18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practise sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 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, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
In this particularly difficult situation in Thyatira, our Lord said to the faithful, 'I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already. Hold fast till I come' (24, 25). It is the realism of our Lord's words here that should strike us forcibly. There is no facile exhortation to press on with a forward work of evangelism or extension, or engage in what are at other times right and proper pursuits for a living Church. To stand firm in a crisis situation is as much as we may be able - and expected by Christ - to do, and we will be wise to avoid laying on ourselves burdens which Christ Himself does not see fit to lay upon us. It is unwise to take as our watchword such a catch-phrase as 'the best defence is always attack', for catchphrases are not invariably true in all circumstances, and if we believe our Lord's words, not true here. If to attack means leaving our lines of communication uncovered, then attack can be suicidal and lead to the loss of the battle. Yet this is what well-meaning, earnest but blundering strategists urge upon us often in the Christian life, and out we have to go, willy-nilly, ill-equipped, untrained, unarmed, laying ourselves wide-open to the enemy's wiles. Nor is he slow to exploit our folly. We would do well to remember Paul's words about the battle: 'So fight I, not as one that beateth the air'. Little is gained by showering blows and ammunition on an enemy that is not there! There is a time for advancing, but it is not always that time. Sometimes all that can be done, and all Christ expects of us, is to hold fast until the danger within the fellowship is overcome.