Revelation Chapter Two, Jezebel

Revelation 2:20 “Nevertheless 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.

There is a distinct similarity here in what Thyatira is experiencing and what Pergamos likewise experienced, Revelation 2:14. In Pergamos this was referred to as the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam, a false prophet (perhaps formerly a true prophet?) taught Balak and Moab to seduce Israel by sexual immorality and idolatry.

With their spiritual hedge lowered, Israel would no longer enjoy God’s blessing, but instead experience His wrath as covenant breakers. In Thyatira we are given a name: Jezebel. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, one of the ungodliest kings of northern Israel, or Samaria, 1 Kings 16:31. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, whose name meant, “with his is Baal.” Jezebel’s name means, “where is the prince,” or potentially a Phoenician name that means, “Baal is the prince.” Her involvement in Ahab’s reign brought Sidonian worship into Samaria. Baal was reverenced by the king, and his idolatry emboldened Hiel to rebuild Jericho despite Joshua’s warnings that whoever did so would pay a horrible price, Joshua 6:26, 1 Kings 16:34.

This name is perhaps a cypher for a false prophetess who infiltrated Thyatira and was given prominence within the church. Perhaps it was actually her name and this was a horrible coincidence. Regardless, one thing must be made clear: Jezebel being a prophetess was not the evil she committed. It was that she was a false prophetess, and her actions revealed it. No, we know that Miriam was a prophetess, Exodus 15:20. Deborah was also a prophetess, Judges 4:4. Huldah was a prophetess in the days of Josiah, 2 Kings 22:14. Isaiah records that his own wife was a prophetess, Isaiah 8:3. In Luke’s gospel he records that Anna was a prophetess in the days of our Lord’s infancy, Luke 2:36. Luke likewise records that Philip married later in life and had four daughters who were all prophetesses, Acts 21:9.

Part of Jezebel’s error was that she was given a teaching ministry over the whole of the congregation from its description, which is prohibited in Scripture, see 1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 14:34. Men are given the roles of bishop or elder to teach and lead the church, 1 Timothy 3:1. That does not mean that women are not a functional part of the church, since we know the Holy Spirit gifts all the members of the church with spiritual gifts to contribute to its functionality. We see the husband and wife duo of Aquila and Priscilla, who both minister to the saints and witness of Christ, see Acts 18:2, 26, Romans 16:3. Moreover we learn from Paul about Phoebe, a servant to the church in Cenchrea, Romans 16:1. The term Paul associates with her (servant) is the same term employed in our previous verse for the word, “service.” It appears that Phoebe was a deaconess in Cenchrea. There is a clear difference in the roles of elder and deacon in the church. One criterion for eldership is the ability to teach, 1 Timothy 3:2. This is requisite for eldership; but it is not mentioned in the criteria necessary for qualifying a deacon, 1 Timothy 3:8-13. We have seen women as legitimate prophetesses in the Old and New Testament. We have seen at least one woman in the role of deaconess, and another as the partner of her husband when preaching the gospel.

Thyatira made two errors. This was the first error: giving a woman a bishopric, or its proxy. Jesus is clear: Thyatira permitted this to occur, “because you allow that woman.” Paul made it clear that the man was meant to govern the church in terms of leadership. This is not misogyny, as some accuse Paul of; this is the result of ultimate consequence, 1 Timothy 2:13, 14. The man is made the head of the household and the leader of the church in terms of eldership. This is not a blanket expression meant to (or capable of) bringing womankind to heel. Women hold jobs and preach the gospel. They are not the subordinates of their husbands, or slaves to their fathers, much less any random man on the street. They are our helpmeets, as God created women in the beginning, Genesis 2:18. We are equals and partners. But Paul cared (and we should care) for the order of the church, and how God the Holy Spirit intends and desires to orchestrate things. Our opinions on the matter do not amount to authority and if we are contrary to Scripture we are accountable and answerable to the One who put these clear boundaries in place. 

The second error was her doctrine. Her teachings reflect what was happening in Pergamos, which resulted in sexual immorality and idolatry, or perhaps even sexual depravity as religious ceremony. She certainly qualifies as divisive, Titus 3:10. We are to silence such false teachers in the church; not remove them in the hopes that they may hear the truth of the gospel and the Holy Spirit graciously corrects their error. But we are to prevent them from teaching any further in the church. If grievous enough, excommunication might be in order, especially if the brother (or sister) in question will not receive correction. Jezebel held Balaam’s doctrine and was his prophetess, inciting pagan vulgarity in Thyatira, as it was found in Pergamos. She was seducing His servants, and as was once said of Israel, “he who touches you touches the apple of His eye,” Zechariah 2:8, and, “woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” Matthew 18:7.