Revelation 2:18-3:6
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. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So 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. 23 I 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.[1]
24 Now 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, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ z—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits d of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. [2]
____________
What struck me today are the words to Thyatira. Jesus speaks against the false prophet Jezebel who has led some of the people in this church into sexual immorality and idolatry.
It isn’t clear whether Jesus is speaking of literal sexual immorality or if He is using it as a metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness. In other words, idolatry. In Israel’s history, Queen Jezebel is linked strongly with idolatry, being the one who popularized the worship of Baal. Jesus also the adultery with eating food sacrificed to idols. So the immorality mentioned here may very well be a metaphor for idolatry, or at least idolatry mixed in with the immorality. This was not uncommon in the worship of Baal, as well as the worship of Aphrodite and other Greek gods.
Regardless, the problem in Thyatira was the presence of a false prophet. Jesus calls her Jezebel because she is leading His people astray as the original Jezebel did in the time of the true prophet Elijah. Jesus takes the threat very seriously and calls His people to repent of their idolatry.
My prayer today is for faithfulness among the people of God. I pray that we may be silent to the voices of present-day “Jezebels,” false prophets, who would lead the people of God away from devotion to Jesus and following Him.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.
[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Re 2:18–23). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] The New International Version. (2011). (Re 2:24–3:6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Leave a Reply