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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 2:18 - 2:23
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Praise and reprimand for the congregation at Thyatira:
v. 18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass:
v. 19. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
v. 20. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
v. 21. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
v. 22. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
v. 23. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
This is the longest of the seven pastoral letters, and it shows peculiar conditions in the little city of Thyatira, the home of the pious Lydia, Act_16:14-15. This letter also opens with a characteristic description of the author: And to the angel of the congregation in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He that has His eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like burnished bronze. See Rev_1:15. It is as a judge full of holy wrath, as a consuming fire, that Jesus, the Son of God, is here introduced, as one from whom His enemies may expect certain and terrible punishment.
As in the case of the other congregations the Lord opens with a commendation: I know thy works and thy love and thy faith and thy service and thy patient endurance, and thy last works more than the first. That is high praise for a Christian congregation and speaks well for the Christian zeal of Lydia, who is generally supposed to have founded this church. The congregation of Thyatira as such was noted for its diligence in works and service of love, of brotherly love. These were the natural fruits of the faith which was still held by the great majority of the brethren. Another fruit of this faith was patient endurance amidst the persecutions which were instigated on the part of the enemies. They are even given the testimony that they had made steady progress in the works of Christianity, that their profiting had been apparent to all, Gal_6:9; 1Th_4:1; 1Ti_4:15.
At the same time, however, conditions were existing that caused the Lord more than apprehension: But I have against thee that thou permit that woman Jezebel, who alleges herself to be a prophetess and teaches and seduces My servants to commit fornication and to eat meats sacrificed to idols: and I have given her time that she should repent, and she will not repent from her fornication. Apparently the conditions of Pergamum were here intensified. In the Old Testament there had been a Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, who had seduced the children of Israel to idolatry, to the service of Baal with its obscene cult, to many abominations and lewd deeds. The name Jezebel, therefore, was a fitting name for the false prophetess in Thyatira, whose chief allurement seems to have consisted in the doctrine that Christians should overcome carnal desires by yielding to the lusts of the flesh to satiety and weariness, and that they should join in all the abominations of the heathen in order to pain influence over them. The result was that many servants of the Lord, many true Christians, had been seduced to a life of idolatry, of dissipation, of immorality and sexual vices. They had been plunged into a veritable abyss of wickedness, where the most abominable works of darkness were committed with the plea that this was Christianity in an advanced state. The Lord had already sent a warning to this immoral prophetess and had given her time to repent, but she obstinately persisted in her lewd course and despised the forbearance of God. And all this the congregation permitted; knowing the pool of unspeakable filth which was in their midst, the members had done nothing to remove the stain, the blot, from the congregation.
Therefore the Lord rebukes the congregation, incidentally adding the threat: Behold, I shall cast her upon a couch (of sickness), and the adulterers with her into great misery, if they do not repent of her works; and her children I shall utterly slay, and all congregations shall know that I am He who searches reins and hearts, and I shall give to you, to everyone, according to your works. Almost the Lord's patient forbearance is exhausted, and He will then show Himself the terrible Judge. The false prophetess herself He intended to visit with sickness, with pestilence, and all those that followed her immoral teaching and became guilty of lewdness in any form He would plunge into such an abyss of misery as to make them feel the power of His wrath. Note: In the very midst of this terrible threat the Lord holds out full amnesty to the sinners if they but repent. Physical distress and illness were not to come upon the men and women only that imitated the prophetess in her licentiousness, but her sin was to be visited also upon her children, whom the Lord threatened to exterminate. Thus by this one example of righteous wrath and punishment the Lord wanted to issue an emphatic and solemn warning to all the congregations in the entire district or province, to all congregations to the end of time, in fact, to show that He searches the inmost mind and heart, that no transgression is hidden before His eyes, and that He will punish the evil-doers according to their works. He may not always strike so openly, but it is true, nevertheless, that no man can escape His avenging justice.