The Prosperous Church- Revelation 2:18-29

Often prosperity can blind individuals and groups from very real issues. Many in relatively cozy situations might have the attitude that asks “How could things possibly be wrong? Look how good we are doing?” However, the Bible teaches that prosperity in the world’s eyes is not necessarily a gauge for godliness or faithfulness to the Lord and his Word (just look at the life and destiny of the disciples). I’m afraid that the next church Jesus’ addresses a message to was unaware of this phenomenon and mistook worldly comfort for God’s blessings. After his letter to a preoccupied church, a persecuted church, and a political church, Jesus pens a letter to the congregation of Thyatira—a prosperous church. As we read this fourth letter (found in Revelation 2:18-29), we are going to examine its 7 components and learn how not to let prosperity blind us to evil and how to overcome wicked influences that try their best to infiltrate our lives.

1. COMMISSION-2:18a-“…And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,…”

Thyatira was a major inland Asian city in its day. Standing halfway between Pergamum and Sardis on a broad fertile plain, its geographic position made it an ideal commercial center. In addition to its craft and other trade industries, Thyatira was noted for its local purple dye derived from the madder root. In fact, Lydia, the businesswoman Paul met in Philippi, was a seller of this dye and from this very city (see Acts 16:14) (Wilson, ZIBBC, 269; Keener, IVPBBC, 734).

As with other contexts visited so far in these letters, a chief concern among the church in Thyatira was syncretism. Many of the trade guilds in this region were religious in nature and many were not able to make good deals with buyers if they didn’t also endorse membership into these often idolatrous institutions. In fact, these trade groups would often hold lavish parties (not unlike some secular business parties to this day with potential buyers). At these parties, excessive drinking and sexual immorality was rampant. Failure to participate in such could amount to losing your job (Hindson, Revelation, 40). This is the context in which the church of Thyatira was ministering.

2. CHARACTER-2:18b

As with the other letters, Jesus is precise in the way that he introduces himself to the congregation. Three elements of his character are highlighted in the later part of verse 18. First, he identifies himself as “the Son of God” (2:18b). This is the only time that this important title is used of Christ in the entire book of Revelation. The Christological message inherent within this title involves Jesus’ unique relationship with God as his divine Son. Though many New Testament authors make use of this title, no where is it more pronounced that in John’s gospel and his first letter.

John 20:31-“but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

1 John 5:20-“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Because Jesus is God’s Son, he is like God in every essential way and therefore equal in power and authority. I remember hearing my mother say (often in moments of frustration) “you are just like your Father.” Applied to Jesus and his Father, this truly is the case (although in a positive way 😊)!

Second, Jesus describes himself by means of what was already said of him in Revelation 1:14—“who has eyes like a flame of fire” (2:18c). This identifies Jesus’ capacity to see everything—even things that are kept secret. Remember, when John uses “like” before something, we probably want to assume that symbolism is being employed to speak of something greater. In this case, the fiery-eyed symbolism implies that nothing escapes Christ’s omniscient gaze.

I have once heard it said that you can tell a man’s place in the world by looking at his footwear (or lack thereof). If this is true, what are we to make of the third descriptive phrase of verse 18 in which Jesus points out his bare feet—“and His feet are like burnished bronze,” (2:18d). This portrayal of Jesus acts as a polemic (comparison) against those whom the people of this region worshipped. Roman statuary occasionally depicted emperors and their families as barefoot, indicating that they had entered the divine realm. Jesus, the One True God’s Son, highlights his feet here almost as if to indicate his divine status. He then improves upon that already lofty imagery by making them burnished (purified by fire) bronze. The symbolism suggests that Christ is strong, pure, immovable. Bronze work was also a staple of Thyatira and therefore would have made for a very familiar and easily-registered image. 

Jesus’ unique relationship with God, his divine abilities, and even his lack of footwear betray important insights into Christ’s personhood. In this message Christ is portrayed as the strong, all-knowing, Son of God. It is this character who addresses the church in Thyatira who was ministering in a syncretistic, idolatrous, and licentious context of Asia Minor.

