Rev 2:18–29 King Jesus vs Jezebel

Revelation 2:18–29 ESV

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The main point of the letter to the church in Thyatira is that they need to exclude the unrepentant Jezebel. This passage indicates that this Jezebel has been called to repentance but has refused to repent, and now the church is tolerating her in her unrepentant state. Jesus promises to judge her and her children, and he threatens those who do not belong to her but who commit adultery with her with the same judgment that he will bring upon Jezebel.

It seems, then, that the church in Thyatira should have excluded Jezebel but is instead tolerating her. Jesus announces to the church that he is going to judge her, and he will not show any favoritism to her or to those who have indulged in evil with her.

The church in Thyatira needs to exclude Jezebel. They should not fail to do so because she is attractive, eloquent, or influential or because she claims to be a prophet. They must do what they know to be right.

In the letters we have looked at, Ephesus had abandoned their first love. Smyrna was not reproved, but they were facing tribulation. Pergamum had people holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Thyatira, the subject under consideration now, is tolerating Jezebel. We will see that Sardis seemed alive but was dead. Philadelphia had an open door. Laodicea was lukewarm.

The church doesn’t look great in these letters, but Jesus is magnificent! We see his glory before the letters in 1:9–20, and we see God and Christ being worshiped in Heaven after the letters in chapters 4, 5. We see the certain triumph of God’s justice in chapters 6–16. Then Babylon falls (chapters 17–19). Then the King comes (chapter 20), and the bride descends from Heaven (chapters 21, 22). The book of Revelation is an unveiling of reality, and the letters to the churches is a wake-up call to the churches to live in the reality unveiled in this book.

2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

1. Son of God

Jesus introduces himself to the church in Thyatira in terms that are reminiscent of the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7. In that chapter the Lord said to David, “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.… I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (vv. 12, 14). It is important to see here, though, that in identifying himself as “the Son of God” (2:18), Jesus announces himself to the church in Thyatira as the Davidic King.

2. Eyes - sees everything

Jesus continues to describe himself as the one “who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (2:18; cf. Daniel 10:6: “his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze”). The reference to “eyes like a flame of fire” seems to point to Jesus’ searching gaze, from which nothing escapes (cf. 2:23). And the phrase “feet … like burnished bronze” seems to point to Jesus’ absolute purity.

3. Burnished bronze

Refined in a furnace - purity

Bronze mixed with silver - suffering servant

Jesus is King. Jesus sees all. Jesus is pure. This is a King worthy of your worship. These Christians in Thyatira would be inspired to worship Jesus because of who he is, and they would be encouraged that God has faithfully kept his promises. The one whose eyes are “like a flame of fire” will not overlook anything, and there is no blemish in him “whose feet are like burnished bronze”! He comes to the church in Thyatira announcing himself as the Son of God, the Davidic King, and I herald him to you as the searching and pure Son of David. Bow the knee to the Lord of the universe! Worship him!

Revelation 2:19

2:19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

Jesus commends the church in Thyatira for five good things: (1) “works,” (2) “love,” (3) “faith,” (4) “service,” and (5) “patient endurance.” And what’s more, he tells them, “your latter works exceed the first” (2:19). They are doing good things, and they’re apparently growing in doing good things.

It is important to recognize that Jesus knows and acknowledges the good in each of these churches, even when he is going to address serious problems in the churches. Sometimes when we go to address problems, even ones that are not so serious, we fail to see and acknowledge the good things that may be happening. Jesus is encouraging this church. They have problems, but those problems don’t keep him from seeing and commending the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Let’s cultivate an ability to see and commend the fruits of the Spirit in each other’s lives, even if we do have serious things we need to go on to address, as Jesus does here.

Revelation 2:20–21

2:20-21 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Jesus identifies the problem in the church in Thyatira as their toleration of this “Jezebel,” whom he “gave … time to repent,” but who “refuses to repent.” This seems to indicate that Jezebel has been called to repentance, which would perhaps indicate that the process of church discipline outlined in Matthew 18:15–18 had been started. But she did not repent, even though she was given time to do so. Jesus is now faulting the church in Thyatira for continuing to tolerate Jezebel; so it seems that they should have excluded her by now.

