Focal passage: Revelation 2:18-29
Has anyone ever asked you where you are from? Like many of us in the state of North Carolina, I respond with a town that the person has never heard of, eventually having to describe it as 45 minutes north of Raleigh. In relation to the seven cities of Asia Minor that we find in Revelation 2-3, Thyatira was the small town of the group comparatively.
The city was famous for trade guilds in the fields of clothing, pottery, metalworking and baking. These can be compared to today’s trade unions, with one large difference: to be employed in this city, one had to be a member of a guild, which meant you had to worship the guild’s god, attend the guild festivals and eat its food, part of which had been sacrificed to its idol. As a Christian, during that time, you found yourself in a dilemma. Which is most important to you, your job or your Lord?
Jesus commended them for their love, faithfulness, service and perseverance, which He declares were more than they were originally doing to build the kingdom of God. We would be wise to note and learn from this church in how they loved and served others. However, Jesus condemns the church for owing a woman of the church (referred to as Jezebel) to teach falsehoods and deceive the believers to commit sexual immorality and eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. The Thyatirans were guilty of not confronting this sin and its effect in the church, and Jesus pronounced judgment on this woman.
He further encourages the believers to stand firm in Christ, despite the pressures that they would face from those serving Satan. This call applies to us as well: that we would remain faithful to the end of our lives or to the second coming of Christ. Our life in Christ requires perseverance, and we must seek each day to live faithful to His commands.