December 11

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ~ Revelation 2:29

A judgment against people who are not loyal to God

It is a terrible thing when God’s people are not loyal to him. His love for them is as a husband’s love for his wife should be (Ephesians 5:25-27). He loves them very much; they should be loyal to him.

A certain woman in the church at Thyatira was telling church members that they should carry out wrong and evil acts. She urged them to do whatever they desired to do. She persuaded them not to be loyal to their husbands or wives; they carried out sex acts which are against God’s law. Also, she persuaded them to eat meat that other people had offered to false gods. A person who gives honour to a false god is not loyal to the real God.

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, ~ Revelation 2:22

Amos 4:1-6:14
Revelation 2:18-3:6
Psalm 130:1-8
Proverbs 29:21-22

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New Testament: Revelation 2:18-3:6

Summary: To the Church in Thyatira, To the Church in Sardis

Revelation 2:23

I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.

‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ‘And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ~ Revelation 2:20-23

One powerful woman in the church at Thyatira had persuaded many people to join her in wrong and evil acts. Such wicked behaviour deserves a severe punishment, but Christ’s kindness to that woman was great. He did not punish her immediately; instead, he waited. He gave her an opportunity to repent, that is, to turn back to God.

The woman should have been very grateful to God for that opportunity. She should have been humble in front of God; she should have confessed her evil deeds to him. She should have stopped her wrong activities and she should have urged everyone else to stop too. In other words, there should have been a complete change in her attitudes and behaviour. God would forgive her and she would be serving him properly.

It is very sad that this woman chose not to repent. That made her activities even worse. Perhaps originally she was acting foolishly; she did not realise that her actions were wrong. Now, however, she was clearly doing these things on purpose. God had given her an opportunity to repent, but she did not want to do it.

In that way too, she was very much like the Jezebel of the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible). Her husband King Ahab was an extremely wicked man. However, even Ahab made himself humble in front of God on one occasion, and God showed kindness to him (1 Kings 21:20-29). Jezebel was responsible for many of Ahab’s evil acts, but she never repented. Even on the day of her death, she was still proud (2 Kings 9:30). ~ From: usefulbible.com