Don't Let It In The Door!
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18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:
19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.
20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.
25 But hold fast what you have till I come.
26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received 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.” ’
Background. Forty miles east of Pergamos was Thyatira, which began as a military garrison. It changed hands often before Roman rule brought stability to the region. Nevertheless, Thyatira was in a valley between important commercial centers, a strategic stop along the imperial post road. Roman protection contributed to its thriving economy; it was famous for its trade guilds for “wool workers, linen workers, makers of outer garments, dryers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers and bronzesmiths” (Ramsay 238).
Paul’s convert, Lydia in Philipi, was a “seller of purple” from Thyatira (Acts 16:4, 15). Thyatira was famous for its “turkey red” dye from the plentiful madder root in the valley (Mounce 85). “Purple” may have been considered a class of red.
Tyrimnos the sun god was the city deity. Each guild also had its own patron god, and feasts to such gods included sexual revelry. Good standing in the guilds meant participating in such activities (Acts 15:28, 29; 1 Cor. 10:20, 21). Christians, therefore, faced serious economic pressures to compromise with the world in the form of participation in idolatrous guild feasts and the immorality associated with them. This was necessary to maintain standing with their respective guilds, with economic hardship being the alternative. Apparently, in dealing with this problem, a faction arose within the church; some suggested that it was not harmful to “tip the hat” to pagan expectations while maintaining belief in Christ—the mistaken belief that one may have it both ways.
Gwyn Pugh, “Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” in 1, 2, 3 John & Revelation, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2010), 180.
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