The Risk of Tolerating False Prophets in the Church - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Ms. Prata once again engages in sloppy, error-filled Bible exposition. She has a preconception about false prophets and women teachers, and wants to force this template upon her topic. In this case, it's the issue the church in Thyatira had with Jezebel. Ms. Prata wants it to be about her agenda.

Let's explain. The seven letters in Revelation were written in very specific contexts using imagery and language that is particular to the church being addressed. Some theologians have theorized that these letters represent seven evolutions of the Church over the course of history, but we don't think so. The details of each letter are very specific and are at odds with such a theory.

For example, the letter to Thyatira is the only letter that calls out a person by name for sin. But Jesus was not judging Jezebel so much as He was correcting the Thyatirian church for tolerating her false teaching and immorality. All that Jesus required was that she repent (2:21), but she didn't. And for those who committed adultery with her (or figuratively, deviated from the faith by following her strange teaching), they also were given a way out by repenting.

Then Jesus addressed those who rejected Jezebel's false teaching (which involved secret meanings and esoteric knowledge [2:24]). They were commanded to persevere, and if they do they will be given authority (2:26) and the morning star (2:28).

So this was not a false church, it was a church that tolerated false teaching. It only needed to repent to be restored to a great promise. Ms. Prata wants it to be about false prophecy and women in leadership, but it's not. She wants it to be about doctrine, but it's not. 

She wants it to be about a church that ends up condemned, so that she can extend it to present day churches she regards as condemned.

Lastly, Ms. Prata manages to quote only a couple of snippets from the subject passage, plus another unrelated verse at the end. 

We must regard this as Bad Bible Teaching.

Here's the passage:

Re. 2:18-29 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.

26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations — 27 `He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’ — [Psalm 2:9] just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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(...)

There was an actual woman Jesus designated as a false prophetess (No, false teacher.) 

who was corrupting the church at Thyatira. He also condemned the church for tolerating her! We know from the previous Bible examples (Where in the Bible are those examples?)

that there will be again a type of false prophetess who corrupts the church.

You can read this in Revelation 2:18-29. (Wait, what? This passage is predicting a false prophetess in the contemporary church? What? That doesn't make sense. Is Ms. Prata telling us that this letter to Thyatira is prophetic for today, that we are being warned about a false prophetess? What? 

We've never heard such a theory. But Ms. Prata just drops this in as if it were common knowledge, and that we should know these mystery "previous Bible examples" that tell us this.

Astounding.)

Jesus’s letter regarding Thyatira was the longest of the seven. It enumerates a number of issues with that church. I’ll focus on the teachings of the false prophetess (False teacher.) 

who was corrupting the sheep.

This Thyatiran church was tolerating sin and idolatry (also sexual immorality). Worse, it was tolerating a woman teacher (There is no mention that she was being condemned for being a woman teacher.)

who was promoting idolatry and not only were they tolerating it, but she had risen to such a point of prominence so that Jesus called her “Jezebel” (who was a queen who led the people into idolatry and immorality, and an eternal emblem of embodied rebellion). She was also prophesying in His name- falsely! (There is no mention that she was prophesying falsely.)

Now, it should be noted that this corruption was coming from a woman inside the church who was teaching the brethren, not from an outside influence. (This is a key observation, but Ms. Prata doesn't actually apply it. These matters of false teachers, immorality, or any matter of sin, are internal matters. 

Ms. Prata claims to engage in "discernment ministry," which for her always involves churches she does not attend and pastors who are not connected to her. However, every biblical example of false teachers or immoral people is a matter the local church must address, not some distant person engaging in "discernment.")

She was regarded as a sister in the faith. (There is no indication in the text that she was not a sister in the faith.)

A prominent sister. So much so that she was given to teach and had gathered quite a few around her who were followers of her false teaching. (Yes, false teaching.)

The rest were tolerating it.

Also notice the verse says that ‘she calls herself a prophetess’. Prophets must be called by Jesus, (They do? Where does the Bible say this?)

but this woman just launched in and uttered things that Jesus did not say or tell her to say. (There is no indication in the text that she was doing this. In fact, Jesus condemned her false teaching and immorality, not her prophecy.)

He hates that.

God wants a pure church. He wants Jesus to have a holy and virginal bride, and toleration of idolatry and false teaching is the opposite of that. This church at Thyatira was mightily besmirched.

However, to complicate matters, the verse in Rev. 2:19 says “as for your works, the last are more than the first.” They were loving, working and doing more that they had at the first. This makes it incredibly hard to separate the sinful idolatry from the loving works. (Ms. Prata seems to think that sin in a church negates the possibility of it being a true church.)

They were not loveless, but they were tolerating sin, which is loveless. The unaddressed sin would eventually eat them up. By the second century there was no church at Thyatira any more. It had died. So obviously loving works alone are not enough to carry a church through. There must be solid doctrine and discerning elders properly identifying false doctrine and rooting it out. (There is no indication in the text that there was an issue of doctrine apart from Jezebel's false teaching, or that there was any issue with the elders. "Solid doctrine and discerning elders" are not mentioned in the text.

Obviously this church had a lot right. But they also had some things wrong. It is mere speculation to think this church no longer exists because of the Jezebel issue. The letter to the church in Philadelphia contained no correction at all, yet there is no church to speak of in that town today. The same with Smyrna. There is no significant Christian presence there today, despite them also receiving no correction in their letter.)

In Thyatira, they were tolerating a false teaching and false propheying. (sic) (There is no mention of false prophecy in the text.)

They were accepting of a woman who had taken a place of leadership in teaching, (There is no indication in the text that she was a leader in the church.)

she was preaching and prophesying which is forbidden to women in the church. (There is no indication in the text that she was preaching sermons.

But wait! Prophesying isn't permitted for women? What? This is false. Women were publicly praying and prophesying in Corinth:

1Co. 11:5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head...

We have come to expect these kinds of false teaching from Ms. Prata. She should not be trusted to teach accurately.)

The church congregation was tolerating these evils. Though the verse above calls them out for eating foods sacrificed to idols, nowadays, we do not sacrifice food to idols. However the notion there was of spiritual adultery, and spiritual adultery is certainly an issue today. (Spiritual adultery? Revelation 2:20 refers to sexual immorality.)

(Ms. Prata will now close with an irrelevant tangent.)

Lifestyle purity and doctrinal purity are both important. Paul wrote to Timothy about this, that as a leader he should monitor himself on both those spheres, but it’s good advice for the non-leader/layman too. 1 Timothy 4:16 says, Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.