What does "what you have" refer to in Revelation 2:25? Setting the Scene in Thyatira • Revelation 2:19 names the church’s strengths: “love, faith, service, and perseverance” and an increase in good works. • Verse 24 notes they have rejected “the so-called ‘deep things of Satan’ ”—they have stayed clear of Jezebel’s corrupt teaching. • Verse 25: “Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come.” Identifying “What You Have” 1. Sound doctrine – They possess the true gospel, untainted by Jezebel’s false “teaching.” – 2 Timothy 1:13-14: “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching… Guard the treasure.” 2. Loving, active faith – Their “love, faith, service, and perseverance” (v. 19) are present assets to keep. – 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ties these same qualities to genuine conversion. 3. Moral purity – “What you have” contrasts with Jezebel’s immorality (v. 20). – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 calls believers to flee sexual sin and honor Christ with their bodies. 4. Growing obedience – “Your latter works are greater than your first” (v. 19). Spiritual progress itself is a possession worth guarding. – Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary in doing good.” The Call to “Hold Fast” • Present tense: keep on gripping what you already possess. • Duration: “until I come” points to Christ’s literal return. • Parallel: Revelation 3:11 to Philadelphia—“Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” Practical Takeaways • Treasure the gospel; refuse teachings that compromise it. • Nurture love, faith, service, perseverance—do not let them cool. • Guard moral purity as an essential part of your witness. • Keep advancing in good works; growth can be lost if neglected. Linked Promises That Follow • Verses 26-27 promise authority over the nations to those who “overcome and keep My works to the end.” • Verse 28 offers “the morning star,” personal fellowship with Christ Himself. Holding fast to “what you have” means clinging to orthodox truth, active love, moral integrity, and continual obedience—everything already at work in a faithful believer, preserved unblemished until Jesus visibly returns. |
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