The Thyatirean Church Age
The Mystery of the Seven Stars and the Seven Golden Lampstand • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Text - Rev 2.18-29
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this:
19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.
25 Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.
26 The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations;
27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father;
28 and I will give him the morning star.
29 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Title - The Thyatirean Church Age
Series - The Mystery of the Seven Stars and the Seven Golden Lampstand
Thyatira, the city
Thyatira, the city
The city was built by Seleucus Antipater
Thyatira was refounded in the the early third century B.C. by Seleucus I on the site of an earlier settlement and became a city of commerce and industry, famous for its purple dye industry and for metalworking and other trades. It was an important stop on the Roman road connecting Pergamum and Laodicea. In the Roman period the craft guilds were each dedicated to the service of a deity and were prominent in the city’s social and political life. Lydia, a prominent Christian convert in Philippi, was a seller of purple from Thyatira (Acts 16:14).1
1 Myers, A.C. (1987) The Eerdmans Bible dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
The name of the city means “castle of Thya
The name “Thyatira” means “the castle of Thya.” Other names which it has borne are Pelopia and Semiramis. Before the time of Nicator the place was regarded as a holy city, for there stood the temple of the ancient Lydian sun-god, Tyrimnos; about it games were held in his honor.1
1 Banks, E.J. (1915) “Thyatira,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Edited by J. Orr et al. Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company.
The patron god of the city was Tylimnaios Apollo
In regard to religion, Thyatira also rejoiced in the title ‘the holy city of the προπάτωρ θεὸς Ἤλιος Πύθιος Τυριμναῖος Ἀπόλλωνʼ (just as Ephesus boasted itself the city of Artemis); and the inscriptions often mention the patron god. The coins often show the horseman-god Tyrimnos, with double-axe on shoulder (a figure common under various names in Lydian and Phrygian cities), and a goddess of the Greek Artemis type, called Boreitene. 1
1 Ramsay, W.M. (1911–1912) “THYATIRA,” A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology. Edited by J. Hastings et al. New York; Edinburgh: Charles Scribner’s Sons; T. & T. Clark.
Thyatira, the church
Thyatira, the church
The church in Thyatira was believed to have been started by Lydia and her household, a woman of Thyatira who met Paul in Philippi
14 A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
15 Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Thyatira, the church age
Thyatira, the church age
The Age
According to Roy Gingrich - AD 590 - 1517
According to Clarence Larkin - AD 606 - 1520
According to WMB - AD 606 - 1520
The Messenger - St Columba
Columba of Iona (521–597). Irish missionary to Scotland. Columba was born in Ireland of royal lineage through both parents. In accordance with his royal status, he benefited from the care of a priest and was brought up in the Christian faith.
The Age of Thyatira can be divided into 4 sub-periods -
from the accession of pope Gregory the Great to the crowning of Charlemagne (AD 590 - 800)
from the crowning of Charlemagne to the accssion of Pope Gregory VII (AD 800 - 1073)
from the accession of Gregory VII to the accession of Boniface VIII (1073 - 1294)
from the accssion of Boniface VIII to the beginning of Protestant Reformation (1294 - 1517)
Why AD 590?
Gregory became Bishop of Rome in AD 590
His papacy was the dividing point between ancient church history and medieval church history
He is the dividing point between the Old Catholic Imperial church and the Roman Catholic Church (the monarchical, heirarchical, sacramental and institutionalied church in the Middles Ages)
More on Pope Gregory the Great
He successfully asserted the supremacy of the bishop of Rome (he did what others had attempted)
He made himself the first true pope (he made great claims and he enforced these claims. No cleric in the West dared to defy him)
He claimed and exercised temporal power (he, occupying the secular vacuum left in the West after A.D. 476, appointed governors and raised armies. His successors taught “the doctrine of the two swords”)
He founded medieval theology (he simplified and summarized the theology of Augustine). Gregory, Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine are called “the four great doctors of the Western Church.”
Why AD 800?
The History of the Church I. The Sub-Period from the Accession of Gregory the Great to the Crowning of Charlemagne (A.D. 590–800)
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.
During this period efforts were made to revive the old Roman empire -
in AD 962 Otto the Great was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
the Popes were the Kingmakers in the West
in 1054 - separation became official between Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church
Why 1073?
Gregory VII became Bishop of Rome
The History of the Church III. The Sub-Period from the Accession of Gregory VII to the Accession of Boniface VIII (A.D. 1073–1294)
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).
in 1198 Innocent III became Bishop of Rome
The History of the Church III. The Sub-Period from the Accession of Gregory VII to the Accession of Boniface VIII (A.D. 1073–1294)
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 doctrine of two swords
During this period, the papacy reached the zenith of its power and it became the strongest political force as well as religious force in western Europe. This institution taught, and to a large degree realized, “the doctrine of the two swords” the teaching that God has two swords (powers) in the earth through which He executes His will, the religious sword (the church) and the civil sword (the state), the religious sword being the highest (that is, the state rules over temporal things by means of power given to it by the church).
