Letters to the 7 Churches of Revelation. Pt. 8 Thyatira: Son of God & sun god

Psalm 93:1-2 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

This Psalm is a great introduction for the letter to the church at Thyatira.  There were many sun god devotees at Thyatira and the Psalmist corrects this by showing us the splendor of the One, True God of heaven. 

John will describe the glowing brass appearance and the flashing eyes of the Son of God in this letter.

What do we know about Thyatira?

Thyatira is one of the few Biblical cities of Western Asia Minor, which has survived until the modern era.  The city is called “Akhisar” today and has a population of more than fifty thousand.  Thyatira was considered the least important of the seven cities yet this church received the longest message from Christ.  The photo below shows some of the ruins that are preserved. 




Thyatira had very strong trade unions representing the textile and dye making industries.  The city was renowned for the quality and color of the vivid purple fabrics made there. The Apostle Paul encountered a saleswoman from Thyatira when he visited the city of Philippi, for her wares were in great demand throughout Asia Minor.  Lydia had traveled more than two hundred miles to satisfy consumer demands in this New Testament city.

Brass was also manufactured at Thyatira.  It had a brighter golden sheen made by mixing zinc with copper during the smelting process.  Brass is considered to be more durable and of a higher quality than bronze.  

Jesus Christ is portrayed as Son of God

Revelation 2:18 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;

It is of interest to note that while he was describing Jesus Christ in his letter to Thyatira, John mentioned that He had feet like fine brass.  It is as if the apostle was pointing out the high regard people had for their beautiful and durable brass products, which was something that paled in comparison to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The cult of the sun god

The dominant pagan cult revolved around the sun god, Apollo.  In light of this evidence, it is all the more remarkable to find that Jesus presented Himself as the Son of God to this particular church.  What a stunning reminder this would have been to any sun worshipers at Thyatira. 

Sun worship was a basic response of men trying to rationalize things that they observed in the world.  They saw the cycles of life  represented in the rising and setting of the sun.  They derived warmth, food and life from its rays, just as plants use solar rays for photosynthesis to produce their food.  The sun was worshiped because it was recognized as the primary source of life in the ancient world.

We often discover some strange rituals and beliefs connected with paganism.  Many principle tenets of paganism are found to be gross distortions of Biblical themes.  Worshipers of the Sun God were called upon to ritually eat the flesh of their god.  According to their beliefs, this would impart eternal life to every cult member who ate the god’s flesh, since the sun god was the source of life.

All the more remarkable is the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ to some of the Jews and the multitude.  He obviously was not calling them to cannibalism.  Rather, Christ was pointing to the reason He came to this earth, to pay for the sins of all mankind by His death on the cross.

John 6:53-56 “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” 

At the last supper Jesus made it clear that the Lord's table is a time to remember the death, burial and resurrection of the Lamb of God. It is a time to reflect upon Christ as the Eternal Passover Lamb. When taking the bread, it remains bread but it recalls to our minds that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree. 

1 Peter 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 

When taking the cup it remains wine or juice but it recalls to our minds the cost of our redemption, the precious blood of Christ. 

1 Peter 1:18-21  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 

Jesus speaks to the church at Thyatira

Revelation 2:19 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.

Once again, our Lord and Savior knows what is going on in His church.  We can all be comforted by understanding that Jesus knows what each one of His churches is facing in terms of challenges and their expressions of faith.  Every single church everywhere in the world is under the watchful eye of our Redeemer. 

Jesus knows all of their works which are mentioned twice in this text.  This suggests that the church was very active in Gospel ministry.  The Greek word "ergon" is translated "works" and it is found in the English word "ergonomics" which is the study of work in order to improve processes and productivity.  Christ knew their works because He studied them closely.

The works Jesus praised them for fell into two distinct sets.  Active works which are represented by charity and service, and passive works represented by faith and patience. 

The active works of the church

Charity is the first work listed for this church.  This is the Greek word "agape" which refers to the unconditional love of God for man and the beneficial love of men for their neighbors well being. It is safe to say that the believers at Thyatira loved their Lord and sought to love their neighbors. 

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

Service is the next good thing noted about the Christians at Thyatira.  This is from a word normally translated "deacon" and it means to serve or minister to the needs of others.  It means to help meet needs by preparing and serving food or cleaning up when the meal is done or in the case of Dorcas, making coats for those who needed them.  The text below shows the service of the first deacons in the early church.

Acts 6:2-3 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

The passive works of the church

Jesus mentioned their works twice and concluded His commendation of their efforts by noting the last is more than the first.  Christ is telling them that their passive works of faith and patience were more abundant than their active works of charity and service.

Passive works like faith and patience should be ongoing and should be growing.  Peter challenged them and by extension to us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word passive does not mean that they were slacking or regressing.  It is a snapshot of what was going on in their hearts. 

Their faith was strong and their patience was enduring as hardships engulfed them.

Jesus cites their faith as another good thing exhibited by the church at Thyatira.  Faith is a conviction or belief about man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the idea of trusting Christ and enjoying a holy zeal, born of faith and joined with it.  As James put it, faith with works is living faith.

James 2:15-18  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.   Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 

Last, Jesus extolled their patience as another virtue of this church. Patience is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his purpose and his loyalty to Christ and living according to God's Word  even during great trials and sufferings. 

We can be sure from this passage of scripture being used  that the church at Thyatira did endure hardship and some level of suffering as they sought to honor God with their lives. 

James 1:2-4  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

Points to Ponder....

The living Son of God shows the worthlessness and uselessness of those who worship the sun god.

The All Knowing Christ is fully aware of what goes on in His churches.

Jesus studied their works in order to help them be more effective in gospel work.

This church was known for displaying unconditional love to God and others

This church was known for service to others.

This church also was strong in faith and patience as they endured various hardships.

I wonder if some of Christ's churches have forgotten that our Lord is searching us with His blazing eyes in order to determine our motives in serving Him?.  Perhaps we have lost sight of the fact that we labor out of love for our Lord because He saved us and is faithful to reward us when we meet Him in heaven. 

Are we actively full of agape love for our wonderful God and for other people around us?  Do we actively seek opportunities to serve the Lord at church, in our homes or in vocational settings?  

Is our faith vibrant and growing  toward our Lord Jesus Christ?   Or, are we caught up in the here and now, filling our schedules with a earthly focus?  Do we have patient endurance when facing challenges in life?   Have we lost our first "Love"?

May we all pray the Lord will show us our true condition and grant us hearts that are willing to make any changes necessary in order to be on the right track.

Bob