Revelation 2:20 and the "Jezebel" Misunderstanding: A Case for Egalitarian Clarity

Revelation 2:20 and the "Jezebel" Misunderstanding: A Case for Egalitarian Clarity

When it comes to conversations about gender roles in the church, some people bring up Revelation 2:20 as a warning against female leadership. The passage mentions a woman—referred to symbolically as “Jezebel”—who “calls herself a prophetess.” At first glance, that might raise concerns, especially for those uncomfortable with women in teaching or prophetic roles. But a closer look at the text shows that the problem has nothing to do with her gender.

“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 practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” (Revelation 2:20)

Jesus is not rebuking the church for allowing a woman to teach. He is rebuking the church for tolerating false teaching that leads his people into idolatrous and immoral practices. The critique is not her identity as a woman prophet—it’s the content and consequence of her message.

 Jezebel’s Sin: Not Her Gender, But Her Message

Revelation uses “Jezebel” as a symbolic name, evoking the Old Testament queen who led Israel into Baal worship and pagan practices (1 Kings 16:31–33; 2 Kings 9:22). This "Jezebel" in Thyatira is continuing that same pattern: blending the worship of God with the seductive, spiritually destructive rituals of paganism.

This included:

Sexual immorality, which in ancient religious contexts often involved ritual sex acts tied to fertility cults.

Eating food sacrificed to idols, a way of participating in demonic worship (cf. 1 Cor. 10:20–21).

 A Male Counterpart: Balaam in the Same Chapter

Just a few verses earlier in Revelation 2:14, Jesus condemns another set of false teachings, this time tracing them back to Balaam—a male prophet.

“But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”

The pattern is identical. Like Jezebel, Balaam encouraged God's people to engage in the same sins: idolatry and sexual immorality. Yet no one uses Balaam to argue against male leadership. So why single out Jezebel to warn against female leaders?

Ancient Context: Pagan Temples and Ritual Blending

In the Greco-Roman world of Revelation, pagan temple worship often involved elaborate banquets and cult prostitution. Eating food offered to idols was more than just a meal—it was spiritual participation in the worship of false gods. This is why these issues were such a recurring concern in early church letters (Acts 15:29; 1 Cor. 8; 1 Cor. 10).

What both Jezebel and Balaam represent is the blending of loyalty to Christ with accommodation to pagan practices. It’s about spiritual compromise, not spiritual gifting.

The Egalitarian Takeaway

If this passage was meant to forbid women from being prophets, it would contradict the entire biblical pattern. God has always raised up prophetesses: Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), and Anna (Luke 2:36), not to mention the daughters of Philip who prophesied (Acts 21:9). The early church was filled with women who taught, led, and prophesied under the power of the Spirit.

The issue with “Jezebel” isn’t her claim to be a prophetess—it’s her corruption of that office. Her teaching leads people away from fidelity to Christ.

To reject all women in spiritual leadership because of Revelation 2:20 would be like rejecting all male teachers because of Balaam. It’s a misreading that puts form over substance and gender over discernment.

Conclusion 

Let’s be faithful to what the text actually says—and doesn’t say. Revelation 2:20 warns against tolerating false teaching that leads to idolatry and immorality, regardless of whether it comes from a man or a woman. The church is called to spiritual purity and truth—not to gender-based gatekeeping of the gifts of the Spirit.