A Message To Seven Churches - Part 4, Thyatira

The next stop on our journey through the seven churches of Revelation is the Church at Thyatira. The city of Thyatira was located about 55 miles northeast of Smyrna on the road between Pergamum and Sardis; it is the modern day city of Akhissar, Turkey. The city was located on the southern bank of the Lycus River, which is a tributary of the Hermus River and it occupied an important position in a low-lying corridor connecting the Hermus River with the Caicus Valley.

Thyatira was founded as a Hellenistic city in about 300 B.C. and became the western frontier garrison of Seleucus I of Syria. Later, after changing hands it became the eastern frontier of the kingdom of Pergamum. The city then passed from Roman rule in 133 B.C., but it remained an important point on the Roman road system, as it was the gateway to the eastern provinces.

Though never a large city Thyatira was known as a center for manufacturing, and by the first century the city boasted many industrial and commercial trade guilds in which membership was required in order to do business or even to hold a job. These trade guilds were much like our modern labor unions, but with one exception - each of these guilds had its own pagan deity, and participation in the guild also required participation in the pagan rituals associated with that deity, which often included idolatry and immorality.

Thyatira was, and still is, famous for its dyeing of fabric, and archeologists have uncovered evidence relating to the guild of dyers in the city at the time this letter was written. According to Acts 16:14-15 the first of Paul’s converts in the city of Philippi was a lady named Lydia, who we are told was seller of purple fabrics from Thyatira. Dyeing apparently formed an important part of the industry of the city, but evidence has also been uncovered that suggests there were also guilds for garment making, pottery, and brass working. And the description that Jesus uses for Himself in verse eighteen would have been appropriate for a city that was renowned for its brass working.

The message to the church at Thyatira is the longest of the seven messages even though Thyatira was the smallest of these seven cities showing us that being small does not mean being insignificant in God’s eyes. Let’s look now at this message:

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 (NASB)

Jesus begins this message just as He has begun the previous three, by addressing the pastor of the church. Jesus says, “to the angel of the church in Thyatira write…” Remember that the word “angel” used here is the Greek word ággelos which means, “messenger” and it is a reference to the leader of the congregation; in fact the letter is addressed not to the church as a whole, but to the pastor since he is the one who will be held accountable for the church’s response to the message.

Then Jesus introduces Himself; He says He is “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire.” And that “His feet are like burnished bronze.” This is the only time in the book of Revelation that the title “The Son of God” is used and Jesus may have chosen this title in this letter because the city of Thyatira boasted a large temple to Apollo, the sun god. John MacArthur points out here:

This is a significant change in wording. In the vision recorded in chapter 1, Christ was described as the Son of Man (1:13). That title emphasizes His humiliation, His sympathetic identification with believers as their merciful High Priest. It offers encouragement to persecuted Christians… In this passage, however, Jesus is identified as Son of God; the emphasis is not on His humility, but on His deity, because His approach to the church at Thyatira is not as sympathetic High Priest, but as divine judge.1

The following two descriptions: eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze are also descriptive of judgment. The flaming eyes show us that Jesus sees all; Hebrews 4:13 says “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” That is exactly the picture that is being painted here; Jesus is saying that there is nothing that is hidden from His piercing eyes. All things are open and lay bare before Him; He knows the thoughts and intent of our heart (Hebrews 4:12), He knows the motives behind our actions, and He will judge what He sees.

Next Jesus says that He has feet like burnished bronze. Bronze in the Bible is representative of judgment, and this reference is no different; Jesus is coming in judgment to those who will not repent. The description of His feet being like burnished bronze is a picture of His holiness. Again, John MacArthur says:

That Christ’s feet glowed brilliantly like burnished bronze depicts His purity and holiness as He tramples out impurity.2

And Warren Wiersbe adds:

John had to deliver a message of severe warning and judgment to this congregation, which explains the description of the Lord’s eyes and feet. 3

After introducing Himself Jesus then begins His message; He says, “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.” This church was doing the right things. Unlike the church at Ephesus this church was increasing in love. Jesus also points out that they had faith, and service, and perseverance. And not only did they have these things, Jesus tells them that the good things they had were actually increasing. This was a church that looked like they were doing everything right, but then Jesus says, “I have this against you.” Warren Wiersbe tells us, “The church had works, service, and patience, but it was filled with sin.”4 And now Jesus is now going to show them exactly what it is that He has against them.

