Revelation 2:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

To the one who does My works I will give authority, as promised in the Gospel, over five or ten cities. Or this indicates the judgment of unbelievers, when those who were deceived will be condemned by those who believed in Christ and will be shattered as though shepherded with a rod. "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it," said the Lord (Mt 12:41). The words, "as I also received from My Father," are said according to His humanity, because of the assumption of flesh.

He promises that He will give authority over nations and kingdoms, to shepherd them with a rod of iron and break them like a potter's vessel. He means the apostate angels, who lost their authority. They will be judged by the saints on the day of judgment, condemned, and handed over to eternal destruction, according to the word of the Apostle (cf. 2 Thess 1:9; Rev 12:10).

The Lord requires the faithful Thyatirans to hold firmly to the established truth. They must not permit themselves to depart from it or introduce innovations until the very coming of the Lord. The Lord Himself calls Himself the morning star and the daystar (see Rev 22:16; 2 Pet 1:19).

By the name of the Church of Thyatira one must understand not the historical Church, but the prophetic and mystical Church. The local Church of Thyatira has long since ceased to exist, and even in antiquity it was insignificant.

It may be supposed that, under the name of Thyatira, the Lord addresses the Church of the age after the Ecumenical Councils.

Those who were not carried away by Jezebel's teaching, and who fortunately were not able, by the heretics' own admission, to penetrate the depths of Satan, will not be subjected by the Lord to a new trial beyond what they suffered from the false teachers.

Yet to preserve faithfulness to Christ in everything until the end is so difficult that the Lord promises a reward to those who meet this condition. During His earthly life, He promised this reward only to those closest to Him (Lk 22:28 and following).