18 “And to the angel of the assembly at Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
Extended reading of verse 18:
This message is for the emissary, the apostolic priest, of the gathering called together at Thyatira. You are that star whom I, the son of Adam, the son of God, look upon, with eyes like flames of fire. I hold you in my right hand together with the other stars in order to light with you the golden menorahs among which I walk with feet like burnished bronze. These are my words to you. Receive this message and use it to strengthen the light of your menorah.
19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Extended reading of verse 19:
I have observed you conduct and have watched your spiritual growth. You are an assembly not only outwardly but inwardly, in love and faith and in support of one another in patient endurance. As a result you produce more spiritual fruit now than you did at the beginning. This should not give you confidence that there is nothing wrong.
20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Extended reading of verse 20:
There is this in which I will correct you: You fail to reveal the false messianic spirit of the woman calling herself Jezebel. She calls herself a prophetess, but like Jezebel, her namesake, she is the enemy of the prophets of God. By her teaching she leads my servants away from the truth. She is one with the Bilaamites and causes my servants to fall into sexual immorality and partaking of the food rituals of idolatry.
"Tolerate" - Fail to expose the false messianic spirit... as in 1 Jn. 4:1-4
21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
Extended reading of verse 21:
I gave her an extended opportunity to repent, but she rejected my gentle kindness and grace. She holds onto the error of her spirit and of her misguided ideas and teachings, which would turn my grace into a licence to sin. In this spirit, she flaunts her sexual immorality.
22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
Extended reading of verse 22:
Listen carefully! I will bring severe illness upon her and she be unable to rise! And anyone involved in any form of her adultery with her will find themselves in severe tribulation. As your Shepherd, I must do this. This is your final warning. Since you have not revealed to everyone the destructive Bilaamite spirit controlling this Jezebel, I myself will do this. There will be a great division within your congregation.
23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Extended reading of verse 23:
For I will strike her children dead, those not born from my spirit but born from the deceiving spirit to which she was wed. They will lose their religion and no longer steal spiritual life from my name. All the assemblies will see this and will be convinced that I am gracious and merciful and a great protector of those whom God has given to me. For I see the intents of the mind and know the heart of everyone. I will lead each of you to the place for which the work you have done has prepared you.
24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.
Extended reading of verse 24:
Not everyone in Thyatira has listened to or learned this false teaching that, like the serpent, claims to find a hidden wisdom in sin, the hidden wisdom of Satan, claiming this to be in service of God. To you in Thyatira who have not listened to this spirit, it is enough that you have not.
25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.
Extended reading of verse 25:
Only you must hold fast what you have. The serpent continued right from the beginning, from generation to generation, teaching its lie. Do not believe every spirit. Hold fast the love and faith and fellowship in endurance that you have until I come. Stay firmly on the path that you are on to spiritual maturity, until I come and stand before you, and am with you face to face.
26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
Extended reading of verse 26:
The one who conquers the natural inclination to lean to their own understanding, to be open to any spirit, and to rationalize a lie and live as if they had no God, who, as a result, follows my footsteps upon my path, to do those things that I do, to that person I will give great authority in the future. That person will have learned how to rule over herself or himself and will be able to shepherd others who have not yet learned to do so. Such people will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in the Land of Israel. Therefore I will give them authority over the nations.
27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
Extended reading of verse 27
My witnesses will rule the nations without compromise with sin. Their rod of correction will be unbreakable, like a rod of iron. It will break lies and sins in pieces, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces. This is the authority I will give them, to do this. For this is the authority that I have received from my Father, when he sent me to the tribes of Israel, that through their salvation the world might be saved.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
Extended reading of verse 28:
And I will give to my witnesses the star of the dawn of the new creation. For they shall be one assembly in Jerusalem, with one angel. Their light shall prepare all people for their final transformation into the eternal creation, where there is neither corruption nor mortality.
29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.’
Extended reading of verse 29:
You who hear this message from the Spirit know who you are. Listen carefully to what the Spirit says to each of the assemblies. Not everyone who counts themselves a member of an assembly, or does works in my name, hears and believes what the Spirit says. Therefore listen carefully to what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
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