Verse twenty lays out the problem; Jesus says “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.”

The church in Thyatira apparently had a woman there who was teaching things contrary to the Word of God, and the church was allowing her to continue. Whether her real name was Jezebel is not known; this could have actually been her name, or Jesus could have just used this name to make reference to the parallels between this woman and the Jezebel of the Old Testament who led the nation of Israel into immorality and idol worship. The Old Testament Jezebel was married to king Ahab, and her influence over the king caused him to build temples to Baal and Asherah (see 1 Kings 16:31-33). She also persecuted the prophets of God and put them to death (1 Kings 18:4,13 & 9:7).

It is interesting to note here that the use of the singular pronoun “you” in this admonition; Jesus says, “I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel” (Revelation 2:20 emphasis mine). Knowing that this message was directed first of all to the leader, or pastor, of this church it is possible that the woman Jesus is referring to was actually the wife of the pastor. Jameson, Fausset, and Brown point out that:Two [of the] oldest manuscripts [actually] read, ‘thy wife’” 5 in speaking of this woman in verse twenty. Whether she was the wife of the pastor is not known, but what we do know is that the pastor, as well as the congregation of this church, were tolerating her and her false teaching.

So Jesus begins by saying that this Jezebel is a woman “who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and she leads My bond-servants astray.” According to this, the first sin that the church was guilty of was a violation of the Biblical principle forbidding a woman to hold a position of authority within the congregation.

I know this is a controversial subject, and one that is highly debated in our day, but the Bible is clear that women are not to hold this kind of position in the church. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote:

I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to be silent.

1 Timothy 2:12 (HCSB)

And also in the first letter to the Corinthians:

The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

1 Corinthians 14:34 (NASB)

But this does not in any way mean that women are inferior to men. Paul made this point abundantly clear - that in Christ men and women are equals. We can see this expressed in his letter to the Galatians, among other places:

There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 (HCSB)

But just as Jesus placed Himself in a position of submission to His Father, women are to be in a role of submission to men:

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

John MacArthur explains it this way:

Women are to keep quiet in the sense of not teaching. They are to demonstrate subjection by not usurping the authority of the elder or preacher.” And he adds, “That is true not because women are in any sense inferior to men, but because God’s law commands it (1 Cor. 14:34), in line with His design for the weaker vessels. 6

Warren Wiersbe says that to be in submission: “literally means ‘to rank under.’” Then he says:

Anyone who has served in the armed forces knows that ‘rank’ has to do with order and authority, not with value or ability. A colonel is higher in rank than a private, but that does not necessarily mean that the colonel is a better man than the private. It only means that the colonel has a higher rank and, therefore, more authority. 7

This is exactly what Paul is saying here in First Timothy, and this is exactly the principle that the church at Thyatira was violating.

Moving on then, Jesus tells them that some of them were being lead astray to “commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” by following the teachings of this woman. If we look at what was happening in the city at the time it is most likely that she was teaching membership and participation in the trade guilds was acceptable since it was impossible for them to earn a living otherwise. As we have already noted, each of these trade guilds had their own pagan deity and participation in the guild required acts of immorality and idolatry. To make this point William MacDonald says:

Just as Jezebel in the Old Testament had corrupted God’s people with fornication and idolatry, so this woman taught that Christians could engage in these practices without sinning. Perhaps she encouraged the believers to join the trade guilds of Thyatira, even though this involved honoring the guild god or goddess and participating in festivals where food was sacrificed to idols.8

She may have even justified her teaching by saying that they were actually advancing the cause of Christ since this would have allowed them to have some influence among the pagans of this city. John MacArthur states:

Perhaps she also encouraged Christians to experience the deep things of Satan so they could better witness to the unsaved. 9

Whatever it was, we know that the message she was teaching was causing the church at Thyatira to compromise to the point that they were being led astray, and that even those who were not participating in these sins were still tolerating her teaching.

