Topical Bible: Faith: Faith in Christ: The Congregation at Thyatira

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Topical Encyclopedia

The congregation at Thyatira is one of the seven churches addressed in the Book of Revelation. Thyatira, a city known for its trade and commerce, particularly in purple dye, was situated in the Roman province of Asia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The church in Thyatira is mentioned specifically in Revelation 2:18-29, where the Apostle John records the words of Jesus Christ to the church.

Commendation for Faith and Works

The church at Thyatira is commended for its faith, love, service, and perseverance. Revelation 2:19 states, "I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latter deeds are greater than your first." This commendation highlights the active and growing faith of the believers in Thyatira. Their faith was not static but was demonstrated through tangible actions and an increasing commitment to Christ's teachings.

Challenges to Faith

Despite their commendable faith and works, the congregation faced significant challenges. The primary issue was the tolerance of false teaching and immoral practices, personified by a figure referred to as "Jezebel." Revelation 2:20 says, "But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols." This false teaching threatened the purity and integrity of their faith, leading some members astray.

Call to Repentance and Perseverance

The message to Thyatira includes a call to repentance for those who have been led astray and a warning of judgment for those who refuse to turn from these practices. Revelation 2:21-23 emphasizes the patience of Christ, who gives time for repentance but also assures that justice will be served to those who persist in sin. For the faithful, however, there is a promise of reward. Revelation 2:24-25 encourages those who have not embraced false teachings: "But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you. Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come."

Promise to the Overcomers

The faithful in Thyatira are promised authority and the morning star, symbolizing victory and the presence of Christ. Revelation 2:26-28 states, "And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star." This promise underscores the ultimate triumph of faith in Christ and the eternal rewards awaiting those who remain steadfast.

The congregation at Thyatira serves as both a warning and an encouragement to believers. It highlights the importance of maintaining a pure and active faith in Christ, resisting false teachings, and persevering in righteousness despite challenges. The message to Thyatira is a timeless reminder of the need for vigilance in faith and the assurance of Christ's presence and reward for those who overcome.

Nave's Topical Index

Revelation 2:19
I know your works, and charity, and service, and faith, and your patience, and your works; and the last to be more than the first.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

The Epistle to the Philippians.
... kept up constant intercourse with the congregation through living ... the sturdy root
of their faith, famous from ... fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ," and alludes to ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 97 the epistle to.htm

Epistles to the Seven Churches.
... they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall ... fast my name, and hast not
denied my faith, even in ... "And to the messenger of the congregation in Thyatira ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/epistles to the seven churches.htm

Acts XVI
... More than one congregation sprang up under his personal labors there, [369 ... them the
preacher through whose words they might obtain faith in Christ, and learn ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xvi.htm

Spiritual Condition of the Congregations. --The Seven Churches in ...
... They contain (1) a command of Christ to write ... without, however, breaking away from
the congregation as separatists ... at first from the natural coldness to faith. ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 50 spiritual condition of.htm

The Meaning
... of the woman and the witnesses persevering in the faith of Christ ... of God; but the
mystical, or supposed Christ, whom the ... God standeth in the congregation of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mede/a key to the apocalypse/the meaning 3.htm

Revivals.
... of Christian parents would grow up as Christ's lambs from ... consecrated, trained, taught
and nurtured in faith and love ... for one, why not for a whole congregation? ...
/.../the way of salvation in the lutheran church/chapter xxiii revivals.htm

The Church of God.
... But since there was a church or congregation of Christians ... in those ancient days,
Abraham looked by faith to the ... Christ says, "Upon this rock I will build my ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter vii the church of.htm

A Case of Conscience Resolved
... to perform divine worship, in their own woman's congregation without their ... is written
to the church of Christ, by which it is exhorted to faith and prayer ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a case of conscience resolved.htm

Concerning the Power of the Civil Magistrate in Matters Purely ...
... Christ [1258] (saith Ambrose) sent his apostles to sow faith; not to ... informed, that
Carolostadius, in his letter to his congregation, styled himself A ...
/.../proposition xiv concerning the power.htm

The Mission of Paul and Silas to Macedonia.
... our Churches, for the reception of a congregation, in which ... The sincerity of her
faith was demonstrated by her ... submission to the institutions of Christ, and by ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xvii the mission of.htm