The Thyatira Church had a hunger for
temporal power. The Papacy desired to
extend its rule over the whole world, and
did for many centuries. But a time came
when many in the world rejected it.

Today the Pope has sovereignty over a
few acres in Rome but that is all that is
left of his temporal dominion.

The Lord will show those who will be given
rule over the nations in time to come, they
are the overcomers. Its the overcomers who
will be the ones to rule and reign with Jesus.

She "sitteth upon seven mountains" a ref-
erence to the "seven hills" upon which the
city of Rome sits.
The woman is called
"MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS
ON THE EARTH".

She is described as a "woman drunken with
the blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the marytrs" (Revelation 17:5-6)

"Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them
that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their sins."

Here the Lord speaks of the terrible judgment
that will come upon the woman Jezebel, and
her children.

Jezebel is the woman that rides the Beast in
the 17th chapter of Revelation.

The Lord gave the Papacy a chance to repent.
But they have never done so and never will.
It has adopted the doctrine of infallibility.

Every error accumulated and declared by the
Pope all through the ages have been kept by
the church.

"Rome never changes."

Jesus said, concerning the woman, that
"she teacheth and seduceth my servants to
commit fornication."

The practice of idolatry by people who con-
fess the name of God, is considered in the
Bible as spiritual fornication.

Jezebel was vicious in her methods, not
stopping at murder to get her way and to
display her power.

She was responsible for a law making it
illegal for the children of Israel to worship
God. She had destroyed many of the prophets,
except for Elijah and those whom Obediah
hid in a cave (I Kings 18:4, 12).

The Papacy did similar in its day. Those who
were against it's practices and idolatry of the
Roman Church were subject to severe perse-
cution, and many gave their lives during the
inquisition.

Jezebel of the Old Testament, wife of Ahab,
was an idolater. She caused him to introduce
idolatry into Israel.

One of the first things that happened in the
Thyatira Period was image worship. It has
been there ever since.

In Catholic churches all over the world there
are pictures of saints and angels, sculptures
and graven images of all kinds and sizes
which are worshipped by members - a violation
of God's commands in the Ten Commandments.

The interpretation that Jezebel is the Papal

Church and that the rise

of the papacy is a type of

Jezebel;

is held by all evangelical

interpreters and that there is no doubt but

that it is the true interpretation.

The symbology is stark and obvious.

"Notwithstanding I have a few things
against thee, because thou sufferedest 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.

And I gave her space to repent of her
fornications; and she repented not. Behold,
I will cast her into a bed, and them that
commit adultery with her into great trib-
ulation, except they repent of their deeds."
Revelation 2:20-22

Works, taking the place of faith, had grown
in the Thyatira Church until salvation had
become a matter of penances, fastings, bead
counting, hail marys, pilgrimages, by Luther's
time.

Luther couldn't find peace
doing all those things.
Finally in his search for
light he discovered the
forgotten truth of the
"finished work" of Jesus,
and that "the just shall live
by faith".

The Church of Thyatira had one strong
point, it had an abundance of works. The
Bible commends good works, but they had
taken over faith.

"I know thy works, and charity, and thy
patience, and thy works; and the last to be
more than the first" (vs 19).

The apostate Church of Thyatira still has
the relics of Jezebel, but it is the church of
the dead.

Jesus shows Himself in His authority, evil
must be dealt with; against sin. "Our God
is a consuming fire".

Judgment was to come upon the Church
of Thyatira because it permitted evil to
come into its midst.

The threat to the Church in Thyatira didn't
come from emperor-worship but from the
ones who wanted it to conform to the world
for money.

It was the local church of this city that the
Lord chose to symbolize the Church during
the Thyatira Period.

This woman whom

Jesus called 'Jezebel',

some believe, had

professed Christianity

but now urged

Christians to

compromise with the

world.

She had a strong personality and if she had

achieved her purpose, she may have been

able to destroy the Christian Church.

The Roman

Empire had

fallen, making

a way for the

Church of

Thyatira and its
prophetess,

Jezebel.

Thyatira didn't have the political importance
of the other cities mentioned. It didn't face
Caesar-worship or the dangers from the
heathen religions like the other cities.

Thyatira had a commercial importance and
had more trade than others.

The old city of Pergamos is long gone. But
another small city sprung up under its name.

The town for the most part, consists of small
wooden houses, among which look like the
remains of early christian churches. None of
which have any scriptural interest having
been built several centuries after the apostles
ministries when Christianity was not humble
but the adopted religion of a big empire.

The pagan temples have come out worse than
the Christian churches.

There were some other shrines and temples
in the city of Pergamos. But as the capital, it
was the center of Caesar-worship, in its most
intense form.

Christians saw it as the worship of Satan.

In the cities of the area, Christians were only
in danger during the year when the incense
was to be burned. But the Christians in the
city of Pergamos lived at risk every day. So it
was known as the "Church of Imperial Favor."

The emblem of their healing god was a
serpent. The temple had harmless snakes
that would slither over the floor while the
afflicted were allowed to stay the night with
them.

This was to bring healing from their god.

Christians, knowing the Old Testament,
knew that the serpent was an emblem of
Satan. So they regarded this temple as the
seat of Satan.

Pergamos was also a place of heathen
worship. They had a god of healing. Suffer-
ing people came from all over to its temple.

The name of this god meant Saviour. This
title belongs only to Jesus Christ and it
must have upset the Christians to have it
attached to a heathen god.

A famous library was in Pergamos. It has
been said that it contained two hundred
thousand books. Every book was written
and copied by hand.

Parchment ( it is a word that came from
Pergamos) used for writing the New Test-
ament, was invented there. It may be said
that the city was one of the great centers
of learning.

The city of Pergamos was called place of
"Satan's seat" by the Lord.

It was the capital of that area and was just
as important as Paris or London of today.

When John wrote this, the city was still the
capital. While it couldn't be compared with
either Ephesus or Smyrna, it was historically
the greatest city of that area.

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"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos

write; these

things saith

he which

hath the

sharp sword

with two

edges; I know

thy works,

and where thou dwellest even where Satan's

seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and

has not denied my faith, even in those days

wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who

was slain among you where Satan dwelleth.

But I have a few things against thee, because

thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of

Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbl-

ingblock before the children of Israel, to eat

things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit

fornication.

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine

of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

Repent; or I will come unto thee quickly, and

will fight against them with the sword of my

mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that

overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden

manna, and will give him a white stone, and

in the stone a new name written, which no

man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."

Revelation 2:12-17