We are told two things about Jezebel: (1) she “calls herself a prophetess,” and (2) she is “teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (2:20). Jesus addresses the problem of impostors at several points in these letters. In Ephesus they are dealing with “those who call themselves apostles and are not” (2:2). In Smyrna they are dealing with “those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (2:9). And in Thyatira they have this woman “who calls herself a prophetess” (2:20). Fakes cannot fool the one whose eyes are as “a flame of fire” (2:18). We can trust Jesus, and we can trust his word to tell us the truth. We should measure those who make claims for themselves against the Word of God.

As for what she does, let’s note that whereas in the previous letter to Pergamum some in the church were holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans (2:15), in Thyatira they have this self-proclaimed prophetess who is seducing those who belong to Jesus with her false teaching. As a result of her false teaching, the servants of Jesus are engaging in sexual immorality and idolatry.

In 2:12–17, the teaching of the Nicolaitans is likened to the teaching of Balaam, is likely in view here in 2:18–29. That is, this woman’s name is probably not literally Jezebel. This false prophetess is probably identified with Jezebel because of the points of correspondence between herself and the Jezebel of Old Testament times. Jezebel was a foreigner who taught her idolatry to the Israelite king who married her. She was thus one who did not belong to the people of God, who infiltrated the people of God, and who led the people of God into idolatry. Jezebel married Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, the kingdom that broke away from the Davidic king in Jerusalem.

Identifying this false prophetess as Jezebel identifies her as a usurper of Jesus, who identified himself as the Davidic king in the opening of this letter (2:18; cf. 2:20). It also seems significant that Jesus makes a distinction between Jezebel and his own servants when he says that she “is teaching and seducing my servants” (2:20). This seems to mean that the impostor, claiming to be a prophetess, has not fooled the one whose eyes are “like a flame of fire.” He sees right through her, and he identifies her as one who does not belong among his servants. She has infiltrated the people of God, and she is teaching them idolatry and immorality. She has been called to repentance, but she has refused to repent (2:21).

Those who belong to Jesus repent of sin. The refusal to repent of sin identifies someone as unregenerate.

By refusing to repent, Jezebel declared that she did not belong to the people of God. Once she made this plain, the church in Thyatira had a responsibility to tell her the truth—she was not right with God. They had a responsibility to protect the flock. They had a responsibility to exclude her from the church. Instead they were tolerating her, and as a result of the church’s failure to act, she was leading the servants of Jesus into sin.

Rev 2:22- 23

2:22-23 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

We should observe that Jesus is in effect calling his servants, who are sinning with Jezebel, to repentance. That is, Jesus is announcing judgment, and he is stating that those who sin with Jezebel will be judged unless they repent. Those who belong to Jesus will repent; those who do not belong to Jesus will not repent. Those who refuse to repent identify themselves with Jezebel rather than with the followers of Jesus. Those who refuse to repent identify themselves as Jezebel’s children rather than God’s children, and Jesus promises that he will kill the children of Jezebel.

The result of this is that “all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart” (2:23), which seems to apply the fact that Jesus is the one “who has eyes like a flame of fire” (2:18). Then Jesus continues in verse 23, “and I will give to each of you according to your works.” Jesus will judge justly.

Revelation 2:24, 25

2:24-25 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.

The “burden” on them that Jesus does not add to is the simple fact that they are wrong to put up with this false prophetess, and they should exclude her from the church to protect the flock from her seduction. I think this is confirmed by what Jesus says in 2:25: “Only hold fast what you have until I come.” What they have is the gospel, and holding it fast means living it out. Part of living out the gospel is drawing a line between those who believe the gospel and repent of their sin and those who by refusing to repent of their sin show that they do not believe the gospel. The church in Thyatira must hold fast to the gospel. They need to exclude Jezebel and her children.

Revelation 2:26–29

2:26-29 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Morning star- Rev 22:16

Jesus is the Davidic King who is searching and pure. He is opposed to the false prophetess who does not belong to his people, who like Jezebel of old seduces his people and leads them into idolatry and immorality. Jesus calls his own to repent of sin, and he brings affliction to lead people to repentance.

Jezebel refuses to repent, and others who claim to be Christians but who do not repent show themselves to be Jezebel’s children, the seed of the serpent. Jesus forgives his own, who repent, and he spares them from judgment (2:22). The church is called to purity and should no longer tolerate Jezebel. And those who overcome will reign with Jesus. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:29).