Bible Society of South Africa
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Seven days of inspiration from Revelation
Seven days of inspiration from Revelation - Day 4
Gerhard Lindeque

Seven days of inspiration from Revelation - Day 4

Stay faithful to God

Bible text(s)

Revelation 2

The Message to Thyatira

18“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

“This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass. 19I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. 20But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practising sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her sins, but she does not want to turn from her immorality. 22And so I will throw her on to a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her. 23I will also kill her followers, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who knows everyone's thoughts and wishes. I will repay each of you according to what you have done.

24“But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching; you have not learnt what the others call ‘the deep secrets of Satan’. I say to you that I will not put any other burden on you. 25But until I come, you must hold firmly to what you have. 26-28To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.

29“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

Revelation 2:18-29GNBOpen in Bible reader

We will always have examples of faith, service and perseverance. There are certainly also times in our own lives when we manage to be faithful to God. However, because society consists of people, there will always be unfaithfulness to God. We also experience it in our personal faith that we fall into sin and disobedience because of our weaknesses.

The reference to Jezebel in this passage reminds us of that. Jezebel seduced King Ahab into idolatry, and took Naboth’s vineyard through lies and murder. Such infidelity can even appear in a religious guise. This is confirmed in the passage by the representation of Jezebel as a prophetess. It is sometimes people and events in the church itself that hurt us the most. On the other hand, we must be careful not to bring others down through our own actions.

People can always turn back to God through God’s grace. It is a lifelong process and we will all bear witness to this constant struggle that rages within us. Although God does not cause it, he can still use suffering to bring people back to him.

It is not easy to remain faithful to God in a wicked world. Sometimes, the pressure to give in to the temptations of the world can become overwhelming. However, God does not expect us to fulfil all kinds of obligations. God’s grace is enough for us and we can hold on to that. Through Jesus Christ’s victory, we also achieve victory over the powers of darkness. As the morning star announces the day after the night, the light of Jesus Christ still shines through the church in the darkness of our time.

Think about:

  1. 1.How does evil present itself as something good these days?

2. How does God’s light break through in our dark world?

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