Revelation 2:18-29

To the Church in Thyatira
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. 19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
27'He will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery'— just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give him the morning star. 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


2:18 - A unique feature in first century Thyatira was the pure dominance of the trade guilds over the local economy. In order to work in a trade in Thyatira, one had to be a member of one of the guilds. To be a member of the guilds also meant to take part in the worship of pagan gods. Two primary aspects of this pagan worship was eating food sacrificed to idols and taking part in fornication principles. This was obviously a major problem for any Christian that worked in a craft or trade. The local god, Tyrimnos, was the son of Zeus. Worship of him was intertwined with Caesar worship, who was also called the incarnate son of god. Christ directly addresses this situation in Thyatira, proclaiming Himself to be the true Son of God. His first words here declare that He is the true fiery light. It is a direct challenge to the paganism and statism of Thyatira.

2:19-20 - Christ begins commending the church in their love, faith, service, and perseverance. They have even grown in their faith and are doing more works than they had done at first. Despite that, though, Christ issues a stinging rebuke for their lax doctrinal standards. The elders are charged with allowing false doctrine to take root and those teaching it, to feel comfortable in the church. This doctrine is personified in the person of Jezebel, the queen of Israel who led the Covenant people into idolatry. Some within the church were advocating compromising with paganism. Perhaps it was along the lines of claiming that any worship offered up was really to the one, true God no matter whom it was directed to; or that they should not be so arrogant and seek to combine the good parts of paganism with the good parts of their faith; or that by taking part in the guild’s pagan worship it would offer an opportunity to share their faith. No matter the fine-sounding argument, Christ is clear that it was heresy and was not to be tolerated for even a second.

2:21-23 - It is clear that the teaching of Jezebel had led some to actually partake in fornication as well as eating food sacrificed to idols. This ties the wicked queen of Israel to the same false doctrines of the Nicolaitans, Balaam, and the synagogue of Satan. All of these, were, in John’s terms, apostate Judaism combined with the pagans around them.

Christ had been more than patient with Jezebel, but no more. She was unwilling and so the time for judgment was at hand. Yet, it is not just Jezebel that Christ was rebuking and threatening with judgment, it was the church that was allowing the false doctrines. Christ says that He will cast Jezebel on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. The suffering bed is a sickbed on which one would go to die. Christ, in a bit of grim irony, is saying "You want to go to bed? Okay, how about a deathbed?" What is translated suffer intensely here, actually says "Great Tribulation." Christ is saying that those Christians who do not repent will be victims of the Great Tribulation that is coming on apostate Israel very soon. This is further indication that the focus of Revelation is contemporary. When Christ judges apostates, all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Those who love God will be spurred towards repentance and renewed obedience, those who don’t have made a very clear choice.

2:24-29 - Evidently, part of Jezebel’s teachings were Satan’s so-called deep secrets. This was probably some early form of gnosticism that valued secret, revealed knowledge. They taught the more one sinned, the more grace could abound. Not all in the church had taken part in this. For those, no other burden would be placed on them; they should continue in their faithfulness. For those who overcome, they would be given the authority over the nations. They were perhaps tempted to believe that they were fighting a losing battle on two fronts: the pagans outside the church and the false teachers inside the church. Christ reassures them that they will be victorious and take dominion over the world. They are given the promise from the Father to the Son in Psalm 2:8-9. The point is that the Christian faithful, in this age, are promised a share in the messianic reign of Jesus Christ, in time and on earth. What the Thyatiran Christians were enduring was not glamorous but they would rule with Christ if they would overcome!