‘I gave her time ...’

At the very heart of the seven letters of Revelation is a powerful reminder of God’s long-suffering love of sinners. Revelation was written to encourage a Church facing persecution, firstly at the time it was written, and secondly throughout its future until the end of time. God’s people have been, and will continue to, in different times and places face persecution, imprisonment and death for their faith. The letter to Thyatira is as relevant to us today as it has ever been.

Thyatira, being the fourth letter, is at the centre of the seven. There is a symmetry in the way the letters are presented.

The love of Ephesus, the first church, has waned: ‘But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first’ (Rev. 2:4). The seventh, Laodicea, has a similar problem: ‘I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!’ (Rev. 3:15,16). Both Churches may be going through the motions of being Christian but they are doing so without a real, heartfelt love for God.

Smyrna, the second of the churches, is about to enter a period of persecution. ‘Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.’ (Rev. 2:10). On the other hand, Philadelphia, the sixth church, will be protected from a time of trial that is to come on the world. ‘Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.’ (Rev 3:10).

In Pergamum, the third on the list, there are some who are found to be unfaithful to God. ‘But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.’ (Rev 2:14-15) By way of contrast, in Sardis, the fifth of the group, there are a few that remain faithful. ‘Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.’ (Rev 3: 4-5).

A tool sometimes used by Bible writers is the Chiasm. This is the use of related ideas paralleled around a central idea. In the above the 1st and 7th are about the heart, the 2nd and 6th, persecution or trial, the 3rd and 5th is that of some being unfaithful opposed to some remaining faithful. Where this mechanism is used it is to give emphasis to the central thought, in this case the letter to Thyatira.

There are at least two things that are unique to Thyatira. First, it is the only one of the churches commended for growing spiritually. ‘I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.’ (Rev. 2:19). Continual growth in these things should be the desire of every Christian. Because it is Jesus that speaks these words this is a commendation of the highest order.

But the Church was not perfect. ‘But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.’ (Rev. 2:20-21) While this is a rebuke, it is not said in a harsh, judgemental of condemnatory way.

Church discipline, that process by which a group is sometimes required to rebuke or remove one or more of their members, is required by Scripture. There are examples in the New Testament. But in many cases the decision to act will be difficult, one where it is easy to make the wrong call.

Here, while Jesus makes the complaint, He does not ask the Church to deal with Jezebel. This is something He will do himself. ‘Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds’ (v.22). And, it seems, while it is now time for Him to deal with Jezebel, those who have committed adultery with her will be given more time to repent.

Revelation is full of allusions to the Old Testament and here we see another drawn from one of the darkest periods in the history of Israel. The story is told in 1 Kings 16:29 to 22:40. Ahab, king of Israel, committed more evil than any king who had come before him. He married Jezebel, daughter of the Sidonian King Ethbaal. Jezebel sought to destroy the religion of God, importing the religion of her nation and killing the Lord’s prophets.

At this time God raised up the prophet Elijah. Elijah appeared to Ahab, announcing there would be no rain or dew in Israel for the next few years. A severe drought resulted. He then disappeared for a while, miraculously cared for and protected by God despite all the efforts of Ahab to hunt him down. More than three years later Elijah appeared again, this time to arrange a meeting with Ahab and a message that it would again  rain. But before the rain came Elijah instructed Ahab to assemble the people of Israel at Mount Carmel, ‘along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.’ (1 Kings 18:19)

A challenge was put to the prophets of Baal which, given the public nature of the event, they  probably could not afford to decline. Each party was to sacrifice a bull and lay it on a pile of wood. Then each was to call on their god to set the sacrifice on fire.  

After the prophets of Baal had spent most of the day calling on their god to no avail, Elijah drenched his bull and the wood it was on. He then prayed and fire came from heaven, consuming the stones of the altar Elijah had placed his bull on, the beast, wood, soil and water. Then he announced to Ahab that heavy rain was on its way. The drought was broken. Ahab returned home and told Jezebel what had happened and that her prophets had been slain.

This is not the end of the story for Jezebel lived on for some years. But there can be no doubt that she was fully aware of the power of Jehovah and the impotency of Baal. Despite the evil she was doing, her attempts to destroy the worship of God and her war on His people, God did not destroy her. He gave her time to repent.

The Thyatiran letter contains this unique phrase - see above: 'And all the churches will know ...' The complete verse says: 'l will strike her [Jezebel’s] children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one that searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.'

What are we to take from this?

First, remember the context. Revelation's first recipients were Christians facing persecution. As the book unfolds it is clear it was written for the Church that would face persecution at different times and places throughout its history. 'Why Lord?' must be the cries of His people at times. No matter how evil we may see the Jezebels of this world God may still be giving them time to repent. Such was His love for us that Jesus endured hell on earth for us. He wants us to have that same love for sinners even if it means we experience a similar hell on earth.

Secondly, the sentence 'You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols' can, within the context of Revelation, rightly refer to false teaching. How are we as Christians to relate to those who fellowship with us yet hold to teachings and practices we see as wrong? Perhaps we should likewise be patient with them, giving them time to repent. We are not God. We do not know 'the thoughts and intentions of every person.'

Thirdly, remember the experience of Elijah. In a severe drought God miraculously provided for him and, despite the best efforts of his enemy, kept him hidden. We should not take from this that this will be the case for every believer facing prosecution. Jezebel did kill many of God's prophets. But whether we are martyred or spared, God knows our  heart. We are safe in Him.

All quotes from The New Living Translation.