(2) Chapter 2 : Verse 18 – Jesus commences the message for the fourth church in Thyatira. As we have seen earlier, He begins it with some of the signs (of his eyes being like blazing fire and his feet like burnished bronze) of the verses Rev 1:12-20 (See Scripture Study – Blossom 10: November 10, Paragraphs 02, 03, 05). Jesus’ eyes like blazing 
fire signify that he is intently observing our activities with a vision of judgment. And his burnishing bronze-like feet show us that he was refined through his earthly experiences. Our readers might remember studying about these in earlier issues of Scripture Study (See Scripture Study – Blossom 09: October 10, Paragraph 07). We also know that this church in Thyatira not only denotes the actual church that was in the first century city of that name, but also represents the church of the fourth time period (See Scripture Study – Blossom 09: October 10, Paragraph 06). So as usual, let us first look at the explanation for the first century church at the city of Thyatira. This city was around 45 miles south-east to the city of Pergamum where the church we had studied about before was located. Among the seven cities the Book of Revelation places its seven different churches in, Thyatira was the smallest. However it is to the church in this city that Jesus delivers his longest message. During the first century, this city was popular for its Trade Guilds and garment factories. It was especially very famous for its purple cloth. It is notable that Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth who had been brought into Christ by Paul, belonged to the city of Thyatira (Acts 16:14). The principal deity of Thyatira had been Tyrimnas. A majority of the citizens of Thyatira believed that he was a son of god. In the early coins of the city, he was represented as a horseman, bearing a double-headed battle-ax. Since not much has been mentioned in the Bible about the church of this city, it is not very clear how the gospel reached there. But we know that Lydia from this city along with her household was baptized after listening to Paul’s message in the city of Phillipi (Acts 16:14,15). Probably she and her family were the reason behind the spreading of the gospel into Thyatira.
(3) Next, let us look at the explanation for the church of the fourth time period that that church of Thyatira signified. The message for this church mentions a woman Jezebel who represents the reign of the Catholic Church. Based on that, we saw in our last issue that the period of this church historically had started at 539 A.D., the year in which the Catholic Church’s reign began (See Scripture Study – Blossom 11:December 10, Paragraph 08). So how long did it last? This church’s intended message that begins with the symbolic Jezebel representing the Catholic Church’s rule ends with the terrible judgment that comes upon her i.e. the Catholic Church (Rev 2:23). But she is just cast on a bed of suffering, not destroyed. So the period of this church would not seem to extend till 1799 A.D. when the Catholic Church’s reign ended. However it is clear that the Catholic Church loses much of her power during the end of the time period of the fourth church. So, when was it that heavy judgment came upon the Catholic Church after 539 A.D.? 1517 A.D. is the year that immediately comes to the minds of many! It was from this year that the Catholic Church came into immense trouble due to Luther’s doctrinal reformation. Yes, the fourth church lasted till 1517 A.D. indeed. As a matter of fact, the judgment upon the Catholic Church signified by Jezebel lasted around 500 years. To find out more, we would have to explore history from 1000 A.D. The year the judgment upon the Jezebel Catholic Church began is 1054 A.D. It is during this year that the fault lines of a major split in the Catholic Church started appearing. This split is famously called by historians as the ‘Great Schism’ or ‘East – West Schism’. The reign of the Catholic Church had begun at 539 A.D. But some time before that, from the fourth century 
itself, there had been two power centers in the Roman Empire. They were the Western Roman Empire with Rome as its capital and the Constantinople-headquartered Eastern Roman Empire. In this situation, when Rome was captured by enemies in 476 A.D. the Western Roman Empire came to an end. After that, it was only the Eastern Roman Empire that flourished, with its capital at Constantinople. It was also called as the Byzantine Empire. It was indeed the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I who appointed the Pope as the Head of Christianity during the period of 533 – 539 A.D. and also seized Rome from her enemies and handed the city over to the Pope (See Grace – Blossom 22: November 09, Paragraph 07, Table). The good relationship between the Popes and the Eastern Roman Empire lasted for a while. But as time went by, troubles rose between the Popes and the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire. One reason behind this was Rome not continuing to remain under the Eastern Roman Empire. As time passed by, it fell under the rule of other kings too. So to safeguard themselves and to maintain their powers, the Popes had to maintain a good relationship with those other rulers. In particular, the Popes