3. COMMENDATION-2:19

Following this impressive introduction of his own character is a two-pronged commendation of this church in verse 19. First, Jesus commends this church’s faithfulness—“I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance” (2:19a). (Special note, while you are counting triads, also take time to marvel at the polysyndeton endorsed by John throughout this book—the pervasive use of “and.” The repetition of “and” throughout the book is used to exaggerate what is envisioned and move things along in an urgent way). Here, Jesus commends the faithfulness this church has who to what they do, what they love, the faith they hold, the service they give, and the perseverance they demonstrate. There is, in other words, a great deal of faithfulness to many good things exhibited in this body of believers.

Not only had the church proven their faithfulness to a great many things, they had also demonstrated measurable spiritual growth—“and that your deeds of late are greater than at first” (2:19b). Perhaps having been weened off the milk and given the solid food of the word, this church, like the church of Corinth (see the marked difference between Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and his second letter) had proven that they were growing in Christ-likeness as evidenced by their good deeds. As James seems to express, people aren’t saved by works, but saving faith also does work (that is do good works). This church, as evidenced in their good deeds, proved their strong faith.

4. CONDEMNATION-2:20

However, after these pleasantries, Jesus identifies a very serious problem within this prosperous church—“But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess” (2:20a). Whoever this individual was, she is not identified by her real name, but by her Old Testament spiritual counterpart. Jezebel is a direct reference to the ancient queen of Israel whose idolatrous worship of Baal was condemned by the prophet Elijah (see 1 Kings 16:31-21:25). As far as nicknames go, calling a first-century woman Jezebel was about as bad as it gets. To this day Jezebel remains a paragon of wickedness and debauchery. Such a person was being tolerated in the church a t Thyatira! But what was the big deal? Look how prosperous they were! It obviously was a big deal to Christ who calls this woman out.

What is worse is that this terribly bad apple was spoiling the bunch of them—“and she teaches and leads My bondservants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (2:20b). Like Jezebel of old and others around her (Nicolaitans), this terrible influence sought to compromise with pagans around her (probably, at least initially, out of economic expediency) by eating foods sacrificed to idols and engaging in multiple sexual relations. Sharing a table and a bed with many wicked suitors may have been good for business, but it certainly did the mission of the church no good. By tolerating this woman called Jezebel, the church of Thyatira allowed their prosperity to distract them from their call to purity and this, according to Jesus, was a real problem.

5. CORRECTION-2:21-23

Preceding the word of correction, even in the face of such wickedness, Jesus says “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality” (2:21). It is nothing short of amazing that God’s lovingkindness would even extend to a wicked wretch like this woman, providing her ample opportunity to change her ways or, at the very least, for the church to exercise some discipline (see Matt. 18). However, Jesus makes its clear that time is up, and his patience with her and her influence has run out.

“Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds,…” (2:22). If she won’t fix her problem and the church won’t discipline her accordingly, Jesus will take her out. Literally the text reads “throw someone on a sickbed.” This is a Hebrew idiomatic phrase referring to punishing someone with illness. Sickbed can also be translated “couch” thereby eliciting a subtle irony here. Jezebel (Old Testament Jezebel) and her followers were often seen reclining on couches and such while dining in the banqueting hall of the pagan temples. Such couches were also used for sexual immorality. Her bed of pleasure would become a bed of death! Jesus might be using a double entendre to subtly hint at a cause-effect relationship between this woman’s behavior and her sentence. If she is going to lie down with a bunch of men, she is going to suffer some of the likely consequences of that behavior—STDs for instance. In other words, God is going to hand to over to her sin and no longer spare her the natural consequences of her actions.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He continues “and I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds” (2:23). The fiery and all seeing eyes of Jesus described earlier had seen what was this woman had done (often in secret) is going to extend his judgment not only on the woman, but on her offspring so as to completely eradicate this specific strain of idolatrous and licentious infection. You can imagine that this swift and total judgment would stand as a stark reminder of the One who sees all things and ultimately judges all things accordingly.

6. CALL-2:24-25, 29

When Jesus provides the call upon this church he almost suggests that dealing with this Jezebel woman and her influence is enough to be concerned with for now—“But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not know the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you” (2:24). In other words, if you aren’t having relations with (either sexually or spiritually) with Jezebel or running with those who do, there are no other immediate things with which to be troubled.

