Message to Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-29)

The individual from Thyatira that most Christians know about is Lydia, who came to faith in Christ when she heard Paul in Philippi (Acts 16:14). It is not known whether she was involved in helping commence the church in Thyatira, although we can assume that she would have identified with it when she was in the city.

Apparently, Thyatira was the least important of the seven cities, which then makes the fact that it received the longest letter something to think about. Maybe Jesus was saying to the church that while the city was not of much consequence in the eyes of the emperor such could never be said of a church and its Lord. Churches in unimportant places are important to Jesus.

The description of Jesus

The description of Jesus that is given to Thyatira reminds them that he is a divine speaker, with penetrating knowledge and purity and strength. The implication is that his words will come with precision and with power. Jesus is contrasting his speech with the teaching given by the false prophetess who had influence in the church there.

There are usually connections between details in each of the seven letters and what went on in the relevant city. So we can ask why Jesus referred to himself as the Son of God. An answer could be that a focus of the pagan worship in the city was on Apollo, who was regarded as a son of Zeus. Perhaps those criticised in the letter when to activities connected to the false god. If so, they were reminded that whereas Apollo could not see anything Jesus could see everything, a reminder that there is a huge gap between false religion and the religion of Jesus.

One of the trades that was prominent in Thyatira was bronze-work and there may be an allusion to that trade in the description that Jesus makes of his feet. He does not say that his feet are burnished bronze, but like it. The meaning of having feet like this could be a realisation that Jesus can treat his opponents with great power.

It is also likely that the feet of Jesus are being compared to other feet that walk in the church. In contrast to the feet of the false teacher who led her followers into sinful practices, the path that Jesus walks is one of purity because he is pure. Saying his feet are like bronze could be an allusion to the way that metals were purified. Of course, Jesus did not need to be purified because he was always pure. Because he is pure, he will speak pure words about what he sees in the church.

The commendation of Jesus (vv. 19, 24-25)

The commendation of Jesus once again shows the variety that exists in church life. He mentions the kinds of work in which his people in Thyatira engaged for him. Unlike the church in Ephesus, which was described in the first letter, their love was stronger now than to begin with. But unlike the church in Ephesus, they tolerated a false teacher and seemed not to know what to do with her and her followers.

We can see the strength of their inner lives in the commendation of Jesus. They had love, loyalty, desire to serve and determination to continue as his disciples. It looks as if they wanted to increase in their activities for him. Since their activities were connected to their love, they probably would find more areas of service.

We would regard a church with those strengths as a church to imitate. Its members did not have a cold Christianity. Those who joined the church must have found it to be welcoming and caring. It is not surprising that the devil would want to disrupt and destroy the witness of such a congregation. Perhaps we can say that the detail that was missing was alertness to his inevitable hostilities. They did not notice that he had planted some tares among the wheat and was working for their destruction. But Jesus had decided to come to their rescue and deliver them from the dangers they faced from false teaching, which is a reminder that he is the Good Shepherd who protects his flock.

Jesus then says in verse 25 that they should hold fast to those strengths, whatever would come their way. They were to remain as devoted until he comes. The reference to his coming may mean when he would deal with the false teacher and her followers, although that is unlikely because he intends to deal with them soon and he would want his followers to continue in their devotion after that time. So he is probably referring to his second coming.  He delights to see a church holding on to such strengths continually.

The criticism
There was a similarity between the wrong practices in Pergamum and in Thyatira, which was that false teachers were advocating participation in pagan temple practices. The difference between the two churches is that the sinful teaching came from a woman who claimed to be a prophetess.

Her influence had divided the church, with some tolerating her ideas and others opposing them. She managed to convince some of the believers to adopt her instructions. We can see that they were true believers because Jesus calls them ‘my servants’. Of course, this is a reminder that sometimes true Christians can be led astray.

Initially, the Lord had shown patience with her, giving her time to repent. Probably, the patience had been expressed through others attempting to correct her. Whatever the approach, she had refused to change her instructions. The outcome would be severe punishment. She would become ill and those who joined her in attendance at pagan temples would find trouble. Jesus mentions his use of power when he says that he will throw her and them into locations of trouble. When he says that her children will be killed, he means that her followers will die, and her movement come to an end.

The outcome would be a discovery for other churches. They would realise that Jesus can read the secrets of each heart, which means he knows the motives behind the actions. Moreover, they would learn that Jesus will judge those who try and blend together pagan religion and Christianity.   

The promise to the conqueror

Jesus gives two promises to the overcomers. One is authority over the nations. The authority is similar to that which was given to Jesus. It is an authority of punishment as we can see from its description as being like a rod of iron that crushes pots in pieces. I would say that this is a promise connected to the dignity that believers will have on the Day of Judgement. Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 6 that Christians will judge angels and the world. In some way, they are going to be involved in the process when Jesus judges the enemies of his kingdom.

The second promise is connected to the morning star. I would suggest that there are two ways to consider this. First, later in the book Jesus says that he is the bright and morning star (22:16), so he could be promising to the believers in Thyatira that they will have Jesus with them and for them for ever.

Second, the morning star is the star that is visible just before sunrise, or just before the day dawns. So here Jesus is informing his followers that they will see the arrival of the eternal day after the long dark night of sin. So in this promise, Jesus reminds his people what they will get (himself) and when they will receive the blessing (at the start of the eternal day).

Other truths about Jesus

Jesus reminded the Christians in Thyatira that he is the sovereign appointed by the Father after ascending to heaven. He mentions this appointment when referring to the authority he will yet give to his people. The position Jesus has is connected to his role as the Mediator. He has been given supreme authority as a reward for his work on the cross and he reigns over all things in order to gather in his people from all periods of history.

Jesus also reminded the church in Thyatira that he is the searcher of hearts. He can do this because he is divine, possessing all the attributes of God, one of which is omniscience. When he searches the hearts of his people, there is nothing that they can hide from him. From one point of view, this would be frightening, but we should remember that he also comes as the good physician to heal what is wrong with us. It is better to have a Saviour who sees all our faults than to have one who did not know our defects.

And Jesus speaks here of his works that his followers have to hold on to. Those works also seem to be their works that he approved of earlier in the letter, which he said were increasing in number and flowed from love. Those works were done in obedience to his commandments. We could say that those works are done for him initially because of his grace and are then appropriated by him to bring blessings to others.