Faith First Media

In the following commentary, words in CAPS indicate the biblical text, while words in lower case indicate the commentary on that text.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 2

Verses 18-29

Introduction

The message to the church in Thyatira is the longest of the seven messages – both in terms of the number of verses in the text (12, as opposed to 7 for Ephesus, 4 for Smyrna, 6 for Pergamum, 6 for Sardis, 7 for Philadelphia, and 9 for Laodicea) and in terms of the number of years of history covered (980, as opposed to 73 for Ephesus, 212 for Smyrna, 226 for Pergamum, 282 for Sardis, 117 for Philadelphia, and probably only a few more than 95 for Laodicea).

Revelation 2:18

TO THE ANGEL OF THE ASSEMBLY IN THYATIRA (representing the Medieval Age, from AD 538, when the Bishop of Rome proclaimed his office to be that of ‘Papacy,’ to AD 1517, when the Protestant Reformation began) WRITE: ‘THE SON OF GOD, WHO HAS HIS EYES LIKE A FLAME OF FIRE (see Daniel 10:6 and Revelation 1:14), AND HIS FEET ARE LIKE BURNISHED BRASS (see Daniel 10:6 and Revelation 1:15), SAYS THESE THINGS:

Revelation 2:19

“I KNOW YOUR WORKS (the Church, in the Medieval Age, was very big on ‘works,’ even viewing them as a means to salvation), YOUR LOVE (there is no question but that millions of members of the Church, in the Medieval Age, were very devoted to Jesus), FAITH (in the sense of ‘faithfulness’ – their ability to continue believing throughout all of the changing circumstances of their times), SERVICE (certainly a tremendous amount of work was accomplished, in the name of Christ, during this era), PATIENT ENDURANCE (‘stick-to-it-iveness’), AND THAT YOUR LAST WORKS ARE MORE THAN THE FIRST (the sheer quantity of work that was accomplished during that age far exceeded the quantity of work that was accomplished during the Apostolic Age).

Revelation 2:20

BUT (after only one verse of commendation, the text continues with Jesus’ words of judgment against the Church of this era) I HAVE THIS AGAINST YOU, THAT YOU TOLERATE YOUR WOMAN, JEZEBEL (the literal woman, Jezebel, was the daughter of Ethbaal, the idol-worshipping king of Phoenicia – the country that is now called ‘Lebanon’ – and the wife of Ahab, the idol-worshipping king of Israel; she is used here in Revelation 2:20 as a symbol to represent the idol-worshipping leadership of the Medieval Church), WHO CALLS HERSELF A PROPHETESS (a messenger from God). SHE (the organizational Papacy, which called itself ‘the Vicar of Christ’ – the ‘Representative of God on Earth’) TEACHES AND SEDUCES MY SERVANTS TO COMMIT SEXUAL IMMORALITY (not physical ‘sexual immorality’ – actually, the Church, during this era, was very much opposed to physical sexual immorality, and promoted its opposite, virginity, more than any other organization in history has ever done; but ‘sexual immorality’ is used here in Revelation 2:20 as a symbol for idol worship, and the ‘idol worship’ taught by the Church, during this era, was the extreme ‘reverence’ for the Papacy that put the popes on a level with God Himself: at one point, the ‘slogan’ written on the Pope’s throne, in Rome, was, ‘Our Lord God, the Pope’), AND TO EAT THINGS SACRIFICED TO IDOLS (this may be a reference to the Roman tradition of ‘offering’ the Mass as a ‘sacrifice’ before a statue of Jesus, whereas the Bible makes it clear that the Eucharist is simply a memorial of Jesus’ sacrifice – not a ‘sacrifice’ in itself – and that it is wrong for Christians to think of statues as being ‘real’ representations of God). (See Numbers 25:1-2).