It is interesting to note here that Jesus does not issue her a call to repentance. Disobedience will always result in judgment, and in verse twenty-two that is exactly what we see. Jesus tells her that He is coming in judgment. But please note that Jesus said He has given her time to repent and she has refused; the text says, “she does not want to repent.”

Why would someone not want to repent when they are confronted with their sin? We can find the answer to this question in the Gospel of John where Jesus tells us that men love darkness more than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). Writing on John 3:19 Warren Wiersbe writes:

Why will sinners not come into the ‘light of life’? Because they love the darkness! They want to persist in their evil deeds, and this keeps them from coming to the light; for the closer the sinner gets to the light, the more his sins are exposed. It is not “intellectual problems” that keep people from trusting Christ; it is the moral and spiritual blindness that keeps them loving the darkness and hating the light. 10

This should be a warning to all of us; as soon as the Holy Spirit make us aware of a sin in our lives we need to repent and move into the light, because there will come a time when it is too late for repentance and we too will face “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire.”

Jesus says that He will throw her onto a bed of sickness, and that those who are partakers in her sin He will throw into great tribulation. Look at the way the NIV renders this verse, it reads:

So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

Revelation 2:21 (NIV)

The word that is translated here as “bed of sickness” in the NASB or “bed of suffering” in the NIV is the Greek word klínē, which according to Dr Zodhiates simply means, “a bed, couch, sofa, for sitting or reclining.” But he adds:

In the New Testament, klínē is generally used only when referring to the sick.11

Jesus is warning us here that prolonged and unrepentant sin will result in judgment, and that judgment may involve sickness and disease. We can see other examples of this in the Bible, but one of the most well known is in the letter to the Corinthians where Paul is instructing them on their sinful practices surrounding the Lord’s supper. Here we read:

But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

1 Corinthians 11:30 (NASB)

John MacArthur points out another possible reason for Jesus’ use of the word klínē here when he writes:

Having given this woman time to repent, God was to judge her upon a bed. Since she used a luxurious bed to commit her immorality, and the reclining couch at the idol feast to eat things offered to false gods, He was to give her a bed in hell where she would lie forever.12

Jesus then tells them that those who are following her will be thrown into “great tribulation” (NASB) or will “suffer intensely” (NIV). This phrase comes from two Greek words, mégas, meaning great in force, intensity, or effect, and thlípsis, meaning to crush, press, compress, or squeeze. Great tribulation could then be defined as “great adversity and anguish; intense oppression or persecution”13 and that is exactly what Jesus was promising to those who had not repented.

There is also a third group mentioned here who are going to experience the divine judgment of Jesus, and that is the children of the woman Jezebel. These are not her physical children but her spiritual children; in other words they are those who have embraced and followed her teaching. Jesus tells them that He is going to kill them with pestilence, which literally means to kill them with death. The Greek word translated “pestilence” here is thánatos, which literally means, “To taste or to experience death” but also means, “a violent death…as a punishment…to sentence someone to death.” 14

This was to be a dramatic judgment, and its purpose was to rid the church of this evil, but it was also to serve as a warning to all of the churches. Notice that at the end of verse twenty-three Jesus says “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.” Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown tell us in their commentary:

So palpably shall God’s hand be seen in the judgment on Thyatira, that the whole Church shall recognize it as God’s doing.15

In Psalm 139 David says:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Psalm 139:1-3 (NASB)

This is exactly the picture that Jesus is painting here when He says that He is the one who searches the minds and hearts. The word “searches” here is the Greek word ereunáō, which means, “To search into, investigate, explore, to search diligently, to examine closely.”16 In the Greek this is a Present Active Participle, which indicates that this is a habitual and continuous action; Jesus is saying here that He habitually and continuously examines, investigates and explores the hearts and minds of those who follow Him, and from the context of this passage we can see that He judges what He finds. There is nothing hidden from His eyes of fire, and His feet of brass will tread to pieces all those who choose to live in unrepentant sin.

