We come to the fourth church in our study of the seven churches that Jesus addressed during the Apostle John’s vision in the Book of Revelation. This is the church in the city of Thyatira in Asia Minor. While the city is the smallest of the seven, Jesus had more to say to this church than He did the others.

Commercially, the city was known for cloth making and dyeing, leatherworking, bronzeworking, and pottery making. Lydia, who is mentioned in (Acts 16) as the first convert to the Apostle Paul’s ministry in Philippi, was a seller of purple from Thyatira.

(Revelation 2:18-29)

Jesus describes Himself in these verses as the “Son of God” in (verse 18), referring to His divinity. In (Revelation 1:13) John referred to Jesus as the “Son of Man,” referring to the humanity of Christ. But here because of His judgmental work, He is seen as coming as the Divine Judge. His “fiery eyes” speak of His anger toward sin (Mark 3:5) and His “brass feet” speak of judgment.

Again, like the other letters, Jesus uses the words “I know” as He commends this church. There are at least six qualities He commended them for. First, He knows their works. Just like He knows every believer the same way. He was fully aware of everything they did, and He is fully aware of everything we do. One day, as believers, we will all give an account (Romans 14:12). He commended this church for being loving. So many churches today are known more for their grumbling. We could use more churches like MSBC. Loving! He also knew this church's service inside as well as outside the body of believers. He commended these people for their belief in His Word and good doctrine. They were also a people who were dedicated to the Lord and didn’t give up when things got a little rough. Lastly, He commended them for spiritual growth, “Your last works are greater than your first.” It is sad to say that some believers today are just the opposite. But although Jesus had these good words to say, there was a problem at this church.

The problem involved a woman called “Jezebel.” It probably was not the woman’s real name, it is more likely this is symbolic, referring to King Ahab’s wife in the OT who corrupted Israel during the time of the prophet Elijah. The point is that these people were tolerating evil in the church. This happens in our churches today, as we tolerate evil in the name of love. This woman needed power and prestige to do her dirty work, so she recognized herself as a “prophetess.” The truth is that evil will often hide itself under the disguise of a nice name.

She was permitted to teach in the church. But this passage is not about women teachers or preachers, it is about false teachers or prophets. How many times in our churches today have we recognized teachers who should have never been allowed to be in the position of teacher? One commentator said, “Unholy character will produce unholy belief and will corrupt people.” Sin makes itself attractive to deceive and corrupt.

Jesus said this woman corrupted people in two areas, sex, and holiness. We saw last week how Balaam’s council to Balak corrupted the Israelite men to sin in this area. But Jesus said in His grace He gave her time to repent, but she refused. This is simply showing the contempt she had for God. This action of God shows us that no sinner is too great of a sinner to repent. What this woman was doing was a sin. It also shows that God is not unkind to punish people for their sins because He has given them all the time in the world to repent. People who go to hell have no one to blame but themselves.

Christ had some words of encouragement for this church, especially the people there who had not been led away by Jezebel (Revelation 2:23-25). He said, “I am the One who examines minds and hearts,” meaning everything we do as believers is examined by the Lord to see what sort it is (1 Corinthians 3:13). We may look at our actions and deeds as perfect, but what does God think? He also said, “I will give to each of you according to your works.” The Lord is fair in judgment.