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Our Mission: Revelation 14:6-12
If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 25
Letter
to the Church of Thyatira
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Let's begin this lesson with a short prayer to God:
Our Heavenly Father,
The letters to the seven churches are a valuable source of teaching and exhortation for
each one of us.
Today we start on the fourth letter, addressed to the the church of Thyatira.
Please guide our study, so that this letter may help us to progress in our spiritual life.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 1:11
«What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira (...).»
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The fourth letter is adressed to the church of Thyatira.
The origin of the name «Thyatira» is uncertain, but one of its derived meanings is
«Savor of labor».
Thyatira was a small city, renowned for its production of purple dye, the color of
royalty.
The city was also dedicated to the worship of Tyrimnos, god of the sun, which was soon
replaced by the worship of the Roman emperor.
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Revelation 2:18
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,
«These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like
fine brass.»
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Revelation 1:14,15
His eyes [were] like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace.
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Just like the previous ones, this letter begins with a portrait
of Jesus taken from the initial vision of John.
What does this portrait symbolize?
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Revelation 2:18
These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass.
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Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
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By drawing a parallel between these two verses, we get the
following description of Jesus, the Son of God:
- His «feet like fine brass» show that He comes in the glory, on a
cloud of angels;
- His «eyes like a flame of fire» show that He is fully invested with
the power to judge each one according to his works.
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Revelation 2:19
I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.
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With His eyes like a flame of fire, Jesus judges the works of
Thyatira, symbolizing the Church of the Middle Ages.
First, the good works: from 538, the year when the Church began to fully dominate Europe
on religious and political levels, to 1517, when Martin Luther started the Reformation
movement, the Church indeed accomplished a lot of good works, establishing hospitals,
orphanages, schools and missions.
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As for the bad works, Thyatira looks amazingly like Pergamos:
Reproach to Thyatira, symbolizing |
Reproach to Pergamos, symbolizing
the Church from 538 to 1517: |
the Church from 313 to 538:
==================================|======================================
«Nevertheless I have a few things | «But I have a few things against you,
against you, because you allow | because you have there those who hold
that woman Jezebel, who calls | the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught
herself a prophetess, to teach | Balak to put a stumbling block before
and beguile My servants to commit | the children of Israel, to eat things
sexual immorality and to eat | sacrificed to idols,
and to commit
things sacrificed to idols.» | sexual immorality.»
(REVELATION 2:20) |
(REVELATION 2:14)
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Revelation 2:20
Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
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In the lesson «How to Study
Prophecy», we saw that prophetic symbolism often refers to the characters of the Old
Testament, their attitude towards God, and their deeds here below.
Studying the life of Jezebel, just like we studied Balaam's in our previous lesson, will
help us to understand what this character symbolizes in Bible prophecy.
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1 Kings 16:31
And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that [Ahab] took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
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1 Kings 21:25
But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.
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Jezebel, the daughter of a pagan king, married Ahab, the king of
Israel.
As we can see, this union was rather harmful to the people of Israel...
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1 Kings 18:4
Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord.
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1 Kings 19:18
[The Lord said:] «Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.»
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Among her many wrongdoings, Jezebel attacked the prophets of God
who were exposing her misdeeds.
A generalized apostasy became firmly established in Israel, but God could still rely on a
group of faithful people, among whom was the prophet Elijah.
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Revelation 2:20
Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
----------------------------------------------------
By referring to the character of Jezebel, Jesus thus reveals the
real nature of the Church: after Pergamos, the compromising church from 313 to 538, the
Church sank into generalized apostasy.
Becoming a political institution, the Church gave itself a power greater than that of the
kings, and plunged Christianity into an unprecedented spiritual darkness.
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Revelation 2:14
You have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam.
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Revelation 2:20
You allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants.
----------------------------------------------------
The progression of apostasy from Pergamos to Thyatira is obvious.
In the church of Pergamos, the apostasy was symbolized by Balaam, a prophet whose bad
influence came only from the outside.
But in the church of Thyatira, the apostasy is now symbolized by Jezebel, a queen
governing from the inside, leading the people to commit evil.
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From 538 to 1517, the presence of «Jezebel» shows up in the Church:
- In 607, the Bishop of Rome takes the title of Pope, meaning
Father.
The Bible says: «Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father,
He who is in heaven.» (MATTHEW 23:9)
- In 709, the Church adopts the rite of kissing the feet of the
Pope.
The Bible says: «[He] fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted
him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man."» (ACTS 10:25,26)
- In 787, the Church institutes the worship of images and statues.
