Revelation 2:18-29 Series

Revelation 2:18-29

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

The Son of God as described here with His eyes like fire and whose feet are like bronze is a great description for this point in time because of what we will see Jesus do during this time.

His eyes being like fire and as well His feet like bronze is showing Jesus in His readiness for war against evil.

Fire represents refinement in places of scripture or making something pure, Jesus is for sure coming for this reason in part. He will refine the world to rid it of its impurities. His war against Satan, the Beast and the Antichrist and all their minions is a part of this refinement process in which Christ defeats them.

Jesus' feet being like bronze is another aspect of war in which bronze was used for armor and protection. Feet are by nature a foundation in which a person is steady and grounded. Adding the bronze adds to the steadiness and foundation. This would be looked at as a sign of strength and power for not all armies could afford such things as armor, only the most elite of soldiers had it.

19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

Christ as does God the Father, knows all things at all times and Jesus is omnipresent just as the Father is.

Jesus is fully aware of all things including all things in the believers life. Jesus knows our works as He knows this churches works and His awareness of our works or lack of works is a constant examination of our belief and faith in Him. The greater the faith the greater the works. The greatness of works is not assessed as we would assess them in most cases but rather that we are always producing good works or fruit in our life.

Matthew 7:17-19 ~ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The tree representing people falls into two categories, the healthy tree and the diseased tree. True believers are the healthy tree that produce good fruit while diseased trees are the non-believers and those who unfortunately think they are believers but are self deceived. These diseased trees can do nothing but produce fruit which is not good meaning bad fruit thus the only thing it is good for is the fire to refine it out of the orchard of the good fruit producing trees.

But here in verse nineteen Jesus is giving them praise for their good works which are love, faith, service and patient endurance which are all great Christian works of faith.

But there is a problem, a big problem because Jesus finishes this verse by saying what works He will be bringing up next exceed those good works He just mentioned.

20 But 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. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 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, 23 and I will strike her children dead. 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.

A Jezebel is someone promoting false teachings thus is an enemy of God. The Jezebel here was a false prophetess who is promoting sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. This food as already stated previously would be eaten in part because of their worship of that idol rather than what Paul had stated that if it means nothing to you then eat it.

A sickbed just means that these unrepentant sinners are sidelined so to speak, that Jesus considers them out of the whole of the body of Christ and are in a state of observation in which Jesus is bringing upon them tribulations in order to force them back into compliance and repentance.

This is much like many churches today that condone and are outwardly gay and promote this lifestyle as being OK. It is not OK and Jesus for sure has them in a sickbed until the reject their sin and come back in repentance under the fold of the true church. There will be no hope for them unless they do. The will be cast into the fire with the rest.