Why is Jezebel mentioned in revelation?

[Estrella]

Revelation 2:18-29King James Version (KJV)

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

28 And I will give him the morning star.

29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

I am sorry.. I have few silly questions. I did my daily devotional reading and today's devotion touched on these verses, which left me with few questions: Why is Jezebel mentioned here in revelation? I thought Jezebel is from the Old Testament? Is Jezebel mentioned symbolically or Jezebel from the OT? Correct me if i am wrong but I thought Revelation was what is expected to take place in future. Or am i missing something? I am still learning the bible, so I hope to receive clarification on these.. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding...Thanks in advance. 

Edited July 6, 2015 by Tanusha

[Alejandro84]

No problem tanusha, I'll address your two questions. 

 

First, yes it's speaking symbolically about jezebel. In that the same spirit of fornication and idolatry that enticed Ahab to leave following the God of Israel, is the same spirit that has been enticing those among the fold of believers. 

 

And in regards to your second question about assuming that the book of revelation is based solely on the end times, no it's not, it's a book that gives a summary of events that has taken place from the beginning to the middle and the end. It's like a summary of what has taken place, is currently taken place and what will take place.

[Estrella]

thanks  alex

[missmuffet]

This verse of Revelation is talking about the Church of Thyatira,The Church tolerating apostasy.This is an indictment of the church's toleration of a woman in its midst whose teaching and influence led the church to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.It is questionable if  the woman's name was actually Jezebel.But in her sinful practice she was fulfilling the roll of the Jezebel of the OT.

The book of Revelation was addressed to seven different churches of its time and also the apocalyptic events to come.

[Steve_S]

 

First, yes it's speaking symbolically about jezebel. In that the same spirit of fornication and idolatry that enticed Ahab to leave following the God of Israel, is the same spirit that has been enticing those among the fold of believers. 

 

 

1Ki 16:30  Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. 

1Ki 16:31  And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 

[JustinM]

I don't believe this is actually a symbolic reference to Jezebel.  It is a comparison of Jezebel and the Church of Thyatira.  Fornication, eating foods sacrificed to idols, sounds like the church was practicing and encouraging participation in the Roman Empire's culture, which was polytheistic and polysexual.  Basically, the Church in Thyatira moved away from YHWH and became more Roman than Christian.

 

Fast forward to present age and we see some major Churches in the West embracing the hedonistic culture and that they are no longer trying to set themselves apart from the world.

 

 

The following link may be helpful to you:  http://biblicalconnections.blogspot.com/2009/09/seven-churches-of-revelation-david-q.html

[Ezra]

I thought Jezebel is from the Old Testament?

True.  But because of her extreme wickedness, she became a symbol of any evil woman committed to idolatry and wantonness.

Is Jezebel mentioned symbolically or Jezebel from the OT?

It would appear to be used symbolically, but it is also possible that this woman called herself Jezebel or was called Jezebel by others. 

Correct me if i am wrong but I thought Revelation was what is expected to take place in future.

The major portion of Revelation is about the future.  However, the letters to the seven churches were given for that time and for those churches.  At the same time, these churches are *types* of churches in various ages, and today we could find their characteristics all around us.  The church at Laodicea represents today's false Christianity.

[Estrella]

Thank you all so much.

[Kan]

Jesus gave a clue in Luke 4:25. There was a drought in the land for 3 1/2 years, during the reign of the wicked woman Jezebel.

 

Revelation 17, gives a picture of a wicked religion, Babylonian in nature as pointed out in the previous posts, - the religion of Rome. Pictured as a wicked woman riding a beast or earthly power.

The Church of Rome received her political power from the 7 European kingdoms, 3 of the 10 kingdoms were overthrown by her, while she reigned. See Daniel 7:20.

 

3 1/2 years is mentioned in Revelation 12:14 and 6, and in a couple of other places as 42 months, or 1260 days. This time frame is talking about the one time and event in history, from different perspectives, all converging in the dark ages when the Church of Rome - the then world empire, reigned from 538 AD to 1798 AD, or 1260 days, or 42 months, or 3 1/2 years.

One day in vision time equals one year in real time. So 1260 days = 1260 years.

 

The seven churches each have clues written about their time and place in history

If we take the seven churches, (seven seals and seven trumpets) in sequence over time, from John till the end of the world, Thyatira contains the reference to Jezebel - the wicked queen, which ruled during the 3 1/2 year drought.

 

In the seven seals this is the fourth horse of death, Revelation 6:8, this power used the beasts of the earth or earthly kingdoms for destruction. See Daniel 7:25, 8:24.

1260 days/years of persecuting the saints, the church of God, who fled into the wilderness, into hiding.

See Revelation 12:6 & 14.

 

In the trumpets, the language of the fourth describes this time as the darkening of the celestial lights. The beginning of the dark ages.

[Estrella]

Thank you, Kan