Revelation 2: 18-29

The Lord Jesus commends the church in Thyatira because they were growing spiritually, exhibiting love and faith. But he rebukes them sharply because they were tolerating “that woman Jezebel.” The reference to Jezebel harkens back to Old Testament times, almost 1,000 years before the apostle John wrote this letter. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, who led her husband and the people into worship of Baal. Yahweh declared that Jezebel would be devoured by dogs, and she was: She was thrown from an upper-story window, trampled by horses, and eaten by dogs. The Lord Jesus declares that the Jezebel in Thyatira, someone inside the church who was leading people into sexual immorality and idolatry, would experience suffering, tribulation, and death. Pastor Dave taught that God has “zero tolerance” for someone who leads His people into sexual immorality and idolatry, whether under the old covenant or the new. Before the Lord, affirm that the God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament; He doesn’t change. Even in the age of grace, God takes sin, and leading others into sin, very seriously. Pray for all of us to experience an appropriate amount of spine-chilling fear of the Lord.

In these seven letters to the churches, Jesus repeatedly calls for repentance. The Jezebel in Thyatira was given time to repent but refused. The Lord Jesus calls her “children,” her followers, to repent lest they share her fate. He knows who they are. He is described as having eyes like a flame of fire, implying that his eyes burn through cover-ups and excuses for sin to search the mind and heart. “Jesus takes all kinds of people,” Dave said. “The refusal to repent is the issue, not the specific sin.” Others’ hearts are usually hidden from us; we don’t often recognize someone who is stubbornly refusing Jesus’ call to repent. But even without knowing who they are, we can pray for them, for hearts softened and purified.

To those who are not following Jezebel, Jesus says, “hold fast what you have until I come.” It sounds simple to hold fast to our faith, but we know by experience that it is not. We are weak! How appropriate and comforting was the song we sang on Sunday, “He Will Hold Me Fast.” Christ enables us to hold fast; he is actually holding us. Click here to read more about the song, which was composed in 1906 for evangelistic meetings held by R.A. Torrey. Meditate on the lyrics and respond with worship.

Calvary Family

At life group on Sunday, I sat at a table with several men from our TLC house. It reminded me (and I remind you) to pray for the men in the TLC program, who are striving to overcome addictions by learning and obeying God’s ways. Ask the Lord to be at work in their lives, speaking and guiding and strengthening.

On Easter Sunday, church congregations will include many who don’t know Jesus – some invited by friends or neighbors, some dragged along by family, some “C & E Christians” who attend church twice a year as a tradition, some who are curious and choose Easter Sunday to check out a church. Lift up these lost ones, asking the Lord to open their ears and hearts to hear and obey the gospel.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert

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