Letter to the church in Thyatira (Part 7)

1. Commission (Revelation 2:18) “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write....”

The dates of the Thyatira Church Period: ______________ to _____________A. D.

The significance of the name “Thyatira”, means “_____________ of _________________________.”

The word “Thyatira” coming from two words: one meaning _________________ and the other _______________.

This is the period in history, that we know as the __________________ ________________.

2. Character (Revelation 2:18) “...These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;”

Remember this was that period in history when the “church” began to refer to Him as the son of Mary, and Mary as the queen of heaven.

3. Commendation (Revelation 2:19) “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.” Revelation 2:24–25 “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. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”

In the midst of all the error and benefits to turn to error, there were still those that believed the Bible, unwavering in faith and practice.

4. Condemnation. (Revelation 2:20–23) “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.”

Notice the connection between Rev. 2:20 and 2:14, Someone is committing __________________ and _________________ things sacrificed to idols.

This system was called the doctrine of __________________ in 2:14, and is called _______________ in 2:20. (This causing us to compare spiritual with spiritual)

A “woman” in the Bible, when it is used in reference to religion, is always a picture of a ____________ __________________ _______________.

This woman, “Jezebel” in Revelation 2, is not literal but is a ___________________ _________________.

More About This “Woman”...

Rev. 17:3 John sees a WOMAN sitting on a scarlet ________________.

Rev. 13: 1-4 The BEAST is the _______________________.

Rev. 17:1 The WOMAN is the “GREAT _______________”.

Rev. 17:5 The WOMAN is MYSTERY _________________ the GREAT.” (Representing that “one” world religion of the tribulation)

Rev. 17:5 The WOMAN is the “MOTHER of ___________________.”

Gen. 10-11 She is the WOMAN of the “_______________ of BABEL.”

Prov. 6:24 She is the “________________ WOMAN.”

Rev. 2:9 She is the “SYNAGOGUE of ___________________.”

Rev. 2:20 She is “THAT WOMAN __________________!”

Note: It is all the same “WOMAN” therefore, it is all the same “RELIGION”. The details that God gives us concerning this woman are not random, but found all throughout the Bible.

In the Old Testament, Satan used a _______________ woman called “Jezebel” to bring _______________ in to pervert the true worship of God in Israel.

In the Church Age, Satan used a _______________ woman called “Jezebel” to bring ________________ _______________ in to pervert the true worship of God in Christianity.

It is however, the SAME EXACT System… A system which the Pope has been hard at work to lay aside the differences. We may think it is a failed system, but she is on her way to win the worlds popularity contest.

Rick Warren After his visit to the Vatican in 2014. “Now there’s still real differences, no doubt about that. But the most important thing is if you love Jesus, we’re on the same team.”

Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer.

The Purpose Driven Network is a global alliance of over 400,000 pastors and priests in 163 nations representing every spectrum of Christianity. More than 700,000 church leaders

How do we know?

Rev. 17:4 says she is arrayed in ________________ and ______________ colour...”

The Catholic Encyclopedia states: Cappa Magna: A cloak with a long train and a hooded shoulder cape... (it) was ___________ wool for bishops; for cardinals, it was ____________ colored silk...

Cassock: The close–fitting, ankle–length robe worn by the Catholic clergy was their official garb... The color for bishops and other prelacies is ____________, for cardinals ____________. 1 1 Peter M.J. Stravinsleas, ed., Catholic Encyclopedia (Our Sunday Visitor Pub., 1995), 175, 178

(By the way, these are not resources that have a biased against the Catholic Church.)

Rev. 17:4 says she is “decked with gold and precious stones and pearls”...

The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The pectoral cross (suspended by a chain around the neck of abbots, bishops, and archbishops, cardinals and the Pope) should be made of ____________ and ...decorated with _________.” 2 2 Robert Broderick, ed., The Catholic Encyclopedia (Thomas Nelson, 1876), 466.

Clarence Larkin wrote: “Of the different articles of attire specified for the Pope to wear when installed into office, five are ______________. A vest covered with _______________, and a mitre, adorned with __________ and precious _______________ was also to be worn. 3 3 Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth (Rev. Clarence Larkin Est., 1918), 141.

Rev. 17:4 says she also has “a golden cut (chalice) in her hand...”

Alexander Hislop states: “The Apocalyptic emblem of the Harlot woman with the cup in her hand was even embodied in the symbols of idolatry derived from ancient Babylon, as they were exhibited in Greece; for thus was the Greek Venus originally represented, and it is singular that in our own day, ...the Roman Church has actually taken this very symbol as her own chosen emblem. In 1825, ...Pope Leo XII struck a medal, bearing on the one side his own image, and on the other, that of the Church of Rome symbolized as a “Woman,” holding in her left hand a cross, and in her right a cup, with the legend around her, ‘Sedet super universum,‘ [meaning] ‘the whole world is her seat’.” 4 (c.f. Rev. 17:1, 15) 4 Alexander Hislop The Two Babylons (Neptune, N.J.: Loizeaux Brothers, 1916), 6.

