“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
‘I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.
‘Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
‘To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,
‘To them I will give authority over all the nations.
They will rule the nations with an iron rod
and smash them like clay pots.
‘They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
‘Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.'”
It’s amazing how people like to twist the very idea of truth. It happens today and it happened thousands of years ago as we read here. This female leader was advertising “deeper truths” and encouraging people to sin. Notice that her teachings about sexual sin and food sacrificed to idols are the same as those that Balaam was teaching in yesterday’s passage (2:14).
What’s interesting to me is that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8 about ways in which believers in Jesus do not need to fear eating food sacrificed to idols. So what is it such a big deal here? The key difference is in my favorite word: freedom. Christians are free to eat any food, and we do not need to be fearful or superstitious about eating foods sacrificed to idols. On the other hand, someone teaching others that it is good to eat food sacrificed to idols constitutes idol worship.
God says in today’s passage that this false teacher refused to repent even though he gave her time to do so. A repentant heart is one of the most valuable things to your spiritual life. Over and over again, God opposes those whose hearts are hard and offers grace to those who turn from their ways. Keep your heart soft. Stay moldable and teachable. Stay honest with God, yourself and others. This softness of heart will help you avoid falling for the “deeper truths” of false teachers.