Revelation 2:18-29 Church in Thyatira

Rev. 2:18   “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:

Rev. 2:19   ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20 ‘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. 21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 ‘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. 23 ‘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. 24 ‘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. 25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27 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; 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.’

Map created in Accordance Bible Atlas 2.2

1.  To whom are verses 18-29 addressed? 

     “to the angel of the church in Thyatira” (18).

2.  How is Jesus described? (2:18)

     “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze” (18).

3.  Of what does Jesus know concerning the church in Thyatira? (2:19)

     “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first” (19).

4.  What does Jesus have against the church in Thyatira? (2:20)

“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” (20).

5.  How does Jesus warn the church in Thyatira? (2:22-23)

‘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” (21-23).

6.  What does Jesus tell the church in Thyatira to do? (2:24-25)

“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” (24-25).

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (29).

7.  What does Jesus promise the church in Thyatira? (26-28)

“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” (26-28).

8.  How does the message to the church in Thyatira apply to the church today?

Toil does not excuse tolerance.

Father, You are holy, holy, holy. You do not tolerate sin, especially in light of the magnitude of Your sacrifice for sin. For You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Your glorious grace and Jesus’ perfect righteousness are manifested profoundly at the cross and in the empty tomb, for Jesus’ death demonstrates the magnitude of Your holiness and the enormity of our sin, while His resurrection from the dead proves that His single sacrifice was accepted as all-sufficient propitiation for all sin, from ages past to the end of the age. Glory, glory, glory to You for so great a salvation, and to the power of Jesus to conquer sin and death. Your grace astoundingly abounds beyond measure. There is no toiling or groveling for the grace You give freely through faith in Jesus, for He is gloriously sufficient. Beyond the cross, You grant new birth by the Holy Spirit into Christ. A new creation in Christ is no longer enslaved to sin and to the devil. The Holy Spirit gives daily victory over the indulgences of the flesh, making holy, for You are holy. Therefore, those who keep on sinning in Christ are without excuse and bring shame to the glory of Your Name. The Holy Spirit convicts and cleanses sin. The spirit of Jezebel applauds licentiousness and indulges the sin nature. To profess Christ and to toil in His Name, while tolerating the spirit of Jezebel and holding fast to the deep things of Satan, reaps death. Jesus warns that sickness and death follow in the wake of Jezebel, even death to the deviant’s offspring. Jesus’ eyes are like a flaming fire, piercing the soul with perfect discernment. His feet are like burnished bronze, immovable and incorruptible. Jesus redeems those who believe in Him from both the penalty and the power of sin. He will return in power and glory to remove the presence of sin. May Jesus come quickly, and may the pure of heart be strengthened to hold fast until He comes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.