crowned certain other European kings as the Holy Roman Emperor. This angered the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire as each of them considered himself as the sole Holy Roman Emperor. As part of this political play, the Christian Bishop of the city of Constantinople gradually grew in stature and power to compete with the Roman Pope. In these circumstances, in 1054 A.D., due to many political reasons and certain doctrinal differences, the Bishop of Constantinople and the eastern Christian churches separated and came out of the Pope’s authority. These eastern churches started functioning separately under the leadership of the Bishop of Constantinople. This split was a major blow to the Pope. Since then (1054 A.D.), many issues and struggles arose between these two divisions even resulting in human casualties. The point to be noted here is that, both these divisions were the same church signified by Jezebel. Both had the same wrong beliefs. Therefore all the damages incurred by both of them are the judgments that came upon the Jezebel Catholic Church. It is remarkable that this split has lasted even till today. The Eastern Orthodox Church operates separate from the Roman Catholic Church even today. Moreover, from 1095 A.D., the Popes started waging wars to capture Jerusalem and other parts of the nation of Israel that were under Islamic rule then. They called these wars the Crusades and dubbed them as Holy Wars. To wage wars is so terribly wrong for someone who claims to follow Jesus who said ‘If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.’ (Matt 5:39). And to wage wars in the name of Christ is an extremely unholy act. In these battles, even though the Catholic armies saw initial victories, they ended up suffering huge casualties later on and embraced only defeat in the end. As a final defeat in 1303 A.D., the last remaining fort of Ruad Island that had been captured during the initial Crusades fell to the Muslims. The defeat in the Crusades too was a big blow to the Catholic Church. Think about it! The Popes had been calling themselves as equals to Christ. But they were defeated in the wars they waged. This must definitely have shamed them in the eyes of the people. Thus, from 1054 A.D., a heavy judgment came upon the Catholic Church as said in Jesus’ message to the fourth church. It’s not just that. Due to the power of the French Crown and certain political reasons, the Popes from 1305 – 1377 A.D. could not rule from Rome and instead had to be seated at the French city of Avignon. This too was a big disgrace to the Catholic Church. The divine judgment upon the Catholic Church did not stop with that. From 1378 till 1417 A.D., three Popes were appointed, each competing against the other resulting in a division that historians call as the ‘Papal Schism’. During this time period, due to political reasons, three Popes – one from Avignon, one from Rome and starting 1409 A.D. another one from Rome – claimed to be the sole Head of the Catholic Church and each competed with the other. So the Catholic Church became an object of mockery and ridicule among the common people. Notably, Historians writing about this Schism note that the power of the Papacy became immensely reduced after this. Moreover, around the 15th century, the Renaissance socio-cultural movement started in Europe. There were huge advancements in the fields of science and art. So, many people began questioning the superstitions and mindless teachings of the Catholic Church. The doctrinal reformation of the Lutheran times was the final judgment that followed all these. Due to the Luther inspired doctrinal revolution of 1517 A.D., countless people came out of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, many European rulers turned against the Catholic Church like never before. On the whole, as Jesus says in his message to the fourth church, the Catholic Church lost many of its powers due to the Great Schism, the defeat in the Crusades, the Papal ‘captivity’ at Avignon, the Papal Schism, the Renaissance upheaval and the Lutheran doctrinal reformation, and was ‘cast on a bed of suffering’. That is why, we say that the time of the fourth church is from 539 – 1517 A.D. This fourth church lasts longer than any other church. Amazingly, Jesus’ message for this church befits that and is longer than his messages for the other churches. That too reaffirms the correctness of our calculation in this regard.
(4) Verse 19 – As usual, let us first look at the explanation for the first century church in the city of Thyatira. Jesus praises that church for her deeds, love and faith, her service and perseverance. Particularly, unlike the church in the city of Ephesus that was doing less works than before, the Thyatira church was doing more works of gospel than what she had done at first (See Scripture Study – Blossom 10: November 10, Paragraph 09). We and our church should be like that indeed. We should do more gospel work today than we did yesterday. And further more tomorrow than we are doing today. Periodically we should evaluate ourselves whether our works of gospel have declined like those of the Ephesus church or increased like those of the church at Thyatira. And if we find ourselves wanting, we should take immediate remedial action.
