“I know your works, your love, faith, service and endurance.” Revelation 2:19

Thyatira was a church that was growing. Jesus appreciated all that they had done and congratulated them that “your latter works exceed the first.” V19. They were sincere Christians who were busy about serving God, preaching the gospel and enduring all the hardship that being a Christian meant in those days. Yet within their midst there was a woman declaring herself to be a prophet who was leading some of the church into serious sin. She was called Jezebel, but that may have been a description of her character, rather than her real name.

The church would have been familiar with the story of Ahab and his wife Jezebel, found in 1Kings 16. Jezebel’s father had been a priest of the god Astarte before he became king of the Sidonians. Ahab was the king of Israel at that time. He was an evil man before marrying Jezebel, but became much worse once she became his wife. Under her influence, he promoted the worship of pagan gods, which often involved sexually perverse behaviour.

Scripture does not tell us how this woman came to be in the church at Thyatira, but she must have had a very charismatic personality and deceptive nature to have been able to turn the hearts of many of the church members away from the plain teaching of God’s Word. She was leading these people into sexual immorality and the worship of pagan idols.

Scripture warns us that the devil can appear as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14. His teaching will seem beautiful at the time, something that makes you feel good about yourself even though deep down you know that what you are doing is against God’s Word. This Jezebel was doing just that. Pretending to speak about the things of God, she was actually leading some of the church away from Him. There are many such false prophets in the church today, and we must be on our guard against them.

Jesus gave a warning to the church of Thyatira, and the same warning is given to the church today: repent, turn back, before it is too late. God’s Word is clear about sexual morality; it is only to be between a married heterosexual couple. Anything else is sinful. God knows everything. At the moment of Creation, He knew all the arguments and reasonings of those who proclaim that society has changed and so sexual ethics has to change too. He knew that there would be many who would call themselves progressive Christians who would manipulate His people and lead them into sin. God gave His Word, which has survived every attempt of the devil and man to destroy it, so that anyone who wants to know about the right way to live may find His plan and purpose for human beings in His book.

If someone says something to you that is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, beware, they could be another Jezebel. That is what Jesus was warning the Thyatiran church about, and He gives the same warning to His church today.