This is the longest of all of the letters to the seven churches. Oddly enough, this is one of the sites that has the least to observe. The remains of what was once the city of Thyatira are located in the heart of the modern day city of Akhisar. In fact, if you did not know what you were looking for you would most likely drive right past this small site.
I do not recall if I ever told you how we approached each of these sights. When we would find a place to sit in each of these locations, (this was in Thyatira) we would hear a bit about the context of the city during the time the letter was written. Then each time someone from our group would read the letter aloud. I distinctly remember the sounds during this reading as the site is located near several bust streets. Buses, cars were racing by us as we were trying to focus on the passage being read. Then we would hear the lesson for the church.
Thyatira is an Ugly church. It was ugly because of it's toleration of a teaching from an individual who claimed to be hearing from God. Jezebel (- who calls herself a prophetess) was prophesying that the Christians could justify their participation in the business guilds of the city. This was in direct contradiction to what Jesus was saying. Jesus confronts her and gives her time to repent (2:21) but she does not and rather than enjoy the bed of immorality and debauchery, she will be cast upon a bed of sickness and death.
There is no question that the values, structures and dynamics of this evil world pressure the values, structures and dynamics of the church of today. Are we listening to the subtle call to just give in? After all this is just the way it is now - right! Do the changes in our culture change the message of the Word of God? Hardly.
Think about it, how is the church being pressured to look more like the world than the people of God?
See Romans 12:1,2 - how is the world squeezing you into it's mold?
