THE THYATIRA CHURCH
Dr. Stephen R. Phinney
THYATIRA
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 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 acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her immorality. 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. And I will kill her children with pestilence, 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. 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. Nevertheless, what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 2:18-29
Thyatira means “worthless feminine thing.” The town was the most important center in the north, ancient Lydia. Findings suggest a possible earlier period of preeminence under the Hittites (Sons of Ham). Persian occupation of the region took place around 500 BC. That was the first superpower. Thyatira was later conquered by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great was a worshipper of Zeus (the father, or god of the goddesses). In later years, Thyatira was captured successfully by the Seleucid Empire, which in modern terms is Iran.
In AD 214, the Roman Emperor Caracalla promoted the town to the status of a regional and administrative center. They were known for having powers in resolving disputes. The city flourished considerably under the Romans and became a large metropolis. The city, and the road from Thyatira to Pergamum, is one of the most beautiful in all the world. As of the second century AD, Christianity spread in western Anatolia by the actions of apostles like John and Paul.
Thyatira is mentioned in the New Testament. The first mention is of one of the seven churches, which references a woman from Thyatira named Jezebel, who is said to have fought against Christians (Revelation 2:18-29). The second mention refers to another woman from Thyatira named Lydia, a merchant trader. She is said to be Paul’s first convert, who also helped him in his ministry (Acts16:14). Lydia’s type of work is seen throughout the world today. The two types of women in ministry are clearly defined here. The first type is the Jezebel type, and they have to have control. They have to lead over men. Whereas the second type, Paul’s disciple, Lydia; she was helping Paul—she was helping a male leader accomplish the mission that God had given him. Keep this in mind.
Thyatira’s primary trade industry was of women producing cloth, cords, and other items relating to women. The woman had the fundamental rule in this city, due to their ability to create a fortune for the men. As stated before, Thyatira means “worthless feminine thing.” The name, like all of the seven churches, describes the condition of the church at the time, and Jesus brings that out in every one of the addresses to the seven churches. Culture does affect the church.
Thyatira is also the inventor of money. Economics is one of the primary targets for Satan and his Beast, which is where the men came in. The men of Thyatira were lovers of money. They took great pride in being the authors of currency. God gave us direct warnings of what the love of wealth does—it is the root of all evil. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
John begins by giving the usual blessing and encouragement from the Lord. Christ commends them for their love, faith, service, and perseverance. He reminds them their deeds are greater now than when they first started the church. But, He does have a couple of things against them.
Jesus’ primary issue with this church was Satan elevating women to teach men. Our Lord references this movement with the “spirit of Jezebel.” Outside of “Eve,” Jezebel was Satan’s most elevated woman. Jezebel was the queen with Ahab. The Lord remembers her for destroying the Prophets of God (1 Kings 18:4). She was so destructive; Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in caves. She despised Elijah the most. Why? He killed 850 of her prophets. Her goal? For her husband to rule over Israel. For her to rule over the nation of Israel, the prophets had to die. God’s reply to her threat to kill Elijah was this: “The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel” (1 Kings 21:23). Jesus is addressing this same spirit in Thyatira. Thyatira is alive today—which is the seduction of false Christianity lead by women. Remember, Satan began his plan with elevating a woman, and he ends his scheme by elevating a woman (The Great Harlot—Rev. 19:2).
Old Testament Jezebel: In the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures & the Old Testament), Jezebel is a queen of ancient Israel. Her story is told in 1 and 2 Kings. She is introduced as a Phoenician princess, the daughter of the king of Sidon, who marries King Ahab. (The Phoenician City of Tyre was once Satan’s kingdom.) She turns Ahab against the God of the Israelites and the Jews (being the inhabitants of Judah) and moves them toward the worship of the Phoenician god, Baal (father to the Greek goddesses and their cults). Ahab and Jezebel assist in establishing the temples of Baal in Israel, and the pagan religion receives royal support and financial care.
Furthermore, the queen uses her control over Ahab to lead the Hebrew people into sin and subjects them to tyranny and persecution. After she has the prophets of God slaughtered, the prophet Elijah challenges Jezreel’s prophets of Baal to a God-ordained test that exposes their gods as powerless. Elijah then has them slaughtered (1 Kings 18:40) and incurs Jezebel’s furious anger and revenge. After Ahab’s death, Jezebel continues to rule through her son, Ahaziah. When Ahaziah is killed in battle, she exercises control through her other son, Jehoram. Jezebel’s predominate sin is the manipulative control of men, which is a grave offense to a Hebrew God. Anytime something gets out of order regarding the roles that God has established, like women trying to use their men to make powerful decisions to fulfill their objective, it is a sin; it is pure manipulation of the sexes.
As recounted in 2 Kings 9:1-10, God speaks through the prophet Elisha (Elijah's successor) and has one of his servants anoint Jehu as king, in Jehoram’s place; stating, “thou shall smite the house of Ahab thy master” (verse 7, KJV). Acting on this divine commission for revolution, Jehu kills King Jehoram, as he attempts to flee in his war chariot. Jehu then confronts Jezebel, in Jezreel, and urges her eunuchs to kill the queen mother by throwing her out of a window (mission accomplished). They comply by tossing her out of the window and leaving her in the street to be eaten by dogs, just as God warned her. Only Jezebel’s skull, feet, and hands remained. Her bitter end fulfilled Elijah’s prophecy in 1 Kings 21:22-26.
