Revelation 2:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,

NIV: So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

NASB: Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.

CSB: Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works,

NLT: 'Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.

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

NKJV: Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

In this verse Jesus pronounces judgment on a woman identified as Jezebel, and her followers. Despite being offered opportunity to repent (Revelation 2:21), this woman was still tempting Christians towards sexual sins and idolatry (Revelation 2:20). Despite this mercy, Jesus will not let her wicked activity go unchecked. He will put a stop to the depraved influence she held over the church. He promises to throw her into a sickbed. Bedridden, she will be too weak and ill to corrupt the church further. Her followers, too, will experience Jesus' judgment. If they fail to repent of following Jezebel's evil doings, He will throw them into great tribulation.

Perhaps Jezebel's sickness and her followers' severe suffering suggest the agony of a sexually transmitted disease. God often inflicts punishment that matches specific sin. When the Israelites constructed a golden calf in the wilderness and worshiped it, Moses took the calf, burned it with fire, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the people drink it (Exodus 32:20). Here, Jezebel's bed of adultery became her bed of suffering.

Revelation 2:18–29 reveals what Jesus instructed John to write to the church at Thyatira. Although the church exhibited commendable virtues, it allowed an evil woman—here referred to as Jezebel—to lead its members into immorality and idolatry. Jesus predicted strict punishment for her and her followers. The churches would know by Jesus' action that He searches the mind and heart and deals with everyone according to his or her works. Those who did not follow Jezebel's teachings would not be punished, but Jesus encouraged them to stay loyal to Him until His return, when He will rule the nations and permit the faithful to rule with Him.

The contents of Revelation 2 are miniature letters to four churches, dictated by Jesus to John. Ephesus and Smyrna were coastal cities, whereas Pergamum and Thyatira were inland cities. Three more such letters are in Revelation 3. Each of these messages contains a unique description of Jesus, a command, a promise. All but one—the church in Laodicea—receive some commendation. All but two of the seven letters—those to the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia—also contain a critical rebuke. Like churches today, most of the congregations addressed by Jesus had both good characteristics and at least one point which needed correction.

In chapter 1, John introduced his order from Jesus Christ: to write out a message to seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:9–11). Here in this chapter, John writes to the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, and the church in Thyatira. Chapter 3 will continue with messages to the other three churches. The rest of Revelation will explain future events connected to the ''end times.''

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''