VERSE 18: “And to the messenger of the congregation of Thyatira write: Thus says the Son of God who has eyes like the flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” 

‘Son of God’ speaks of the divinity of Messiah. This is His identity, fully divine, God with us:

–  1. Sons serve. He came, and is coming, in service to the things of God; to bring about the outcome of God’s will. 

– 2. Sons inherit. He will inherit all the things that belong to God. (Daniel 7v13-14) 

‘Fire’ refines. Yeshua looks at us and sees everything in our lives. Refining fire removes things that stand in the way of us becoming what God wants us to be.

‘Bronze’ was used for decorative purposes, to make something of beauty. We are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2v10). 

He works in our lives so that we can manifest the beauty, the attributes, the character of God. When others see what God has done in our lives they will praise Him (Matthew 5v16). 

 

VERSE 19: “I know your works; your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. For your latter works are greater than your former works.” 

There is a growth and maturity in what they are doing. But there is a problem… 

 

VERSE 20: “I have a few things against you; that you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet, to teach and to cause my servants to go astray – into fornication and eating at the altar of idols.” 

This congregation is allowing Jezebel’s influence/garbage into it. Just because she calls herself a prophet doesn’t mean that she is one. Test the spirits (1 John 4v1). satan is not imaginative. He does the same thing over and over again. We need to be able to discern these things. 

 

VERSE 21: “I have given her time to repent from her fornication, but she is not willing.” 

When true believers are made aware of their sin, they fall under conviction and want to repent immediately. They do not want to keep on sinning. (1 John 3v9-10) 

 

VERSE 22: “Behold, I will cast her upon the bed of her idolatry. And those who commit adultery with her I will give over to great tribulation, if they will not repent from their deeds.” 

Sin has consequences. God, sometimes, allows the consequences of sinful choices to affect our lives. 

‘Great tribulation’: The last 7 years, of the last days, as revealed to Daniel, are broken up into 2 three-and-a-half year periods. (Daniel 9v27) The first half is not ‘the great tribulation’, although there will be persecution in it. The second half of the tribulation period is known as ‘the great tribulation’. In this verse, God is telling these people that if they do not repent (therefore not truly believers) they will go into that second half of the tribulation period. They will not be saved from it. 

 

VERSE 23: “I will kill, with death (eternal), her children; and all the congregations shall know that I am the One that investigates both kidneys and heart; and I will give to you and to every man as the fruit of his works.” 

‘Kidneys and heart’: According to the sages, the physical parts of the body also have a spiritual application afforded to them. The kidneys relate to the innermost thoughts of a person – the subconscious. God knows even our subconscious thoughts. 

‘I will give to you and to every man as the fruit of his works.’: God is going to judge every aspect of a person’s being – conscious and subconscious. When people, who have rejected the gospel, stand before God, they are going to admit that they rebelled against Him. God desires all people to repent/turn from sin and be saved. Repentance involves submission to God’s workmanship in our lives. Rebelliousness is the failure to repent. 

Man is without excuse. When a person sees God’s workmanship in creation (Romans 1v19-20) he knows that God is a God of order, he sees that this world is moving in a direction. When people are confronted with creation, they see that there are changes. Therefore, they should seek the author of change, so that they might find change in their own lives. 

 

VERSE 24: “But, I say to you, and the rest of the ones remaining in Thyatira, all who are not of this teaching and those who do not know the depths of satan. I will give to them no other burden.” 

Thyatira was a difficult place to live in. A lot of people just left. God is speaking, here, to the ones who are willing to stick it out.

They understand that wherever they live, or whatever their situation, God has a plan and purpose for them. If we are going to mature and become the people that God wants us to be, we are not going to flee from difficult circumstances. 

‘Teaching’: This teaching is one where a person becomes so set in their own ways that they become unwilling to hear the things of God or repent. Jezebel types. They feed their stomachs and bodies according to their own physical desires or lusts – do exactly what pleases them. 

“Those who have not known the depths of satan” – There are individuals, in this congregation, who experience satan’s influence in their lives. The more they have/know about him, the more they want. 

 

VERSE 25: “What you have, hold fast to it until I will come.” 

 

VERSE 26: “To the one who overcomes and keeps My works until the very end, to this one I will give rule over the nations.” 

You can’t overcome on your own. You can only overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit in your life. We are called to rule and reign with Messiah, based on how we live out our lives today. We need to be trustworthy, faithful and practice His truth in our lives.

VERSE 27: “And He shall rule with a rod of iron, as with a potter’s vessel – just as I have received also from My Father.” The vessel that is not in line with the potter’s purposes is struck and broken into many pieces. God can only trust faithful people with His power or authority. Faithful people will be given that rod of iron so that which is not in line with God’s Will, can be warred against. 

VERSE 28: “I will give to him the morning star.” Morning star speaks of guidance, insight, and direction. 

VERSE 29: “For he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations.” Repent! Change!