Churches of Thyatira and Sardis
![]() |
By Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash |
Thyatira: The city of Thyatira was situated fifty-five kilometers southeast of Pergamos and
eighty kilometers inland. Its proximity to Pergamos explains why the doctrines
of the Nicolaitans also infiltrated this group. Christianity reached Thyatira
at an early stage, but the details of those distant events remain unknown.
The city
produced a dye used in the production of a purple fabric highly prized around
the Mediterranean. The woman Lydia converted by the Apostle Paul at Philippi
was a dye merchant from Thyatira (Acts 16:14).
The economy of the city was dominated by trade guilds for the bronze, linen, leather, pottery, and dye industries. Trade guilds promoted the interests of their members, and
it would be difficult for a tradesman unassociated with any guild to conduct
business in Thyatira. Each guild featured rituals and patron deities;
membership demanded participation in religious rites.
The letter
to Thyatira is the longest of the seven and is positioned at the center of the
literary unit. Beginning with this message, the exhortation to hear the Spirit
is repositioned to the end of each letter.
Jesus is
identified as the “Son of God” with flaming eyes and feet like burnished
bronze. The title “Son of God” occurs only here in the book of Revelation
and alludes to Psalm 2:7-9, a key passage behind the promise to faithful believers who
overcome found at the conclusion of all seven letters.
![]() |
clipart.christiansunite.com |
Jesus
knows the church’s “works, love, faith, ministry, and perseverance,” and
that “your last works are more than the first.” This description
contrasts Thyatira with the church in the city Ephesus where earlier works of testimony were greater
than later ones. Based on usage, “work” points to the bearing of a faithful
witness for Christ, not good deeds.
Despite
its past faithful witness, Jesus rebukes the church for tolerating a false
prophetess he names “Jezebel.”
Her teachings parallel those of the Nicolaitans
(“to eat idol-sacrifices and to commit fornication”). She promoted
accommodation with the city’s idolatrous culture.
“Jezebel”
is probably not the actual name of this woman. She is cast in the image of the
Old Testament pagan queen and the wife of Ahab, Jezebel. She was known for
promoting the worship of Ba’al in northern Israel and persecuting the
prophets of Yahweh and Elijah (1 Kings 16:31, 18:4-19, 19:1-2).
Allusions
to Elijah’s ministry appear again where saints, symbolized by two lampstands,
exercise the combined prophetic authority of Moses and Elijah. The two figures are
overcome by the Beast from the Abyss, which confirms their identities as
churches (Revelation 11:3-7, 12:17, 13:7, 20:8-9).
“Fornication”
is metaphorical for idolatry. Note the explanatory “eating meat offered to
idols.” The “lovers” and “children” of Jezebel are adherents
of her doctrine. The influence of the trade guilds in Thyatira raised questions
about eating meat offered to idols that occurred at guild events and, otherwise,
Christians participating in idolatrous rites performed at them.
Nonparticipation would mean economic loss.
This
Jezebel is a “prophetess.” This is a link to the False Prophet met later in the book. Like Jezebel of old, the False Prophet
causes others to engage in idolatry. Refusal to do so means exclusion from
economic activity (Revelation 13:11-18,
16:13, 19:20, Daniel 3:1-7).
![]() |
clipart.christiansunite.com |
This “Jezebel”
is a version of Babylon already at work in the church. The threatened judgment
on her and her “children” anticipates God’s judgment on end-time Babylon;
anyone who partakes of her sins will also receive “her plagues” (Revelation 18:1-6).
The prophetess “deceives” Christ’s servants, another link to the later
visions about Mystery Babylon. Note the parallels:
- Satan deceives the whole world (12:9,
20:3, 20:8-10).
- False Prophet deceives those who dwell on
earth (13:14).
- Mystery Babylondeceives all the nations by
her sorceries (18:23).
- False Prophet deceives those who receive the mark of the Beast (19:20).
