CHAPTER FIVE

THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA

Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:18-29

Now we will continue by looking at Thyatira. Here I must especially emphasize that Ephesus came forth after the church in the apostolic age had passed away, and after Ephesus, Smyrna, and after Smyrna, Pergamos, and after Pergamos, Thyatira. The church during the apostles’ time has passed, the age of Ephesus has passed, the age of sufferings has passed, and the period of Pergamos has also passed. Although Thyatira follows, the church in Thyatira will continue until the Lord Jesus comes back again. Not only Thyatira, but also Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea will continue until the Lord Jesus returns. In the first three churches there was no mention of the Lord’s coming again, but in the latter four, the coming back of the Lord Jesus is spoken of in each case. Laodicea, however, does not speak of the Lord’s second coming literally because of something particular concerning her, which we will explain later. The latter four churches will continue until the Lord Jesus comes again.

In the Bible the number seven signifies completeness. Seven is composed of three plus four. Three is the number of God; God Himself is three in one. Four is the number of the creature of God; it is the number of the world, including the four directions, the four winds, the four seasons, etc. All of these contain the number four. Seven means the Creator plus the creature. When God is added to man, that is completion. (But this completeness is of this world—God never puts seven in eternity. The number of completeness in eternity is twelve. Seven is three plus four; twelve is three times four. When God and man are put together, that is completeness in this world. When the Creator and the creature are joined together, then there is eternal completeness.) The number seven is always three plus four. The seven churches are divided into the first three churches and the last four. Three do not speak of the Lord’s coming back, while the other four refer to the Lord’s coming again. Thus, three churches belong to one group, while the other four belong to another group. The church in Thyatira is first among the four churches which will exist until the Lord Jesus comes again.

Thyatira means “the sacrifice of perfume,” that is, full of many sacrifices. The words spoken by the Lord in this epistle become stronger and stronger. The Lord says that He is the One who has “eyes like a flame of fire” (Rev. 2:18). Nothing can hide from His eyes. He is the light; He Himself is the illumination. At the same time He says that “His feet are like shining bronze” (v. 18). In the Bible bronze signifies judgment. What the eyes see, the feet judge. All Bible scholars agree that the church in Thyatira refers to the Roman Catholic Church. This does not refer to the confusion which resulted from the marriage with the world in the beginning—that is now over. Now the situation has become so gross, so full of heresy and sacrifice. It is indeed remarkable how the Roman Catholic Church pays so much attention to behavior and sacrifice. The mass is their sacrifice.

The Roman Catholic Church, according to our observation, has nothing good, but God says, “I know your works and love and faith and service and your endurance and that your last works are more than the first” (v. 19). The Lord acknowledges that there is reality in the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon, Tauler, and Fenelon were all in the Roman Catholic Church, and we can mention many more of the best names. Indeed, there are many in the Roman Catholic Church who know the Lord. We should never think that there are none who are saved in the Roman Catholic Church. The Lord still has His own people there—of this we must be very clear before the Lord.

What we are taking note of now is how desolate the church has become in her outward appearance. First, we saw the behavior of the Nicolaitans; later, we saw that it developed into a teaching. But what about the church now? The Lord says, “But I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices” (v. 20). Who is Jezebel? Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, who married her from the land of the Zidonians, the Gentiles. Jezebel seduced the people to worship Baal (1 Kings 16:30-32). Baal was the god of the Gentiles, not the God of the people of Israel. Jezebel told the people to worship the image of Baal. The problem was not just idols, but that God had been replaced. Baal was brought in and worshipped as their own god. In the history of the Jewish nation (Israel) up to 1 Kings 16, no one had ever led the people of Israel to sin in such a way as Ahab. Ahab was the first to lead the people to worship a Gentile god on a large scale. Not even Jeroboam could match him in the sins he committed.