Thyatira: The Adulterous Church

Revelation 2:18-29

Snug Gospel Chapel: August 23rd, 2015

This morning were 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 Gods Word, lets come to the Lord in prayer. Lets 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.

Were going to be looking this morning at the letter, written by Jesus Christ, to the church at Thyatira.
Weve 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, weve 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
weve arrived at Thyatira.

Thyatira, as well come to see, represents the church throughout whats 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, Id like to make a brief statement about the content Ill be discussing
today. Ill 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. Thats 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
27 He

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

shall rule them with a rod of iron;

They shall be dashed to pieces like the potters 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.

Were going to start this morning by looking at the history of Thyatira; but unlike previous weeks, were
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 weve 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 were 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 womans 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 Homers 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 Im 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 Thyatiras situation, and a little of her history, lets 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 youll agree that this is a great start. If you were in the church at Thyatira, youd be feeling pretty
good about yourself at this point. In fact, the church at Thyatira has more virtues listed than any of the
churches weve 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, youll 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 doesnt 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, its because this is the same criticism levelled at the church at Ephesus. This is a church that hasnt
rectified the chief problem of Ephesus and more than that, theyve 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 isnt good. What the Lord is
saying here, however, is explicitly linked to a woman named Jezebel. Now, while Ive 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 were going to understand the prophetic, we need to look first at the historical. So, lets 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 Id like to examine
them both in sequence. What were going to see here is first, the Queen of Idolatry, and second, the
Queen of the Inquisition.

Lets 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 well 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 Nimrods
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 weve 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 Id 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. Thyatiras 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 wont read through it all, but Ill provide you with a quick summary. Ahab, King of Israel, saw and
coveted Naboths 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 Naboths 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 Naboths 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 whats happening here?

This isnt a trial; its 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, Im 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, thats not the picture that
Scripture presents here, and its 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 dont 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 Lords 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 its 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 (15:2328). 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 Lords 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,
theres 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.

Lets look first at the Lords response to Jezebel. Weve examined this a little already, but what we havent
done yet is look at the Lords representation of Himself here in the passage which, as in each of the
letters weve 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 were 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 doesnt 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 weve
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.

Its 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 thats 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,
well get to that. but from beginning to end, Revelation makes one thing so very clear:

When the Lord returns, youre either in Christ (and coming with Christ!), or youre in judgment. There is no
middle ground here. There is no good enough, no but I went to church, no Im less of a sinner than
others. Theres just Christ. Christ, or judgment.

Thats a hard thing to accept. Its 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 youre not in Christ this morning, if you cant 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.

Dont put it off, dont delay, dont 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 wont. That Hell 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. Thats the message here to those in this church. Lets 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
27 He

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

shall rule them with a rod of iron;

They shall be dashed to pieces like the potters vessels

as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

These verses further reinforce the imagery weve 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 were 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 faithfuls 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 werent 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 Ill 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.

Lets pray.