Chapter 2:18–29 Session 8

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LTS

Chapter 2:18–29Session 8

April 18, 2009

Book of Revelatio

n

The Letter to the Church of

Thyatira

1. Name

2. Title

3. Commendation

4. Concerns

5. Exhortation

Ephe

sus

Smyr

na

Perg

amosThe Churches’

Report Cards:

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

6. Promise to the Overcomer

6. Promise to the Overcomer

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”7.

X

2

Review

Review – Prophetic Profile?

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

Apostolic Church?

Persecuted Church?

Married Church?

3

???

Review – Nicolaitans• A 1st century sect abusing the liberty in Christ?• An untranslated word?

– nika,w Nicao Conquer, overcome, rule– lao,j Laos Laity; people– Using their clergical stature or position to rule over

the laity; Cf. Washing of feet John 13

• The “deeds” that Ephesus had rejected had become the “doctrine” at Pergamos

4

Review – Application to All Churches• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Devotion, not just doctrine• Endure Persecution• Stand fast against world

5

Review – Personal Application• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Neglected Priorities• Satanic Opposition• Spiritual Compromise

6

Review – Overcomer’s Promises• Ephesus• Smyrna• Pergamos• Thyatira• Sardis• Philadelphia• Laodicea

• Eat of Tree of Life• Not hurt of 2nd death• Manna, Stone, Name

7

8

Revelation 2:18-29

The Letter to the

Church at Thyatira

Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

9

Ephesus

Pergamos

Istanbul

Athens

Smyrna

Thyatira

10Patmos

Thyatira• Today, it bears the name Akhisar (in Turkey)• Originally a town bearing the name of Pelopia,

then Semiramis, and then Euhippia • It was taken by the Persians and then Alexander,

and is ultimately passed to the possession of Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s four generals

• In 301 B.C., however, Lysimachus was defeated by his rival Seleucus I (Nicator) and it became part of Syria

• Nicator named it “Thyatira” (Greek, thygater, for daughter) on being informed that a daughter had been born to him

11

Commercial Trade• An important center for powerful trade guilds

– Membership compulsory – Each under the patronage of some pagan deity

• Thyatira was known for its dyes—particularly its purple (perhaps scarlet)– Derived from the madder-root which is prolific in the

area– Also found in the Murex shellfish– Cf. Lydia, a wealthy sales rep for Thyatira dwelling in

Philippi Acts 16:14,1512

Babylonian Legend• Tammuz born to Nimrod and Semiramis

– Associated with the sun god; he “dies” at the winter solstice (~Dec 22);is “resurrected” as the days get longer

– Thus, celebrated by burning a “yule” log (Chaldean: infant), replaced by a trimmed tree the next morning Jer 10:1-5

– Also mistletoe (fertility) and many others… Alexander Hislop, The Two

Babylons13

Babylonian Roots• Nimrod who founded the original Babylonian

religion– virtually identical to Aesculapius eventually

developing into the worship of his widow Semiramis and his posthumous son:

– Semiramis & Tammuz of Babylon– Ashtoreth & Tammus of Phoenicia– Isis & Horus of Egypt– Aphrodite & Eros of Greece– Venus & Cupid of Rome

Alexander Hislop14

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write;

These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;Revelation 2:18

Title of Christ:

Letter to Thyatira

15

First time Messiah uses a title rather than a descriptive

attribute of Himself

I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

Revelation 2:19

Commendation:

Letter to Thyatira

16

The Ministry• The ministry of the saints in Thyatira

evidenced the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)• Their faith was real and was made evident

by their works (Titus 3:8, 14; James 2:22)• The grammar used here implies that their

love, service, faith and patience may be an elaboration of the works– love & faith evidenced by service & patience

17

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

19

The works done at Thyatira did not stand on their own, for good

works are necessary but not sufficient…

Because Messiah says “Nevertheless”, this is proof that works are neither a measure nor

a guarantee of salvation!



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

Sufferest = = Tolerate!Unlike the people at Ephesus, who

could not bear false apostles and who hated the Nicolaitains, this church

tolerated a false prophetess, Jezebel. We don’t have to actively teach false

doctrine to come under Messiah’s scrutiny – all we have to do is fail to

correct those who do



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The Scriptures record many women who played a role as prophetess:

- Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron (ex.15:20)- Deborah (Judges 4:4)- Huldah (2nd Kings 22:14)- Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14)- Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3)- Anna (Luke 2:36)- The daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9)

But nowhere do they record one as being self-proclaimed



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

She may have been a prophetess…

But not one of efei!

Jezebel• Daughter of Eth-Baal, King of Sidon, Priest

of Astarte, the murderer of his predecessor, Pheles, whom he killed to seize the throne

• Married King Ahab to seal a profitable trade alliance between Israel and Phoenicia

• She sought to exterminate prophets of YHWH 1st Kings 18:13

23

• Worshipper of Baal and Astarte (originated in Babylon)

• She and King Ahab ushered in the worst period in OT 1st Kings 16:30,33

– Ashtoreth Judges 2:13; 10:6 cf. 1st Sam 31:10; 1st Kings

11:5,33 – The Groves (high places, phallic symbols)

Deut 16:212nd Kings 23:3,6,7;

Ezekiel 36:15– “Queen of Heaven”: A Babylonian concept

Jeremiah 7:18; 44:15-30 24

Jezebel

1st Kings 18:17-40

25

Mount Carmel

26

Naboth’s

Vineyard

1st Kings 21

27

1st Kings 21:17-29

Prophecied

Consumption

Naboth’s Vineyard1st Kings 21

• King Ahab desires Naboth’s vineyard• Queen Jezebel arranges an Inquisition

– False witnesses–Condemnation– Execution

• Naboth’s vineyard seized for the king• Naboth’s heirs also slain

28



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The Scriptures indicate that women can:- Have great wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)- Work with men instructing believers

(Acts 18:26)But they are not to occupy teaching roles over men (1st Corinthians 14:34, 1st Timothy 2:12)This is not cultural, but

- Reflective of God’s created order (1st Timothy 2:13)- Recognizes differences between men and women

(1st Timothy 2:14)The primary teaching role of women is to:

- Other women (Titus 2:3-4)- Children (2nd Timothy 1:5, 3:15)



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The Greek word for seduce is plana, meaning

“…to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way.”