New Testament Jezebel: In Revelation 2:20, a prophecy is uttered against a prophetess, named Jezebel, in the church of Thyatira. She is accused of inducing church members to commit acts of sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
The name Jezebel has come down through the centuries to be used as a generic name for all wicked women. In modern usage, the name Jezebel is sometimes used as an expression for sexual promiscuity or controlling women. It is an image that is epitomized by the phrase “painted Jezebel.” The “painted” part refers to a line in the book of 2 Kings when she applies her makeup just before she is killed (2 Kings 9:30).
From a Biblical and Christian point of view, a comparison to Jezebel would suggest that a person would be a pagan or minimally an apostate, in masquerading as a servant of God. By manipulation and seduction, one misleads the Saints of God into the sin of idolatry and sexual immorality, making them ineffective. From a Christian point of view, it has also been used to reference those who challenge God’s mandates and beliefs that He has given us regarding male leadership.
The great offense here is God’s local church being led by a woman, and in many cases, this female leadership leads men into promiscuity. The difference between Lydia and Jezebel is that Lydia was converted to true Christianity and became a faithful supporter of Paul and his leadership. Jezebel, on the other hand, was much different. Jezebel did not convert to Christianity, and she used her feminine powers to lead the people of the church astray. One woman led people to Christ, and the other led them away from Christ.
The message of this church doesn’t seem too encouraging. It gives all appearance of hopelessness. Although, there are a few in this church who do not hold to this teaching, who have not known the more profound things of Satan, and who hold to the Truths of Jesus Christ. The distinction here is different than with the first three churches. In the first three churches, the call to hear My voice is for the church as a whole. Starting with the church of Thyatira, the remaining four churches’ call is to the remnant of believers within these churches.
We will discover more about all of these connections to Jezebel in Revelation, chapter 17. Still, the figure of Jezebel is most likely the beginning state of the Roman Catholic Church, which is classified in church history as she. Even during this period, and to date, the Roman Church calls itself the mother church. When Rome says, “The church,” they mean the Roman State system or Roman Papacy. The church, during the time of Thyatira, was under the heavy influence of the Nicolaitans and their beliefs of placing a priest between the people and Christ. The Nicolaitans were directly influenced by the supportive teachings of Alexander the Great, who popularized the idea of having a priest between the people and their God. The Nicolaitans were directly influencing each of the churches to set up this mediator, to stop the people from going to God directly. They were threatened by the idea that if people went to God directly, God might just speak to them directly. The system was not only adopted by the Roman State-Church; their leader, deacon Nicolas, got it from the school of Alexandria, which to this day, is known for their edition based on paganism (Babylonian practices). Rome has always claimed to be The Church, and any other church not connected to them or put into their system is classified as a false church. She presents herself as being without error, i.e., the Pope is infallible, and this teaching is in direct opposition to what Christ says. We are commission by Christ to come to Him directly and to have a personal relationship with Him. Therefore, the Jezebel in this passage most likely is twofold: female leadership and the influence of the Roman State Church.
All religions on earth can be described by one of two words: fear or love. Christianity is the only belief that is founded and based in love. Since God is love (1 John 4:8), the Christian Church is a single group that can fall into this description. The Roman State-Church has always used fear to control their followers.
Jezebel or the female religious culture of the last thirteen hundred years is the Babylon of Revelation. It is clear why you see the Roman State-Church adopting and promoting so many pagan holidays, beliefs, and imagery. Study ahead in chapters 17 and 18, and it will provide great understanding. In these chapters, one will find a clear picture of the progress, growth, power, and ultimately the destruction of this Jezebel, who first revealed herself in the church of Thyatira. God has given the Roman church many opportunities to repent and renounce the ways of Jezebel. She doesn’t, because God says she doesn’t. Her doom is near and inevitable. If you and I lived in Martin Luther’s day, We would have been hunted down, bounded, and burned. Outside of the Islamic community, Catholics are known for killing more indwelt Christians than any other religion—a truth that secular, Christian and even Vatican history proves.
I know this message is offensive too many, mainly if they come from a Catholic background. The message is accurate, and history proves it. Study the Scriptures and find out the truth about her. Prepare yourself for much more of the same kinds of things that were going on in Thyatira, which was a mirrored replica of what was going on between the original Jezebel and the manipulation she used to control her husband—the king, and her sons.
A church that claims Christianity comes only through them, purposes themselves to be of the Revelation harlot. Jesus said that he who confesses with their mouth that He is the Son of God shall be saved. No individual church or denomination can make a claim such as this. Keep your eyes on Rome, and NO, don’t do as the Romans do!
We know from all Scripture that Jesus is answering by His own words—He is not going through holy mother Mary; Jesus is speaking directly from His Father and for His Father. The concept of the pope existing in all denominations is possible—there are pastors, teachers, and preachers, billing themselves as the ultimate authority. I have no respect for any leader who portrays himself as a pope.
