Revelation 2:21-22

“And I have her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

“Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

·         Believers are sometimes made sick and even die in context to God’s discipline (judgment) on immorality. God’s discipline includes Satan being permitted to make the unrepentant sick (1 Cor. 5:1-5; 11:30-32).

·         Her bed of sin would become a bed of sickness, and her partners and her children would go down with her (DP)

Revelation 2:20

“Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

·         Jesus’ correction is not rejection. He corrected three churches in the seven letters.

·         She taught “liberty in grace” in context to attending idol feasts which involved immorality. Immorality is at the top of almost every list of sins in the NT and is emphasized in Revelation as one of Satan’s primary strategies in the end times (Rev. 9:21; 14:8; 17:1-4; 18:2-4, 9-10; 19:2; 21:8).

Revelation 2:19

“I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

·         This church was affirmed for their ministry and endurance in persecution. This is the only church in Revelation commended for both love and service.

      ·         They increased in their work of ministry. Their deeds were more in number and quality than in their earlier days of ministry.

Revelation 2:18

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,

‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

·         His eyes speak of His attentiveness to His people and to what they do. Fire symbolizes the impartation of holy love and the release of judgment. He releases either the “fire of grace” or the “fire of judgment” depending on how we respond to Him. In our war against the spirit of Jezebel, Jesus will impart His fiery passion to us (Lk. 24:32; Acts 2:3).

·         Brass is a symbol of judgment against sin. Jesus’ feet of bronze speak of His commitment as a mighty warrior to confront and triumph over persistent immorality with judgment. Jesus promises to tread down as His enemy all that is identified with Jezebel.

Revelation 2:17

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.  And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

·        It was hidden only after it was put in the golden pot in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies (Ex. 16:32-36; Heb. 9:1-5). This speaks of having increased capacity to be fed by the revelation of the Word in this age and in the age-to-come.  Hidden manna suggests the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Only the high priest could see this hidden manna once a year, on the Day of Atonement, as he entered the Holy of Holies.

·         It reflects our unique relationship with Jesus. The new name denotes the victor's new state in the age-to-come. It also reveals one’s personality (Gen. 32:28; Isa. 62:2; 65:15).  This is an aspect of our intimacy with God.

Revelation 2:16

“Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

·        We must turn away from personal compromise and tolerance of it in the Church.

·         Jesus will release the sword of His mouth in judgment against this toleration in the church. Jesus will cleanse His Church. This is not a reference to the Second Coming but a coming related to this church’s failure to repent.

 

Revelation 2:15

 “Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”

·       This refers to followers of Nicolas, the Jerusalem deacon who fell into error (Acts 6:5). This was the common view among the early church Fathers. For example, Irenaeus in the second century taught that the Nicolaitans were without restraint in their indulgence of the flesh, especially with immorality. This distortion of “liberty in grace” that allows for compromise with a sinful culture is prevalent in the church today.

·         Their standards of belief and behavior were going down steadily.  The Nicolaitans belief could be summed up in that they did not want to be narrow-minded, not puritanical, not catch the disease of religious mania or scruples  They did not want to lose their relationships with the world or reputation because they want to win them; they held mental reservations but the thing is to go as far as we can in a worldly direction to win the world for Christ.  The result was that Christians talked about Jesus, became mixed up with idol worship and lower moral standards. (DP)

·         If Satan does not get us by martyring us he could get us with mixture, by Christians anxious to keep as near to the world as possible and therefore gradually lowering their standards (DP)