Our ability to be lead correlates with the strength we give to our desires



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

This one goes far deeper than you can imagine by a mere reading of the

words

This one addresses membership in the trade guilds for maintaining a lifestyle and supporting your family, except the

guilds were all ruled by different guardian gods



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:This is evidence of God’s grace!

“The Lord is not slack concerning his

promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering

to us-ward, not willing that any

should perish, but that all should come

to repentance.”2nd Peter 3:9



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:This introduces the pattern so

clearly seen throughout the Book of Revelation:

Even in the face of clear evidence of God’s disapproval, those who have set their hearts against Him

refuse to repent



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The tense of the verb used here suggests a future tense of a

judgment which has already been made!

The bed is thought to be a sickbed:

Her bed of whoredom will be changed into a bed of anguish



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The adultery spoken of here is most likely the spiritual adultery of which Messiah has just been speaking – idolatry and eating

things sacrificed unto other gods



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:More importantly, we now see

that Jezebel is a type of the harlot we’ll see in Revelation 17:“With whom the kings

of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the

wine of her fornication.”Revelation 17:2



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:

The reference to great tribulation here is probably not a reference

to the time called “The Great Tribulation” in both Matthew and

Revelation, but rather a time of personal tribulation for those

involved



Revelation 2:20-22

Concern:One last time, God is giving a

chance for man to repent“The very time during which ungodly men are heaping up for themselves greater wrath against the day of wrath, was a time lent them for repentance (Romans 2:4; 2nd Peter 3:9), if only they would have understood the object and the meaning of it.”

39

2nd Kings 9:30-37

Jezebel’s

Demise

Jehu2nd Kings 9:30-37

• Jehu was a servant of King Ahab• He had witnessed the sin of King Ahab and

Jezebel• He was now witnessing the judgment of

Jezebel

40

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Revelation 2:23

41


Revelation 2:23

42

- To kill with death is a Hebrew idiom meaning to slay with the most sure and awful death

- A literal translation of Genesis 2:17 would read “…dying thou shalt die…”


Revelation 2:23

43

The threat of being judged according to your own works

should send a shiver up the spine of all who are acquainted with

their own depravity as a member’s of Adam’s race

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all

our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;

and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities,

like the wind, have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6

The actual translation is “used menstrual cloths”

According to Leviticus 15:19-33, women are

unclean during menstruation plus 7

days


Revelation 2:23

44

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand

before God; and the books were opened: and

another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the

dead were judged out of those things which were

written in the books, according to their

works.”Revelation 20:12

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Revelation 2:24-25

Exhortation:

45

Scripture makes it clear that we are not called to focus on darkness, but to focus on light (Philippians 4:8)


Revelation 2:24-25

Exhortation:

46

“I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before

me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. Teach

me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto

the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me

to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I

delight”Psalm 119:30-35


Revelation 2:24-25

Exhortation:

47

Explicit mention of the second coming

of Messiah

This only occurs in the last four letters

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

And I will give him the morning star.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 2:26-29

Promise to the Overcomer:

48





Revelation 2:26-29


49

Keeping His works requires abiding in

His Word(John 8:31-32)





Revelation 2:26-29


50

“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

Psalm 2





Revelation 2:26-29


51

Name

Title

Commendation

Concerns

Exhortation

Promise to the Overcomer

Ephe

sus

Smyr

na

Perg

amos

Thya

tira

Sard

is

Phila

delph

iaLa

odice

a

“He that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”

Promise to the Overcomer

Design Tally:

52

X

Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

53

Next Session• We will look at the Admonitory, Personal,

and Prophetic applications of the letter to Thyatira

• You may want to go ahead and prep for the letter to Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6)

54

55

?

56

…but to fulfil…• Matthew 5:17 gives us an often

misunderstood quote from Messiah:

• So, what does this really mean?

Matthew 5:17

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

57

…but to fulfil…• Many of our religious friends interpret this

passage to say– "Look! He did not come to destroy the Torah

but to end it." • In other words,

–He did not come to destroy the law but to

destroy

the law!what?

58

…but to fulfil…• The Greek word for fulfill is pleroo

– To fill up– To make full

• That should settle it…• This Greek word does not mean to end or

cease anything• In fact, it is first seen in Genesis 1:22

59

…but to fulfil…

• The Hebrew word used here is mala’–Means to fill something up,– To make full, or– To make complete

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill [pleroo] the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:22

60

…but to fulfil…• Mala’ is comprised of these Hebrew letters:

–Mem (waters)– Lamed (to lead to)–Aleph (power)

“The power to lead to the waters”

61

…but to fulfil…• The first occurrence references life in the

seas• The seas were just water

until efei put life in them• Life was added on the

5th day, and God said thatit was good (Genesis 1:21)

62

…but to fulfil…• The religious system of Messiah’s day had

turned the Torah into a rote system of rules and regulations

• These were added to efei’s commandments by men

• They had moved the life out of the Torah

63

…but to fulfil…• Messiah…

– The Way,– The Truth,–And the LIFE,

• Had come to restore into the Word of God

• Had come to and make it whole once again

LIFEfill it up

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Chapter 2:18–29 Session 8

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