Revelation 2:18–29

2:18 Thyatira, not a major city, was nevertheless known for its trade guilds, especially in the fields of metalworking and textiles. Believers were clearly tempted to compromise in order to belong to such guilds. We find here the only use of the phrase “Son of God” in Revelation. The church is addressed by the one who is uniquely related to God, the one who is Son of the Father. The Gospel of John especially emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus’ majesty and the authority of his words are underscored by this title—perhaps in opposition to the so-called glory of the Roman emperor as the son of god; or in opposition to Apollo, the son of Zeus and a prominent deity in Thyatira. The description of the Son of Man from 1:14–15 is picked up here. He is one with eyes “like a flame of fire” and feet “like burnished bronze.” The description is similar to that of the angel in Daniel 10:6, whose eyes are “like flaming torches” and “arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze.” The flaming eyes of the Son of Man who is also the Son of God reflect the intensity of his vision and holiness. He won’t tolerate any evil—an especially fitting message for the compromisers in Thyatira. Not only does he refuse to compromise with evil, but he will crush and destroy those who oppose him. His bronze feet are of a metal far superior to any made in Thyatira (where military-grade brass was made), and no one can stand before the feet of him who tramples those who do evil (cf. comment on Rev. 19:13).

2:19 The commendation of the church is quite striking, for Jesus encourages them for many virtues and for their progress in the faith. They are saluted for their works—they are not a church sitting idly by, doing nothing. Their actions testify to the reality of their faith. They differ from the church at Ephesus in being commended for their love—their love for God and for fellow believers is alive and radiant, animating their work. They are faithful and engaged in service to one another. They are enduring and persevering in their life as Christians. And what is perhaps most remarkable of all is their growth as believers: they are making progress. Their works now exceed what they did as new believers. Even though their commendation is limited to one verse, the strengths of the Thyatiran church are notable.

2:20 Despite the many strengths of the church in Thyatira, Jesus as the Son of God has something against them as well, and it is no small complaint. This is a church known for its love, but love can lose its strength and moral center and morph into a toleration of evil, which is what was happening in Thyatira. Their love had turned to permissiveness, allowing a false prophet to exercise pernicious influence in their midst. The false prophet was a woman identified here as “Jezebel.” John picks up the name of Ahab’s wife, who played a central role in introducing Baal worship in Israel (1 Kings 16:31), just as he referenced Balaam earlier, in the letter to Pergamum (Rev. 2:14). This so-called prophetess, like the historical Jezebel, was subverting the people of God by introducing idolatry to the church at Thyatira. Her teaching was deceiving others, so that they engaged in sexual sin and ate food offered to idols in pagan temples. It is possible that sexual sin actually stands for idolatry here, but the two are closely associated in any case, and thus it is likely their idolatry led to sexual sin, as Paul argues in Romans (Rom. 1:18–27). The same sins afflicted the church at Pergamum, as noted above (cf. Rev. 2:14). It was surely tempting to participate in activities in pagan temples, for trade guilds and other social activities centered on the pagan temples. The deceit of this “Jezebel” is connected to her spreading the “deep things of Satan” (2:24). Satan regularly deceives people into sinning (cf. Gen. 3:13; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9; 20:3, 8, 10), and this false prophetess was his instrument in Thyatira.

2:21 The grace and love of God shines through here, for despite the egregious sins promoted by the false prophetess, she was given time to repent and turn from her evil. But like Jezebel of old, this woman was determined to pursue her own desires and refused to turn from her deviant teaching and lifestyle. Her stubbornness foreshadows the response of unbelievers to the judgments of God, for they also refuse to repent when summoned to do so (9:20–21; 16:9, 11).

2:22 Since the false prophetess refused to repent, judgment will follow. She loved the bed of idolatry and sexual immorality, and so will be confined to bed—most likely stricken with sickness (cf. 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20). Those who joined with her in “adultery” will also suffer affliction and distress as a consequence of their sin. “Adultery” in this verse likely means spiritual adultery, though we also know from the previous verses that literal sexual sin was also being practiced in the Thyatiran church. Her teaching encouraged both idolatry and sexual sin. Revelation picks up the notion of spiritual harlotry, a common temptation of OT Israel (cf. Jer. 3:8–9; Ezek. 16:1–63; 23:1–49; Hos. 1:1–3:5). John in Revelation sees idolatry as spiritual adultery (cf. Rev. 14:8; 17:1, 2, 4, 5, 15, 16; 18:3, 9; 19:2). The last part of 2:22 indicates the judgments threatened were provisional for Jezebel’s followers. If they repented and turned from their sins and repudiated her teaching, the punishments could be averted.

2:23 Still, the threat (v. 22) was real and ominous, for if repentance didn’t follow, Jesus, the Son of God who sees all with flaming eyes and crushes all his opponents with his bronze feet (v. 18), will kill Jezebel’s “children”—her followers. The judgment will not be hidden: “all the churches” suggests the judgment against Thyatira would be known to all the other churches addressed in Revelation 2:1–3:22, showing again that the letters to individual churches were intended for all the churches. The churches would recognize by the judgment inflicted that no one deceives Jesus, for he knows the innermost thoughts and motives of everyone (cf. Jer. 17:10; Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 4:5) and judges according to what a person does. Judgment according to works is a common motif in the NT (e.g., Matt. 7:21–27; 16:27; John 5:28–29; Rom. 2:6–11; 2 Cor. 5:10; 11:15; Rev. 18:6; 20:11–15; 22:12; cf. also Ps. 62:12; Prov. 24:12). Those who are punished receive what they deserve, for they are given opportunities to repent but refuse to do so.

