Revelation 2:24-25 24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, as many as who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan as they say, I do not lay on you another burden, 25nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come.
Not everyone in the church had succumbed to the teaching of Jezebel. This faithful remnant, like the few who remained faithful in ancient Israel, had not followed the way of false teaching. They had not been deceived by culture or accepted its lies about immorality and idolatry. They had rejected these practices, possibly at great cost to themselves. The cost was so significant that Jesus told them that he would not give them greater burdens. They only needed to endure where they were.
The meaning of the phrase deep things of Satan is difficult to determine, with little clue from the text. What is clear is the association between Satan and Jezebel. Jezebel had been deceived by the lies of Satan, and she had gone on to deceive others. Satan tempts people at the weak point of the flesh and its fallen natural instincts for self-satisfaction. Deep things also give the image of a deep hole that one falls into, the trap that Satan sets to fool people. Something about idolatry and immorality are appealing to our fallen sinful nature. They promise fulfillment and meaning, but they are really only distortions of God’s plan for humanity.
There are situations where we seem to reach our limits of survival as holy people in an unholy world. God promises that he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can endure. Suffering and temptations weaken our resolve and often come with what looks like an easy escape—to follow the crowd to live by the flesh and fit in with an ungodly culture. We must remain faithful, despite the darkness, with the promise that Jesus will come again. The Thyatiran Christians were living in the darkness of a city saturated with sexual immorality and idolatry. It had deceived some of the people in their fellowship. This passage is both a warning and an assurance about dealing with cultures that embrace the darkness. As believers, we must rise above the decay and be beacons of light.