Thyatira: Missing One Piece—Psalm 1; Rev. 2: 18-29
This week, in our series on the seven churches of Revelation, we look at the church at Thyatira. This church reminds me of the harrowing experience of doing puzzles, and why I struggle with such pastimes. I will never forget this beautiful, 1,000 piece puzzle of a nightscape I was working on with a friend. We agonized, worked, toiled over this puzzle for weeks. It all came down to one piece in the middle-right. But the remaining piece was a bright orange color…which didn’t fit in the middle of a tree…in a nightscape. Thyatira was much the same way. So much was going well for them, but the were struggling with one missing piece. The lessons we, the modern church, can learn from Thyatira are these: listen to good counsel and hold steadfast to the faith you have when all the pieces fall into the right place.
Now you may want me to get right to the answer: what were they missing? But that’s not how a puzzle works because first you have to get the other pieces in place. In this word from Revelation, we see the importance of listening to good counsel. There is much debate on what the sin at Thyatira was. It appears to be two-fold. They were eating food dedicated to idols and false gods. As this was a city of tradesmen with a number of guilds, it was likely a mix of foods at business dinners. There is also a reference to sexual sins. Scholars believe that Thyatira, like the church at Corinth, had listened to prophets and preachers who were not connected the original apostles and were far too permissive in their behaviors.
Psalm 1, though, gives us the most important piece here: “Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,” we are told. This demands that we are educated, discerning, willing to dialogue, open to learning and growing as God leads. But the Psalm does not stop there. It adds to that list, “Or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers,” in Psalm 1:1. As hard as this is to hear, the Psalm condemns guilt by association. It’s not enough that you avoid doing bad things—don’t be found even be found going along with bad ways! You don’t have to cut people completely out of your life, but compromise your walk with God for earthly things either.
I’ll give you an example that is also a bit of a confession. Years ago, I was confronted by an intern at the office. It appears someone had said to her that I was bad-mouthing her, gossiping, about her, and putting her down. She confronted me about whether or not I had said these things. I told her honestly that I had not. But as I thought about it, there was still a sense of guilt. So, I explained further that, while I did not say anything about her, I was present when it was said, and I had neither defended her nor removed myself from the situation. “Oh, the joys of those who do not stand around with sinners or join in with the mockers,” says Psalm 1. I promised in the future if something was said, I would properly tell them to stop and defend her against those hateful words. We must remember that if we do not stand with courage against sinful behaviors in this world, we send the message that we tacitly approve of what is being said or done.
Now, in a slightly different take, we must be careful how we analyze this biblical guilt by association. It was easy for people in John of Patmos’s day to say, “Oh those liberal Corinthians and Thyatira Christians…they’ll let anything go…overly tolerant, permissive, no morals, eating whatever. You know they even got some Jezebel up there leading them around.” But it is equally as easy and hateful for others to say, “John and those Jerusalem Apostles don’t know what they’re saying. It’s a culture thing. They’re all weird and conservative about what they eat and how they live. They still follow all those Jewish rules that they had back before Jesus. Wake up y’all, it’s a new day in Christendom!” I know that back and forth sounds nothing like today, at all, right?
And yet, it’s a reminder that we must listen to wise counsel. There is no liberal truth to faith, and there is no conservative truth to faith. There is the biblical truth which bids us to be conservative in our dealings, thoughts, and actions, but also to be liberal in love, welcome, and grace to others. Thyatira had many of these things. They were filled with love, with faith, with service, and with patient endurance. In perhaps the biggest compliment of all, they are told, “I can see your constant improvement in all these things,” in Revelation 2: 19. This was, by no means, a floundering congregation or hopeless cause. The Church at Thyatira was a beautiful depiction of church growth in numbers, faith, and Christ-like ways. But they still had one missing puzzle piece.
So, what were they missing? The hint is in Revelation 2: 24 where John addresses those “of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching.” The problem is they followed a philosophy based on Christ, but they did not fully follow Christ. They understood the apostles’ teachings on this rabbi who talked of love, hope, and a new way of life. They grew in these teachings and in the life-philosophy found in the example of Christ. But they also listened to false teachings because many hadn’t found that Holy Spirit which comes from following Christ.
The Psalm reinforces this idea instead of “chillin’” (as the kids say) with the sinners and joining in with mockers, blessed are the ones who “delight in the law of the Lord” and meditate on it day and night says Psalm 1:2. When we meditate carefully on God’s truth, we will be more careful to avoid this Thyatirian sin of following the idea of Christ without actually following Christ. I’ll give you an example. You can eat a plate of vegetables, but that does not necessarily make you a vegetarian. You can meditate in the mornings, but that does not necessarily make you a Buddhist. You can appreciate the wisdom and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, but that does not necessarily make you a follower of Christ. There’s a commitment a surrender that has to happen as well where our whole being: all that we were, all that we are, and all that we will be must be attuned to God’s grace given to us through the love and work of Jesus. I guess more simply, the question is this: do you admire Jesus or do you follow Jesus?
To those who have committed to the faith, John has a message from God as well. God will ask nothing more than to hold tightly to what you have until the end. If all the puzzle pieces fit together well, God says, “hold tightly to what you have until I come.” The question we must ask, then, of ourselves is whether all the puzzle pieces fit together. Do we listen to the good counsel of God’s truth? Do we hold fast to that holy word instead of looking for a political, societal, or just plain wrong answer? Have we committed to following Jesus with or whole hearts? If so, then may we continue to hold fast to the faith which sustains us. If not, let’s start putting the puzzle pieces of faith together today.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1243044836160114