Jesus gave
“Jezebel” time to repent but she refused, therefore, he is poised to
mete out punishment. But all hope is not lost; Christ allows a little more time
for repentance (“unless they repent of her works”). But he will “cast
her into a couch along with them who fornicate with her.” This couch is a
sickbed, indicated by her punishment with “great tribulation” and
plagues. Christ will “kill her children with death” (apoktenō en
thanatō), a verbal link to Revelation 6:8 where the four
horsemen are authorized “to kill…with death” (apokteinai en thanatō).
The
clause, “he who searches reins and hearts,” interprets the “eyes like
a flaming fire.” The allusion is to Jeremiah 17:10-11. God
pronounced judgment on Israelites who participated in idolatry for economic
gain. The flaming eyes of Jesus pierce through to the innermost being, nothing
is hidden from his gaze.
“The
rest” are those not corrupted by the seductions of Jezebel. She argues it
is permissible to “know the deep things of Satan,” possibly, a slogan
propagated by her supporters (“as they say”). More likely, in her mind,
she is teaching the “deep things of God,” that is, deeper spiritual
insight and experiences to protect the initiate from any detrimental effects
from participation in idolatrous rites, or so her logic goes; “There is only
one God and an idol is nothing! What harm could there be?” Jesus reveals this
doctrine is, instead, the “deep things of Satan.” As Paul once pointed
out, idolatry means communion with demons (1 Corinthians 10:20).
The “deep
things of Satan” is also a link to the “Abyss” of later chapters,
the deep pit from which the Beast, demons, and Satan ascend to deceive men and
women into idolatrous worship. “Depth” symbolizes the satanic source of
deception. Faithful saints must hold fast and not compromise, “until I come.”
All who refuse to compromise will reign with Jesus (Revelation 9:1-2, 11:7,
13:1, 17:8, 20:1-3).
Jesus
received the authority to rule the nations through his Death and Resurrection.
He shares this authority with faithful disciples, now and in the future. The
text alludes to Psalm 2:8-9, “I will give him authority over the
nations, and he shall shepherd them with a scepter of iron, as vessels of
earthenware are smashed in pieces” (Revelation 1:5, 12:1-5).
In his
allusion to the second psalm, John changes the original “break them”
from the Hebrew text to “shepherd them.” This change is based on the
Greek Septuagint version of the psalm, which uses a Greek verb that means,
“shepherd.” This is not to deny that Jesus reigns over the nations with full
authority, but to suggest that he does so in paradoxical ways. Just as he
attained his sovereignty by dying for others, so believers overcome Satan and
participate in the kingdom by laying down their lives for him (Revelation 12:10-11).
The “morning
star” symbolizes the Messiah’s reign, an image from a prophecy by Balaam.
Jezebel’s deceptions parallel the false doctrines of the Nicolaitans/Balaam. The
prophecy of Balaam referred
to a “star from Jacob and a scepter from Israel that shall crush” (Numbers
24:17, Psalm 2:8-9, 2 Peter 1:17-19).
To the
Romans, the morning star symbolized Rome’s military prowess and divine right to
rule. What Rome claimed belongs to Jesus; sovereignty and victory are his
alone.
“He
that has an ear, Hear, what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” Once
more the pronoun switches to the singular (“he”) and the noun, “churches,” to
the plural. The message of this letter is applicable to a larger audience than
just the congregation at Thyatira. The Greek verb rendered “saying” is
in the present tense, which signifies ongoing or action continuing in the
present. This is not something the Spirit said at one time but something the
Spirit continues to declare to all who have an “ear to hear.”
Sardis was
sixty kilometers south of Thyatira at the crossroads between Smyrna and
Pergamos. Its location made commerce integral to the city’s life and helps to
explain its prosperity. Commerce in woolen goods figured prominently in its
economy.
Sardis is
first mentioned in the Bible in Obadiah 20 (“they of the captivity of
Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South”).
‘Sepharad’ represents the Hebrew and Aramaic forms of the name ‘Sardis.’
Some of
the city’s wealth was derived from gold found locally in the river Pactolus.
According to legend, gold coins were first minted in Sardis by its ancient
king, Gyges
(716-678 B.C.). In Assyrian inscriptions, Gyges is Guguand, most likely
the source of the biblical name “Gog” (Ezekiel 38:1-2, Revelation 20:8).
