Third a language check

It's always worth the while to take time to check the original language and to check manuscript traditions for variants in the text. The check doesn't yield much, theologically speaking, in this letter, but it offers a couple of interesting points.

Verse 24 uses a word for what many translations render "the deep things" belonging to Satan. The word in Greek does mean depths but it is put in juxtaposition with the word preceding it, which is "knowing." At the very least this is a classic case of sarcasm, and at most an obvious contrast or oxymoron. The sarcasm comes from some of the Christians not "knowing" what should be "known" if they would only plumb the depths of Christianity. But, Jesus is complimenting those not "knowing the depths" or having only shallow knowledge. Of course, then shallow knowledge is what Christians should know and knowing the depths is what gets people in trouble. If the phrase is taken as an oxymoron, then knowing something generally implies that one has studied deeply. But, who would want to know the depths "of Satan." The contrast is to take the phrase "knowing the depths" and putting it against "of Satan." The Gnostic group of Christians could have been referred to as Jezebel in the letter, and if that is the case, then using the verb for "know" is a slam against the group whose name derives from "knowledge" because the gnostic group has just been named the Satanic group. Gnostics thought they knew so much more than the regular Christians. But the "less knowing" group is complimented here.

A second tidbit from the language is the variant found in verse 22. Jesus says that Jezebel will be thrown on a sickbed. Three other words are found as variants for sickbed here. All of them are punitive. But each of them has a different slant on what will truly happen to Jezebel. One variant is that she would be thrown into prison; one is that she would be thrown in to a furnace; and one is that she would be thrown into a state of weakness. Whichever one is really right doesn't matter so much as the picture that God is ready to deal with Jezebel because she represents such utter evil. Thus, God is going to come through for the Christians at Thyratira for having such a "simple" faith. He will give the one who conquers (the temptation to know deeply a teaching from Satan) someone to brightly guide him or identify him with brilliance—the morning star!