* All scriptures within this study are linked to BibleGateway.com using the "NIV".
Can mankind learn from history? Someone has said that the only thing man learns from history is that he learns nothing from history--therefore, man is doomed to repeat his mistakes over and over... Is the church headed toward another age of corruption?
In the last lesson, we saw the unholy melding of religion and politics represented by the church at Pergamum. Worldly compromise spread from the top down, like yeast through bread dough, until it permeated the entire church with spiritual decay. Church leadership became seduced by Roman wealth and power. The same human weakness is evident today. Power and wealth corrupt powerfully. The compromise of Pergamum led to complete corruption in the age of Thyatira, represented by a false teacher called Jezebel. Her seductive teaching led many to share in her destruction.
The Thyatira church does have some commendation. It is commended for its many works. Perhaps church members tried to build spiritual character by worldly means, saturating the system with good works and acts of service. But we will see that Thyatira's works eventually deteriorate into the heresy of works righteousness, the belief that works are a means of eternal salvation, apart from the truth of the Gospel. Thyatira will demonstrate that service and social programs are no substitute for the peace of true saving faith. Works do not save [Ephesians 2:8-10], but social programs and peace/prosperity movements are becoming the default mechanism of today's floundering church again, even to the replacing of the Gospel. Christ's earnest appeal is as true today as it was in the Dark Ages--"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." What will it take to WAKE UP the church from its deafness.
Letter 4: THYATIRA [Revelation 2:18-29]--The Church-Controlled State, AD 606 To The Reformation, AD 1520
Woodrow Kroll labels the church of Thyatira "The Universal Church of Toleration." How did Thyatira slide into an attitude of tolerance? Favoritism by the Roman rulers made the church of the Pergamum Age wealthy and comfortable and willing to tolerate Roman methods in order to stay in favor. This Age began with the Edict of Toleration issued by Constantine in AD 313. What began as toleration of religion became tolerance of worldliness in the church. The age ended when Boniface III, the Roman ruler, was crowned "Universal Bishop." The offices of Pope and Emperor were combined, marking the complete interfacing of the church with Rome. So began the rule of the Holy Roman Empire through the papacy and bureaucracy of the Catholic, or universal, church. In the Thyatira era, the church now controls the state of Rome.
The Salutation, Rev. 2:18: These are the words of the Son of God...eyes like blazing fire...feet like burnished bronze.
Dr. J. V. McGee describes ancient Thyatira as little more than a military outpost to protect Pergamum, but it was where the elite Roman guard was stationed. A Roman military garrison would be a rough place to practice Christianity, but the Lord allows no such excuse. Warren Wiersby adds that the city boasted a special temple to Apollo, the "sun god," which explains why the Lord introduced Himself as "the Son of God," the only time this title is used in the Revelation. Because John's message to this congregation is a severe warning of judgment, He is described in symbols representing judgment--brass and bronze burnished in fire. The Lord's red hot feet are ready to trample out judgment; His eyes of piercing fire are pointed in their direction, searing the soul.
The Commendation, 2:19: I know your deeds [works], your love [charity] and faith, your service and perseverance [patience], and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
Clarence Larkin sees in this commendation an emphasis on works, as if Thyatira depended on them, claiming merit for their service. However, the Lord commends them for their faith, love and patience the works represent--and that they are increasing. In Ephesus, their works were decreasing as an indication of their cooling zeal for Christ. However, the point is that no amount of works can compensate for the tolerance of a specific evil in the church.
The Complaint [Condemnation], 2:20: 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.
The church was allowing a false teacher who claimed to have special spiritual gifts to infect the church with her teaching. She may have been a member with some influence and nobility, and her real name was probably not Jezebel. Rather, she is a "type" of one of the most evil of Old Testament women--Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab. Through her influence over her husband, her two sons and her daughter, she brought the pagan worship of Baal into Israel and Judah, infecting the nations with false religion. [See 1 Kings 16:29-33]
Thyatira was also a commercial center with many trade guilds. Wherever guilds were found, idolatry and immorality were almost always present too. Trade guilds were built around patron gods and goddesses of the particular craft. To refuse to worship the deity would block a worker's membership in the guild, preventing them from practicing the trade. Wiersby believes this Jezebel's teaching was to compromise with the idol worship of the guilds so that Christians would not lose their jobs. This kind of pragmatic compromise was a snare to Thyatira, and it is still a snare today. Many professing Christians are willing to compromise their faith if they think their income is affected. This compromise is associated with two activities associated with pagan worship: sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. Both activities were part of the orgies that took place in pagan temples. But they broadly represent participation in pagan activity while claiming to be "Christian."
MacArthur believes this Jezebel not only encouraged her followers to "go along to get along," he believes she participated with her followers in sexual immorality as well as condoning it in the pagan temple. Such license may have been the result of pre-gnostic teaching that one could explore the sphere of Satan with the body without harming one's spiritual life.
It seems inconceivable that such immorality could be condoned in a church, and yet many popular pastors have fallen from grace and been found guilty of having sexual relations with their followers. In this letter, the Lord condemns the church for allowing such a woman to teach, and He confronts the teacher herself for her sin. In verses 21 to 23, the Lord gives her time to repent, but she refuses to do so, proving that she is a false prophetess and not a Christian at all. Her followers or "children" will also share in her death if they do not repent. The degree of judgment is interesting: "I will repay each of you according to your deeds." Those who were depending on their works for righteousness, and yet were practicing idolatry, were going to be judged by works--not the good ones; the lack of saving faith the evil ones represented. They were soon to find that works were not going to save them. The Lord is severe with this Jezebel because she is as insidious as her Old Testament prototype. Her practices represent immorality with the world that plunges the church into pagan compromise.
The Warning/Praise, 2:24-25: 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]: Only hold on to what you have until I come.
The so-called "deep secrets" that were part of the false teaching at Thyatira give us more insight into what transpired. In many of the guilds, those wishing to join had to participate in a secret initiation, a practice still common in many secret societies such as the Masonic Lodge today. Only those who achieve the 33rd degree of Masonry learn the inner secrets of the lodge.
The lure of secrets revealed only to a select or chosen few is one of the enticements of the cults that claim higher wisdom. These "esoteric religions" are religions that require secret rites or initiations or knowledge that belong only to the elite or inner group. But such secrets are straight out of the pit of Hell. God's truth is not secret; it is open to all. Tim LaHaye and Dave Breese advise that when an organization requires initiation into religious secrets, it is of Satan. Mormonism is an example of an esoteric cult as are New Age religions that court the "higher" or "ancient" wisdom. NOTE HOW THE FALSE TEACHING OF THE NICOLAITANS THAT PROMOTED SUPERIORITY AND SEPARATION OF THE CLERGY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS KIND OF HERESY IN THE CHURCH.
This Jezebel may have seduced her followers by alluding to "secret" knowledge that only the very "spiritual" can access. Such privilege appeals to those who wish to be "in" with the in-crowd. We have all been susceptible to peer pressure and a desire to be part of the inner circle, or inner ring as C. S. Lewis called it. It is a strange social phenomenon that deceptive leaders use to draw followers to themselves, then leading them like sheep. The church must be ever vigilant to follow Christ's light, not darkness.
Even amid this kind of deception, the Lord has a remnant of true believers. He cautions His remnant to hold on to what they have UNTIL HE COMES. This is the first mention in Revelation of the Lord's coming for the Church, the event we call the Rapture/Resurrection of the Church [1 Thess. 4:13-18].
The Promise, 2:26-28: To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations...I will also give him the morning star.
The believers in Thyatira are promised authority over the nations. Following this promise is a reference to Psalm 2:9, the Millennial reign of Christ: "He will rule them with an iron scepter; He will dash them to pieces like pottery..." God's people will live and reign with Him in His earthly Kingdom [Rev. 20:4]. He will establish perfect justice because He will rule strongly--with an iron scepter. Rebellion will be crushed like so many clay pots. The Lord will tolerate nothing that is secret; His truth is all light with no darkness. His reign will be truly and completely TRANSPARENT because there is nothing to hide.
The Morning Star: Wiersby says Jesus Christ is the "bright and morning star" as mentioned in Rev. 22:16. Verse 28 suggests that God's people shall be so closely identified with Christ that He will "belong" to them. Wiersby also suggests that this may be an allusion to Satan who wanted the kingdom for himself and who offered the world's kingdoms to Christ if He would worship him [Matt. 4:8-11]. In Isaiah 14:12(NKJV), Satan is named Lucifer, which in Hebrew means "brightness, bright star." But Lucifer fell and became Satan, the destroyer--the Prince of darkness. The compromising people in Thyatira were following the "depths of Satan," which would lead to darkness and death, but believers are promised Christ, the morning star. THOSE WITH JEZEBEL WERE FOLLOWING THE WRONG STAR AND HAD LOST THEIR DIRECTION, IN THE DARKNESS. God's overcomers, on the other hand, would share the morning star and its true brightness.
THE CHURCH AGE OF THYATIRA--THE DARK AGES, or The Church-Controlled State, 606 to 1520
Thyatira's letter represents the church age known in history as The Dark Ages, or the Middle Ages. The Dark Ages is an apt description of a time when the church was more of a political and social organization than it was a center of Christ's spiritual light. What religion was practiced was a composite form of paganism, Christianity, and pseudo-christian heresy. The large expanses of the Roman Empire became fractured by divisions and began to fall apart into Eastern and Western divisions. The Western Roman Empire was lost to Northern invaders such as the Huns and Goths. Regional rulers began competing for land and control, which resulted in long and devastating wars in Europe, such as the 100 Years War between Britain and France. Also at this time, plagues such as the Black Death wiped out millions. Because of both war and pestilence, wide-spread famine caused a division of the people into a poor lower class and rich upper class.
It is unfortunate that man learns nothing from history. Our contemporary global situation is shifting back toward a Dark Ages of the End Times. The last empire of man described in the book of Daniel is called the 10 toes of iron mixed with clay [Daniel 2]. This Revived Roman Empire is being revived with inherent weaknesses the original iron empire of Rome did not possess. As man calls for global unity--a return to empire ruled by one leader--we are seeing famine, disease and poverty spread instead of decrease as we would expect with modern technology. Economic distress is leading to the demise of the Middle Class in developed nations, while the elite classes accumulate unto themselves wealth and power, through the "secret" societies and backroom treaties formed through power politics.
The pagan influences within the church of the Dark Ages also resulted in rampant superstition in the largely uneducated lower classes. The cults of northern invaders [Norsemen and Vikings] and the conquered tribes of the British Isles, such as the Druids, introduced more superstition. Witchcraft based on the nature cults spread throughout the empire. Tree huggers who worship nature are not new; their prototypes existed in the Dark Ages--worshipping the creation rather than the Creator.
The green nature religion called environmentalism now spreads globally through fear tactics. God sits in heaven and laughs at our attempts to control His creation. The current volcanic eruption in Iceland, since it first began spewing volcanic ash and gases into the air, has, to this point, negated efforts to control CO2 emissions on our planet. This single act of God has added emissions to the earth estimated to be 42 times more than can be corrected by human regulations proposed for annual reductions. Ever worsening "natural" disasters are part of God's Tribulation judgments, demonstrating His control of earth and man's complete inability to sustain life without God's sovereign mercy and intervention.
The early part of the Middle Ages saw the development of the Feudal System where manor lords were the land owners and serfs were vassals. This system developed out of circumstance and necessity. Most of the poor could not read or write and were dependent on church leaders for understanding of spiritual truth. The written Word of God was too costly before the invention of the printing press to be entrusted to the laity. Early Bibles were hand-copied and protected in the churches. The Church also thought the common man too ignorant to understand and interpret the Word without the help of the clergy. Bibles were also in the language of the educated Roman--Latin--and only the wealthy and educated could read it. Again, the Nicolaitan idea of the superiority of the clergy as well as circumstance nurtured the gap between church leaders and congregant.
Dr. McGee comments on the Dark Ages: Pagan practices and idolatry were mingled with Christian works and worship. The papacy was elevated to a place of secular power under Gregory I [AD 590], and later by Gregory VII, better known as Hildebrand, [AD 1073-1085]. Rituals and church tradition supplanted personal faith in Jesus Christ. Worship of the virgin and child and the mass were made a definite part of the church service. Mary was elevated to the Queen of Heaven although heaven has no queen, only a King, and Jeremiah forbid the worship of The Queen of Heaven [Jeremiah 7:16-19; Jeremiah 44]. Church ritual involved such rites as "transubstantiation," the belief that the bread and wine of communion actually "become" the body and blood of Jesus Christ, therefore causing Christ to be crucified anew with each Mass. Purgatory became a positive doctrine, and mass was said for the dead. The spurious documents labeled Donation of Constantine and Decretals of Isidore were circulated to give power and rulership to the pope.
Dr. McGee states that in the Catholic Mass, when the wafer is served, the Catholic doctrine of "transubstantiation" teaches that it is the actual body of Christ that is taken, through a mysterious supernatural transference. They also believe that the Mass is one of the rites that must be practiced continually for salvation. This concept is contrary to Scripture [Ephesians 2:8-10], because it makes the ritualistic Mass a "work" necessary for salvation, or "works righteousness." The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation in which the bread becomes Christ's literal flesh also crucifies Christ over and over again, as if His one sacrifice of atonement for sin were not enough. The writer of Hebrews answered this same issue in regard to the Jews who continued offering animal sacrifice after our Lord's death and resurrection.
In Hebrews 9:24-28, the scriptural doctrine is clarified: "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared ONCE FOR ALL at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed ONCE to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." [Emphasis Added] The Scripture, therefore, proclaims that Jews are wrong to practice blood sacrifice after Christ's atonement and the Catholic Mass is in error to believe that the bread of communion is the actual flesh of Christ. Both dishonor the actual sacrifice on the cross which Christ suffered for us ONCE FOR ALL.
The Protestants countered the false doctrine of trans-substantiation in the Reformation, correcting Catholic teaching. Evangelical/fundamental denominations espouse the belief from scripture that the bread and the wine REPRESENT symbolically the body and blood of Christ, as a means of remembering what He did for us. This is as He asked us to do when he instituted the Lord's Supper. When He spoke of "eating" His body and blood, He meant it in a spiritual way. We are to take Him into our Spirits in a personal relationship in response to His love for us.
Dr. McGee cautions us not to overlook the positive side of Thyatira's commendation. The Catholic church with its system of monasteries and nunneries was the only universal source of social welfare during this era. They provided medical help, orphanages, aid to the poor, and safe hostels for weary travelers. Although their works were commendable, salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, alone. But Clarence Larkin is more blunt in his evaluation. The Jezebel of Thyatira typified a system, he states--the system of the papal church. When the papal system introduced images and pictures into its churches for the people to bow down to, it became idolatrous. When it claimed that the teaching of the church is superior to the Word of God, it assumed the role of Prophetess. The emphasis on good works leading to works righteousness was encouraged by the church by the selling of indulgences. Church leaders began to offer the laity the opportunity to pay fines to the church as an act of penance for sins. They were then given a piece of paper called an indulgence that forgave their sin. The vast buildings of the Vatican in Rome are said to have been built on funds from the selling of such indulgences--the buying of forgiveness.
Larkin also points out two black marks of persecution on this age. Just as Jezebel killed Naboth and persecuted and murdered God's prophets in the Old Testament, so the Roman Church persecuted the early church reformers through the Inquisition. More bloodshed was committed in the name of Christ during the Crusades, which also took place during the Middle Ages. Both the Inquisition and the Crusades were committed under the sign of the cross; however, they were more politically motivated than religious.
The Inquisition
The Roman Catholic Church established a court or tribunal for the examination and punishment of those they called heretics. Outlawed in many nations, it was used by some as a tool to suppress those who challenged the ruling authority. This was especially true in Spain during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. These monarchs used the Inquisition as a tool to suppress the nobility and take their land, turning it into more of a secular tribunal than an ecclesiastical one. Land taken from those accused was to revert to the church but Spain refused to relinquish it. The Spanish Inquisition was used to gain land, power and wealth for the monarchy. As many as 32,000 people were killed during the time of the Inquisition and thousands more imprisoned. Execution was usually by burning at the stake. Many of those killed were Jews who refused the Catholic faith. Others were early defenders of the Apostolic faith, early reformers of the church. Still others were brought up before the tribunal as a means to seize their power and wealth. Ironically, it was the Spanish rulers who funded the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the new world in 1492. Columbus' discovery, America, became a haven for thousands of "Protestants," the name given to Protestors of the Catholic faith.
The Crusades
The Crusades refer to the wars carried on by the Christian nations of Europe, from the end of the 11th till the latter half of the 13th century, for the conquest of Palestine. They were called Crusaders because the warriors wore the sign of the cross. The antagonism between the Christian and Mohammedan nations had been intensified by the possession of the Holy Land by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire and their treatment of pilgrims to Jerusalem. Eight Crusades over this time combined armies from Britain and France, in particular, to take back control of Palestine from Islamic powers. Many young noble men filled with religious zeal lost their lives in this fruitless effort as these armies were largely unsuccessful, according to The American International Encyclopedia. Crusaders often indiscriminately killed both Arab and Jew. The sign of the cross became a symbol of hatred to those in the Middle East.
The misguided efforts of Crusaders was fueled by "secret" and superstitious religious myths concerning the "holy grail," the cup Christ supposedly used in the last supper. It was believed that the one who found this "chalice" of Christ would receive eternal life or immortality. This lie is more of the occult than Christ. It is not necessary to find a talisman or holy relic in order to receive eternal life; it requires only faith in Jesus Christ, the redeemer, who came that all might live in Him. Attributing supernatural power to inanimate objects is witchcraft. Such myths were evidence of pagan influence in the Church. The belief that the holy grail and other holy artifacts could be in Jerusalem helped fuel the zeal to gain control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, although the prophetic Word clearly reveals that Jerusalem would be trampled by Gentile nations until the times of the Gentiles would be fulfilled, in God's time. At the close of WWII, in 1948, the nation of Israel was re-born through the will of God and in His time.
The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, revived interest in the grail myth. This best-selling book then became a Hollywood movie by the same name. Although Brown attests that the book is fiction, he states that the premise is based on fact. Basically, the book purports that the chalice was actually the womb of Mary Magdalene who became the wife of Jesus Christ. According to this Satanic myth, Mary Magdalene fled from Palestine after Christ's crucifixion, carrying their child in her womb. She supposedly fled to France where she gave birth to the child. Even today, many believe that the human offspring of Christ became the seed of the royal line of the kings and queens of Europe. The ultimate elitist lie would be the claim that Jesus Christ is an ancestor. In The DaVinci Code, the author writes that Leonardo DaVinci hid the secret of Mary Magdalene and Christ's marriage in his paintings, and that the truth is there for those who discover the "secret." This secret or esoteric doctrine is not of God; it is a lie and deception of Satan and totally unsupported by Scripture. The deity of Christ and His holiness is defamed by such teaching. Brown made a great deal of money through propagation of this heretical myth, but many actually believe that the descendants of Christ are walking among us as commoners in order to escape persecution.
The heresy of a marriage between Christ and Mary Magdalene that produced children could also have an interesting spin in the end times. Antichrist will present himself as a "christ" according to Revelation 13. Christ also prophesied that a sign of His return would be deceptions about false Christs: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many." [Matthew 24:4-5] Will Antichrist create a religious following by claiming to be a descendant of the Christ? In the Tribulation, Antichrist will use any means necessary to control the Revived Roman Empire. "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." [ 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12]
Like leaders in the age of Thyatira, Antichrist will see the benefits of ruling the masses through politics and religion. "And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." [Revelation 13:7-8] If Antichrist claims both royal blood of the kings and queens of Europe and lineage with Christ, the deceived could easily follow such a leader.
The lesson of Thyatira is to test everything by the Word of God and resist the lure of false teachers. When a false Christian teacher entices his followers with pagan pleasures, in place of Christ's call to spiritual purity, his teaching has nothing to do with Christ Jesus.
In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon
[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]
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