“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.” Revelation 2:24
In the church at Thyatira we met several groups. First, there is a group who followed Jezebel, her children. Then there is a group who tolerated her teaching. While they refused to follow her they also refused to deal with her through church discipline. Then there were the faithful.
The church in Thyatira was not like the church today. There were not
churches on every corner to choose from. There was one Christian
church in Thyatira and it was teaching false doctrine . What should
the faithful do? They know this is wrong but there is no where else to go. So the Lord speaks.
But to the rest of you in Thyatira The word rest means remainder or
remnant. We do not know the size of the cancer in the church or the size of the group who resisted it. The Lord has given Jezebel time to repent so it is possible her following is now large and those who resist is small. We doubt that those in this group thought they would ever have to “stand alone” for Christ inside the Lord’s own church. That time has come.
Who do not hold this teaching The Lord makes it clear He knows their hearts. They know what is taught is false doctrine and must be rejected. The word teaching is the same word as doctrine. It means an established teaching, especially a “summarized” body of respected teaching. Thus it appears the doctrine of Jezebel has become the doctrine of the Thyatiran church.
Who have not learned The word learned is known. This group has heard the teaching but have not personally accepted it. Like the Bereans they tested what they heard against God’s word before
they accepted it as God’s truth. How important this is for us today as we live in an age like that of Thyatira where God’s word is being distorted to justify all kinds of abominations.
What some call the deep things of Satan The Lord uses a phrase here which causes us to tremble. This can be translated the depths of Satan. Depths can be translated fullness, immensity; an extreme degree; or deep-laid plans. Jezebel taught experiencing moral evil was acceptable. Note the words “what some call.” The followers of Jezebel were evidently teaching license to sin as good and they were bragging about their sin. It is likely those who did not hold to this evil were mocked as old fashioned and out of touch.
To you I say The Lord speaks directly to this group of faithful followers. They were wondering what they should do, how they should react to his heresy in their midst.
I do not lay on you any other burden To the question that was in the faithful follower’s mind, the Lord responds. They are doing all that the Lord expects. They love their God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength As a result they separate themselves from the world’s evil practices promoted by the false prophet in their very midst. There is nothing more required of them than to remain pure
What can we learn? The first commandment looms in front of us as our guiding star in this reprobate age that we live in. If we love the Lord with all our heart it will keep us from sin because our God is absolutely holy. No matter what the “woke” false teachers of the time preach, we know God’s truth. We are to keep our eyes on the Lord and stay faithful to His word no matter how “old fashioned” the world (or
other “Christians”) think we are.