Revelation Chapter Two, Cast Into A Sickbed

Revelation 2:21 “And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. [22] Indeed I will cast her into a sick-bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

Three times we encounter the term, “repent,” in this passage. Twice Jesus uses it toward Jezebel. He first gave her time to repent of her sins, but she refused. Peter wrote, “and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation,” 2 Peter 3:15.

Jesus gives us time to repent–to change our minds–about the evil we are committing. His patience reveals His grace, and His grace extends to all of humanity. Jezebel is no exception. We judge people on purely human merits. A murderer is worse than a liar, and adultery is worse than fornication, since at least the people involved aren’t married. But the Bible does not craft delineations between sins like Rome does. There are not Venial and Mortal sins; this is human contrivance at its finest. Unlike Rome, Scripture says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear,” Isaiah 59:2. Sin is sin; Adam and Eve sinned by eating fruit. It wasn’t the act itself, it was the disobedience to God’s revealed will that was the sin. When we lie, cheat, steal, indulge the vices of the flesh, we sin. It is that simple. All sins separate us from God, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. 1 John 1:8-10 spells out the fact that Christians will still sin, and that only through confession of sin to Him, or repentance, will we have proper fellowship again. Rome errs by stating that sin will sever our relationship to God in a salvific way as believers. This doctrine is patently absurd and untrue. When a child errs they need correction; they do not stop being your biological child. Flagrant sin will cause us to forfeit blessing or reward, 1 Peter 3:7, 1 Corinthians 3:15. It will not cause us to forfeit salvation, Romans 8:37-39.

The idea that our Lord gave Jezebel time indicates her awareness that she was doing something sinful, and then made the conscious decision to continue in it. Jesus had a similar situation with the Pharisees, and He told them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains,” John 9:41. Our Lord linked awareness or knowledge with commensurate punishment, Luke 12:47, 48. A believer’s sinfulness will determine our standing before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10. As noted in Luke, an unbeliever’s sinfulness–coupled with their understanding of right and wrong–will determine the severity of judgment, see also Revelation 20:12.

Jezebel’s lack of repentance becomes symptomatic of the people that will endure during the tribulation period. We see this pattern in Revelation 9:20, 16:9, 11. Only this time something has radically changed. Jezebel, who will dwell in the church age or dispensation, is given time to repent through God’s patience. The men and women in the Great Tribulation are shown and experience the colossal and terrifying judgments of God and refuse to repent. The supernatural majesty of the God of Heaven is on full display, but they will not change their minds; instead they become more spiteful and hateful because God is interfering in their pleasure chasing. Like Pharaoh in the time of Moses, it may be that God will harden their hearts in the Tribulation and make it so that they are courageous enough to hold to their convictions despite the spectacle unfolding before their eyes. More on that later, God willing.

The Greek term for “sickbed” is, “kline,” and in the context of this verse the word means, “a couch for carrying the sick, to afflict with disease or lay on a bier.” A bier is a place where a corpse is laid prior to interment.

Since Jezebel refused to repent, Christ cast her into a sickbed. The idea here suggests sexual immorality will naturally result in what we now call STDs. Many of these are painful, long term, and can be fatal, such as AIDS, one of the most highly feared STDs on record. The body, it would seem, was not designed by God to swap partners habitually or casually. The marriage model as defined and established in Genesis 2:24 was the basis for sexual intimacy. That basis was lifelong monogamy. Polygamy, infidelity, homosexuality, et al., was not a part of God’s plan for human relationships. And while He endured some of it for a time (polygamy) and endures other parts even longer (divorce), this was not His desire for human intimacy. STDs are not divine retribution, so to speak. They are a built in result of human sin seeking pleasure where it was never meant to be sought out. It is like committing a robbery, for instance. You know you shouldn’t, but you plan to “get away with it.” Whether you get away with it or not, it remains wrong. Having sex is like that hypothetical robbery; you might get away with it for a while. But sooner or later the natural result of this sin will find you. The CDC estimates that 1 in 5 Americans has an STD. My country has roughly 342 million people living here. One fifth of that population would be 68,400,00 carrying an STD.

Those who commit adultery with her (both physical and spiritual) will be cast into Great Tribulation. The idea that our Lord uses this phrase strongly suggests that A) He is addressing “those,” as unbelievers, and B) they will be left behind in the final days and enter into the Tribulation period. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be,” Matthew 24:21. Thyatira had a number or sect of unbelievers in their church who gave place and primacy to this Jezebel, who in turn taught them (and Christ’s servants) to commit idolatry and sexual sin. Sex was an instrument designed to procreate so mankind could fulfill God’s command to, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it,” Genesis 1:28. Jezebel turned sex into a worship sacrament. Joseph Smith turned sex into a personal obsession, introducing polygamy into Mormonism. Allah promises his faithful, “damsels with retiring glances, whom nor man nor djinn hath touched before them,” Surah 55:56. We modernly speak about our “sex life,” as though our sexual appetites should have one. We drown in pornography and nudity everywhere we turn, and modern media utilizes sexuality with great proficiency to sell us virtually everything. Jezebel weaponized sex into a worship service. Another, final warning is given that unless these individuals repent–as Christ our Lord has given Jezebel opportunity to repent–their fate is assured. Those who remain unmoved in Churchianity, being in church but not part of the true church, will enter into the Tribulation period when the church age has ended as we approach these last days.