Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:18-29; 22:16; 2 Pet. 1:19
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
Rev 2:19 I know your works and love and faith and service and your endurance and that your last works are more than the first.
Rev 2:20 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.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her time that she might repent, and she is not willing to repent of her fornication.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works;
Rev 2:23 And her children I will kill with death; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.
Rev 2:24 But I say to you-the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they Say-I put no other burden upon you;
Rev 2:25 Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
Rev 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.
2 Pet 1:19 And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
I. As a sign, the church in Thyatira prefigures the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully formed as the apostate church by the establishing of the universal papal system in the latter part of the sixth century—Rev. 2:18.
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
II. The church in Thyatira tolerates the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess—v. 20:
Rev 2:20 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.
A. Jezebel, the pagan wife of Ahab, is a type of the apostate church; the Roman Catholic Church became the same as this woman, bringing many heathen practices into the church—1 Kings 16:31; 19:1-2; 21:23, 25-26; 2 Kings 9:7.
1 Kings 16:31 And as if it were a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshipped him.
1 Kings 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and all about how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
1 Kings 19:2 And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, The gods do so to me and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them!
1 Kings 21:23 And concerning Jezebel, Jehovah also spoke, saying, The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
1 Kings 21:25 (Indeed there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of Jehovah because Jezebel his wife urged him on.
1 Kings 21:26 And he acted very abominably in going after idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.)
2 Kings 9:7 And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah at the hand of Jezebel.
B. The three women in Matthew 13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 17 are the same person:
1. In Matthew 13:33 a woman takes leaven (signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things) and hides it in three measures of meal (signifying Christ as the meal offering for the satisfaction of God and man).
Matt 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.
2. This woman is the great harlot of Revelation 17, who mixes abominations with the divine things; in 2:20-23 the same woman is called Jezebel.
Rev 17:1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters,
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3 And he carried me away in spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication.
Rev 17:5 And on her forehead there was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I marveled with great marvel when I saw her.
Rev 17:7 And the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast who bears her, who has the seven heads and the ten horns.
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth, those whose names are not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life, will marvel when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will be present.
Rev 17:9 Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are the seven mountains where the woman sits
Rev 17:10 And are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a short time.
Rev 17:11 And the beast who was and is not, he himself is also the eighth and is out of the seven and goes into perdition.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom but receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Rev 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they who are with Him, the called and chosen and faithful, will also overcome them.
Rev 17:15 And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which you saw and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and burn her utterly with fire.
Rev 17:17 For God has put it into their hearts to perform His mind and to perform one mind and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are accomplished.
Rev 17:18 And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.
Rev 2:20 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.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her time that she might repent, and she is not willing to repent of her fornication.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works;
Rev 2:23 And her children I will kill with death; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.
3. These three women all refer to the Roman Catholic Church, which adds leaven to the fine flour, which is the harlot riding on the beast, and which is Jezebel corrupting Christianity.
C. In Revelation 2:20 the Lord indicates that the apostate church is a self-appointed prophetess and teaches and leads the Lord’s slaves astray:
Rev 2:20 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.
1. The apostate church presumes to be authorized by God to speak for God; she demands that people listen to her rather than to God.
2. According to the principle in the New Testament, the Lord never allows a woman to teach with authority—1 Tim. 2:12:
1 Tim 2:12 But I do not permit a woman to teach or to assert authority over a man, but to be in quietness.
a. In the same way, the church itself must not teach, because in the eyes of the Lord the church is in the position of a woman; only the Lord Himself is the man, the One who has the right to teach and the right to say yes or no, right or wrong.
b. The Roman Catholic Church is a teaching woman; the apostate church herself teaches, causing her people to listen to her rather than to the holy Word of God, and her adherents are drugged by her heretical, religious teaching.
III. According to Revelation 2:24, the apostate church teaches “the deep things of Satan”:
Rev 2:24 But I say to you-the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they Say-I put no other burden upon you;
A. Deep things mean “depths,” as in Ephesians 3:18, and it figuratively denotes mysterious things.
Eph 3:18 May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are
B. The apostate church has many mysteries or deep doctrines; these are the deep things of Satan, the mysterious teachings of Satan, the satanic philosophy:
1. The apostate church teaches the satanic mysteries; the deep thought of Satan, Satan’s concept, has saturated the apostate church.
