HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE (1)

“But HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE till I come” – Revelation 2:25

The kernel of the Message of the LORD to the Remnant of the worldly Church at Thyatira was: “But HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations” (Rev.2:25-26). This is an extended Message to Believers at large to continue to HOLD FAST to what we have – the WORD of the LORD, and never give up until He returns! The church at Thyatira has been described as the worldly, tolerant, unhealthy, or indulgent church – increasing but indulging.

Christ, in this message, declared His deity explicitly: Although implied in His other letters, in this message Christ declared His deity explicitly: “These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass” (v.18). This was a personal message from the very One to whom the church was ultimately accountable. With eyes of fire searching their works and feet of brass ready to crush all opposition to His Word, He declared, “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience” (v.19). He had witnessed their faith and perseverance, and knew their latest works were more impressive than their first. The church of Thyatira demonstrated much that was praiseworthy; nevertheless, it had a problem of flagrant apostasy, and has been often described as the worldly, tolerant or indulgent church.

In this letter, Christ exposed a spiritual sleeper cell operating inside the church. This seemingly harmless clique was a real threat with devastating penalties: “I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (v. 20). This was a literal woman in the church who was identified by the odious name of the seducing queen who introduced the worst era of idolatry and apostacy in Israel’s history. Thyatira’s Jezebel, like her Old Testament counterpart, was adept at distorting the truth to condone immorality and idolatry. Like the corrupt and corrupting Jezebel in Elijah’s days, this woman was also corrupting the church by teaching believers compromise instead of endurance.

Despite her claim to superior spirituality however, Christ exposed this self-proclaimed prophetess as a fraud. Whoever she was, the church had failed to deal decisively with her and her flawed teaching, allowing her activities to go unchecked. This error in judgment compromised the integrity of the church’s testimony. Because the church failed to eradicate her heresy, Christ took it on Himself to deal with her and those who dabbled in the supposed deep secrets she taught (vv. 22-23). It was against this background that the Lord exhorted those who did not embrace ‘Jezebel’s’ false teachings: “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE till I come” (vv. 24–25).

The ultimate real deal is the Lord’s directive for believers to “hold fast” what they had; those qualities for which Christ had already commended them – love, service, and patience. They were to stand firm in purity of lifestyle, doctrine and deed. Not everyone in this church was guilty of joining Jezebel and her sinful doctrine. It was to the righteous remnant that Jesus said: Stay pure. Hold fast to the truth. Hold tight. Hang on. The letter closes with an admonition: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (v.29). The Lord’s message required decisive action. False teaching offends Christ personally, and destroys the life and vitality of His church.

Christ is sanctifying His beloved Bride. He is preparing His church for eternity; hence, the things we are doing well we must continue, the things we are not doing so well we must heed the Words of Christ, repent and begin to do them better through His power and for His Glory!