Revelation 2:18-19 'And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: 1 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. '

The Lord God is watching over us and he knows our deeds. The Lord has kept a pattern of the church in his mind and instructs the churches to change accordingly. The Lord gives his commands, rebukes and appreciations to the churches. The place Thyatira was a small place but it is a significant place. The city was knows for its trade guilds, particularly in textiles and dye productions. Those days, there were trade unions in that city. Usually, the trading place will have many people visiting and doing their business there. The church in Thyatira received the longest message in Revelation, showing the depth of its challenges and potential. We can read about this from verses 18-29 in this chapter. The Lord spoke many things concerning this church and he appreciates the love and faith of this church. While the church was praised for its love and faith, it was also criticized and rebuked for tolerating sin and false teaching. 

1. The Church being cleansed

Revelation 2:18 ' And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:'

Over here the Lord God cleanses the church by saying 'The son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. There are certain people in our lives, whose eyes we cannot see. Their sight will be dangerous and envious. Here the eyes of Jesus are like the flame of fire which can clearly see our hearts and minds. When the looks upon us, he will clearly know what are all the things running in our minds. The eyes of the Lord will clearly see the intentions and hidden sins. It is true that we gather in church like holy people but the eyes of the Lord which is the blazing fire will see our hearts and its intentions. The Lord is watching all our secret sins. We can hide all this from a man but not from God. 

Secondly, we read the feet of the Lord is like a fine brass. When we say burnished bronze is a symbol of strength , purity and judgement. When we talk about the fiery eyes and feet like fine brass, we can understand that Lord is watching over us to purify us. The Lord will give us power to overcome sins of this world. Today, we need to ask God to give us grace which will help us to cleanse and to overcome situations and secret sins in our lives. 


2. A church being Appreciated

Revelation 2:19 'I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. '

In this passage, we see the Lord Jesus appreciates the church its good work. The Lord says he knows their works, love, service, faith, patience and their good works. We can read the Lord appreciates saying that whatever they do now is greater than what they did initially. This church in Thyatira was marked by good work and spiritual growth. Each and every day our spiritual life should grow. We need to grow and increase in doing the ministry of the Lord. We need to evaluate ourselves how our spiritual life is found. Are we doing things just for the sake of it or like a duty ? The deeds of the Church in Thyatira were increasing which reflected their walk with God. We as believers in the church we need to have a growth in love, faith and service. 

Our spiritual growth should be in such a way that it gets appreciated by the Lord himself. 

3. The Rebuked Church

Revelation 2:20 'Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.'

In the above passage, we see the Lord rebukes the church for their tolerance in sins. We read about the woman Jezebel who is leading the people to fall by false teachings. She led people to compromise by committing the sins just like the Queen Jezebel in the Old testament. The Lord highlights that the church is tolerate the woman Jezebel to have evil influence over the church. The Lord rebuked this church because they saw the sin but they were tolerating the same. Even in our family, if we notice certain sinful activities we must not avoid it. It is very important we must rebuke our children and pluck it in the beginning. The spirit of Jezebel is very cunning and it should be destroyed in our lives. There are people in this world who preach us falsely that we can compromise with this world. This is the spirit of Jezebel which was rebuked by the Lord. We need to understand who Jezebel really is. 

There are few nature or spirit of Jezebel which we need to eliminate immediately in our lives.

@Manipulative - Jezebel used cunning tactics achieve her goals such as plotting Naboth's death to secure his vineyard for her husband, King Ahab.
@Controlling - She was seen as domineering, often influencing and controlling her husband and others in power.
@Idolatrous - Jezebel is known for promoting the worship of Baal and Asherah , opposing of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
@Defiant & Unrepentant - Jezebel showed no remorse for her actions even when confronted by prophets like Elijah. 
@Aggresive & Ruthless - She was willing to eliminate anyone who opposed her including God's prophets showing lack of compassion or mercy.
@Charismatic & Persuasive - Jezebel seemed to have a strong personality and a persuasive demeanor which allowed her to influence those around her.
@Ambitious - She sought power and was willing to do whatever it took to maintain her influence.

All these are the spirits of Jezebel which was found in the church that was rebuked by the Lord. In short, if something or someone is trying to separate us from Christ or Church, we need to immediately abandon it. We must not allow or tolerate these kinds characteristics and spirits in our lives.


4. God's warning and Judgement

Revelation 2:21 'And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. '

Here the Lord Jesus extends grace and time for repentance. He allows people to repent and come back to him. But the people were rebellious which warranted judgement. There are certain things the Lord keeps asking us to let go of repeatedly. But we harden our hearts just like the people in the church. Judgement is both corrective for the church and a warning to others. When we receive a warning from the Lord, we must repent immediately. We must not harden our hearts while listening to sermons. We must repent and surrender ourselves immediately. We need to know God's patience is not infinite. An unrepentant sin will only lead to judgement. As early church saw the judgement of the Lord, they all repented and turned towards the Lord. 

5. Encouragement to the faithful

Revelation 2:25-26 'But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations..'

This was the church which was faithful and received the reward from the Lord. In the passage, we read the Lord says hold fats what you have. When we hold on to the faith and everything the Lord give us, we will be rewarded. Jesus encourages those who remained faithful, assuring them that their faithfulness will be rewarded. Despite of all their struggles, false doctrines, the church held on to the Lord. In the  midst of compromise , faithful believers are called to hold fast to truth and persevere. There are many false doctrines in this world. We can see them in our very own phones. Wrong preaching will only misguide us. In this world of compromise, when we remain steadfast the Lord himself will appreciate us. We must live according to the words recorded in the scripture. 

Lessons learnt from Church in Thyatira

@Examine your love and faith - Like the church in Thyatira, evaluate whether your love, faith and service are growing. Spiritual progress should be a hallmark of your life.
@Confront sin and false teaching - Do not tolerate teachings or behaviours that contradict God's word. Speak the truth in love and protect the purity of the church. 
@Respond to God's call for repentance - God gives time to repent, but his patience has limits. Turn from sin and align your life with his will.
@Hold fast to God's word - In a world of compromise, remain steadfast in truth and live according to scripture.
@Focus on eternal rewards - Remember the promises of authority with Christ and eternal fellowship with him. These rewards should motivate your faithfulness. 

Amen!