THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN TIME AGES OF PROPHECY FULFILLMENT: CHURCH CANDLE 4 – THE AGE OF THYATIRA

This article is part 5 in a continuation of the previous four articles in this series on the prophetic Seven Churches of Asia from Revelation 2 & 3. In the study of the Seven Churches, we have thus far learned that the the seven letters to the seven churches set forth a pattern of Church history, written in advance of their occurrence as prophecies, to guide us into the inner chambers of the omniscient Creator – the one who knows the end from the beginning. At this point, it seems as if we have only entered the foyer of a heavenly castle and are now observing the paintings that adorn the hallway leading to the throne room. We have met our guide at the entrance. Seven lamps illuminate our steps.

Before us lies a series of seven portraits, each illuminated by a lamp. However, these are not set in oil and draped in gilded frames as one would expect. Instead, they take on the air of a motion picture – seven portraits that allow us to see two thousand years of Church history, with each of the seven portraits accurately portraying a certain time frame of history within seven individual time eras and their events, or historic theme, within the two thousand year history of the Church.

The first pictures is entitled, “Ephesus: The Bride whose Love Has Grown Cold in the Absence of Her Groom.” It is observable that this bride longs for the one who promised to return for her, but the years of waiting have taken their toll upon her heart. She waits, dressed in her white gown and flowing veil, but the flowers in her hand seem to be wilting. She waits, but her countenance is showing a bit of frustration.

The second picture is filled with suffering and persecution. Below it’s presentation is the title, “Smyrna: The Centuries of Suffering.” The scene is filled with martyrs who refused to deny their faith before government prosecutors (A.D. 33-313). We watch in horror as men are burned at the stake; as women are tortured and fed to wild animals; as children are beaten to death before the eyes of their helpless parents.

The third setting is quite different from the others. Its title is “Pergamos: The Church Under Imperial Favor,” which was discussed in the previous post as the third church of Revelation. Instead of government persecution, we see ministers and theologians fighting each other. Theologians seem to lend a blend of their own corrupted theology into the mix. Heresies abound. The Roman government has befriended the Church and what the government could not force the Christians to do earlier, the Christians now gladly oblige. We see ministers lured with a false sense of security, forsaking the faith and compromising foundational principles with pagan practices. This portrayal covers about two centuries of Church history – from A.D. 313 to 500.

Now, we come to the fourth portrait entitled, “Thyatira: The Church of the Dark Ages.” It sets forth the most evil period of church history, spanning over a thousand years – from A.D. 500 to 1500, and then beyond to this very day. The scene is that of an expensive ornate gothic sanctuary, built with government tax money, made of black stone, surrounded by gargoyles – demons of the most hideous appearance – decorating it’s towers and doorways. That is where this course of study begins.

Thyatira

By way of introduction, we should first observe the history and background of the city. Thyatira is located on the main road from Sardis to Pergamos – about twenty-seven miles north of Sardis and twenty miles southeast of Pergamos. The coast of the Aegean Sea lies about twenty miles to the west. Today, the modern name of the city is Akhisar, meaning “white castle.”

Thyatira was originally founded by Seleucus 1, one of four generals to whom Alexander the Great left his kingdom to (330 B.C.). The Babylonian and Syrian kingdom was by far the largest, extending westward to the Hermus Valley, in which the city of Thyatira was founded as a military outpost. Seleucus sent a contingent of Macedonian veterans to protect his western border from any possible encroachment by Lysimachus, the general who returned to rule parts of Thrace, Mysia and the coastlands as far south as Ephesus.

In 282 B.C., Philetaerus rebelled and formed the kingdom of Pergamum. The new state formed a buffer area between Seleucus and Lysimachus. Over the next 150 years, Thyatira fell to first one kingdom, then another as the quest for territory ebbed and flowed. Being situated in a wide valley, the city had no military advantage – no strong acropolis like Sardis and Pergamos. It was vulnerable to any determined army. In 189 B.C., the Romans came in force and Thyatira passed permanently into Roman control.

