“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 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. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 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, 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. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learnt what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I Myself have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”
Revelation 2:18-29
Remembering the all-important mantra of reading Revelation, “Not a literal description of its intended referent,” it is unlikely that Jezebel is a real person at Thyatira but is rather a reference to Israel’s former enemy, king Ahab’s vile wife (1 Kings 16-18), who met quite a bloody end, having been trampled to death by horses and eaten by dogs (1 Kings 21:19, 23; 2 Kings 9:33-35). One main aspect of the Baal worship she introduced to Israel was cultic prostitution. Since her demise, her name has been used as a symbol for idolatry and sexual immorality, hence its use here.
Today, the spirit of Jezebel is tolerated. Sexual perversities of all kinds are being tolerated and normalised. Even pedophilia is seeing an increase in tolerance and acceptance. Yet Jesus does not tolerate the religion of Tolerance. Those who tolerate the spirit of Jezebel, “the deep things of Satan,” we can identify as the LGBTQIA cult, the apostate church. “Unless they repent of their works,” Jesus Himself will strike them dead. Yes, Jesus grants the mercy of forgiveness even for sinners such as these! So, there is hope for them, if only they trust in Christ rather than the idol of their sin. If their hearts remain hardened and thus remain outside the gates, like the rest of the dogs (Revelation 22:15), they shall perish.
This isn’t the image of Jesus we like. We prefer the image of Him as the gentle, Good Shepherd with the weak lamb upon His shoulders. Yes, He is certainly our Good Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside still waters (Psalm 23:1-2), but He is also King of the universe. Like all kings, He has wrath. He dispenses His justice and His judgement against His enemies and the enemies of His people. He judges sin, which is death. Unless one is covered in His justifying blood at the end (Revelation 7:9, 14), they will meet a gruesome end like Jezebel in Israel (see 14:17-20).
The Lutheran Column 