HOLD ON!
Opening Prayer
Jesus, my Jesus, show me who You are—keep me faithful to You.
Read Revelation 2:18–29
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
To the Church in Thyatira
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[a]—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes:
a Revelation 2:27 Psalm 2:9
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How would you feel if Jesus’ blazing eyes stared at you?Have you ever belonged to a group or club that required an initiation ceremony? I remember “flying up over the pond” from Brownies to Guides in Girl Scouts, although I’m not sure that’s done any more! But in Thyatira, a manufacturing center specializing in purple linen, many professional guilds and unions required an initiation of indecent or immoral acts (20,21). Refusal could lead to being ostracized socially and financially. Jesus warns of punishment for those who partake (21–23). What of those who resist (24–28)?
Was Lydia still part of this church (Acts 16)? It was a strong group of believers, commended by Jesus for their love, their work, their faith and their perseverance (19). But his blazing eyes see through any deception, and they highlight a toleration of, or indifference to, immorality (20).
Maybe you, or people you know, are expected to take part in things that are contrary to Christian teaching. What should you do if that is your situation, even if it is something relatively small and seemingly harmless? The only way to recognize the wrong is to be grounded in and familiar with the Word of God, and to know Jesus whose powerful eyes and feet of bronze—a strong metal made in Thyatira—give strength and a firm foundation (18).
Apply
How well do you know the teachings of Jesus? What are his life instructions to you? Reread some of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5–7 and write down what he asks of you.
Closing prayer
Lord, I want to be Your follower. Show me how You want me to live through Your Word.
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