While going through some research and investigating the seven churches that are mentioned in the Book of Revelation, I will be going through each book talking about different aspects and ways we could reflect within our own lives for Christian Living.
Background Information about Thyatira:
It is an inland city that has a long military history with an agricultural area. This was of major importance for the industrial center, which produced purple dye which was supported by the purple cloth industry and was under control by organized trade guilds. It lacked major religious and political centers and was not heavy on emperor worship in this timeframe.
Someone named Lydia was converted under Paul’s ministry who sold purple goods (Acts 16:14).
When looking into passages, it’s important to go through historical background and facts regarding what is being studied. It guides the individual to interpret Scripture with the context in hand.
Let’s look at three characteristics about Jesus in verse 18.
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
1.) Son of God:
- This is the only place in the book of Revelation that He is called the Son of God.
It is our privilege to worship Him because of who He is. He is the one who came down to earth to live among us to pay the penalty of our sins at the cross and resurrected to provide us a Promised Hope of our resurrection in the last days (1 Corinthians 15).
2.) Blazing Fire:
Fire is symbolic and has two meanings. For example, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned throughout the ministry of John The Baptist was confirmed at the Day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, which talks about the importance of fire (Matthew 3:11, Acts 2:1-4)! The fire terminology is purified; Jesus came to baptize us with Fire to bring purity in our lives and live holy lives because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us to give us the power to witness the world around us. Then there is the other terminology that focuses on judgment. We see fire being associated with judgment throughout Scripture (Genesis 18:24, 2 Peter 3:7).
“His eyes that are like blazing fire” could mean two different things:
- He can see beyond our outward appearance into our hearts.
- They can also flash with anger at flagrant sin.
Jesus wants us to pursue holiness and wants us to repent from our sins (Matthew 5:48, John 5:14). Since God is holy and can’t tolerate sin, His judgment and wrath is the consequence. Because we are believers in Christ and living this walk with Him, His sacrifice removes our sin and we are living under His righteousness and expressing that through living holy lives (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
3.) Feet are like Burnished Bronze:
His feet of brass will trample on all His enemies. While Jesus demonstrated Love and Truth throughout His ministry, He is also Justice, and throughout the Book of Revelation, He is ready to trample on His enemies in the last days. Even in our timeframe which is currently the “Church Age“, *Because of different points of views on how this book is, I interpreted this is my point of view* God will repay justice and the consequences of sin are part of the judgment that the individual deserves (John 3:6, Romans 2:6, James 1:14-15). While God wants us to repent of our sins, we must remember that sin has an impact on ourselves and individuals. These consequences will be nothing compared to the judgment and wrath of God that will be played out in Revelation.
It is important to know these facts about Jesus in our lives so we can remind ourselves that while He is loving and willing to give grace, He is also Justice and will do what is right according to God’s standards, not our own opinions.
I hope you enjoyed the context of Thyatira and about Jesus in this first section!
My Faith Journey 