Not only does Jesus search our minds and hearts, but this passage also tells us that He will give to each one according to their deeds. The ESV translates this phrase, “I will give to each of you as your works deserve.” We have just seen that Jesus is intimately familiar with our every thought and action; not only does He know our works He also knows the motives behind them, and He will not judge “according to the mere act as it appears to man, but with reference to the motive, faith and love.” 17

In the next verse we then see that even though Jesus has come to this church in judgment, not everyone in the church was guilty of following the teachings of the woman Jezebel. In verses twenty-four and twenty-five Jesus says that to those in Thyatira who do not hold to this teaching, and who have not known the deep things of Satan, He places no other burden on them. He admonishes them to hold fast to what they have until He comes.

There is an interesting phrase in verse twenty-four that says, “who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them.” Most of the commentaries that I checked just passed right over this phrase, or if they mentioned it at all it was very briefly and superficial. John MacArthur on the other hand had this to say:

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.18

We can contrast this with the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the true believer.

Now God has revealed them to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10 (HCSB)

To the Godly remnant Jesus gave no other burden, and in verses twenty-six through 28 He again makes promises to the overcomers. Note here that Jesus defines, for the first time in these messages, who the overcomers are; He says they are those “who keeps My deeds until the end.” The Greek word here is tēréō, which can mean, “to keep” or “obey” but it can also mean, “to guard”. Robert Van Kampen says of this word here:

He who guards My works is the literal sense of the phrase.19

The overcomer in Thyatira, just like all overcomers:

[W]as the true believer who steadfastly maintained the works of genuine Christianity. 20

Jesus promises the overcomers that they will have authority and rule over the nations, probably a reference to the millennial kingdom when Jesus will set up His earthy kingdom. Warren Wiersbe tells us:

When the Lord sets up His kingdom on earth, it will be a righteous kingdom with perfect justice. He will rule with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:8–9). Rebellious men will be like clay pots, easily broken to pieces! 21

But that is not all; the overcomers are also promised the morning star. Morning star is a title that Jesus assumes for Himself in Revelation 22:16, so Jesus is promising Himself to the overcomers. Not only will they rule and reign with Him in His kingdom, He will also reveal Himself to them and they will know Him intimately.

Jesus ends this fourth message the same way He has ended the previous three, with the phrase “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Just as in the letters we have already looked at the message to the church at Thyatira was not meant for them alone, but as a warning to all who hear it. We must make sure that we are listening to what the Spirit says to the churches, and that we are heeding His warnings, following and obeying, and repenting when necessary.



1 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (96). Chicago: Moody Press.
2 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (97). Chicago: Moody Press.
3 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 2:18). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (803). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
5 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Re 2:20). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
6 MacArthur, J. (1995). 1 Timothy (85). Chicago: Moody Press.
7 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (1 Ti 2:9). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
8 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 2:20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
9 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (100). Chicago: Moody Press.
10 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Jn 3:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
11Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G2825). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
12 MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Re 2:22). Nashville: Word Pub.
13 Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
14 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G2288). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
15 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Re 2:23). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
16 Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (G2045). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
17 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R. & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Re 2:23). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
18 MacArthur, J. (1999). Revelation 1-11 (104). Chicago: Moody Press.
19 Robert Van Kampen. Revelation Commentary Ch2 Pg9 (© www.revelationcommentry.org). Orlando Fl.: Sola Scriptura
20 MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Re 2:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
21 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Re 2:18). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

Next week we will move on to chapter three and the church at Sardis

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