There is no “good enough”, no “but I went to church”, no “I’m less of a sinner than

others”. There’s just Christ. Christ, or judgment.

That’s a hard thing to accept. It’s a hard thing to understand, as humans, that God sees this judgment not

in shades, but in perfect black and white – and so often, so many in this world try to sugar coat this

unpleasant truth – but in doing so, they hide the glory of the gospel and blunt the terror of the judgment –

a judgment that we should rightly fear.

Remember what the apostle John told us in Revelation 1:7:

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes

of the earth will mourn because of Him.

If you’re not in Christ this morning, if you can’t honestly say that you are wholeheartedly trusting in the

completed work of Jesus Christ upon the cross for your salvation, then these passages are screaming out to

you to call upon the Lord now, before He returns to fight against the nations with the sword of His mouth.

Don’t put it off, don’t delay, don’t seek to reassure yourself that everything will be okay – because God, the

God of all Creation, the God of all the Universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is telling you right here

in the letter to Thyatira that it won’t. That He’ll come for you in judgment and nothing in heaven or on

earth or under the earth will stand in His way.

…and if you are in Christ, then by the Word of God and the truth of His testimony, examine yourselves,

because time is short. That’s the message here to those in this church. Let’s move on, in closing, to see

what the Lord has to say to the faithful remnant in Thyatira.

The faithful few

Verse 24.

“Now to you (that is, the ‘angel of the church in Thyatira), 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.

25 But hold fast what you have till I come.

26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

27 ‘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; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

These verses further reinforce the imagery we’ve just seen. Those who refuse to repent will be cast into

the Great Tribulation, while those who are in Christ, who “hold fast… till He comes”, will be rewarded.

…but notice again what the focus is in these verses. Even in His promises, the Lord Jesus Christ consistently

reflects Himself.

Hold fast what you have till I come.

And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, I will give Him power over the nations.

These promises remind us of who we’re dealing with, and they all refer back to the Revelation of the King

from Revelation 1. This is:

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to

His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So, just as we saw earlier that the measure of the nations’ judgment is the completed work of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God, The Word made flesh, so it is that the measure of the faithful’s great reward is according to

the fullness of Jesus Christ. We shall be made Kings and Priests to rule with Jesus Christ – and just as He

shall rule them with a rod of Iron, so too we shall rule over the nations. And if that weren’t enough, look at

verse 28.

I will give him the morning star.

Turn with me, in closing, to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation 22, and verse 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.

I made this point at the end of my last sermon, but I’ll make it again here: To those who are in Christ, the

Lord Jesus makes the greatest of all promises: Himself. So if you, in Jesus Christ, would fully understand

just what the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would offer to you, you need look no further. So let me close

with this. Revelation 22, verse 17.

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say “Come!” And let him who thirsts

come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

…and He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Let’s pray.