With Roman rule came commercial prosperity. Several trade guilds exported crimson and purple cloth dyed from the madder root, a cheap rival of the murex dyes of Israel and Phoenicia. Manufacturers also exported brass armor. A coin of Thyatira shows Hephaestus, the divine smith, hammering a helmet on an anvil, with the word “colibanos” meaning “fine brass.” Other inscriptions mention potters, bakers, dyers and slavers. Today, the city lies in poverty. Reverend Pliny Fisk, an American missionary who visited Thyatira in the early part of the nineteenth century, describes it …

“Thyatira is situated near a small river, a branch of the Caicus, in the center of an extensive plain. At the distance of three or four miles, it is almost completely surrounded by mountains. The houses are low; many of them made of mud or earth. Excepting the motsellim’s palace, there is scarcely a decent house in the place. The streets are narrow and dirty, and everything indicates poverty and degradation. We had a letter of introduction to Economo, the bishop’s procurator, and a principal man among the Greeks of this town … He says the Turks have destroyed all remnants of the ancient church; and even the place where it stood is now unknown. At present, there are in the town one thousand houses, for which taxes are paid to the government” (Memoir of P. Fisk; Boston, Massachusettes, 1828).

Among the inhabitants of Thyatira was a community of Jews, the most famous of whom was Lydia, a seller of purple, who met the Apostle Paul in Philippi (Acts 16:14). According to Flavius Josephus, Seleucus settled Jews in many cities throughout Asia …

“The Jews also obtained honors from the kings of Asia when they became their auxiliaries; for Seleucus Nicator made them citizens in those cities which he built in Asia, and in Lower Syria, and in the metropolis itself, Antioch; and gave them privileges equal to those of the Macedonians and Greeks, who were the inhabitants, insomuch that these privileges continue to this very day.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 3, Paragraph 1).

Though there is a small amount of knowledge available about the early founding of the city, most of it’s history remains obscure. Practically nothing is known about Thyatira during the first and second centuries. The histories of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos are most instructive; even Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea can be found in the early writings of Roman historians, but not so with Thyatira. It is remarkable that this letter should be written to the Church in the most obscure community.

The Letter

The Apostle John delivers the longest and perhaps the most instructive of the seven letters to Thyatira. It’s length seems to coincide with a significantly long period if Church history from about A.D. 500 to 1500, and then to the end of the Church Age. During the course of over a thousand years, the influence of Christianity grew tremendously. But it was not always good …

“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 …” (Revelation 2:18).

In the previous letters, we are introduced to various characteristics of the Savior. In the letter to Ephesus, we are told that he holds seven stars. In the Smyrna letter, he is the first and the last. In the Pergamos letter, he has a sharp sword. But in the letter to Thyatira, the emphasis is upon Jesus being “the Son of God.” The earliest churches do not need to be reminded about the deity of Christ. Apparently, this one does.

At the outset of the letter, we are reminded of the description of the Savior given in the previous chapter as standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks. This fourth church, therefore, stands for the servant lamp – the center lamp of the Menorah.

Jesus seems to be standing in the glory of the servant lamp with eyes set aflame and feet like brass burned in a furnace. It seems that his eyes are enflamed with anger. The brazen feet speak of judgment. This is the church that should be the very epitome of all that is bright and right and good about the bride of Christ, yet she stands for the darkest period of Church history. This servant lamp has failed miserably to be the “light of the world.” It turns out to be quite the opposite. Thyatira drags the world down into what history has called the “Dark Ages.” The church of this era presented only an outward appearance of piety …

“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” (Revelation 2:19).

The Church of this era was busy with works, love, service, faith and patience – commendable qualities. Furthermore their last works were more than the first – perhaps because the Church grew in wealth and influence over the course of a thousand years. However, the labors of this Church Age are offset by accusations of the most foul heresy ever to be leveled against the Christian faith …

“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. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 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” (Revelation 2:20-23).