Sardis was
once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia (‘Ludim’ in Genesis 10:13). Later, it became the
capital city of the western Persian Empire. The famous Persian “royal road”
began in Persepolis
and terminated in the west in Sardis. It remained under Persian rule until the
region was captured by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. The city came under Roman rule in 133 B.C.
![]() |
By Clark Van Der Beken on Unsplash |
The
“letter” begins with John commanded to write to the messenger at the church of
Sardis by the one “who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.”
Previously, the seven spirits of God were seen “before the throne of the One
Who is and Who was and Who is coming” (Revelation 1:4). The seven
spirits are found two additional times in Revelation:
(Revelation
4:5) - “And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and
peals of thunder. And seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are
the seven Spirits of God.”
(Revelation
5:6) - “And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and
the elders, a Lamb standing as one slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
Jesus
possesses the seven spirits because of his victory over death; they serve at his command. It is the Lamb who sends the
seven spirits “out into all the earth.” The “seven spirits”
allude to the seven eyes of Yahweh that went throughout the land in the
book of Zechariah. They represent His all-seeing knowledge, which Jesus now exercises
to observe, correct, admonish, comfort, and to deliver his people (Zechariah
4:10, Revelation 5:6).
“The
seven stars” represent the seven angels or “messengers” of the seven
churches. They are held tightly in Christ’s right hand; he has both his
messengers and events firmly in hand.
“I know
your works; that you have a name; that you are living and are dead.” Christ
knows the “deeds” of the congregation, but Sardis receives no commendation.
Only the church in Laodicea, likewise, receives no praise. Sardis appears
healthy to human evaluation but the one who commands the seven spirits of God
sees the true state of things. Jesus was once dead but now lives, whereas,
Sardis once lived but is now dead.
“Become
watchful and strengthen the things that remain that were going to die.” If
Sardis fails to “wake up and repent,” Jesus will come “as a thief.”
The simile occurs elsewhere and apparently originated with him. This coming
refers to a visitation in judgment upon the congregation, not his universal
arrival in power and glory. The conditional clause confirms this understanding:
“If therefore you do not wake up, I will come as a thief” (Matthew 24:42-44,
Luke 12:39-40, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 2 Peter 3:3-10).
The adverb
“how” or pōs has the sense, “in what manner.” It refers to the manner by
which Sardis received the gospel. Considering that past, Jesus summons the
church to repent, watch, and remain awake. “Watch” and “wake” suggest spiritual
slumber, as in the parable of the ten virgins when all ten fell asleep before
the arrival of the bridegroom.
The problem is not pagan opposition but Christian apathy and accommodation to a pagan culture. This is borne out by the description of a faithful few who have not yet “defiled their garments.” No mention is made of external opponents or internal deceivers. The problem is internal; a loss of faith and zeal.
In Sardis,
most members are in poor spiritual condition; only a few still wear “undefiled
garments.” “Defile” or molunō suggests accommodation with
idolatry. This same verb elsewhere is applied to the stain of idolatry. There
is no anti-Christian opposition in Sardis because the church no longer is a
light-bearer.
The one
who does overcome is to be “arrayed in white garments and his name will not
be blotted out from the book of life.” Hellenic cities kept lists of their
citizens. When a citizen committed an egregious crime, his name could be
expunged from it. The “book of life” contains the roll of citizens of
the heavenly city, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15,
22:19).
The “book
of life” does not symbolize Calvinistic predestination. Names inscribed in
it can still be “blotted out”; only “he who overcomes” finds his
name preserved in the book. Repentance, watchfulness, and obedience are
necessary. Conversely, disobedience and a return to the “defiled”
practices of the past result in the removal of one’s name from the book.
As with
the other “letters,” the one to Sardis ends with the exhortation to “hear
what the Spirit is saying to all the churches!”
Comments
Post a Comment
We encourage free discussions on the commenting system provided by the Google Blogger platform, with the stipulation that conversations remain civil. Comments voicing dissenting views are encouraged.