The Bible says: «You shall not make for yourself any carved image. (...) You shall
not bow down to them nor serve them.» (EXODUS 20:4,5)
- In 993, the Church adopts the process of canonization of the saints.
The Bible says: «You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.» (LEVITICUS
19:2) The state of «saint» is thus not kept for an elite.
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Other pagan doctrines infiltrate into the Church from 538 to 1517:
- In the year 1000, the Church begins to impose celibacy on the
priests.
The Bible says: «It is not good that man should be alone.» (GENESIS 2:18)
- In the year 1049, the Church begins to celebrate masses for the dead.
The Bible says: «While the child was still alive, I fasted (...). But now he is
dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?» (2 SAMUEL 12:22,23)
- In the year 1090, the rosary appears in the Church.
The Bible says: «But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen
do.»
(MATTHEW 6:7)
- In the year 1199, the Church gives itself the power to forgive sins by
creating the system of indulgences.
The Bible says: «Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, (...) "I, even I, am He
who blots out your transgressions."» (ISAIAH 43:14,25)
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Still other unbiblical rites and doctrines adopted between 538 and 1517:
- In the year 1215, the Church institutes the hearing of
confession, becoming a mediator between God and men for the forgiveness of sins.
The Bible says: «For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus.» (1 TIMOTHY 2:5)
- In 1216, the Church adopts the dogma of transubstantiation, according to which bread and
wine really become the body and the blood of Jesus.
The Bible says: «Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life (...).
[These] words (...) are spirit, and they are life.» (JOHN 6:54,63)
- In the year 1343, the Church institutes the additional works, that is, the works that
must be added to the sacrifice of Jesus for salvation.
The Bible says: «Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy [God] saved us.» (TITUS 3:5)
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Last examples of rites and doctrines adopted between 538 and 1517:
- In 1434, the Church institutes the rite of confirmation, making
up for the problem of the baptism of babies, who are unaware of their choice.
The Bible says: «But when they believed Philip as he preached (...), both men and
women were baptized.» (ACTS 8:12)
- In 1439, the Church adopts the notion of purgatory, that is, a place where the
righteous' souls expiate their sins before going to heaven.
The Bible says: «The dead know nothing (...). There is no work or device or
knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.» (ECCLESIASTES 9:5,10)
- In 1513, the Church introduces the system of the indulgences sold to the people, so as
to shorten the stay of the souls in purgatory.
The Bible says: «While the child was still alive, I fasted (...). But now he is
dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?» (2 SAMUEL 12:22,23)
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Revelation 2:21
And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
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Just as Jesus foretold, the Church of the Middle Ages was called
to repentance by many Christians who were torn by its apostasy. Among those Christians we
find:
- Peter Waldo (Italy);
- John Wycliffe (England);
- John Huss (Bohemia);
- Martin Luther (Germany);
- Ulrich Zwingli (Switzerland);
- Jean Calvin (France);
- John Knox (Scotland).
But the Church preferred to turn a deaf ear. Even worse, it persecuted and killed many of
them.
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Revelation 2:22
Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
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Resolutely steeped in a generalized apostasy, Europe indeed went
through a «great tribulation» at the end of the period from 538 to 1517.
First, a dreadful famine struck at the beginning of the 14th century, soon followed by an
epidemic of bubonic plague which killed 40 percent of Europe's population.
Finally, the Hundred Years War (14th and 15th century) added to these murderous scourges.
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Revelation 2:23
And I will kill her children with death.
And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will
give to each one of you according to your works.
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2 Kings 10:1,7
Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. (...)
[The people of Samaria] took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons.
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Just as the sons of Jezebel experienced a violent death, Jesus
announces the death of the sons of spiritual «Jezebel».
What does that mean?
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Revelation 17:1,5
Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot (...).
And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots
and of the abominations of the earth.
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Jeremiah 3:6
Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.
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First, let's note that God often compares the Church (or Israel,
under the Old Covenant) to a woman.
When the Church is faithful, then the woman is pure. On the other hand, when the Church is
unfaithful, then the woman is impure, defiled.
Like Jezebel, Babylon the great harlot, «the mother of harlots», has children too...
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Revelation 2:23
And I will kill her children with death. And all the churches
shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts.
And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
----------------------------------------------------
Jesus Himself gives the key to the symbolism: the children of
Jezebel and of Babylon, «the mother of harlots», are «all the churches» which take
their origin in the apostate Church, having adopted some of its pagan rites and doctrines.
