If you recall from our previous blog, this church was tolerating a woman with the spirit of Jezebel, who was seducing people into acts of sexual immorality, teaching them that it is okay for believers to actively and willfully participate in sexual immorality, and of course, this is not true for reasons we discussed last Sunday. Before we jump into Revelation 2:21-29 I want to remind you of a couple more things from our previous blog.
One of the lessons we learned last Sunday is that it is never okay for believers to willfully participate in sin of any kind.
Jesus did not die to give us a license to sin, and anyone who teaches you it is okay to make peace with sin is a heretic. The Bible says plainly in Romans 6:1, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” The Bible says in Romans 6:15, “Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!” Jesus’ death and resurrection, while it did set you free from being condemned by the law, does not give anyone a licence to intentionally satisfy the deeds of their sinful flesh. So, just because you are saved does not give you the right to engage in porn, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, drunkedness, gossiping, lying or any other desire of the flesh you may have.
Another important lesson we learned last Sunday is that while we are to strive for unity in the church, we are not to make peace with false teachers.
That is the very thing Jesus reprimands this church for. Remember, Jesus said in verse 20, “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.” The church of Jesus Christ is called to contend with false teachers, according to Jude v. 7. The church of Jesus Christ is called to publicly expose false teachers by the evidence of two or three witnesses, according to 1 Timothy 5:19-20. The church of Jesus Christ is also called to correct false teachers, according to 1 Timothy 1:3-11. But what we are not called to do is put up with them, accept them, go along with them, or submit to their teaching. Jesus does not tolerate his church making peace with false teachers.
However, even though Jesus does not tolerate his church making peace with false teachers, this does not mean that false teachers are beyond repentance.
Verse 21 says, “I gave her time to repent…” The implication of this is that Jesus was giving this woman with the seducing spirit of Jezebel an opportunity to turn from her sins. Jesus was giving her a chance to see the error of her ways. Jesus was giving her an opportunity to change. Jesus was willing to show her mercy for what she had done, if she repented of her sins.
This tells us there is hope for false teachers.
While it is an evil and wicked act that false teachers do – misleading the people of God – they are not beyond the means of God’s saving grace. As we have already said, false teachers must be contended with, false teachers must be publicly rebuked by the evidence of two or three witnesses, and false teachers must be corrected, but the hope in doing those things is that prayerfully they will see the error of their ways, repent, and turn to Jesus. And that should be our prayer for the many who are twisting the sound doctrine of God’s word – their repentance and salvation.
In the same way, God is giving us all time to repent.
The Bible tells us in Romans 2:4, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” The same kindness God is extending to this prophetess is the same kindness God extends to every human being, including those who are falsely misleading God’s church. The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:9, God does not wish “that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” God says in Ezekiel 18:23, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” The answer to that rhetorical question is – no. God has no desire and takes no pleasure in nor does God like to see wicked people die in their sins.
God wishes all people including: the false teacher, the sexually immoral, the homosexual, the transgender, the liar, the glutton, the gossiper, the idolator, the greedy, and more – to turn from their wicked ways and live. That’s why God declares in Ezekiel 18:30 & 32, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin…For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” God’s message to humanity is to repent and be saved.
However, despite Jesus giving this woman with the seducing spirit of Jezebel time to repent, she refuses to do so.
Revelation 2:21 says, “but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.” This means this self-proclaiming prophetess declined to accept Jesus’ kindness to her. Despite Jesus giving her time to repent, time to change, and the opportunity to turn from her sins, she rejected the goodness and kindness of Jesus Christ.
What’s even more troubling is that many today, like this woman with the spirit of Jezebel, despite God’s patience with sinners, despite God kindly giving sinners every opportunity to repent, refuse to repent of their sins.
