The Thyatirean Church Age
Intro
Thyatira, the city
Thyatira, the church
Thyatira, the church age
On Christmas Day in A.D. 800, Pope Leo III (A.D. 795–816) crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Romans,” thus reviving the Roman empire in the West. This revived Roman empire had dominion over northern Italy, all of the territory of modern day France, and almost all of the territory of modern-day Germany. It ruled over peoples of the former Roman empire plus the Teutonic peoples north of the old Roman empire.
As pope, Hildebrand immediately went to work to establish the supremacy of the papacy over all civil powers. To attain this end, he dedicated himself to the abolition of three things: (1) the marriage of the clergy; (2) the practice of simony; and (3) the right to lay investiture (the right of secular rulers to bestow the ring, staff, and pallium [the symbols of spiritual authority] upon those appointed to be clerical leaders in their realms).
Innocent, building upon the foundations laid by Gregory VII, brought the papacy to the acme of its power. He believed that he was God’s supreme ruler on the earth and that the state is related to the church as the moon is related to the sun.
The Babylonian Captivity of the church (A.D. 1309–1377)
In A.D. 1309, Clement V, a French pope, moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon in France. Here the papacy remained for 68 years, under the dominion of strong French kings. The people of Europe lost much of their respect and esteem for the papacy for they perceived it to be no longer an independent authority among the nations but a tool of the French kings.
Some doctrines during the Thyatirean Age
The Letter
The Salutation
The Commendation
The Complaint
The Warning
The Promise
John Wycliffe (1329–84) was born and educated in England. He earned his doctorate in theology and was greatly influenced by the writings of Augustine. He was the morning star that shined the brightest before the dawn of the Reformation.