Revelation 2:18-29

(Revelation 2:18-29)

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;  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. 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.  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.  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.  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.

 

Thyati was a city where commerce and industry developed. Lydia, an independent merchant whom Paul met in Philippi, is from this city. The purple dye produced in Thyatira was one of the most expensive items at the time. To engage in a living in Thyatira, they had to join a union, each of which had a guardian deity and had to perform a ritual full of obscene and idolatry. If they don't join the union, they face a lot of penalties. Although there was inevitable conflict of faith, Thyatira Church lived with love, faith, service, and patience despite such difficulties.

Of the seven cities with seven churches, Thyatira was the smallest city in terms of size and importance. However, the church that received the longest letter was Thyatira Church. Jesus, who appeared at Thyatira Church, is "the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame and his feet are like a tin." The eyes are like flames, and this is the figure of a judge who knows everything. There are sins that the Thyatira Church hid before the Lord and sins that deserve judgment. The small city of Thyatira did not have a particularly famous temple, nor was it a center of emperor worship. Rather, as the Lord praised, there was love, faith, service, and patience. Moreover, the fruit of this faith was more later than the first. It was a growing church whose love, faith, service, and patience became more abundant as time passed. But something was going wrong.

『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. Jezebel, who appears in the Old Testament, is the daughter of King Sidon and the wife of King Ahab. It is the woman who brought Baal and Asherah idols into Israel and made the whole land of Israel stained with idolatry and fornication. Jezebel, who calls himself a prophet, probably like Jezebel in the Old Testament, enticed the servants and people of God in the Church of Thyatira to commit fornication who loved the world more than God to eat the sacrifice of an idol.

Jezebel, who calls himself a prophet, appeared and taught that faith should be eagerly kept in the church and that society should follow the rules of society. The Thyatira Church was on a path away from the faith, to the extent that Jesus appeared in the form of a judge and warned, "Return from idolatry and adultery and restore the original pure faith." He said, ``I will repay each of you according to your deeds, if you do not turn back and repent even though you are given the opportunity to repent in this way.''

At Thyatira Church, there were people who did not participate in evil and kept their faith by awakening. For them, the Lord did not ask for anything else. It means to keep keeping that pure faith until Jesus comes. Jezebel's temptation does not cease once, but continues until the Lord comes. ``But hold firmly on what you have until I come.'' The saying to hold firmly is that there are many temptations that are likely to be missed, so hold firmly .

He says that those who hold firmly and keep it until the Lord comes again will receive God's promises. He promised to give us “power over all nations” and promised “we will give the stars at dawn”. In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus Christ stood in New Jerusalem, saying, ``I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 』(Revelation 22:16).

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