Thyatira: Papal Power Increases [538-1517 AD]
Revelation 2:18-19
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
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.
The Thyatira church age began in the notable year of 533 AD. Jesus had more to say about this church period than any other. Its fulfillment represents the longest of the seven periods of church history. Once Rome was liberated from the Ostrogoths, the bishop of Rome leveraged his new power as “the head of all the Holy Churches” to seize temporal power over the city. During this period, institutionalized papal power increased. Catholic leadership was organized into a hierarchy with the bishop of Rome at its head.[i] This era saw the Catholic Church organize, crack down on Bible possession, launch crusades and Inquisitions, and execute countless martyrs.
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Jesus commended the Thyatira church on the things they were doing well in verse nineteen. John preserved Jesus’ message to Thyatira as, “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.” In the Thyatira era, Christians still did good, charitable works to serve others. Their belief in Jesus was strong, but they had the misfortune of living in an era when the Roman Catholic Church hijacked Christianity. Rome’s control of the faith caused many who believed in Jesus to erroneously presume the Catholic religion was Christian.
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The inclusion of patience here is fascinating. Christians had to endure a millennium of papal persecution before the Reformation freed their minds from the Catholic domination of Christendom. The faith was repressed and restrained by papal power during the Thyatira age, and the Catholic Church became the official authority on what it meant to be “Christian.” The laity could not read God’s Word due to high illiteracy rates and limited access to scripture, making it difficult to remain faithful to God while waiting patiently for this bleak period of church history to end.
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After Jesus praised the Christians of Thyatira, he stated, “and the last to be more than the first.” This phrase suggests Jesus would be more pleased by the actions and faith of the Christians living at the end of the Thyatira era than those at the beginning. Pre-Reformation leaders—such as Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, and Peter Waldo—and their followers who lived towards the end of this age endured agonizing persecution. Still, their sacrifices set the stage for the wider Protestant movement of the sixteenth century.
Revelation 2:20-21
20 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.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Jezebel was a queen of Israel and a follower of the pagan god Ba’al during the time of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. She was responsible for both a slaughter of the prophets of God and the institutionalization of pagan idol worship.[ii] In Revelation 2, Jesus refers to her as “that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess,” drawing attention to both her womanhood and her imitation of a prophetess to allude to the metaphor of a false church.
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The parallels between Mystery Babylon and the Thyatira church era can be seen in Revelation 2:20-21. Utilizing nearly identical nomenclature to the words found later in Revelation 17, Jesus explained that Jezebel would seduce Christians into sin and said he “gave her space to repent of her fornication,” though she did not. Just as it does in Revelation 17, the word “space” in this context refers to an extended period, as this church age was the longest of the seven. Nearly one thousand years after the Thyatira church age began in 533 AD, Jesus’ patience ran out—and the Protestant Reformation began.
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The parallels between the linguistic choices made by Jesus and the angel of Revelation 17 do not stop there. Jesus used “fornication” again by saying that the false prophetess of Thyatira would use her teachings to “seduce my servants to commit fornication.” The wording of Revelation 2:20-21 reflects Revelation 17:2, where the angel said the kings of the earth had “committed fornication” with Mystery Babylon.
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Jesus condemns this church age by telling them they “sufferest” the false church represented by Jezebel. In Old English, the word “sufferest” meant “allow.” The Christians of medieval Europe had allowed the Roman Catholic Church to gradually seize control of their faith. Consequently, believers were victimized by the church during the Great Tribulation of 538-1798 AD—a period that closely aligned with the Thyatira church age of 533-1517 AD.
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Jesus then employs brutal language to describe the actions of Jezebel’s coconspirators and the punishment that awaited them.
Revelation 2:22-23
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.
23 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.
Any Christian who committed adultery with Jezebel was effectively being unfaithful to Jesus by participating in the Antichrist’s false Christianity. When Jesus warns, “I will kill her children with death,” he is threatening to kill the followers of Catholicism, not with a physical death, but a spiritual one. This is the same threat of an eternal death he conveyed to the Smyrnaean church period when he advised, “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” This correlation was made clear at the end of verse twenty-three when Jesus told Thyatira that these adulterers would be judged, declaring, “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.”
Revelation 2:24-25
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.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
At the conclusion of the passage, the Thyatira church receives a positive message. Jesus acknowledges that there are many people who “have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan.” These Christians, including the pre-Reformation Protestants, were not deceived by Catholic dogma. They suffered enough pain while on earth, so Jesus promised that he would not add the weight of eternal damnation.
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[i] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2023. Roman Catholicism. September 29. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism.
[ii] I Kings 16:31-32, 18:4 (KJV).