Most theologians consider this heresy to be the work of the Nicolaitanes. The Church was guilty of breaking the simple constraints placed upon New Testament Christianity by the first Church council held in Jerusalem (Acts 15). The very things that the Church was asked not to do, Thyatira relished – committing spiritual fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols.” In short, it was mixing “Christianity” in the general sense of the faith (not a saving faith) with occultic beliefs and practices in worship of evil deities, or we might call them demons masquerading as other deities. This heresy gained a foothold in Pergamos and flowered in Thyatira.

Sir William Ramsey, author of the commentary The Letters to the Seven Churches, wrote:

“The letter to Thyatira is mainly occupied with the inability of the Church to rise superior to the associations and habits of contemporary society, and it’s contented voluntary acquiescence in them (which was called the Nicolaitan heresy).”

At first, the followers of Nicolas, one of seven deacons appointed in Acts 6:5, were only guilty of licentious living. Eventually, however, it is thought they began to step up a priestly order – a clergy maintaining a ministerial separation from the rest of the congregation. This concept of their conduct is taken from the Greek roots, nicao, meaning “to conquer,” and laity, meaning “people.”

The doctrine of the priesthood of the believer was changed in favor of the “priesthood of the clergy.” Whereas, the New Testament teaches that all believers have access to the throne of God through prayer, with only one advocate found in the Savior Jesus Christ. The “priesthood of the clergy” claimed that they alone had the power of prayer and that the people must seek a relationship with God through them. Does this sound familiar?  Kinda like a global cult organization in existence today that masquerades as the “Christian faith” that brainwashes the masses into thinking that the only way to God is through their installed human representatives?

Note that the letter does not simply lay a charge against “the doctrine” of Jezebel as did the letter to Pergamos against “the doctrine of Balaam,” but rather, this charge was against the prophetess herself. Some believe that a particular woman in the church, whom the letter calls Jezebel, taught the congregation to commit fornication and eat things offered to idols. However, from a prophetic perspective, Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, here becomes personified in an acceptance of goddess worship. Ishtar, virgin mother of the son of deity, also known throughout the pagan world as Ashtoreth, Isis, Diana, Minerva, Venus, etc., was adopted into the dogma of the Christian “religion” during the Dark Ages.

Jezebel was the epitome of wickedness in the Old Testament and symbolizes the mystery religion of Babylon. She introduced a pagan priesthood into northern Israel. The prophet Elijah withstood these priests of Baal and proved that their prayers could not reach the ears of God.

During the Age of Thyatira, goddess worship was introduced into the Christian “religion” as the virgin deity. Between the Nicolaitan priesthood and Jezebel’s goddess worship, the Church was responsible for bringing on the “Dark Ages” – a time when the populace was kept in poverty, ignorance and superstition. The Bible was chained to the pulpit and the reading of it forbidden to the laity.

“Indulgence” for a price became a popular method of escaping the penalty of sinning. The dead could be prayed out of a concocted “purgatory” for a fee. Elaborate and expensive cathedrals were built in communities where congregations lived in stark poverty.

According to the letter to Thyatira, opportunity to repent was given, but the institution of the virgin deity refused. Instead, they launched a war of inquisition against those Christians whose faith was in Christ alone. During these “Inquisitions” of the Dark Ages, thousands of Christians were branded as heretics and tortured. Many died under the cruel antics of the Jezebel institution.

Obviously, Christ’s charge of tolerating those among them (the true believers within this church) as with Pergamos before it, of “eating things sacrificed unto idols” and “committing fornication” isn’t as cut and dry as many commentaries on the churches of Revelation make it out to be. Christ is speaking of a spiritual fornication that is blatantly adulterous and rooted in idol worship. Does the word “occult” mean anything to you?