Revelation 2:21

I GAVE HER TIME TO REPENT (no other era in history included as much time for repentance as the Medieval Age did – as we have seen, above, it lasted 980 years!), BUT SHE REFUSES TO REPENT OF HER SEXUAL IMMORALITY (there was no feeling, in the leadership of the Church during this era, that there was any need for ‘repentance’ – in the sense of changing their ways – because they were fully convinced that what they were doing was right and didn’t need to be changed).

Revelation 2:22

BEHOLD, I WILL THROW HER (Jezebel, symbolizing the Medieval Church) INTO A BED (symbolizing, in this context, a place where punishment will take place), AND THOSE (church members who followed such false leadership rather than worshipping God as prescribed in the Bible) WHO COMMIT ADULTERY (symbolizing the worship of anything other than the true God) WITH HER INTO GREAT OPPRESSION (punishment from God), UNLESS THEY REPENT OF THEIR WORKS (which, we know from history, most of them didn’t – but some did).

Revelation 2:23

I WILL KILL HER (the Papacy’s) CHILDREN (church members who worshipped the Papacy) WITH DEATH (this is probably a reference to the “Black Death” – the bubonic plague that swept through Europe, where most of the Papacy’s followers lived, in AD 1347-1351), AND ALL THE ASSEMBLIES (the churches of all succeeding eras) WILL KNOW THAT I (Jesus) AM HE WHO SEARCHES THE MINDS AND HEARTS (knows all secrets). I (Jesus) WILL GIVE TO EACH ONE OF YOU (not just the followers of the Papacy, but all Christians of all eras) ACCORDING TO YOUR DEEDS (whatever you deserve as a result of what you have done with whatever knowledge of God and His ways you have had).

Revelation 2:24

BUT TO YOU (the Christians who lived during this era, but who didn’t follow the teachings of the Papacy – such as the Eastern Orthodox, the Waldensians, the Albigensians, etc.) I (Jesus) SAY, TO THE REST WHO ARE IN THYATIRA, AS MANY AS DON’T HAVE THIS TEACHING, WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT SOME CALL ‘THE DEEP THINGS OF SATAN’ (one of the worst things that took place during the Medieval Age was an actual mixture of Satan-worship with the professed worship of Christ), TO YOU I (Jesus) SAY, ‘I (Jesus) AM NOT PUTTING ANY OTHER BURDEN ON YOU (since such people had very little knowledge of the truth, although they knew that the extreme forms of Papacy-worship were wrong, Jesus reassured them that He didn’t expect very much of them, except, as He said in the next verse:).

Revelation 2:25

NEVERTHELESS, HOLD FIRMLY (don’t give up) THAT (small understanding of the truth) WHICH YOU HAVE, UNTIL I COME (which, from their point of view, in the Medieval Age, was still a long time in the future).’

Revelation 2:26

HE WHO OVERCOMES, AND HE WHO KEEPS MY WORKS (does the things that I want him to) TO THE END (of his life), TO HIM (any true believer in Jesus) I (Jesus) WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS (something that the Papacy illegitimately claimed to have).

Revelation 2:27

HE WILL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, SHATTERING THEM LIKE CLAY POTS (Jesus’ consistent promise to all His followers has always been that they will receive a share in His Kingdom when it is finally established); – AS I ALSO HAVE RECEIVED OF MY FATHER (God):

Revelation 2:28

AND I (Jesus) WILL GIVE HIM (the one who overcomes) THE MORNING STAR (a symbol of Jesus Himself; to the believer in Jesus, Jesus will give a personal relationship with Jesus).

Revelation 2:29

HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR (see Matthew 11:15, 13:9 and 13:43; Mark 4:9; and Luke 8:8 and 14:35 – this was a ‘favorite’ expression of Jesus’) WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE ASSEMBLIES.”’

Conclusion

In the few statements in these 12 verses, we (of course) haven’t learned everything that we are going to learn about what happened during the Medieval Age. Much more information about the events of those centuries is to be found in later chapters of the book of Revelation. That fact shouldn’t be surprising, since (after all), the Medieval Age covered almost half of all the time that has gone by since Jesus’ return to Heaven.