Rev. 2:18-29
Thyatira means "the sacrifice of
perfume,'' 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.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.the coming together of Ahab
and Jezebel was fornication.
Fornication is confusion. What God
sees is a woman who is confusing the
words of God and the people of God.
This woman brought in the god of the
Gentiles. And the
result of fornication is idolatry. The
New Testament speaks of the
conference at Jerusalem, the result of
which was to exhort the Gentile
brothers to abstain from meat offered
to idols and from fornication (Acts
15:29). Here we see that the
fornication of Jezebel brought idols
into the kingdom of Israel. Through Jezebel, Ahab was joined to
the world. No matter where you are, it
is apparent that the Roman Catholic
Church unites herself with political
powers. She sends out ambassadors
and ministers to various nations, and
in important world crises she stands
up to speak. The uniting of the church
with the world is the Roman Catholic
Church. They claim that their first
pope was Peter. But I think Peter
would say that he was a disciple of the
poor Jesus of Nazareth; the glory and
honor of the world had nothing to do
with him. Yet the Roman Catholic
Church maintains her position in the
world and commands respect from
the people. The practice of the Roman
Catholic Church within these more
than one thousand years is, according
to the James 4:4, the same as the
greatest adultery. Here we see that the
church has lost her virginity. Today
there is a group of people who think
that they can bargain with others
since they have such a large
membership. According to men it is a
type of advancement for the church to
be able to bargain, but according to
God, it is sin for the church to gain
what the world has gained.
What is the result? Idolatry.

The facts
are placed before us; there is not one
church that is like the Roman Catholic
Church with so many idols. We can
say that the best class of idols is made
by the Roman Catholic Church.
The remarkable thing is that they have
fulfilled what has been prophesied in
the Bible. There is an image of the
Father and an image of the Son; there
are images of the apostles and
images of the ancient saints. They
worship Mary; they worship Peter.
Jezebel teaches the Lord's servants to
commit fornication and eat the meat
offered to idols. Jezebel is spoken of
because the church has brought in
Gentile gods. The most
evident is the image of Mary. Some
think that at least Mary is of
Christianity. But the fact is that Greece
has a goddess, India has a goddess,
Egypt has a goddess, and Nigeria has a
goddess; every religion in the world
has a goddess, except Christianity.
Since there must be a goddess, they
bring forth Mary. Actually there is no
goddess in Christianity—the origin of
the concept of a goddess is the
Gentiles. So this is idolatry on top of
fornication. This is Jezebel bringing in
the things of the Gentiles to the
kingdom of Israel.
She calls herself a prophetess because
she wants to preach and to teach. The
position of the church before God is
that of a woman. Whenever the
church has authority to preach, that is
Jezebel. The church has nothing to
say; in other words, the church has
no word. The Son of God is the Word;
therefore, only He has the word.
Christ is the Head of the church;
therefore, only He can speak.
Whenever the church speaks, that is
the preaching of the woman. The
Roman Catholic Church is the woman
preaching. In the Roman Catholic
Church, what matters is what the
church says, not what the Bible says
or what the Lord says. It is quite
remarkable that God says that Jezebel
is the prophetess and the woman
who speaks. "My slaves'' refers to
individual slaves. Jezebel has the
authority to direct every believer. The
people in the Roman Catholic Church
do not read the Bible, because they
are afraid of misunderstanding what
God means. Only the fathers can
understand and only the fathers can
speak; therefore, only they can decide
all matters. Basically the Roman
Catholic Church is the preaching of
the woman who decides what the
children of God should do. Many
doctrines have been changed because
she speaks for the church and people
must listen to the church. The Jewish nation
(Israel) had only one woman who
killed the prophets, Jezebel. In the
previous centuries we do not know
how many witnesses died at the
hands of the Roman Catholic Church.
They claim that what they decide is
always right. The people's ideas are
entirely in their hands. The Lord said
that the failure of Thyatira is due to
the fact that she allows the teaching
of Jezebel in her midst.
"And I gave her time that she might
repent, and she is not willing to
repent of her fornication'' (Rev. 2:21).
They are still united with the world
and filled with the behavior of the
world. "Behold, I cast her into a
bed'' (v. 22)—not into a coffin, but
into a bed. A coffin means it is
finished; a bed means it is not
finished. It means that she will not be
changed throughout her entire life.
