Thyatira: The Church Tolerant of Sin

Text: Revelation 2:18-29

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who

has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says

this: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and

perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I

have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls

herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray

so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I

gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her

immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who

commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her

deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches

will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will

give to each one of you according to your deeds. But I say to you, the rest

who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known

the deep things of Satan, as they call them–I place no other burden on

you. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who

overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give

authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as

the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received

authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

(Revelation 2:18-29)

INTRODUCTION

That the church in Thyatira reached this spiritually low condition that it is

described and called after the infamous “Jezebel” of Old Testament is

really the worse a church could possibly be.

- As we have seen, Jezebel was the most wicked queen in Israel’s

history...

- We find her treacherous behavior described in the books of

First Kings and Second Kings (1 Kings16-2 Kings 9)...

- She was “the power behind the throne” as the wife of the weak

and wimpish King Ahab...

- She led her husband and consequently the entire nation of Israel

to worship pagan gods (1 Kings 16:31), kill God’s prophets

(1 Kings 18:13), and murder a righteous and plain man named

Naboth for his vineyard (1 Kings 21)...

- She was evil personified; and so we see here in our passage that

when God chastised a church for allowing false teaching into His

body, He called it by the name of Jezebel...

- He said they (the Church in Thyatira) were “tolerating the woman

Jezebel” (Rev.2:20)...
In the US, it’s being well said, “We name our sons David and Paul, and

our daughters Mary and Rachel, but we name our dogs Goliath and

Nero; and we name our cats Jezebel!”

- Again, doctrinal and theological compromise is always a danger

to the health, vitality, and survival of the church...

- It can be like a “spiritual kudzu” that once it is allowed in, it will

spread out of control, sucking the life out of every living organism

it touches...

Our Lord knew this, so He spoke a stern warning for His people. Here is

“tough love” on full display! It may not be easy to hear, but often it is

absolutely necessary and for our good.

- In the case of this “Jezebel” here, as we saw last time in our

study, the Lord graciously gave her time to repent but she

refused: “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of

her sexual immorality” (Rev.2:21)...

- Her refusal to repent is one clear illustration of the sad truth the

reality in this world —that “people love darkness rather than the

light” (John 3:19)...

- Jesus says: “She did not want to repent of her immorality”

(Rev.2:21)...
- Thus, her final refusal to repent led to a terrible judgment from

the Lord: “Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness”

(Rev.2:22)...

- Moreover, this divine judgment was threatened on those not only

on Jezebel, but also on “those who commit adultery with her”...

- The Lord threatens to “cast them into great tribulation”, which

means distress or trouble...

- These were the sinning Christians who had believed the false

teaching and lies of Jezebel...

- He promises to bring them severe chastening —possibly even

physical death —unless they repent of her deeds (1 Cor.11:30; 1

John 5:16)...

- The lord also named another group facing divine judgment: “I

will kill her children with pestilence” (Rev.2:23)...

- Jezebel’s children were her spiritual children...

- The words “with pestilence” literally means “to kill them with

death”...

- Unfortunately, it was too late for Jezebel; her heart was hardened

in unrepentant sin...

- But, as we can see, the Lord Jesus Christ still mercifully warns her

disciples to repent while there is still time...

The severe judgment promised to the false prophetess and her followers

again reveals Christ’s passion for a doctrinally and behaviorally pure

church.

- He will do whatever is necessary to purge His church of sin

—even to the point of taking the lives of false teachers...

- These warnings should sober us up; to not be light with false

teachings and loose living...

- It should also warn Christians who are following false teachers to

repent of their sins, lest they face divine chastening...

Christ’s judgment brings him glory. Jesus says that he would receive

glory when He judged Jezebel and her followers.

- When that happened (Christ’s judgment), “all the churches would

know that He is the One who searches the minds and hearts”...

- That phrase offers further confirmation of Christ’s deity, since it is

used in the Old Testament in reference to God...

Check these passages out:

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him

with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all

hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will

be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (1
Chronicles 28:9)

“Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the

righteous- you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!” (Psalms

7:9)

“If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the

heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man according to his work?” (Proverbs 24:12)

“But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and

the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I

committed my cause.” (Jeremiah 11:20)

“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man

according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah

17:10)

“O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the

mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed

my cause.” (Jeremiah 20:12)

- Thus, after He judged the Thyatira church, all other churches

would be warned against the evil of tolerating sin...

- They would also realize that nothing can be hidden from the

penetrating gaze of the Lord of the churches...

It is not known how many in that congregation responded to Christ’s

warning, but, tragically, the Thyatira church as a whole apparently did not

heed it.

- History records that it fell prey to the Montanist heresy (a

movement led by a false prophet who claimed continuing

revelation from God apart from Scripture) and went out of

existence by the end of the second century...

Next, Christ addressed a word of comfort to those true believers in the

Thyatira church who had not followed Jezebel’s false teaching: “I will

give to each one of you according to your deeds.”

- Christ’s unerring judgment would be based on each person’s

deeds; for sure, those who were innocent would not be punished

along with the guilty...