2:24 Now the remaining believers in Thyatira are addressed, i.e., those who haven’t followed the false prophetess’s teaching and lifestyle—“the deep things of Satan.” It is unlikely the prophetess or her disciples actually described her teachings in those exact words. She probably claimed to be teaching God’s will and ways—perhaps even calling it the “deep things of God,” but Jesus retorts that she is actually teaching the “deep things of Satan.” In the same way, we are told twice that the synagogue of the Jews was a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; 3:9). Certainly the Jews didn’t say their synagogue was satanic, just as the prophetess didn’t claim her teaching was from Satan. But Jesus knows her teaching is from the great deceiver (cf. 2:20). The only burden, the only requirement, Jesus gives to the church is to distance itself from such teaching. It is urgent that believers keep themselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

2:25 The church is to hold fast, to endure, until Jesus comes—i.e., his second coming. Those who persevere to the end, those who endure until Jesus returns, will be saved (cf. Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Col. 1:22–23; 2 Tim. 2:12). In many respects, this verse captures the message of Revelation as a whole: to receive the final reward, believers must continue to be faithful until Jesus returns.

2:26 Each letter to the seven churches concludes with a call to conquer and a promise to the one who conquers. Here conquering is expanded and unpacked in terms of keeping Christ’s “works” until the end. What it means to conquer, then, is to persevere in faith and good works until the end. Those who overcome and triumph will be given authority over the nations, an image expanded in the next verse. In Daniel 7:14, dominion and authority are given to the Son of Man so that all peoples everywhere will serve him. The remainder of the vision in Daniel 7 reveals the Son of Man sharing his rule with the saints. The saints will possess the kingdom (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27) and rule with Jesus as the Son of Man. Believers who gave their lives for the Lord Jesus will sit on thrones and rule (Rev. 20:4). Paul says that saints will judge the world (1 Cor. 6:2). Jesus promises that those who follow him will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28; cf. Luke 22:20). This is not a special reward reserved for special Christians; all believers will enjoy this authority over the nations. All those who enjoy eternal life will rule with Jesus as the Son of Man. The original mandate to rule the world given to Adam and Eve will be realized by believers in the eschaton.

2:27 The theme of the rule of the saints continues with the wording of Psalm 2:8–9: the saints will rule with a “rod of iron,” and those who rebel against them will be shattered like clay pots. It is quite surprising to see these words applied to believers, for in Psalm 2 they refer to the Davidic king who rules over the rebellious nations, and NT writers often see this psalm as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The raging of nations and rulers (Ps. 2:1–2) finds its fulfillment in the crucifixion of Jesus by Pilate and the leaders of Israel (Acts 4:25–26). The notion of Jesus as God’s Son alludes to this psalm (Ps. 2:7; cf. Matt. 3:17; 4:3; Luke 3:22), and Jesus’ exaltation to God’s right hand at his ascension is also linked to the words of Psalm 2:7 (cf. Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5). Indeed, later in Revelation the rule over the nations is attributed to Jesus, and the words of Psalm 2:9 (that the nations will be ruled with an iron rod), here applied to the saints (Rev. 2:27), are said to find their fulfillment in Jesus (12:5; 19:15). Just as Jesus the Son of Man of Daniel 7 shares his rule and authority with the saints (Dan. 7:14, 18, 27), so too as the Son of David, the messianic King, he shares his rule and “authority” with those who belong to him (Rev. 2:27; cf. Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30).¹ Jesus received his authority to reign from the Father, and believers receive their right to rule from Jesus. Rule here should not be identified with millennial rule, for the reward is comparable to the reward given to those who conquer in the other letters, i.e., rule in the new creation, the coming heavenly city. The rule described here manifests itself particularly in the judgment of the wicked, given the allusion to Psalm 2 and the reference to the shattering of the nations, but it isn’t limited to their judgment. Believers will continue to rule in the new creation for all of eternity.

We have seen that those who overcome are promised paradise and the tree of life (Rev. 2:7), the crown of life and victory over the second death (2:10–11), and entrance into the final reward (2:17). The rule described here refers to yet another reward of the saints in the new heavens and the new earth—reigning eternally with Christ (cf. 11:15).

2:28 Believers will not only rule but will also be given the “morning star.” What John means here is disputed. Does he refer to the promise that the saints will live forever and shine like stars (Dan. 12:3)? More likely, the morning star points to Venus, which shines even before the sun rises, and here it refers to Jesus himself, as Revelation 22:16 explicitly says. He is the star prophesied by Balaam in Numbers 24:17—the star who will crush all his enemies and rule forever. The greatest reward believers receive is Jesus himself, and they will reign with him.

2:29 The letter to Thyatira concludes with the words found in all seven letters; believers must pay heed to the words the Spirit is speaking to all “the churches” (cf. comment on 2:7).