You might not have heard much, if anything, about the church in Thyatira. It is referenced in a section in Revelation 2, but it isn’t commonly discussed in evangelicalism.

Thyatira is like us. Their culture resembles our culture today. Jesus calls out this church for its immorality in Revelation 2.

Peer pressure, the desire for inclusion, and the fear of rejection are common to many of us. We want to have significance. We want to be included, and we are generally afraid of rejection. The trade guilds in Thyatira provide some valuable lessons for us. Membership in these guilds, which were engaged in immorality, was essential for economic prosperity in Thyatira. Christians were placed in the difficult position of capitulating or risking their employment.

Power and economic prosperity were marks of these trade guilds. Thyatira was known for its cloth and design industries. If wealth could achieve true prosperity, Thyatira would have been most prosperous. Sadly, they tolerated and even promoted heinous sin in their culture.

Our culture, like Thyatira, is in dire need of repentance. Romans 11:33-36 explains that God is our sufficiency. It is knowing who God is and knowing God that prompts us to turn to Him. We can’t do this on our own with our best efforts apart from Jesus Christ.

This passage prompts us to evaluate our careers and every aspect of our lives. Are we allowing peer pressure or fear of rejection to dictate our morality? Or are we relying on Jesus Christ our Lord and appropriately prioritizing our relationship with Him? I spent a few decades of my life answering these questions rather poorly. My prayer is that you are encouraged by this weighty section of Revelation.

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