The Writings of John Foxe

Some of the most noted descriptions of the Inquisition were penned by the Reverend John Foxe in his historic work Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. He writes …

“We come now to a period when persecution, under the guise of Christianity, committed more enormities than ever disgraced the annals of paganism. Disregarding the maxims and the spirit of the Gospel, the Papal Church, arming herself with the power of the sword, vexed the Church of God and wasted it for several centuries, a period most appropriately termed in history as the ‘Dark Ages.’ The storm of Papal persecution first burst upon the Waldenses in France.” 

Persecution of the Waldenses

Around the year 1000, a movement to return to the simplicity of the Gospel gained popularity through the preaching of the Reverend Berengarius throughout eastern France. The Reverend Peter Bruis of Toulouse published a book entitled Antichrist, condemning the extra-biblical doctrines of the Roman institution and giving details about the reform movement.

By 1140, the number of converts brought increasing alarm to the pope. The pontiff wrote to several princes asking them to banish the reformers from their dominions. The Vatican began to publish books extolling the virtues of Romanism and condemning the reformers. In 1147, Reverend Henry of Toulouse preached against accepting any doctrines that could not be supported by scripture.

Out of this movement came Reverend Peter Waldo, a native of Lyons, France who vigorously opposed the extra-biblical doctrines of the Roman Church. His followers were known as the Waldenses. The bishop of Lyons informed Pope Alexander 3, who promptly excommunicated Waldo and ordered the extermination of his followers. This war against the Waldenses introduced the infamous “Inquisition.”

Certain monks were authorized as inquisitors to search out and destroy the reformers. Their process was simple. An accusation was considered enough to establish guilt. No trial was needed. The accused suffered torture and execution on the word of the inquisitors.

One of the most famous inquisitors was Dominic, the monk who instituted the order of the Dominican friars as the pope’s principle inquisitors. Their power was unlimited. They destroyed anyone they pleased regardless of age, sex or rank. In their eyes, to be rich was a crime equal to heresy. Many wealthy people had their fortunes and lands confiscated under the pretense of being heretics.

The fear of the inquisitors was so great that no friend or relative dare speak on behalf of those imprisoned for heresy. No lawyer dared even to plead for his own brother. During the crusades, many were sent to the Holy Land while the Dominicans took possession of their houses and properties. When the owners returned, they were afraid to reclaim their lost estates. These persecutions continued for several centuries under different popes and other dignitaries of the Roman Church.

The Reformation

Over the centuries, the reform movement continued to gain acceptance throughout Europe. In 1521, the Reverend Martin Luther, disgusted with the bigotry of the Vatican, nailed a thesis to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, challenging the unscriptural practices of the Roman Church. At last, the dawn of a new era began to illuminate the Dark Ages. But the pope stepped up his persecution against the dissidents. The worst was yet to come.

In 1524, the Reverend John Clark followed the example of Martin Luther and nailed a pamphlet to the church door in Melden, France, calling the pope “the Antichrist.” Clark was arrested, whipped and branded on the forehead. Clark would not be silenced. He went to Mentz, in Lorraine, and demolished some images, for which his right hand and nose were cut off. Instead of showing pain, he began to sing Psalm 115, which forbids idolatry. His persecutors were so enraged that they threw him into a fire and burned him to ashes. During this time, many people in the reform movement were beaten, racked, scourged and burned to death throughout France.

Persecution of the Albigenses

The Albigenses were a people of the reform movement of Eastern France who lived in the country of Albi. Their movement was so popular that many entire communities were  converted. Also, many eminent noble men embraced their doctrine. Among them were Raymond, earl of Toulouse, the earl of Foix and the earl of Beziers. Yet, the Albigenses were condemned by the council of Lateran on the order of Pope Alexander 2.