The only real call that Jesus makes to this church is to “hold fast until I come” (2:25). In other words, if you are clean, remain clean, until the end. If you are walking right, keep walking as you are. It is interesting here that Jesus’ call for perseverance involves the idea of holding fast. To what? To all that the church had going for it! Remember what was commended of them earlier—“I know  your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, -“…and that your  deeds of late are greater than at first,…” (2:19). They were faithfully doing, loving, trusting, serving persevering and growing. This are the kinds of activities that I imagine Jesus wanted them to be holding fast to going forward.

It has often been said that boredom is the devil’s playground and that idle hand and minds are the tools of Satan. Here, Jesus appears to be offering a preventative prescriptive for evil influences. By being preoccupied (“holding fast”) to the right things, Jesus was hoping that this church would avoid the wrong things—like Jezebel and the wickedness she both endorsed and represented.

The same word of caution is extended to any church who could stand to learn from this example—“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:29). Any church (first century or twenty-first century) that is not preoccupied with the right things will soon entertain the wrong things—including, but not limited to, idolatry, immorality, and all kinds of wickedness. So ask yourself, are you, is this church, busying itself with faithfully doing, trusting, loving, serving, persevering, and growing in Christ?

7. CHALLENGE-2:26-28

This theme of doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things continues into Jesus’ challenge in verses 26-28. In verse 26, Jesus identifies those whom he is challenging—“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end” (2:26a). We’ve witnessed Jesus’ message to those who would overcome inferior preoccupations (in the message to Ephesus), to those who would overcome persecution (in the message to Smyrna), to those who would overcome political correctness (in the message to Pergamum). Here, Jesus calls upon the prosperous church of Thyatira to overcome wickedness through the good works until the end.

To these (who overcome) Jesus promises two blessings (in fact, this is the only letter to have a double promise to the victors). First he says, “I will give authority over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father,…” (2:267b-27). The nature of the received rule is quoted form Psalm 2:9 (the only certain quotation from the Old Testament in Revelation). There, it says of the Messiah “You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” This rule will come about when the rider on the white horse strike down the nations with his iron scepter (Revelation 19:15) and along with his army of horsemen clad in white (the church) inaugurates the millennial kingdom (see Revelation 20:4). What a promise! Those who live righteously and uphold God’s standards in this world, will rule alongside him in the next!  

Jesus also promises these overcomers “the morning star” (2:28). This striking symbol is probably an allusion to Numbers 24:17—“a star will come out of Jacob” (the next line of this oracle reads, “a scepter will rise out of Israel,” and repeats the scepter imagery found in Psalm 2:9 and already mentioned in connection with Revelation 2:27). The image of a star from Jacob became a major messianic theme in ancient Judaism. Jesus reintroduces it here to say that those who overcome with faithfulness to the right things (and thwart off the wrong things) will not only enjoy rule with the coming Messiah, but a relationship with the coming Messiah. Now that is something to look forward to!

So What?

Though I’m not aware of a “Jezebel” lurking around our church, one thing is for certain, Jesus (fiery eyed) is aware of all that goes on and all that takes place (both obvious and hidden). This letter to the church should cause us who have ear to hear to examine our lives to see whether or not we are entertaining wickedness of any kind in our own lives of this the life of this church. Are we compromising in an ungodly way, succumbing to unholy habits, and/or giving in for the sake of getting ahead like the one identified in this letter to the church at Thyatira? Regardless of whether or not those around you know, this passage reminds us that the Lord knows all and will judge all accordingly.

A couple of proactive things we can do so that we don’t find ourselves on the sickbed of God’s judgment like this Jezebel woman include the following:

1. Busy yourself with the business of faithfulness (faithfulness to the things of God)

2. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7)

3. Remain in constant communication with the Lord (1 Thess. 5:17)

4. Absorb, meditate upon, and memorize the word of God (Psalm 119:11)

Those who seek to overcome the forces of evil by these and other appropriate practices will rule in righteousness alongside the great judge and bask in the his glory beneath the morning star. As, Lord willing, this church grows and prospers, may we never be distracted from God’s calling in our lives to be pure.