But to you I say, the rest who [are] in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I do not cast upon you any other burden;
The letter to Thyatira has just exposed Jezebel and her teaching. Now the Lord turns to a faithful few, asks almost nothing of them, and marks them out by what they never learned — "the deep things of Satan."
Who is the Lord speaking to here, and what does He expect of them?
The Lord turns to "the rest," or the remnant, in Thyatira, "who do not hold this teaching." Here, for the first time, He formally recognises believers who are not counted in the public state of the assembly, yet who are not as openly separate as believers were in a later day… So the Lord speaks with great tenderness of those who were true to His name. He did not expect great things from them.
The words "as they say" report what others were saying. On one reading, people threw the charge of dealing in Satan's depths at the very ones who had refused the corruption.
So the time had come when people who turned away from evil were counted mad. The people they refused to walk with accused them of knowing the "depths of Satan" — that is, of being led by him, as having fallen into one of his most subtle traps. And what brought on this terrible charge? Separation from evil, and a clear purpose to walk in the path of truth and holiness… But the Lord's verdict was enough for this "rest," as it has been for the true remnant in every age of the church. Anyone who cares for the honour of Christ must be satisfied with His approval.
Other writers read the phrase as a true description of the system around these believers. They lived inside it without knowing its evil.
Even in the darkest period of the Roman church's history, many dear saints of God have been inside it who knew nothing of the evil ways of the bishop of Rome and his council. The Lord Himself hints at this in His address to Thyatira… Here we find a believing remnant tied to a system marked by "the depths of Satan."
So what was this knowledge the others boasted of?
"Not knowing the depths of Satan" — that is, what they called by that name — I take to mean plain morality and separation from the world… They said that "the rest" did not know the depths of Satan, because these believers made people think that outward morality and holiness were needed in the church. So the true saints got the name of being led by Satan, and the instruments of Satan got the name of holding the word and Spirit of God.
The Lord asks nothing extra of them. So what did their faithfulness consist of?
How kind the Lord's word is to this feeble remnant! No other burden — only hold fast what they had. And what did they have? It is striking that we are told what they did not have: they "do not hold this teaching" and "have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan." This is faithfulness seen from its negative side. The Lord values even this.
What does "no other burden" mean in practice?
Even in Thyatira there are those who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan. On them the Lord lays no other burden — that is, He leaves them where they are. Sincere, and not knowing the awful system they are in, they can walk before God with an honest heart.
This verse and the ones around it mark a turn in the whole series of letters.
In the message to this assembly we find a marked change, shown by three plain facts. First, the Lord addresses a remnant for the first time. Second, He brings in His coming for the first time. Third, He no longer looks for the hearing ear in the assembly as a whole, but in the one who overcomes. These facts prove beyond all question that in Thyatira all hope of restoring the whole body is given up.
So the direction the Lord gives is forward, not backward.
He does not expect them to get back to the place the church fell from. He points them forward to His coming… So you must not expect Jezebel to be put right… No, your eye must rest on something else; and here the hope comes in.
- Seen. The Lord singles out "the rest" — believers He does not count with the public body. He speaks to them with tenderness, not with big demands.
- Slandered. "As they say" reports what others said. Commentators differ: some read it as a charge thrown at the faithful, others as the real evil around them.
- Spared. The Lord lays no fresh burden on them. Their faithfulness shows in what they refused, and He values even that.
- Steadied. He tells them to hold what they have. He does not ask them to repair what the whole church has lost.
- Summoned. "Until I come" enters the letters here for the first time. Their hope now rests on His return.
but what ye have hold fast till I shall come.
Thyatira's message turns here from a corrupt system under judgment to a small group who had kept clear of it, and to them the Lord gives one instruction. What does He ask of believers who cannot fix the evil around them, and why does He set His own return as the limit?
This word is not for the assembly as a whole. It belongs to "the rest" — those named in the previous verse who never took up the teaching the Lord condemns. Three features here show how far the public body had gone.
In the address to this assembly we find a marked change, shown by three plain facts. First, a remnant is addressed for the first time. Second, the Lord's coming is brought in for the first time. Third, the hearing ear is no longer looked for in the assembly at large, but in the overcomer. These facts prove beyond all question that in Thyatira all hope of restoring the whole body is given up. But here the remnant is singled out and cheered — not with the hope of a converted world or a restored church, but with the bright and blessed hope of the Lord's coming.
The time limit He sets is not a date but a Person. This letter also differs from the first three.
Here, for the first time, the Lord clearly brings in His coming again. He tells them that this state of things goes on till He comes again. It is not so with the first three. With Ephesus, the only coming described is a providential coming... Here it is in Thyatira for the first time; and, what is more, He introduces it in the body of the letter before the promise... The plain meaning is that what He describes here goes on until He comes.
In the verse before, the Lord says He lays no other burden on them. This verse is the one thing He asks.
How compassionate the word to the feeble remnant! No other burden but to hold fast what they had. What had they? Notice what they did not have — they did not hold this teaching, and they had not learned the depths of Satan. This is faithfulness seen from its negative side. The Lord prizes even this, and in loving pity says, "I will put upon you no other burden." It is useless to try to regain what is lost. Hold fast what you have till I come. As if the Lord said, Only remember Me... His coming is now the only remedy. That does not mean we should rest quietly without bearing testimony, however feeble, against the evil. But there is no complete deliverance till He comes.
That "no other burden" also implies they were already carrying weight.
Upon such the Lord will lay no other burden — words that would imply they had heavy burdens to bear. Refusing the doctrine of Jezebel brought them into constant suffering and persecution.
What they must hold, they already have from Him.
Here He is putting a soul in the position of having received a deposit from Him. You have received this; now clutch it, hold it fast. My mind is not occupied with evil only — I noticed the good first — now hold it fast. What are you and I doing? Have we got the truth that has made us free?
The Lord does not ask them to mend the system. He asks them to wait, and He ties a reward to the waiting.
They were not to look for any repentance or reform in this awful system. They were to hold fast to the truth they had until the Lord comes. Then they will have their reward. They refused to reign in the world while Christ is away. In the day of His glory they will rule in power over the nations.
The command was never limited to one city or one century.
The Lord brings in His coming as a hope, and as something to direct the mind to. "Only hold fast what you have until I come." This, I need not say, is an exhortation which applies to all times, to hold fast to what we have. Whatever we have, do not let it slip. Do not be a backslider. If you have the truth, hold it fast.
- Hold — the verse asks nothing new. What He has already given is a deposit: clutch it and do not let it slip.
- Held by whom — not the church at large, but "the rest": those who never took the corrupt teaching. Here the Lord singles out a remnant for the first time.
- Held how long — "till I come." His return, not death, is the finish line. The state described here runs on until He comes.
- Held at what cost — they already carried heavy burdens, and He adds none. He does not send them to recover what is lost. They give up reigning now to rule with Him later.
- Held by us — the exhortation reaches every time. If you have the truth, hold it fast.