(5) Next, let us look at the meaning that applies to the church of the fourth time period that the first century church in Thyatira signified. The time period of this church was 539 A.D. to 1517 A.D. Even though it was the days of the reign of the Catholic Church, the true Christians of those times did do works of gospel and were seen with the virtues of love, faith and perseverance. As Jesus says, much more gospel works were done during the times of the fourth church than during the period of the earlier third church i.e. 313 A.D. to 539 A.D. How so? The period of the third church – 313 A.D. to 539 A.D. – was a time of an entirely new kind of trial for the true Christians. As we had seen in the message for that church, it was a time when some within the church were preaching the deceiving teachings of Balaam and thereby causing even the elect to stumble into sin (See Scripture Study – Blossom 11: December 10, Paragraphs 11, 12). They were advocating that it was right to associate with the Roman Empire. So, it must have taken some time for the true Christians of that time period to figure out what was happening. They must have been overwhelmed by that realization and would have been pre-occupied with an intense struggle to uphold their faith even amidst ‘where Satan had his throne’. But they would have adapted to these new changes in due course of time. So, later on during 539 A.D – 1517 A.D. they were able to do a much better job of performing works of God. Furthermore, the schisms and chaos that troubled the Catholic Church during this time period exposed the fraudulent nature of the Catholic Church to the people. The true Christians of this period would have tapped those issues to spread the Truth. Moreover, it was during the times of this church that Peter Waldo lived and preached that the Catholic Church’s doctrines were wrong and that the Catholic Church was indeed the harlot proclaimed by the Book of Revelation. His lifetime was 1104 A.D. – 1208 A.D. The Waldensian denomination originated from his teachings. During 1175 A.D. – 1185 A.D. Peter Waldo translated the entire New Testament into a then European language called Arpitan. Prior to that, certain portions of the New Testament had been translated into non-Latin languages. But it was Waldo’s Arpitan translation that first had the whole New Testament in a non-Latin language. Arpitan was a language of the common people during those times. So, thanks to that, many laymen of that time now had a chance to read the New Testament. The Catholic Church hated the Waldensian movement and their translation of the New Testament and embarked on eradicating them. Many were killed. The Catholic Church also set out to destroy the Arpitan language editions of the New Testament. In spite of that, many were able to read the gospel due to that translation during this period and were empowered to discern the false doctrines of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, seeing the Waldensian attempt to translate the Bible, many others got inspired and followed to do the same. Especially, John Wycliffe who lived from 1328 – 1384 A.D. not only preached against the Catholic Church like Peter Waldo did, but also translated the entire Bible into English with his supporters. This is called the Wycliffe Bible. Even as the Catholic Church tried to destroy this Bible as well, it is indeed true that many regular folks reaped immense benefit out of the Wycliffe Bible. Thus the works of this church was much more than those of the earlier times.
