Issue 1380 – Seven Churches – Part 4 – February 26, 2024
This morning, we travel a few miles down the ancient Roman postal route in the province of Asia (modern-day Turkiye) to the city of Thyatira.
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 2:18-29
Thyatira was an ancient city tracing its roots back to the ancient Lydian empire, which fell to the Greeks and eventually the Romans. It was a relatively small city but very prosperous and influential. The photo shows the city ruins.
This ancient city was perhaps best known for its trade guilds. The guilds of Thyatira were more numerous and organized than perhaps anywhere else in the ancient world at the time.
As one scholar wrote, “At Thyatira, there were guilds of bakers, potters, workers in brass, tanners, leather-cutters, workers in wool and flax, clothiers, dyers; the workers in wool and the dyers were probably the most numerous, for the manufacture and dyeing of woollen goods was a Lydian specialty, in which Thyatira excelled”*
In Acts 16:13 -15, we met Lydia, a seller or dyer of things purple (probably purple woollen garments). She was living in Philippi but was originally from Thyatira. She and her entire household were baptized.
While Thyatira was not a major centre of pagan worship such as some of the cities we have already visited, it still had a highly religious component to its life. In Thyatira, if you wanted employment, you became a guild member. Each guild had its own patron god(dess) to whom you had to offer sacrifices and worship if you wished to remain a member in good standing. We will talk about that further as we progress along.
Like each of the seven letters, this one opens with a description of Christ and closes with a blessing. We will begin by examining the imagery of Christ.
‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s a pretty strange image. It sounds like something out of a nightmare or a bad cartoon. Yet, I know it describes Christ, so I have to pause and consider it.
It must be an image that the believers in Thyatira could understand; after all, why send a message to someone who wouldn’t understand what you were talking about? The Revelation is to reveal the Christ, not obscure Him.
This imagery isn’t warm and fuzzy; it speaks of truth being revealed and judgment.
Jesus is all-knowing (omniscient) and ever-present (omnipresent). His fiery eyes see everything. He knows what is going on in Thyatira. He not only sees the external events, He knows the hearts that are behind them. Nothing in all of creation is hidden from the sight of God.
The shining metal feel may signify the trampling down of anything that is impure. Different metals have been suggested for the feet by various translators, although typically bronze or brass is used because the word for the type of metal is obscure. They are the judgement that accompanied the eyes of flame.
Some commentators have suggested that the burnished metal feet simply signify the purity of the Lord. That may well be, but we know that God, in His holy, perfect and righteous wrath, will do away with anything impure, so it could still be a symbol of wrath.
God is holy and just, which means His wrath must come upon the wicked and evil. Praise Him that he allows us the opportunity for redemption by faith in Jesus.
Tomorrow, we’ll dig a little deeper.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God alone)
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