The Letters to Ephesus and Thyatira
After the vision of the Son of Man, John records seven letters to seven
churches in Asia Minor. The letters are to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Each letter mostly follows this structure:
- An aspect or quality of Jesus as seen by John at the beginning or revealed
later in the vision.
- A commendation for good qualities and activities in this church.
- A rebuke against bad qualities or activities
- The reward for overcoming the circumstances
Much has been written about whether these letters were about contemporary
situations to John's day or represent periods of church history or both or
neither. There is no straight forward answer. To a degree the discussion misses the
point. By focusing on such questions, we can miss the lesson for today, and that
is far more important.
Read the seven letters. Think about your church and other churches. Which of
the seven letters might Jesus want sent to your church? Think of yourself as a person.
Which letter would Jesus address to you? In this way the letters serve the
purpose of identifying what we must overcome, and what the reward for overcoming
will be. These letters prepare us for the days ahead, just as they prepared the
people in John's day.
And so, in this section of blog posts, I plan to be very contemporary in my analysis and
application of these letters. I am not writing a major commentary, which could
look at these things every which way. Rather, I am providing a survey of
Revelation designed to help you read it to greater advantange.
As I read and re-read these letters, I began to notice some common
patterns. I found that I could take the letters in pairs and draw insights, about
churches and church life, beyond what was possible by looking at them alone. So over the next few days, I will be comparing and
contrasting:
- Ephesus and Thyatira
- Smyrna and Philadelphia
- Pergamum and Sardis
- Laodicea with all the others
Let's begin by looking at the letters to Ephesus and Thyatira side by side:
|
Ephesus |
Thyatira |
| “To the angel of the church in
Ephesus, write the following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of the
one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand—the one
who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
‘I know your works as well as your labor and
steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even
put to the test those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not),
and have discovered that they are false. I am
also aware that you have persisted steadfastly, endured much for the
sake of my name, and have not grown weary. But
I have this against you: you have departed from your first love! Therefore,
remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds
you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your
lampstand from its place—that is, if you do not repent. But
you do have this going for you: you hate what the Nicolaitans
practice—practices I also hate. The one who
has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the
one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is
in the paradise of God.’ (Revelation 2:1-7)
|
“To the angel of the church in
Thyatira write the following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of the
Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are
like polished bronze:
‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, service,
and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater
than your earlier ones. But I have this
against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a
prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants to commit sexual
immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I
have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her
sexual immorality. Look! I am throwing her
onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her
into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds. Furthermore,
I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the
churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I
will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve. But
to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching
(who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets of Satan”), to you
I say: I do not put any additional burden on you. However,
hold on to what you have until I come. And to
the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will
give him authority over the nations: (Revelation 2:18-26) |
The following table shows some interesting connections between these two
letters:
|
Ephesus |
Thyatira |
- Tests apostles and does not tolerate evil
- Has perseverance, but has lost her first love
- Commanded to do the deeds she did at first
|
- Tolerates Jezebel and her immortality
- Has love, faith, service and perseverance
- Her deeds of late are greater than at first
|
Ephesus maintains high doctrinal standards. No Jezebel or her kind would ever
take root or survive there. The church goers at Ephesus have strong character
and persevere in doing good. But they do not love, and for this Jesus threatens
to do what He threatens no other church: to remove it! The threat of removal is
interesting in light of the conditions in many of the other churches. Ephesus
seems to do so well in comparison, why would Jesus prefer it not to exist?
Thyatira, on the other hand, is a bit cozy with sin and sinners. Jezebel has
found a home. Nevertheless, this church is full of love and faith and service.
Rather than being commanded to do the deeds she did at first, she is commended
for doing greater deeds.
The following event in Jesus life brings the contrast between these two
churches in high relief. Let me give you two questions to ask before you read
it. Where would Simon find a church home? (Ephesus or Thyatira?) Where would the
woman find a home? To whom did Jesus show the most favor?
Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with
him, so he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.
Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner,
learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an
alabaster jar of perfumed oil. As she stood behind
him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped
them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw
this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and
what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”
So Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say
to you.”
He replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five
hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. When they
could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him
more?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the bigger
debt canceled.”
Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do
you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet,
but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You
gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped
kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with
oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil. Therefore
I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but
the one who is forgiven little loves little.” Then
Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
But those who were at the table with him began to say
among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in
peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)
Simon had exacting standards of righteousness. He would feel most comfortable
in the Ephesian church. It had high standards too. Unfortunately neither Simon
nor the church at Ephesus wanted the likes of this woman at Jesus' feet around.
That is the love the church at Ephesus lost. There was no room for mercy. There
was no leeway given for those starting from the bottom, who had to learn, who
would make mistakes, and who needed
to grow.
So the woman, finding no home at Ephesus, would go to the Thyatiran church. She would be accepted and
meet
lots more like herself. They would know the love and mercy of God and bring
their friends. Many would be saved. But few would be challenged to mature. The
church at Thyatira was too accepting and did not challenge its members to higher
standards. Some weaker souls would actually find great opportunity to continue
in sin that they should leave behind.
Ephesus might well teach the whole counsel of the Scriptures. Thyatira might
only concentrate on the warm and fuzzy parts. Nevertheless the love at Thyatira accomplished more than the doctrinal purity
and high standards at Ephesus.
Think what would be if Ephesus could regain a sense of God's grace and mercy
or if Thyatira recognized that it could teach and expect people to change
and be willing to discipline those who did not. Then both churches would more
nearly model the Jesus who could receive the love and affection of the woman at
that dinner while challenging her to a better life.
I have known both kinds of churches. I have been part of both kinds of
churches. I long to be part of a church that has achieved the proper balance.
Wednesday: Smyrna and Philadelphia
<>< Test everything. Cling to what is good. ><>