(6) Verse 20 – Let us first look at the explanation that befits the first century church in the city of Thyatira. In this church, a woman named Jezebel who called herself a prophet was misleading the members that it was not wrong to indulge in sexual immorality which was considered sacred in many heathen religions of those times and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. And, some Christians of the Thyatira church were tolerating this teaching. Jesus condemns that. A reason behind the tolerance of some in the Thyatira church for the teachings of Jezebel might have been the Trade Guilds in the city of Thyatira of that time. These trade guilds were like the present day labor unions. A person can work in Thyatira only if those guilds permit him to do so. To gain that permission, one had to become a member of those guilds. But, those guilds of that time were not secular and followed many heathen religious traditions indeed. And, in order to maintain one’s membership in those guilds, one had to participate in heathen activities like sexual immorality and idol worship. So, some in the Thyatira church might have thought they would at least get a good job if they just nominally took part in such heathen customs. Their line of thinking must have been that they could abstain from terrible sins like sexual immorality and just make a show of superficial devotion during idol worships. So, when Jezebel who called herself a prophet set out preaching that those activities were not wrong, people who had been having those kinds of thoughts started using her teaching as an excuse saying – ‘Even a prophet has endorsed this’. Moreover, there were certain similarities between Christ and some of the superstitions of the citizens of Thyatira regarding their popular deity of Tyrimnas about whom we had seen earlier. The people of the city considered Tyrimnas even as a son of god. Furthermore, it was their belief that Tyrimnas bore a double-headed battle-ax like Jesus’ double-edged sword. Exploiting these nominal similarities as an excuse, the false prophet Jezebel and her supporters wrongly taught that there was not any big difference between Jesus and Tyrimnas and that it was acceptable to worship both. Jesus condemns them. We too should not neglect any Biblical doctrine / command for any reason or any worldly gain. Just like how the false prophet Jezebel misled the first century church at Thyatira encouraging them to do certain wrongs, sometimes our brethren, why even our elders might advise us that it’s acceptable to bend to the world a little to accomplish a task as it’s something routinely done by everybody. In those kinds of situations, we should not listen to such advice, but instead give importance to the Biblical doctrine, no matter how minor it is (See Grace – Blossom 34: October 10, Paragraph 05). And, we should never forget that the Christian way is the only true way.
(7) Next, let us look at the meaning that applies to the church of the fourth time period that the first century church in the city of Thyatira signified. We already mentioned that the false prophet Jezebel of the first century Thyatira church symbolically represented the Catholic Church with regards to the church of the fourth time period. But we have not explained why so yet. Now let us find out. As we know, the aspects of the message to the first century Thyatira church when applied to the fourth time period church should be interpreted symbolically rather than directly. In that case, our research begins with the question – What could the woman Jezebel, the false prophet represent? What helps us in this research is the mention of a woman named Jezebel in the Old Testament. That woman’s qualities perfectly match with those of the Catholic Church of the times of the fourth church. Yes, the fourth church’s message subtly indicates that the Old Testament Jezebel is a type of the Catholic Church. We shall explore this beautiful type separately in detail in a future issue of Grace. For now, let us just look at some of the similarities seen between Jezebel and the Catholic Church of the times of the fourth church. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel from 873 B.C. – 853 B.C. (1 Kings 16:30, 31). She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the gentile Sidonians. With the help of Ahab, she made the worship of the heathen Baal popular in Israel (1 Kings 18:17-19). Likewise, the Catholic Church, with the help of the Roman Empire signified by Ahab, made many wrongs including idol worship popular. The Bible considers Christ’s Church as his bride betrothed to be married to him (Eph 5:31, 32). When the upcoming Kingdom of Heaven begins, the Church is to be spiritually wedded to Christ. Only after that wedding, the Church would be united with Christ and rule the world in the path of justice. But the Catholic Church did not wait for her bridegroom Christ. Instead, she prostituted herself to the Roman Empire and started reigning. Furthermore, she propagated immoral doctrines like idol worship and Mary worship that were against the true Christian faith. This was very intensive during the times of the fourth church. As a result, many chosen Christians were led astray. The typical Jezebel too misled the chosen Israelites with the help of Ahab. And with his support, she persecuted people like Elijah who were acting as per the will of God (1 Kings 19:1-3). Likewise it’s a known historical fact that the Catholic Church with the support of the Roman Empire persecuted the true Christians who denounced her false doctrines. So it’s more than clear that the woman named Jezebel found in the message for the fourth church does signify the Catholic Church. As Jesus mentions here, the Catholic Church acted as a false prophet indeed. Falsely claiming to be God’s true representatives, her Popes preached many wrong doctrines. They brought many heathen doctrines into Christianity including idol worship that God considers equivalent to prostitution. That’s what Jesus condemns here. Truly, during the time period of the fourth church i.e. from 539 A.D. – 1517 A.D. the deception of the Catholic Church was on a major scale. As Jesus says here, the Catholic Church did operate as a false prophet.
