What do we know about the church in Thyatira?

from the old testament

• Thyatira is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament. However, Jesus calls someone in that community, perhaps a prophetess, “Jezebel.” It is unlikely that that was her real name. Rather, Jesus was equating her to the wife of King Ahab, named Jezebel. She introduced Baal worship and sexual immorality to Israel (1 Kings 16:31–33).
• Note that Jezebel corrupted the nation from the inside. In the Revelation passage, Jesus said that He gave “Jezebel” time to repent (Revelation 2:21), which is an unusual remark to say about someone outside the believing community. It’s possible that she professed faith and was operating within the church of Thyatira, making her all the more dangerous to the Christian community.

from the new testament

• The passage that provides some detail on the church of Thyatira is a letter Jesus wrote as part of a collection addressed to seven churches (Revelation 2:18–29). We are not told how that church started, but Paul’s first convert “was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods” (Acts 16:14). She may have been instrumental in the gospel reaching Thyatira, though we can’t be certain.
• Thyatira was a city known for manufacturing both textiles and metals, as Lydia’s occupation attests. The fact that they crafted things from metal may be why Jesus referred to Himself as having “eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (Revelation 2:18). It would have been relatable imagery and would have shown Jesus’ strength to deal with the situation in Thyatira.
• Apparently, Thyatira's manufacturing sector was so important that it had become significantly involved in the political and religious scene. Guilds were formed that required a certain level of participation in the city’s pagan life, putting pressure on Christians to participate in an idolatrous life to maintain their livelihood.
• This letter is therefore a mix of both commendation and condemnation. Despite the pressures, Jesus said, “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first” (Revelation 2:19). The church, then, had a strong practical theology, living out what they believed.
• However, perhaps because of the desire to continue working, Jesus scolded them: “I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel” (Revelation 2:20a). As discussed in the Old Testament section, “Jezebel” was likely not the woman’s name, but an allusion to the Old Testament figure who led Israel astray. While impossible to specifically identify her, it’s clear she was causing the believers to stumble in two areas: she was “teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20b).
• This woman was therefore corrupting the church. Despite allowing her to repent, “she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:21). Therefore, Jesus intended to “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” (Revelation 2:22–23a). The language used indicates that Jezebel was not going to die of natural causes—her death was to be the direct intervention of Jesus.
• However, not everyone in the church was listening to her, or her teaching on “the deep things of Satan” (Revelation 2:24). Knowing that they were already under a great deal of pressure, Jesus said, “I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come” (Revelation 2:24b–25).
• The letter closes with the encouragement that “who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations” (Revelation 2:26). The full ending of great reward (Revelation 2:26–28) echoes similar language in the other letters. Jesus rewards those who overcome in this life.
• However, the strength is not in the overcomer but in Jesus, “whose feet are like burnished bronze” (Revelation 2:18) and who has “received authority from my Father” (Revelation 2:27). Thus, Jesus’ encouragement was the reminder that He was bringing them to the end.

implications for today

In the church in Thyatira, some were faithful, but others tolerated sin. “Tolerate” means putting up with something. So, while they did not approve of the sinful behavior, they put up with the sin. They overlooked it to maintain peace either within their community or with the city as a whole.

Sin is a dangerous enemy. It hardens hearts (Hebrews 3:13), and we lose our bearings as to what is right. It is also contagious (1 Corinthians 15:33). When one sins, those around them are affected. Basically, when we see someone we respect sinning, we’re more likely to find an excuse as to why that sin is either not so bad or why it’s OK for us to do as well.

Tolerating sin puts believers, as well as a church, at risk of spiritual erosion. Jesus taught how a church is to deal with members who continue in sin (Matthew 18:15–17). It starts with another believer quietly confronting them and can lead to expulsion from church fellowship if the individual refuses to repent for an extended period.

While some find church discipline a harsh doctrine, Jesus commanded it for the purity of His church. It guards against sin’s corrosive nature while also helping the sinning believer to return to a right relationship with Him. The church in Thyatira was not obeying Jesus’ command, and as a result, He needed to deal firmly with them to remove the sin Himself. This should be a warning that we must also examine our own lives and churches to ensure that we are being quick to deal with sin. If Jesus were to walk among His church today as He did in Thyatira, would He find a people guarding purity—or accommodating compromise?