Jesus has just said a hard word against Jezebel and all of her followers. He then turns His attention to the rest of the Thyatiran Christians:
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. Only hold fast what you have until I come. (Revelation 2:24-25, ESV)
They had tolerated Jezebel and her false teaching (v. 20), but many of them did not follow her. They did not hold to her false teaching, which led to sexual immorality and idolatry. They had "not learned what some call the deep things of Satan." This may give us a hint that Jezebel's false teaching was based on Gnosticism, which taught that people could find and should seek some sort of hidden knowledge. When mixed with Christianity, what that meant was seeking hidden knowledge outside of what God had revealed in His word and in the Apostles' teaching. Gnosticism also thought little of the material world, which logically led to sexual immorality. After all, if the material doesn't matter, then sexual acts don't matter.
Ironically, these "deep things" were actually "of Satan." But, again, many of the Thyatirans did not follow Jezebel into this false teaching and practice. To those people, Jesus says, "I do not lay on you any other burden." In other words, "Just keep doing what you're doing."
Verse 25 says, "Only hold fast what you have until I come." These faithful Thyatirans had true doctrine and holy practice that comes from such doctrine. Christ encourages them to hold fast to that until He returns.
And that is the encouragement for us also. We don't need to keep reinventing the wheel. In a world obsessed with novelty, we need to remember to hold fast to what we have. Christ has revealed to us what He wants us to know and do in His word. Christians, hold fast to these things. Christ is coming soon. Whether that'll be in your or my lifetime, only God knows. But He could very well return today. Hold fast to what you have until He does.
He is our Savior who died on the cross for us. He is the Conqueror who defeated sin and death for us. And He is the Deliverer who will return for us and bring us home. Hold fast.
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