(8) Verses 21, 22, 23 – Let us first look at the explanation that applies to the first century church in the city of Thyatira. Jesus says that he has given many opportunities to the false prophet Jezebel of that church by means of good preachers to repent, but she was unwilling and hence, he is to cast her on a bed of suffering by making her ill. Not only that. Jesus says he would also make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent and seek the true ways. He adds that he would also strike her children dead as they too were preaching wrong doctrines like her. The death of her children would definitely serve as yet another harsh punishment for Jezebel who has been left bedridden for the rest of her life. Jesus prophesies this to John now. And when it actually happens later, not only the church members of Thyatira, but everyone who hears about these events would come to realize that Jesus searches hearts and minds and repays each according to his or her deeds. Truly, heavy punishment is certain for those who cause the elect of God to stumble (See Mark 9:42, Luke 17:1, 2, 1 Corinthians 3:16). So, we need to exercise utmost caution. Especially those who preach in the church should evaluate their discourses multiple times before they deliver them to make sure their message is based on Biblical truths and not on their own opinions. More importantly, if they find something they had preached before to be wrong, they should promptly and openly confess that in front of everyone. Otherwise, divine judgment is sure to come upon them. Likewise, those who serve as elders and deacons in the church should be very careful that their activities do not cause any brother to stumble.
(9) Now, let us study the application of these verses to the church of the fourth time period. As Jesus says here, he gave the Jezebel Catholic Church time to repent. As we saw earlier, the reign of the Catholic Church started in 539 A.D. itself. But, the judgment upon her began only in 1054 A.D. So, God did give the members of the Catholic Church time to repent. Of course, God knew that the Anti-Christ Catholic Church establishment would last till it appointed time of 1799 A.D. But his grace time was for a few true Christians within the Catholic Church to repent. Likewise during this period some sections of the Catholic Church repented and came out of her. But, those who continued to stay unrepentant within her were subjected to divine judgment that started from 1054 A.D. As we studied earlier, the Great Schism, defeats in the Crusades, the Papal captivity in Avignon, the Papal Schism, the Renaissance social upheaval, and the Lutheran doctrinal reformation greatly reduced the power of the Catholic Church and cast her on a bed of suffering. During the Great Schism, trouble brewed between the Roman Catholic Church under the Pope and the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Bishop of Constantinople. Both the divisions suffered many casualties during many events of this time like the Massacre of the Latins at Constantinople in 1182 A.D., and when Constantinople was captured by the Roman armies in 1204 A.D., and also when it was retaken by the allied armies of the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1259 A.D. As both the sides were of the same false Church signified by Jezebel, the battles and struggles between them were indeed the judgment that God sent upon them. Apart from these, as we saw earlier, the defeats suffered by the Catholic Church in her Crusades that lasted from 1095 A.D. to 1303 A.D. caused her disgrace and heavy human losses. Truly, as Jesus says in these verses, a great suffering came upon the Jezebel Catholic Church during the times of the fourth church. Many members of the Catholic Church, who were the symbolic children of the typical Jezebel, were killed. Furthermore, the worldly rulers who committed adultery with the Catholic Church also embraced defeat in the Crusades and were subject to intense suffering. Apart from these, the ignominy of the Papal captivity at Avignon, the much-ridiculed circus of having three parallel Popes during the times of the Papal Schism and the revolutionary ideas of the Renaissance period all served as heavy judgments upon the Catholic Church. Ultimately, the Lutheran doctrinal reformation that started in 1517 A.D shook even the foundations of the Catholic Church. Even today, one could say that the Catholic Church has not yet fully recovered from the blow delivered at that time. The true Christians of those times who saw such judgments come upon the Catholic Church would have definitely realized that Christ searches hearts and minds and repays according to one’s deeds. It’s remarkable that Jesus says he would repay each one according to their own deeds. So it’s clear that even as divine judgment comes upon the entire establishment of the Catholic Church, God ultimately does repay everyone individually according to their deeds. What we need to understand is this – Even though this time was a time of Catholic Church domination, there were true Christians even then. True Christians have always been there at any given point of time in the Gospel Age. History might not talk about them that much. But, when Christ’s Kingdom comes, the history of all the true Christian believers is sure to be revealed. It is in our hands to determine whether we would find a place for ourselves in that triumphant history. As Jesus says here, our rewards then would be according to our deeds now. So, let us do great works of gospel and confirm our places in the history of the true Church! Amen.
–To be continued in the next issue–