When a friar named Peter was murdered near Toulouse, the pope seized upon the opportunity to prosecute the nobleman and his subjects for the crime. The Roman Pontiff sent emissaries throughout Europe to raise an army, promising the indulgence of paradise to all who would fight for forty days in his “Holy War” against the Albigenses. But the earl of Toulouse bravely withstood the forces of the pope. Unable to subdue the earl openly, the king of France conspired to invite the earl to come to a conference where he was seized, made a prisoner, forced to appear barefooted and bareheaded before his enemies and compelled to recant. This was followed by a sustained persecution of the Albigenses.

In 1545, Francis Bribard, secretary to Cardinal de Pellay, made the mistake of speaking in favor of the reform movement. The cardinal first had his tongue cut out, then burned him at the stake. Also that same year, James Cobard, a schoolteacher in the city of St. Michael, was heard saying that the mass was useless and absurd. For those words, he was burned at the stake. Fourteen men were executed at Malda while their wives were forced to watch their husbands burn.

In 1546, Peter Chapot was caught selling Bibles. He was tried, sentenced and executed a few days later. In 1548, Monsieur Blondel, a rich jeweler, was arrested and sent to Paris where he was burned at the stake for his faith the following year. In 1549, Herbert, a youth of nineteen years of age, was committed to prison as a heretic.

In 1554, two men, along with the son and daughter of one of them, were arrested and placed in the dungeon at the castle of Niverne. The inquisitors examined them, found them guilty of heresy against the Roman Church and ordered their execution. They were smeared with grease, brimstone and gunpowder. After cutting out their tongues, they were burned at the stake.

The St. Bartholomew Massacre

On August 22, 1572, the Inquisition planned to carry out it’s most brutal massacre of Protestants. They hoped to finish off the Reformation movement once and for all. The chief conspirator was the king of France, who proposed a marriage between his sister and the young prince of Navarrel, the chief leader of the Protestants.

The marriage was publicly celebrated at Paris on August 18. The vows were read by the Cardinal of Bourbon. They dined in the great pomp and supped with the king. But on August 22, at twelve o’ clock at night, on the eve of St. Bartholomew, the signal was given. Immediately, all of the houses of the Protestants were forced open at once. One of the Protestant leaders, Admiral Coligny, was attacked and shot in both arms. Soon after, he was slain on orders of the king.

With that signal, soldiers began a slaughter in all parts of the city. The leader of the Protestant movement was thrown out of a window into the street, where his head was then cut off and sent to the pope. But that was not enough for these savage soldiers. They cut off his arms, dragged him through the streets and hung him by his heels just outside the city.

Following his death, they slaughtered many prominent leaders of the Protestant movement. They began slaughtering the common people. So furious was their rage that they even slew Catholics whom they suspected to not be very loyal. From Paris, the destruction spread to all quarters of the realm. Within a week, over 100,000 Protestants were slaughtered. The St. Bartholomew massacre is depicted in a painting at the Vatican, with the inscription, “The Pope approves of Coligny’s Death.”

What started out in the days of Constantine as governmental relief for the suffering saints eventually developed into a diabolical quest for power by the very theologians who proposed to bring utopia to the planet.

It is to this idolatrous religion that Jesus has a prophetic word. She is to be cast into “great tribulation” along with those who consort with her. Though the general view is that Thyatira diminished in the light of the Reformation, it’s main body of corrupt doctrine continues to this day. This Jezebel era will enter the Tribulation period and see her end in the closing chapters of the Apostle John’s Revelation as Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, becomes the target of those very nations over whom she ruled …

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (Revelation 17:16-17).

Mystery Babylon will meet the same fate as the Old Testament Jezebel. This modern institution of goddess worship will be destroyed by those very politicians who once profited by her. We are told that Jezebel was thrown out of a palace window by her bodyguards. In like manner, the kings who kept this “mother of harlots” will see to her undoing (see the article titled “THE SEVEN-FOLD DEATH OF MEGALOPOLIS: GOD’S HIDDEN SIGN” in the “Recommended Reading” section at the end of this article.

Christ also has a word for those generations of dedicated Christians in the reform movement …

“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” (Revelation 2:24).

