Revelation 2:20
20 Notwithstanding[alla] I have[echo] a few things[oligos] against[kata] thee,[sou] because[hoti] thou sufferest
[eao] that woman[gune] Jezebel,[Iezabel] which[ho] calleth[lego] herself[heautou] a prophetess,[prophetis] to teach[didasko] and[kai] to seduce[planao] my[emos] servants[doulos] to commit fornication,[porneuo] and[kai] to eat[phago] things sacrificed unto
idols.[eidolothuton] KJV-Interlinear
20 '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 acts of
immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. NASB
In the longest condemnation of all of the churches,
John records the complaint against Thyatira, not because of outside influences,
but because of their adoption of, and compromise with, non-Christian teachings,
namely the evils promoted by Jezebel.
The story of Jezebel is found in the book of 1
Kings 16-21 and 2 Kings 9-10.Her death
is recorded in 2 Kg. 9.And she suffered
a most distasteful and violent death, being ripped apart by dogs such that
there was not much left of her when the dogs were finished with her.
Christ is lodging His complaint against the
churches for their adoption of false doctrines.
This reference to Jezebel is not likely a specific person within that
church, but a reference to the Jezebel of the Old Testament as that is our only
source of documentation regarding just who Jezebel was, and what she stood for.
We have already studied in 1
Timothy 3, that the teaching of truth resides with the male only. Doctrinal instruction to audiences is the
only restriction of its type in the Bible.
Just as the birth of the Savior was restricted through the female only,
in similar fashion.So this Jezebel
promoted herself as a prophetess, an instructor of doctrine, however her
doctrine was corrupt to the core, emphasizing that a person can do whatever he
or she wants to do in life, just as long as they ask forgiveness later.
And this is an unbelievable abuse of grace and the function
of confession.
In this life, once a person is saved, their
responsibility is to live within the fellowship sphere, in a state of sinless
perfection.This is a positional state,
as none of us are perfect and far from it.
But through confession, God forgives and restores us into righteousness,
1 Jn.That is grace.
Many folks might take the view that they can do
anything they want, and get away with it, because they can confess and move on
without repercussions in their life.Not
so.
And while God may forgive, there still remains earthly repercussions that one has to deal with in
the aftermath.Wives, friends, others
may not be so forgiving, and your life may end up with a pretty bad reputation,
if not making you unreliable, unbelievable, untrustworthy, etc. Even certain health issues may come back to
haunt you, if not worse, because of your lifestyle habits.
While in the spiritual life, such bad habits
generally sow patterns or lifestyles that sooner or later become irreversible.
To commit immorality and to eat things sacrificed
to idols, simply means to pursue non-Christian habits or beliefs. And that covers a broad range of things, from
any sin you can imagine, to simple indifference to Christianity, to defining
your own set of life standards to live by.
But the worst of the Jezebel image is her refusal
to repent.In spite of all of the many
examples and events in history and in life, that would point to the necessity
for changing ones ways, to refuse is the quintessence of stubborn rejection of
truth.And for that, her death, and the
sufferings of those who pursue the same pattern, will be met with tremendous violence
and terror and loss.
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