The Catholic Encyclopedia vessels.” says the ______________ chalice is “the most important of the sacred

Rev. 17:18 calls her “Mystery, __________ the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.”

Rev. 17:18 says ‘the woman... is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Which city is it? Verse 9 says it is a city of _________ mountains, or hills.

The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “It is within the city of Rome, called the city of ______________ _____________, that the entire area of _________________ State proper is now confined.” 5 5 The Catholic Encyclopedia (Thomas Nelson, 1976), under the heading, Rome.

A quick google search provides this… Rome, Italy: The ancient city of Rome was built on seven hills: Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine.

5. CALL. (Rev. 2:21) “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” ✦ The “space of repentance” (Rev. 2:14)

(From 325-500 A. D. Christ had given her opportunity to “repent”. That doesn’t seem that long, but 175 years ago, James Knox Polk our 11th President, becomes the first sitting president to have his photograph taken. 1849 was the start of regular steamboat service from New York to San Francisco, a 4 month and 21 day trip that took you around the tip of South America. Zachary Taylor become the 12th president, and refused to be sworn in because it was a Sunday, (so they wait until Monday). The gold rush in California, was only in its second year. The civil war is still an event in the future, that at this point no one thought was possible.

6. CERTAINTY (of Judgment). (Rev. 2:22) “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.”

Revelation 17:1“...I will shew unto thee the judgment… (The last half of the tribulation, called the “Great Tribulation”.

The Judgement of the Literal Woman Jezebel: (2 Kings 9:33–36)

The Future Judgment of the Figurative Woman Jezebel: (Rev. 18:1-3, 21)

Historically, we leave this period and enter into the period which is known for the BLACK DEATH. The Bubonic Plague which killed nearly half of the population, estimates are that 50 million people died in a ___________ year time frame.

7. Correction (Rev. 2:22 )“Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.”

Can I say, that if you were duped by the Catholic Church, you do not have to ride the guilt trip the rest of your life… but knowing the truth, we must steer clear!

2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV 1900

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

8 Consolation (Rev. 2:24) “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.”

Which doctrine? Transubstantiation - Which is the bloodless sacrifice that is done on a weekly basis, where the bread that somebody eats during mass, somehow represents them receiving Christ. (Revelation 2:20... to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”)

Those that commit, Christ say have known the __________________ of Satan…

9. Challenge (Rev.) 2:25 “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”

People want to hold the reformation of the Catholic Church as a great thing… The problem, is that reformation of something that is dead, is not the answer. When the reformers came out of the Catholic Church they brought the seeds with them.

The Pope has for years, compromised in an effort to reform… And one day, she will reform, and all the reformers will come crawling back to their mother.

10. Counsel (Revelation 2:26–29) “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. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Prophetically we understand this to be Jesus… Revelation 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.”

What’s amazing is that those who know Him, this will be a time of admiration.

For those that do not know Him, it will be a time of destruction.

Historically: This period known as the dark ages is the period in which the church worked hard to remove the word of God from the hands of everyday people.

“The Morning Star of the Reformation.” A name for John Wycliff that wasn’t represented by an actual star, but the planet Venus, which appears before the sun rises and while darkness still dominates the horizon. The morning star however, is unmistakably visible.

Darkness dominated the horizon in the fourteenth century, the century of Wycliffe, who was born in 1330 and died in 1384

In the 1370’s, he produced three significant works as countermeasures to the church’s corruption. The first one, On Divine Dominion (1373–1374), took aim at papal authority. Wycliffe was at a loss to find biblical warrant for the papacy. In fact, he argued that the papacy conflicts with and obscures the church’s true authority, Scripture. The second major work was On Civil Dominion (1375–1376). Here Wycliffe targeted the Roman Catholic Church’s assertion of authority over the English crown and English nobility. He saw no reason for England to be obliged to support a corrupt church. In his third major work, On the Truth of Sacred Scripture (1378), he further developed the doctrine of the authority of Scripture.

In On the Truth of Sacred Scripture, Wycliffe called for the Bible to be translated into English. According to Roman Catholic law, translating the Bible into a vulgar, common language was a heresy punishable by death. It is almost impossible to imagine why a church would want to keep God’s word from people, unless that church wanted to hold power over the people. Wycliffe was more convinced of the power of the word of God than the power wielded by the papal office. Stating:

“It helps Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue which they know best.”

Of course, it wasn’t long and he had fallen out of favor with the pope, and understood the reach of his long arm of judgment. Yet, he remained resolved declaring, “I am ready to defend my convictions even unto death.” He remained convinced of the authority and centrality of Scripture and devoted to his life’s calling to help Christians study the Bible.

Having suffered two strokes, John Wycliffe died on December 30, 1384.

In 1415, the Council of Constance, declared Wycliffe a heretic. His bones were exhumed and burned, and the ashes were put into the River Swift.

But the reforming efforts of Wycliffe could not be quenched by the flames or stopped by a council’s declarations. This Morning Star shone brightly against the horizon, signaling the soon coming of daylight.