The gospel is being heard more so than it ever has before. You can hear the gospel on Facebook, on You Tube, on Instagram, on the radio, on television, and you can even read it for yourself. But despite the easy access to the gospel, despite God’s free gift of salvation to sinners being proclaimed, despite God’s kindness being declared towards those who have transgressed against God’s moral law, there are many in our society who, like this woman with the spirit of Jezebel, refuse to repent of their sins. They reject the kindness of God. Why did this Jezebel woman refuse to repent? Why did she refuse the kindness of God? Why does anyone refuse the opportunity to be forgiven by God?
I believe the reason this woman refused to repent, and others like her, is because of free will.
This woman did not repent because she could. When Revelation 2:21 says, “but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality”, we have to understand free will is at play. God did not force this woman to refuse to repent of her sins, she did that on her own. In the same way, God forces no one to repent or not repent. He forces no one to accept his kindness. He forces no one to accept his grace. God has given mankind free will that we might choose to turn from our sins and live, or reject his kindness and therefore die in our sins. So, she refused to repent, simply because God gave her the right to accept his kindness or reject it. But, why would someone, like this woman with the spirit of Jezebel, with their free will, refuse the kindness of God to be saved?
I believe it’s because of their own hard-heartedness.
The Bible says in Romans 2:5, “because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” By their own free will, people refuse to repent of their sins and reject the kindness of God because their hearts are hard, and when a person’s heart is hard, they have no regret or remorse for the sins that they do. You cannot repent of something you have no remorse for. You cannot repent of sin, if you have no regret of it. In order to come to Jesus with a repentant heart, you must have remorse for the sins that you do. People who do not repent of sexual immorality, pornography, homosexuality, drunkeness, theft, gossiping, lying, coveting, idolatry, and more don’t so because they have no regret or remorse for what they do. And one day, when the Day of Judgment comes, because of their unrepentant heart, people who refuse God’s kindness will experience an eternity of tribulation and distress. So, what does Jesus say or do to a woman who refuses to repent and to a church that tolerates her?
Jesus promises to throw them into great tribulation.
Revelation 2:22 says, “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.” In other words, unless this false teacher repents for misleading God’s church into acts of sexual sin and those who have followed her teaching, Jesus will cause them great suffering and affliction.
Not only does Jesus promise to hand them over to great suffering, but declares some will even be put to death.
Jesus states in verse 23, “and I will strike her children dead.” The children being those who were influenced by her heretical teaching and given into her ways. How would Jesus strike them dead? Considering verse 22 states, “I will throw her onto a sickbed”, tells Jesus will strike them dead by plague or some kind of physical ailment. The only way for them to avoid this judgment is if they repent. If they repented, Jesus would relent from his judgment. You may wonder why Jesus was bringing such affliction on this woman and those who followed her?
You could rightly argue Jesus was afflicting them that they may repent.
We know from the book of Amos 4:6-13, God will use famine, drought, pestilence, and plagues to cause people to repent and return to him. However, what I want you to understand is Jesus was making a statement with the judgment he was giving them.
Jesus’ judgment on the church in Thyatira was so that every 1st century church would understand nothing can be hidden from Jesus, and that he will not tolerate false teachers seducing his people into immoral acts, and he will not tolerate his church tolerating false teachers.
Jesus says in verse 23, “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.” As the woman with the seducing spirit of Jezebel and all who followed her were given into suffering and put to death by the judgment of Jesus, all the other churches would come to know and understand there is nothing they do, nothing they teach, and no one they tolerate that escapes Jesus’ sight. So, in essence, this was a wake up call or a warning to the churches in Asia Minor.
I believe it would do every 21st century church well to remember this.
It would do every 21st century church well to remember we cannot hide from Jesus. He knows what we do, he knows what we think, and he knows what our intentions are. There is no place we can go that Jesus cannot see us. There is no thing we do that Jesus does not know about. There is nothing we teach that Jesus is not aware of. And he still does not tolerate false teachers seducing his church into sin nor does he tolerate his church tolerating false teachers.
I personally believe many churches today have forgotten there is a holy God, or maybe they just don’t care, that watches everything they do, knows the motives for which they do it, and the doctrines they are teaching the church of Jesus Christ. I say that because, like the church at Thyatira, we have churches that are seducing believers into unholy lifestyles.