2. The apostate church has become the embodiment of Satan:
a. The proper church is the Body of Christ (1:22-23), but the apostate church is the embodiment of Satan.
Eph 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
b. Christ indwells the church, but Satan indwells the apostate church in a subtle way through the teaching of the deep things of Satan.
c. The apostate church teaches mysteries but not the mysteries revealed in the New Testament concerning God’s economy—Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:3-5, 9; 5:32.
Col 2:2 That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
Eph 3:3 That by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have written previously in brief,
Eph 3:4 By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
Eph 3:5 Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit,
Eph 3:9 And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things,
Eph 5:32 This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.
d. The religion of the synagogue, the world under Satan’s throne, and the philosophy of the satanic mysteries are all used by Satan to damage and corrupt the church—Rev. 2:9, 13, 24.
Rev 2:9 I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Rev 2:24 But I say to you-the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they Say-I put no other burden upon you;
C. “Anyone who has a heart for the Lord and for His recovery must thoroughly know this apostate church” (Life-study of Revelation, p. 165).
IV. “These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze”—v. 18:
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
A. The apostate Roman Catholic Church strongly emphasizes Christ as the son of Mary; thus, here the Lord, protesting against the apostate heresy, says that He is the Son of God:
1. Christ’s being the Son of God implies the expression of God, the issue, or the coming out, of God—John 1:18:
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
a. Concerning God’s existence, Christ is the complete God as God’s embodiment; concerning God’s issue, His coming out, Christ is the Son of God.
b. Christ as the embodiment of God is related to His existence, whereas Christ as the Son of God is related to the expression of God.
2. The purpose of the Gospel of John is to testify that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God—20:31:
John 20:31 But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.
a. Christ is the title of the Lord according to His office, His mission, and the Son of God is His title according to His person—Matt. 16:16.
Matt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
b. His person is a matter of God’s life, and His mission is a matter of God’s work; He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God.
B. In dealing with the apostate church, the church in Thyatira, the Lord refers to Himself as the One who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like shining bronze:
1. The apostate church needs the judging of His searching eyes and treading feet.
2. “All the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts”—Rev. 2:23.
Rev 2:23 And her children I will kill with death; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.
V. In Revelation 2:26-28 we have the Lord’s promise to the one who overcomes:
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
A. “To him I will give authority over the nations; and he will shepherd them with an iron rod”—vv. 26b-27a:
Rev 2:26b …to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27a And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, …
1. To reign with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom is a prize to the overcomers—20:4, 6.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
2. This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom.
3. In the millennial kingdom, the ruler is a shepherd—2:27.
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
4. In Psalm 2:9 God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations; in Revelation 2:26 Christ gives the same authority to His overcomers.
Psa 2:9 You will break them with an iron rod; / You will shatter them like a potter’s vessel.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
B. “To him I will give the morning star”—v. 28:
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
1. Concerning the types of Christ, the Bible begins with Him as light and ends with Him as the bright morning star—Gen. 1:3; Rev. 22:16:
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.
a. The morning star appears in the darkest hour, after midnight and prior to dawn.
b. This indicates that Christ will appear as the bright morning star in the darkest time, prior to the close of this age.
2. As the bright morning star, Christ will appear privately to the overcomers, who are watching, preparing, and waiting for Him:
a. He will secretly give Himself as the morning star to those who love Him and who watch and wait for Him so that they may have the priority to taste the freshness of His presence at His coming back after a long absence.
b. This will encourage them to earnestly seek the Lord’s presence and be watchful so that they will be able to stand before Him in the secret part of His coming—Luke 21:36; Matt. 24:43.
Luke 21:36 But be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man.
Matt 24:43 But know this, that if the householder had known in which watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
c. We must make ourselves ready for the secret appearing of the Lord as the morning star.
3. According to 2 Peter 1:19, if we take heed to the word of prophecy, the day will dawn within us, and the morning star will rise in our hearts:
2 Pet 1:19 And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
a. To take heed to the prophetic word is to pay attention to the living Word and enter into the Word until the morning star rises within us and something from the heavens shines over us.
b. We need to come to the sure Word and open up our whole being to the Word until Christ as the morning star rises up in us and shines over us.
