Letters to the Churches: Thyatira

This letter is to the church at Thyatira:


 ¹⁸ “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
   These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. ¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
   ²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² 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. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
   ²⁴ Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
   ²⁶ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


Thyatira was smaller than the other cities mentioned in Revelation, but was still a thriving trade center and very wealthy. The city was well-known for its trade guilds and especially for its purple dye. Several gods were worshipped in Thyatira, Aesculpius, Baachus and Artemis. Their chief god was Apollo Tyrimnos, the Lydian sun god and the goddess Sambethe a Chaldean sibyl. Everyone belonged to a trade guild, these were the center of business and social events. Each guild was dedicated to a different god, and at each guild meeting there was a sacrifice to the god and a feast in their honor. Many of these feasts led to drunken orgies. The false prophets encouraged the people to join in, claiming that it was fine for them to be a part of this. Thyatira received the longest letter from John.




One of the few times that Jesus declares Himself to be the Son of God, He has only stated this thirty-two times in the Bible. His eyes like blazing fire represent that He is all knowing. His feet like burnished bronze symbolize His all encompassing power. Jesus at first commends the church for being known for their love, faith and perseverance, and that they were growing in these areas. Jesus then criticizes the church for allowing the false teacher "Jezebel" to lead them astray. She is nicknamed Jezebel after the original Jezebel who led the Israelites to worship the Baals. This "Jezebel" encouraged the Christians to be sexually immoral and to eat meat that was sacrificed to other gods. God had given her time to repent of her sins, but she chose not to repent. God would then send suffering on her for what she had done. Jesus then turns His attention to the church. He separates the church into three groups, the ones that commit adultery with her were those that compromised their morals, they were told to repent or suffer. The ones that are her children, those that followed her teachings diligently; like Jezebel they were not willing to repent, so God would strike them dead. The last group is the remnant, the faithful believers that did not follow Jezebel, Jesus tells them to hold on to what they have until He returns. 


Jesus adds a final message to the believers that do His will until the end, they will reign with Him. Jesus will rule with an iron scepter, to maintain control. The morning star represents the new earth, where the believers will rule with Christ.