Why 1294?
the reign of Pope Boniface VII was considered the beginning of the decline of the papacy’s power
1309-1377 - the period of so-called “Babylonian captivity of the church”
1378-1417 - a period known as the Great Schism withing RCC
The Babylonian Captivity
The History of the Church IV. The Sub-Period from the Accession of Boniface VIII to the Beginning of the Protestant Reformation (A.D. 1294–1517)
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.
The Great Schism
in 1378 after the cardinals elected Urban VI as pope, the French cardinals declared his election illegal and elected Clement VII to replace him. Clement restored the seat of papacy to Avignon, France, Thus the RCC had 2 rival popes.
in 1409 the council of Pisa deposed the 2 popes and elected Alexander V as pope. The rival popes refused to acknowledge their deposition and so the church had 3 popes.
finally in 1417 the council of Constance deposed all 3 popes and elected Martin V as pope
Why 1517?
in 1517 Martin Luther posted his famous 95 Thesis at the door of the Wittenberg Church, which sparked the flame of the Reformation movement
Some doctrines during the Thyatirean Age
Some doctrines during the Thyatirean Age
Second Nicea Council, AD 787 - the council decreed that the worship of God through images was permissible.
the doctrine of Transubstantiation was acceptedand taught, but only became official in 1215.
the doctrine of two swords - the church holds 2 powers from God, the civil power of the state, and the religious power, which is also the highest of the 2 swords.
marriage was prohibited to the clergy
simony was practiced - the buying and selling of religious offices to the highest bidder
the popes taught that the were God’s supreme ruler on earth
the doctrine of indulgences was widely promoted - sins of the souls in purgatory are forgiven through people’s donations to the church causes
The Letter
The Letter
The Salutation
The Salutation
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this:
The same description is mentioned in Rev 1.14-15
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
15 His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
and when Christ comes to fight against the nations in Rev 19.11-12
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
Eyes like a flame of fire - signifies God’s wrath against what He is seeing in the church
Christ sees the corruption of the gospel brought by the spirit of Jezebel
Feet like burnished bronze - signifies God’s judgment against the evil that is happening in the church
Christ will judge the sins that are being done in the name of Christianity
The Commendation
The Commendation
19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
The believers in this age remained faithful and in love with the truth, as wellas patient and enduring
Christ commends the deeds of the saints to be greater that the first.
The Complaint
The Complaint
20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Jezebel was the Sidonian princess whom King Ahab married.
She mixed Baal worship with Israel’s faith. - 1 Kings 16.31-33
31 And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.
32 So he erected an altar for Baal at the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.
33 Ahab also made the Asherah. So Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
She caused Ahab to do eveil before God - 1 Kings 21.25-26
25 There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.
26 He also acted very despicably in following idols, conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.
Jezebel represents the Roman Catholic Church -
she call herself prophetess (mouthpiece of God) - by creating and proclaiming (new) doctrines not taught in Scriptures
she teaches and leads people to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols -
her doctrines mixed the power of state and religion
her doctrines mixed paganism and christianity
The Warning
The Warning
22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.
The real issue -
the church was “tolerating” the spirit of Jezebel (v.20)
society - allows the women to have rule over men
churches - allow women to be pastors and preachers
She was given time to repent, but she refused to
Jezebel/RCC will be judged, together with her children -
in the Great Tribulation
with a plague -
possibly the Black Death/Bubonic plague of 1347
the Bubonic plague killed approx 75-200 million worldwide
The Promise
The Promise
25 Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.
26 The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations;
27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father;
28 and I will give him the morning star.
29 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
“Authority over the nations”
the Millennial reign of Christ
8 ‘Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”
break with rod of iron - absolute authority
shatter - those who will refuse to be ruled will be destroyed completely
“rule” or “shepherd” - signified the righteous rule of Christ
“the morning star”
John Wycliffe - the Morning Star of the Reformation
The Eternal Church: A Prophetic Look at the Church—Her History, Restoration, and Destiny The John Wycliffe Movement
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.
Wycliffe gave England a new proclamation of the pure gospel, acknowledging the Bible as the only source of truth.
Declaring that Christ, not the Pope, was the head of the Church, he rejected the Doctrine of Infallibility of either pope or council, and held that papal decrees or pronouncements had authority only insofar as they were in harmony with Scripture.
The clergy were not to be lords over the flock but were to serve and help the people.
He attacked the mendicant friars and the system of monasticism.
He wrote against the doctrine of “trans-substantiation” (i.e., that in the Mass the bread and wine are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ), regarding the elements as symbolic. He also urged that the church service be made more simple, according to the New Testament pattern.
Wycliffe’s greatest work was his translation of the Bible from the Vulgate (the Latin version) into English. It appeared in the year of his death, 1384.
Jesus himself is the Morning Star - Rev 22.16
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The appearing of the morning star (Venus) indicates the night is over!
Conclusion
Conclusion
The spirit of Jezebel continues to this age
the Roman church - continues to assert her authority over peoples and governments
the Feminist movement - is trying to have power over men
women pastors in the church - are in direct
“Do not hold to this teaching!”
The overcomer is he who keeps the work of Christ to the end
faithfulness to His Word!
faithful to the authority of the Word of God
SONG
Blessed Assurance