That everyone will be judged by his or her deeds is a frequent theme in

Scripture.

- In Matthew 7:16, Jesus said of false prophets, “You will know

them by their fruits”...

- Speaking of His second coming, Jesus warned, “For the Son of

Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels,

and will then repay every man according to his deeds” (Matt.16:

27; Rev.22:12)...
- God is the righteous judge “who will render to each person

according to his deeds” (Rom.2:6)...

- Paul wrote also of his bitter opponent, Alexander the

coppersmith, “The Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2

Tim.4:14)...

In the Bible, works have always been the basis for divine judgment. That

does not mean, however, that salvation is by works (Eph.2:8-9; 2 Tim.1:9;

Titus 3:5).

- People’s deeds though reveal their spiritual condition...

That is what James meant when he said, “I will show you my faith by my

works” (James 2:18). Saving faith will inevitably express itself in good

works, causing James to declare that “faith, if it has no works, is dead,

being by itself” (James 2:17, 26).

- Christians are new creatures (2 Cor.5:17), “created in Christ Jesus

for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we

would walk in them” (Eph.2:10)...

- Thus, works cannot save, but they do damn...

- Christ’s judgment though will fairly reflect each person’s deeds

—a reality that should bring fear to those who teach and practice

false doctrine, but comfort and hope to those whose faith is

genuine...

THE COMMAND

Next it says: “But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not

hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they

call them —I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have,

hold fast until I come.” (Rev.2:24-25)

- Having warned the practitioners of false doctrine to repent, Christ

addressed words of comfort to the rest who are in Thyatira, “who

did not hold to Jezebel’s false teaching”...

They are reminiscent of God’s words of comfort to those in Malachi’s day

who feared being swept up in divine judgment. There it says: “Then

those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave

attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before

Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. ‘They will be

Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on the day that I prepare My own

possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves

him.’” (Mal.3:16-17). 

- Then, Christ further defined the true believers as those who have not

known the deep things of Satan, as they call them. Jezebel and her

followers claimed to be plumbing the very depths of Satan’s domain and

remaining spiritually unscathed. In their perverse, libertine, licentious

false theology, they believed they could do so with impunity. This pre-

Gnostic teaching said that one was free to engage the sphere of Satan and

participate in sins of the body without harming the spirit. Since the spirit

belongs to God, their twisted logic went, what does it matter if the body

attends idolatrous feasts and engages in sexual immorality? They

imagined themselves to be free to explore the satanic sphere and then

brazenly come to worship God.

To the true believers who had not experienced the alleged deeper

knowledge claimed by these heretics, Christ said, I place no other burden

on you. Bearing the burden of seeing blatant false teaching and immoral

living rampant in their church, and having to resist the incessant

solicitation and ridicule from the Jezebel party, was burden enough for

them to bear. But lest they become overconfident, Christ exhorts them,

what you have, hold fast until I come (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). The use of the

strong word krateō (hold fast) indicates that it would not be easy. The

coming of Christ as it related to the Thyatira church was His coming to

them in judgment. But in a wider sense, all believers are to “cling to what

is good”(Rom. 12:9) until Christ’s return.

THE COUNSEL

He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I
will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of

iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have

received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.

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

(2:26–29)

To the one who overcomes (i. e., a true Christian; cf. 1 John 5:5) and …

keeps Christ’s deeds (in contrast to those in v. 22 who practiced Jezebel’s

evil deeds) until the end (steadfast obedience marks a genuine Christian),

Christ promises two things. First, Christ will give such people authority

over the nations; and they shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels

of the potter are broken to pieces. That promise, taken from Psalm 2:7–9,

is one of participation in the millennial kingdom. Those who remained

faithful to Christ despite being beaten and despised in this life will rule

with Him in His earthly kingdom. They will exercise authority over the

nations, ruling them with a rod of iron (cf. Rev. 12:5; 19:15). Those

nations in the millennial kingdom who rebel against Christ’s rule and

threaten His people will be destroyed. Those people who rule with Him

will help protect His people and promote holiness and righteousness.

Christ will delegate authority to them as He also has received authority

from His Father (cf. John 5:22, 27).

Christ also promised to give to His faithful followers the morning star.

Some connect the morning star with such passages as Daniel 12:3 and
Matthew 13:43. The promise would be that believers will reflect Christ’s

glory. While Christians will reflect Christ’s glory, it is better to see the

morning star as Christ Himself–a title He assumes in Revelation 22:16

(cf. 2 Pet. 1:19). Christ promised believers Himself in all His fullness; the

One whom we “now … know in part [we will] then … know fully just as

[we] also have been fully known”(1 Cor. 13:12).

The concluding words, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit

says to the churches, are a charge to heed the message of the letter to the

church at Thyatira. Three important truths stand out. First, this letter

reveals the seriousness of practicing and tolerating sin, and that God will

judge continued, unrepentant sin in the church. Second, a pattern of

obedience marks true Christians. Finally, God’s gracious promise to His

own is that, in spite of struggles with sin and error in churches, they will

experience all the fullness of Christ as they reign with Him in His

kingdom. Those churches, like Thyatira, who fail to heed the message

will receive divine judgment; those who do heed its message will receive

divine blessing.