The patient cannot be cured and
cannot be changed. Continuing in her
present condition, she is incurable—
this is the condition of the Roman
Catholic Church. In 1926 Mussolini
and the pope signed an agreement,
setting aside the Vatican from Italy so
that it could become an independent
state, having its own court and police,
etc. Believers in the Roman Catholic
Church increase yearly. In Revelation 17 we
see to what extent this church will
develop. Now it is undoubtedly
becoming stronger and stronger. But
the Lord says to His own people,
"Come out of her, My people'' (18:4).
What does the Lord say about those
who have committed adultery with
her and about her children? "I
cast...those who commit adultery with
her, into great tribulation, unless they
repent of her works; and her children
I will kill with death'' (2:22-23). These
words probably refer to God's
destroying of the Roman Catholic
Church through the Antichrist and his
followers. "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. 23)....

"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; nevertheless what
you have hold fast until I come'' (vv.
24-25). "The rest in Thyatira''; although
Jezebel is here, there are still the rest.
When Jezebel set out to kill Elijah,
Elijah was greatly discouraged upon
hearing it. What did he do? He hid
himself. Then God said to him, "What
doest thou here?'' While he was
murmuring, the Lord said, "Yet I have
left me seven thousand'' (1 Kings
19:9-18). These are "the rest in
Thyatira.'' When Jezebel lived on this
earth, there was Elijah; in the Roman
Catholic Church there have also been
many who belonged to the Lord. Thank
the Lord, there are still those who "do
not have this teaching, who have not
known the deep things of Satan, as
they say.'' The phrase "deep things'' in
Greek is bathea, which means
mystery. The Roman Catholic Church
greatly likes to use this word. They
have many mysteries or deep
doctrines in their midst. These
doctrines are not of the Lord, but are
the words of Jezebel. The Lord will not
put any other burden upon those
who do not have this teaching, but
they must hold fast to that which they
already have. Hold fast "My works"
which you have known—that is
enough. Do not lose what you already
have, "until I come.''
"And he who overcomes and he who
keeps My works until the end, to him I
will give authority over the nations;
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.
2:26-27). This is the first promise.
What is the meaning of this? Everyone
who tends sheep has a rod. When the
sheep do not behave well, he can use
the rod to beat them gently. Matthew
13:40-42 indicates that an angel will
come and gather out of His kingdom
all the things that offend, that is, use
force to cast out all the things that are
not right. But this does not mean that
the nations will no longer exist in the
millennium. We know they will still be
there. Through the iron rod God will
break these things into pieces.
God produces stones; man produces
bricks. Bricks are very similar to
stones. The tower of Babel was built of
bricks. From the tower of Babel to 2
Timothy, all those who imitate Him are
earthen vessels ("vessels of pottery".
The Lord says that the overcomer will
shepherd the nations and break the
earthen vessels in pieces. The word
"shepherd'' means that something is
not accomplished all at once but
rather done by beating one by one as
the need arises. This is shepherding.
This sort of thing will probably be
done continuously until the new
heaven and new earth are brought in.
The kingdom is the introduction to
the new heaven and new earth. In the
new heaven and new earth, only
righteousness dwells. That is why the
iron rod must be used to shepherd
the nations and break in pieces all the
things that come out of men.
"And to him I will give the morning
star'' (Rev. 2:28). This is the second
promise.
Many people
see the sun, but few have seen the
morning star. One day the Lord will
be seen by the whole world, as
recorded in Malachi 4:2: "The Sun of
righteousness [will] arise.'' Before
everyone sees the light, some may see
it first while in darkness. This is what it
means to receive the morning star.
Just before the day breaks, it is really
dark. But the morning star appears at
that very moment. The Lord promises
the overcomer that he will receive the
morning star at the darkest time. This
means that he will see the Lord and
be raptured. When we see the sun, it
is always during the daylight hours,
but he who sees the morning star is
one who makes a special point of
rising to see while others are asleep.
This is the promise to the overcomer.
"He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the
churches'' (Rev. 2:29). The Lord is
speaking not only to the Roman
Catholic Church but also to all the
churches.