Thyatira prophetically follows on after Pergamos; the church of the mixed marriage. The period of Thyatira relates to that phase of the church during which Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy develops. Constantine after his profession of Christianity imported many pagan practices into the church; the 3 greatest of which were:
- The Error of the Altar
- The Error of the Priesthood
- The Error of the understanding of God
The error of the altar infers that the work of Christ is not complete and requires repetition or a contribution from us. This is the problem underlying the failures at Thyatira. The church is characterised by works, works and more works, motivated quite possibly by a desire to earn salvation.
In the multicultural and apathetic setting of Thyatira, to some Jesus became one amongst many Gods and His uniqueness became blurred. Unlike Apollo, the patron God of Thyatira Jesus was not 'a' Son of God but Christ is 'THE' Son of God! He is:
- Unique in His birth
- Unique in His death
- Unique in His sinless humanity
- Unique in His resurrection
- Unique in His miracles
- Unique in His claim to be the way of salvation
- Unique in the testimony of scripture
- Unique in His impact on history
Let us see the uniqueness of His Person
Let us understand the uniqueness and completeness of His work
Part of our sermon series on the exposition of the book of Revelation
The seven churches of Revelation - Thyatira
Yours by Grace in Christ
Dr J Stewart Gillespie