Note that Jesus uses the same terminology used by the first Church council – “I will put upon you none other burden.” After discussing the influx of Gentile converts, the church at Jerusalem decided to accept Gentile conversions without the demands of the Mosaic Law. They drafted a letter to all of the churches saying …

“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well” (Acts 15:28-29). 

Jesus tells the church of Thyatira that the dogma instituted at the Jerusalem council against spiritual fornication and eating things offered to idols was scriptural and necessary, but that no other burden of extra-biblical doctrines should be forced upon believers. Yet, the extra-biblical doctrines developed in the Roman Church were forced upon believers. Those who did not agree were branded as heretics and slaughtered.

The Promise of Christ’s Return

“But that which ye have already hold fast till I come” (Revelation 2:25). Theological conflicts between Catholics and Protestants continue to this day. It is a fact of history. According to verse 25, they will continue to divide the Christian faith until Christ returns. To those who adhere to the simple doctrines of the Bible, Jesus says, “hold fast till I come.” Here is an era that will continue through to the conclusion of the Church Age. As we shall see, the believers in biblical Christianity, who stayed faithful throughout the Age of Thyatira, will flourish during the Ages of Sardis and Philadelphia.

To conclude this letter, Christ has a promise and an injunction. First, the promise:

“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 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” (Revelation 2:26-27). 

The promise given here is a kingdom promise. This age continues until the return of Christ. To those who remain faithful, Christ promises political authority to reign with him when he returns and delegates authority. During this coming kingdom, there will be no fear of an overbearing Christian bureaucracy such as that which developed over the past 1,600 years. The King of kings will be able to keep his kingdom in check. No theologians will be fighting other theologians. There will be no church splits, no demanding potentates, and no forced dogma. All of humanity will be subservient to the Lord of lords. The rest of us will have transformed bodies and minds. We will be freshly returned from the Savior’s heavenly abode. Our attitudes will be vastly improved.

The promise of ruling with a rod of iron and the breaking of vessels are indicative of Armageddon and the judgment that will immediately follow. The coming Kingdom of Christ on Earth will not have to be enforced by civil authority. Satan will be chained in the bottomless pit. Utopia will be welcomed with open arms. The final conflict at the end of the Kingdom Age will be fomented only after Satan is loosed for a little season.

Now, why will the faithful be given the morning star? … “And I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:28). Is this a promise that tells us when the Savior will return? The morning star appears just before daylight. Perhaps we are being told when to expect him. The Apostle John has already alluded to the concept that each day of creation represents a thousand years. He told us in the opening chapter that he was in the spirit on the “Lord’s Day.” That may well be a reference to the seventh millennium of human history. If so, then we should expect his return at the “dawning” of the day – in the opening years of the seventh millennium. Since the time of Christ, it is the dawning of the third day.

Finally, we have the injunction …

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 2:29).

Note that this fourth letter, the letter to Thyatira, reverses the order seen in the previous three letters. The first three give the injunction first and then the promise. But in the letters to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, the promise is given first, followed by the injunction to “hear.” As already noted earlier in the previous article concerning the letter to the previous church of Pergamos, this is indicative of a Menorah design. Thyatira is the pivot upon which the order is reversed.

To hear what the Spirit says is to listen with spiritual understanding. There is more to what is written than appears on the surface. There is a greater message to be understood, namely, that these seven churches reflect a prophetic view of the entire Church Age – from the first century to the present and beyond. Pergamos and Thyatira do not paint a pretty picture. It is not pleasant to contemplate the conflicts that beset Christianity during the Dark Ages. Let us determine to not let the intolerance of the past affect us. Let us determine to hold fast our faith until Christ returns.

The next article in this series can be seen in the link below:
THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN TIME AGES OF PROPHECY FULFILLMENT: CHURCH CANDLE 5 – THE AGE OF SARDIS

Recommended Reading:
THE SEVEN-FOLD DEATH OF MEGALOPOLIS – GOD’S HIDDEN SIGN

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