The Lord said in Revelation 2:25-26: “But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.”
These verses are part of the letter to the church of Thyatira. A false teacher named Jezebel was leading some of the believers there astray. Holding fast is set within the context of the danger of being misled by false teachers.
Believers who are currently in fellowship with God need to hold fast to what they have. Victorious, overcoming Christians will reign with Christ in the life to come. But they must remain victorious by holding fast.
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown write:
hold fast—do not let go from your grasp, however false teachers may wish to wrest it from you.
till I come—when your conflict with evil will be at an end. The Greek implies uncertainty as to when He shall come (Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 2, p. 558).
Lenski comments, “To hold it [God’s Word] fast against all wrong doctrine and all dangerous practice is our sole burden” (Revelation, p. 121).
Vacendak makes this helpful statement:
The Lord promised the believers who stood strong that He would “put on them no other burden,” that is, not give them any new instructions. They were simply to continue to do what they had been doing—to stand against false teaching and to “hold fast” until Christ comes (a reference to the Rapture of the Church).
2:26. Christ’s promise to believers who overcome (see comments on 2:7)—to those who “keep His works until the end” of their lives—is magnificent. He will give them “power over the nations.” Those believers who hear and obey God’s Word will be given the right to rule over the nations along with Christ (cf. Rom 8:17; II Tim 2:12) (“Revelation” in TGNTC, p. 1265).
We need to hold fast to sound doctrine and the resulting sound practices that flow from it. That was true in the first century. It is still true today. In fact, it is probably even more imperative that we hold fast today because of the proliferation of false teachings that are so prevalent today.
Keep grace in focus.
