The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 4: Thyatira

The Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 4: Thyatira

(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;

That is a powerful description of Jesus. In Revelation 1:14-15 John also describes Jesus as having eyes like fire and feet like brass.

Before all my writings, I pray the Holy Spirit helps guide my words, and when I read this, I thought of being refined in the holy fire of God.

(Zechariah 13:9) And I will bring [them] through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, "It is my people": and they shall say, "The Lord is my God."

(Isaiah 48:10) Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

(1 Peter 1:7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

May each of us have a desire to allow God to purge and purify us in His holy fire.  Yes, the fires of God's judgments and trials may seem intense, but what an honor to be counted worthy enough to be put through this Holy Fire that burns away all that is unholy so that we can be purified!  What an overwhelming and humbling honor!  We should not shy away from such trials, but pray we are counted to pass through His refining fire where we can give God all the glory and praise when we pass the fiery tests of this life!  May we count it all joy to have our faith and actions tested. (see James 1:2-4)  

(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.

Jesus acknowledges the positive fact that the people of Thyatira display good works of helping those in need as well as their faith.  Jesus is very pleased with us when we take care of one another.  We do not have to have the financial means to help others as we can serve with our time and especially our prayers.  Makes me think of the book of James.  

(James 2:14-20) What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 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. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Here are links to a few more writings on the subject of faith and works: Putting Works in Action: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/04/james-121-27-220-24-putting-works-in.html & The Oppression of the Poor (written by my Husband): https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-oppression-of-poor-written-by-my.html

(Revelation 2:20-25) Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

I will do my best to sum up the above set of verses, but there is a lot that can be said about those who are accepting of or are involved with a Jezebel spirit.

The prophetess this church accepted was not Jezebel herself as she had been dead for quite some time, but she was an unnamed woman who had the same evil spirit as Jezebel. Perhaps she had the same name as her predecessor, but I am not sure. This woman not only led the people into pagan rituals but also encouraged sexual immorality. 

Who was the first Jezebel? To say she was an evil queen in the day of Elijiah would be an understatement.  She worshiped false gods (particularly Baal), endorsed the false prophets and priests, and persecuted the genuine prophets of the One True God. After Elijah had her false priests executed, she sought to kill him as well, but he went into hiding (if interested, you can read a brief account about Elijah here: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2024/02/profile-of-doubter-part-2-elijah.html ).  God spared Eljah's life, but Jezebel had at least one man, Naboth, killed just the sake of power and property (she wanted his vineyard for her husband King Ahab).  

So you see, for Jesus to say Thyatira was evil because they were seeped in rebellious practices and spiritual adultery is pretty serious.  You can read how angry Jesus was with their wicked acceptance of false gods, particularly the god Apollo.  

Very similar to the church Pergamos in part 3 in that some had faith but refused to obey God and instead lived to please their flesh. Therefore, I am going to repeat 2 Corinthians 6 as it is so very important to God that we not mix Christianity with ANY false religion. We are not called to be one happy ecumenical mess; we are called to separate from false religions, not hold hands with those who refuse to follow the Truths of Jesus Christ.

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18- 7:1) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate," saith the Lord, "and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  

The Bible often compares following false religions to committing spiritual adultery, and we know that no adulterer will inherit the kingdom of Heaven (Galatians 5:19 & 21- Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness... and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.)

Verse 25 ends with Jesus praising those who do not dwell in the same depths as Satanic followers and encourages them to hold fast to their faith in Him. No, it may not be easy, but Jesus will be our courage and strength.  Jesus is all we need and is worth every rejection and perscecution we face when we choose The Holy Trinity over the world.     

(Revelation 2:26-29) And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. 

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

There are rewards to those who overcome sin and the temptations to live like the world.  He will gift us the power of authority in His name.   

I had to ask my husband what "I will give him the morning star," meant as I was unsure by this statment as I think of Jesus as the Morning Star.  Mel explained that we will be glorified and shine like the stars in Heaven when Jesus Christ gives us new bodies.  Mel has even had a vision of the overcomers in heaven being clothed in bright garments. Praise God!

Jesus wants all of us to hear these messages to all the churches.

I want to include a message by one of my favorite preachers, the late David Wilkerson.  He does a much better job at explaining the spirit of Jezebel, that I hope you will watch his sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiikTT1gjcg