Jesus foretells the judgment of those churches, and their final destruction, symbolized by
the death of Jezebel's children.
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Revelation 2:23
And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
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Psalm 7:8,9
The Lord shall judge the peoples. (...) Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
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Jeremiah 11:20
But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart (...).
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The picture of God searching the minds and hearts is associated with the last judgment.
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Revelation 2:24
But to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they call them, I will put on you no other burden.
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1 Kings 19:18
Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.
----------------------------------------------------
As in Jezebel's time, Jesus recognizes that a group of faithful believers did not follow the generalized apostasy prevailing from 538 to 1517.
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Revelation 2:24,25
But to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not
have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they call them, I will
put on you no other burden.
But hold fast what you have till I come.
----------------------------------------------------
Indeed, between 538 and 1517, many Christians tried in vain to
call to order the Church which had allowed itself to be invaded by apostasy.
Among these faithful people who «do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the
depths of Satan», the most famous is certainly Martin Luther.
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Revelation 2:24,25
I will put on you no other burden.
But hold fast what you have till I come.
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Martin Luther was a German catholic monk and university
professor.
By studying the Bible, he discovered that, unlike what his Church was teaching, salvation
was a free gift of God, and not a reward for good works.
After many attempts to convince the Church of its error, Luther instituted in 1517 the
Reformation movement, proclaiming the message of salvation by grace in Jesus Christ, a
message which has been carried up to the present day.
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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.
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The following promise makes a clear link with the Reformation's
message, since it is addressed to whoever keeps the works of Jesus until the end, not
one's own works.
The Reformation has indeed proclaimed the work of Jesus, first His sacrifice on the cross
giving us salvation, then His work of intercession between God and us, without any other
mediator.
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Revelation 2:26,27
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I
will give power over the nations.
He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the potter's vessels shall be broken to pieces -
as I also have received from My Father.
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Revelation 12:5
And she bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.
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The promise also tells that he who overcomes «shall rule the
nations with a rod of iron», an authority which also belongs to Jesus.
What does that mean?
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Revelation 19:15,16
Now, out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should
strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.
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John 5:22
For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.
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Like the expression «to search the minds and hearts», the words «rule the nations with a rod of iron» describe Jesus' work of judgment.
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1 Corinthians 6:2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
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Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to
Jesus and for the word of God (...).
And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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So, God's faithful and victorious people «shall rule [the nations] with a rod of iron», that is, they will assist Jesus in His work of judgment.
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Revelation 2:28,29
And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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2 Peter 1:19
We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
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The letter to Thyatira ends by promising the morning star to him
who overcomes.
Peter says that this star will rise at the last day. What is it?
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Revelation 22:16
I, Jesus, (...) I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.
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Luke 12:37
Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will
find watching.
Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will
come and serve them.
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The morning star is Jesus Christ.
Having already sacrificed Himself on the cross for our salvation, He will once again give
Himself, at His return, to those who have given themselves to Him during their life on
earth.
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Exodus 34:12,15
Take heed to yourself, (...) lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifices.
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John 17:15
I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
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And now, what is the personal application of the letter to
Thyatira?
When we share the message of salvation with the people around us, we must make sure that
our faith and commitment toward God remain undefiled.
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Revelation 2:26
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end (...).
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John 6:29
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.
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The Corrupt Church, symbolized by Thyatira, forgot and refused to
remember that salvation cannot be gained by men's works, but only by the work of Jesus, by
His sacrifice for us. Let's draw a lesson from it.
Let's close our study with a summary of the letter to Thyatira.
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The five points of the pattern in the letter to the church of Thyatira:
1. Portrait of Jesus, according to the spiritual state of
the church.
«The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire.»
(REVELATION 2:18)
2. Praise, acknowledgement of the positive points.
«I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience.»
(REVELATION 2:19)
3. Condemnation, identification of the negative points.
«You allow Jezebel (...) to teach and beguile My servants.»
(REVELATION 2:20)
4. Correction, counsels to restore the situation.
«I will cast (...) those who commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.» (REVELATION 2:22)
5. Promise, encouragement to persevere.
«He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I
will give power over the nations.» (REVELATION 2:26)
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Let's pray together:
Father,
It is written: «Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.»
(Romans 12:2)
The church of Thyatira did not follow this advice, and lost sight of the message of
salvation by grace in Jesus Christ.
As we share this message of hope with the people around us, please help us to avoid being
like the church of Thyatira.
May our presence in the world, like many bright lights, not cause us to stumble, but
strengthen our faith so that it remains unshakeable. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 25 is waiting for you!