Revelation 2:23

"I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve" (Revelation 2:23).

Comment:

This verse is from a letter dictated to the church in Thyatira, one of a series dictated to several spiritual centers in Asia Minor. Each letter begins with praise and ends with criticism.

Here what is appreciated about Thyatira is its "love and faith and service and patient endurance" (v.19). The problem is that they are enduring false beliefs, symbolized by "the woman Jezebel," a prophetess who has become popular. Jezebel's "children" are the ideas and beliefs she espouses. And it is those false ideas that will be destroyed as the Thyatira church continues to grow. There's nothing to suggest that the Christ dictating the letters intends to do harm to children.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed