The fourth letter is written to the church in Thyatira. Thyatira is the middle letter and the church in the Middle Ages. It was the smallest of the 7 cities, yet Jesus Christ wrote the longest letter to them. In church history, it is the one with the largest period. It runs from the crowning of Pope Boniface III as the first universal pope in AD 607. It ended with the Treaty of Westphalia where there was the first legal basis for protestants to exist.
The letter to the church in Thyatira:
Rev 2:18-29 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
What does Thyatira mean
Thyatira means perpetual sacrifice. In the Catholic church every time you sin, Jesus is dying for that. What did happen to Luke 12:8-9?
Luke 12:8-9 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
Find a good chair and a cup of tea, and read from:
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church by Malachi Martin.
The First Rich Father chapter until The Blood Relatives of Jesus. So you read the history of how the church teaches apostates should not be allowed in the church any more but later they could. They changed the theology of the lord’s Supper to the mass that the bread and wine are Jesus Christ, a continual sacrifice so that apostates could renew repentance. To know it is wrong is one thing, it is another to know how historically it came into existence.
The First Rich Father 3. The Fanatic's Attack
"Emperor Diocletian had instituted a widespread and thorough persecution of Christians during which many Christians (priests and bishops as well as layfolk) had sworn in front of Roman officials, with a copy of the Gospels on the ground in front of them, that they abjured Jesus, his church, his teaching, and the whole Christian religion. As a reward, they were allowed to go about their business in peace. When Constantine became emperor, he ended all that persecution, and
the crypto-Christians and the renegade Christians came out into the open again
in droves to ask forgiveness and to rejoin the church."
The History of Thyatira
Pastor Joseph gives a great overview of the historic city of Thyatira.
The church in Thyatira
Introduction
The city was founded by Alexander the Great, and the god Apollo was worshipped in Thyatira. Apollo had an important father, Zeus, and because of that one of his nicknames was Son of God. That is why Jesus relates to them and informs them that He is the Son of God. His eyes are like a flame of fire, in the letter we read that Jesus knows and sees everything going on in the world and the church. His feet are brass, with which he can tread upon everything. And we can read quite some judgment in this letter.
The message
It is a church where people come into action, works are often mentioned.
James 2:14-17 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
However, some people do not completely do the will of the Lord in Thyatira. And Jesus Christ gives them time to repent, which if they don’t… A lesson we should though you see things happening in the church, be sure not to blindly follow everything, as not everything is OK in the church. God wants you to seek Him yourselves.
The end
Though it was a small city, Jesus Christ promised them they should rule the world, with a rod of iron, as is mentioned in Psalm 2.
Psalm 2:7-9 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
The morning star is Jesus Christ Himself, he gives Himself to the faithful believers of the Thyatira church.
The church of Thyatira as a church in the Church History
Introduction
Jesus names himself the Son of God. In To the church in Pergamum, we read about Arianism, and there was at that time a council about the deity of Christ. In this Thyatira church period, the Roman Catholic one, as we shall see, made some errors here and there, but not about the deity of Christ.
His eyes are like flames or fire. Eyes are to see, and Christ sees everything. Later on, we read that the followers of Jezebel would be killed. Indeed the Catholic church held inquisitions to kick out the secret societies that had infiltrated the church.
His feet are brass, which stands for judgment. And there is quite some judgment in this message.
The message
John writes about works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works. The Catholic faith is known for their good works, in times past they were the only people caring for others by building hospitals with nuns and priests and schools. Charity can be translated as love, it is the only of the seven churches commended for its love. Though on the top there was some fight for power, for all those years the church has been in unity. They had faith and patience. They continued to work hard being faithful, and were patient. Their latter works were better than their first works. In the end, they lost millions to the reformation, but the Catholic church was very successful in their ministry trips to North and South America.
Sexual sins
If the Thyatira church was the church of the period 600 –1600, they must be as well known for their sexual sins. And yes they are. St. Peter Damian writes about it when it was at its worst in the 11th century:
Liber Gomorrhianus : St. Peter Damian
But this lady, the woman Jezebel, did she ever exist? Yes… In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church by Malachi Martin, In the chapter “The Nymph Who Made Popes” you can read about Marozia – Wikipedia and Theodora (senatrix) – Wikipedia.
But let me be clear, in the Thyatira Catholic church some interesting persons entered the church, but the Thyatira Catholic church herself never denied the trinity or Christ’s position in the trinity or Christ’s deity as God.
The killing of children
But we read that people who Jezebel got killed, including the children? Did the church ever kill children?
There was a pope Pope Clement V who murdered quite some templars as they were accused of among other things Sodomy in their initiation rituals. As we can read on the templars wiki on Friday, 13 October 1307 quite a large group of templars were killed.
Guardians of the Grail– and the men who plan to rule the world! : Church, J. R.
The first 6 chapters are a must-read to understand everything you need to know about the templars. Well almost… How the church started in the south of France is still a bit better explained by:
St Paul in Britain by Rev. R.W. Morgan
In chapter 4 it tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene going to the south of France.
The book St. Paul in Britain is a very good book about how the gospel spread in the first century.
About why the templars were part of the Inquisition of the church is explained in:
Secret Societies and Subversive Movements – Nesta H. Webster – Google Books
Chapter 3.
The end
This is the only one of the 7 churches that specifies how to become an overcomer: “Keep my works until the end”. If you don’t fall into sexual sin and abstain from secret societies you will have power over the nations. This is what the church had for most of the time in this era.
What is a morning star? Let’s check our bible:
Job 38:4 -7 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Jesus Christ is the morning star, and Thyatira overcomers will take part in Jesus Christ.