The reason I say that is because it is apparent the church of Jesus Christ is confused on what it believes.
In 2015, according to Pew Research, studies showed that more and more Christians (54%) are accepting of homosexuality. According to Pew Research, Christians are becoming more divided on the issue of abortion. According to Probe Ministries, 70% percent of Christians between the ages of 18-55, do not believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven, that’s a study that was published this week. According to the 2021 American Worldview Inventory, conducted by Arizona State University, when people say they are Christian they mean many different things, and those things may conflict with what the Bible teaches, in other words the church does not know what it means to be a Christian. According to Barna Group, more and more people are conflicted between Jesus and good works to save them. According to Barna Group, more and more people question whether or not Jesus was sinless.
Why do we see such troubling trends? Why are so many in the church accepting of what God calls sin? Why are more Christians denying that Jesus is the only means to heaven? Why are Christians divided on the issue of abortion? Why don’t Christians know what it means to be a Christian? How could people be conflicted between Jesus and good works to save them? The Bible is clear on these issues.
My answer is because, like the church in Thyatira, we have false teachers in the pulpit, and they are seducing believers to believe truths that are not found in the Scriptures, causing confusion within the church of Jesus Christ, and influencing believers to participate in activities God calls sin. But a day will come where those churches who tolerate false teaching, who have misled many to believe heretical teaching, and misled many to engage in sinful acts, will be judged. And on that day, Jesus will give them what they are due according to their heretical and sinful deeds, if they do not repent. And it would do us well to remember that. What about those in the church who were not misled by this woman with the spirit of Jezebel?
First, Jesus tells them they will not have to endure this great suffering.
Verse 24 states, “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.” Jesus is going to discern between those who truly believe in him from those who have abandoned the gospel to follow this woman with the spirit of Jezebel, which are actually the teachings of Satan. Those who were content with the teachings of the gospel and did not abandon God’s Word would not have to endure the burden those who followed this Jezebel woman did. Jesus would not throw them onto the sickbed. Jesus would not strike them dead. And the same is true to everyone who remains faithful to Jesus, if you remain faithful to Christ, you will not have to endure the outpouring of God’s wrath to come.
Secondly, Jesus urges them to remain steadfast to the gospel.
Verse 25 states, “Only hold fast what you have until I come.” This is Jesus’ way of saying: stay true to the gospel you already have. That is good, sound instruction. These days there are all kinds of teachings in the world, there are even all kinds of teaching in the church, and it can be very confusing to discern who is telling the truth at times; not every teaching is of Christ. Much of the teachings in the world are actually the teachings of Satan, and are trying to creep into the church; I would even say some of the teachings of Satan have crept into the church.
Any church that teaches sin is okay, no matter what that sin is, is teaching the works of the devil. Any church that teaches Jesus is not the only way to have a relationship with God, as some churches are doing, is teaching the works of Satan. Any church that teaches the Bible is not the Word of God, cannot be trusted as the source of absolute truth, and is full of errors and contradictions, is teaching the works of Satan. Any church that teaches there is no hell and that all will be saved, as Universalists and Progressive Christians do, is teaching the works of Satan. Any church that teaches a different gospel apart from salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, is teaching the works of Satan.
Ladies & gentlemen: if you are confronted with a teaching that opposes Scripture in any way, rid yourself of it. Stay true to the gospel. And don’t abandon it as many are doing so today.
If you remain steadfast to the truths found in the Word of God you will be victorious and reign with Jesus in heaven.
Jesus said in verses 26-29, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 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. And I give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus is “the morning star”, and one day he will come with a trumpet blast on clouds of glory, and those who remain faithful to Christ and have not abandoned the gospel, will reign with Jesus. And that is my hope for you all, that you remain faithful to Christ Jesus, that you don’t abandon the gospel for the teachings of the devil, so that when you die or when Christ returns, you will reign with him.