SWINDOLL

We might expect that after such a strong condemnation, the promises of

Christ to those who overcome might be terse and tenuous. Not so! In fact,

Christ had a rich, robust exhortation and encouragement for the “rest” in
Thyatira—those among the Faithful party who were not caught up in

Jezebel’s charade and who refused to tolerate it (2:24). They were simply

to “hold on” to what they had, refuse to accommodate her wickedness,

and stand against the deception at any cost (2:25). I’m sure it wasn’t an

easy position to maintain. Keeping the peace by holding our tongues is

always easier than standing our ground and confronting wickedness. This

is why Christ placed no further burden on them (2:24). Remaining

faithful to Him in that culture of toleration was difficult enough!

Along with this encouragement to persevere, Christ offered the faithful in

Thyatira a powerful promise for overcoming—they could look forward to

reigning with Christ, the Morning Star (2:26-29). This promise is based

on the Old Testament prophecy that God would send a king from the line

of David to rule over the kings of the earth (Ps. 2:8-9). We know that

Jesus Christ will ultimately fulfill this prophecy when He returns (Luke

1:32-33; Rom. 1:3-4). Yet as we read on in Scripture, we discover that

Christ didn’t intend to fulfill this promise alone. He would exalt His

hand-picked disciples as fellow rulers. He told them, “Truly I say to you,

that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man

will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones,

judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28).

In His promise to those who overcame in Thyatira, Christ quoted Psalm

2:8-9 and applied the prophecy to all faithful Christians. We, too, will
reign with Him and will be involved in judging the nations (Rev. 2:26-

27). In fact, Christ’s promise to give them “the morning star” (2:28)

draws on similar images of the rule of the Davidic king from Numbers

24:17-18 and is mentioned again in Revelation 22:16.[41] The final

fulfillment of this promise, now extended to all believers (2:29), will be

seen in the second coming of Christ (19:11-16, where Psalm 2 is quoted

again). The saints will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-

6).

APPLICATION: REVELATION 2:18-29

Defeating Jezebel & Company

Jezebel & Company is still in business today—and it’s a thriving

business. Those who put up with false teachings can be found in most

churches. The sad reality is that tolerating sin is always easier than

exposing and confronting it. As I step back and think about the troubling

conditions in Thyatira and Christ’s words of concern and correction, three

practical implications come to mind.

First, the events in Thyatira teach us that big problems can occur in small

places. Don’t be surprised when trouble breaks loose! I know that most

people reading these words don’t come from giant churches that

broadcast their services on national television. Those churches may be

well known, but compared with the majority of churches in the world,

megachurches with media popularity are few. When bad things happen in
big churches, everybody hears about it. This can sometimes lead smaller

churches to think that they can fly under Satan’s radar—that they just

don’t factor into the enemy’s strategic attacks on the global church. In

fact, that kind of “it’ll-never-happen-to-us” attitude is just what Satan

wants us to think. It’s a setup for a sudden attack. Instead, we need to be

ever on the alert, sober-minded, prepared. Read and reread Acts 20:28-31

and 1 Peter 5:8-9. Large or small, churches must never think that they’re

immune to major upheavals.

Second, bad teaching can come from gifted people. Jezebel of Thyatira

was clearly gifted, perhaps even wealthy and influential. Maybe choosing

to exercise biblical discipline against her would have meant losing not

only Jezebel but all her followers, reducing the already small blue-collar

church to a tiny remnant. Today, we must be on the alert for teachers who,

by their winsome charisma or worldly positions, can easily cause

whopping problems! We can’t let ourselves be misled by a person’s

charisma or blinded by financial contributions. To let our guard down for

a moment can lead to doctrinal deception and ruined lives.

Finally, tolerance of bad teaching has no place in the church. Take a

stand! This section began with the questions, “Are you tolerant? Should

you be?” Let me put these questions another way: Should Christians ever

judge others? That simple question often elicits an immediate “No!” After

all, Jesus said, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged” (Luke 6:37). It
seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? Even Paul said, “Therefore you have no

excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you

judge another, you condemn yourself” (Rom. 2:1). Yet in another passage

Paul instructed the Corinthians to avoid judging sinners of the world

around them and instead judge those within the church by rebuking sin

and correcting false teaching. This often meant removing a wicked person

from the church through proper church discipline (1 Cor. 5:9-13). The

purpose is not just the purity of the church, but also the repentance and

restoration of the sinning believer.

In other words, the biblical approach to toleration is, “Don’t judge the

world; God will judge them. Instead, hold the church of Christ to its own

standards of doctrinal and moral purity.”

Because Christ knows the deepest secrets of our hearts, we can’t fool

Him with a fancy facade. Christ’s stinging rebuke of Thyatira leaves little

room for indecision. If we’re tolerating sin in our own lives or in the lives

of those brothers and sisters closest to us, we need to come to terms with

it—now.