Letters to the seven churches: Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29
Thyatira is the fourth church of the seven that Jesus writes to in Rev. 2-3. Thyatira means ‘daughter’, and it’s interesting to note that the biggest problem in this church was a woman (whom Jesus calls Jezebel). The title Jesus uses of Himself, the Son of God, contrasts this. He also uses the description, ‘whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze’ (Rev. 2:18, c.f. Rev. 1:14-15). Both fire and bronze are symbols of judgement. Jesus has eyes like fire: He is angry at this church. But there is still a commendation for them: for their deeds, their love, their faith, their service, their perseverance, and how all of these are increasing (Rev. 2:19).
However, the rebuke is significantly longer in terms of the number of verses it occupies. They tolerated a woman, whom Jesus calls Jezebel (although it’s highly likely that wasn’t actually her name), who had risen to a position of leadership within the church and was leading people astray with false doctrine. In the Old Testament, Jezebel was the wife of king Ahab, and it’s clear that she was the one in control in their relationship. She was the one who called for the death of Elijah and the other prophets of the Lord. She caused Israel to fall into the sin of idolatry, and the same thing was going in on this church. Jesus says her time is up and He will soon judge her and all who have joined her. The exhortation is given to those who have not held to her teaching: to hold on to what they have until He comes. Next, we have the promise to the overcomer: to be given authority to rule over the nations with Jesus, and to be given the morning star (another title of Jesus, Rev. 22:16, also see 2 Pet. 1:19). Finally is the phrase, ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Did you notice that? The order of these two elements is reversed from the first three letters. The last four are different to the first three in this regard; also in the last four there is a specific reference to Jesus’ return (Rev. 2:25). This has led some to surmise that the last four churches, when viewed in an historical sense, continue right up to the return of Christ.
In the historical, prophetic sense, the church of Thyatira represents the Roman Catholic church that arose during the Dark Ages. The emphasis on the female figure of Mary, praying to the saints (which is a form of idolatry), and so on, are alluded to in this letter. It’s easy for Protestants to look down on Catholics because of this. But Jesus says that they do have a few things in their favour – unlike the church of Sardis, which represents the Reformation, and which we will come to tomorrow.