The Church in Thyatira

Prophecy note, 25 December 2016
As a sign,
the church in Thyatira
prefigures the Roman Catholic Church,
which was fully formed
as the apostate church
by the establishing of
the universal papal system
in the latter part of the sixth century.

The church in Thyatira
tolerates the woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess:

Jezebel, the pagan wife of Ahab,
is a type of the apostate church;
the Roman Catholic Church
became the same as this woman,
bringing many heathen practices
into the church.

The three women
in Matthew 13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 17
are the same person:

In Matthew 13:33
a woman takes leaven
(signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things)
and hides it
in three measures of meal
(signifying Christ as the meal offering
for the satisfaction of God and man).

This woman
is the great harlot of Revelation 17,
who mixes abominations
with the divine things;
in 2:20-23
the same woman
is called Jezebel.

These three women all
refer to the Roman Catholic Church,
which adds leaven to the fine flour,
which is the harlot
riding on the beast,
and which is Jezebel
corrupting Christianity.

In Revelation 2:20
the Lord indicates
that the apostate church
is a self-appointed prophetess
and teaches and leads
the Lord’s slaves astray:

The apostate church
presumes to be authorized by God
to speak for God;
she demands
that people listen to her
rather than to God.

According to the principle
in the New Testament,
the Lord never allows a woman
to teach with authority:

In the same way,
the church itself
must not teach,
because in the eyes of the Lord
the church is
in the position of a woman;
only the Lord Himself
is the man,
the One who has
the right to teach
and the right to say
yes or no, right or wrong.

The Roman Catholic Church
is a teaching woman;
the apostate church herself teaches,
causing her people
to listen to her
rather than to the holy Word of God,
and her adherents
are drugged
by her heretical, religious teaching.

According to Revelation 2:24,
the apostate church
teaches “the deep things of Satan”:

Deep things
means “depths,”
as in Ephesians 3:18,
and it figuratively denotes
mysterious things.

The apostate church
has many mysteries
or deep doctrines;
these are
the deep things of Satan,
the mysterious teachings of Satan,
the satanic philosophy:

The apostate church
teaches the satanic mysteries;
the deep thought of Satan,
Satan’s concept,
has saturated the apostate church.

The apostate church
has become
the embodiment of Satan:

The proper church
is the Body of Christ,
but the apostate church
is the embodiment of Satan.

Christ indwells the church,
but Satan indwells the apostate church
in a subtle way
through the teaching
of the deep things of Satan.

The apostate church
teaches mysteries
but not the mysteries
revealed in the New Testament
concerning God’s economy.

The religion of the synagogue,
the world under Satan’s throne,
and the philosophy of the satanic mysteries
are all used by Satan
to damage and corrupt the church.

“Anyone
who has a heart
for the Lord and for His recovery
must thoroughly know
this apostate church”
(Life-study of Revelation, p. 165).

“These things
says the Son of God,
He who has eyes
like a flame of fire,
and His feet
are like shining bronze”
(v. 18):

The apostate Roman Catholic Church
strongly emphasizes Christ
as the son of Mary;
thus,
here the Lord,
protesting against the apostate heresy,
says that He
is the Son of God:

Christ’s being the Son of God
implies the expression of God,
the issue, or the coming out, of God:

Concerning God’s existence,
Christ is
the complete God
as God’s embodiment;
concerning God’s issue,
His coming out,
Christ is
the Son of God.

Christ as the embodiment of God
is related to His existence,
whereas Christ as the Son of God
is related to the expression of God.

The purpose of the Gospel of John
is to testify
that Jesus is
the Christ and the Son of God:

Christ
is the title of the Lord
according to His office, His mission,
and the Son of God
is His title
according to His person.

His person
is a matter of God’s life,
and His mission
is a matter of God’s work;
He is the Son of God
to be the Christ of God.

In dealing with the apostate church,
the church in Thyatira,
the Lord refers to Himself
as the One
who has eyes
like a flame of fire
and feet
like shining bronze:

The apostate church
needs the judging
of His searching eyes
and treading feet.

“All the churches
will know
that I am He
who searches
the inward parts
and the hearts”
(Rev. 2:23).

In Revelation 2:26-28
we have the Lord’s promise
to the one who overcomes:

“To him
I will give
authority over the nations;
and he will shepherd them
with an iron rod”
(vv. 26b-27a):

To reign with Christ
over the nations
in the millennial kingdom
is a prize
to the overcomers.

This promise of the Lord
strongly implies
that those who do not answer His call
to overcome degraded Christianity
will not participate in
the reign of the millennial kingdom.

In the millennial kingdom,
the ruler is a shepherd.

In Psalm 2:9
God gave Christ authority
to rule over the nations;
in Revelation 2:26
Christ gives the same authority
to His overcomers.

“To him
I will give the morning star”
(v. 28):

Concerning the types of Christ,
the Bible begins with Him
as light
and ends with Him
as the bright morning star:

The morning star
appears in the darkest hour,
after midnight and prior to dawn.

This indicates
that Christ will appear
as the bright morning star
in the darkest time,
prior to the close of this age.

As the bright morning star,
Christ will appear privately
to the overcomers,
who are
watching, preparing, and waiting for Him:

He will secretly give Himself
as the morning star
to those
who love Him
and who watch and wait for Him
so that they
may have the priority
to taste
the freshness of His presence
at His coming back
after a long absence.

This will encourage them
to earnestly seek
the Lord’s presence
and be watchful
so that they
will be able to stand before Him
in the secret part of His coming.

We must make ourselves ready
for the secret appearing of the Lord
as the morning star.

According to 2 Peter 1:19,
if we
take heed to
the word of prophecy,
the day
will dawn within us,
and the morning star
will rise in our hearts:

To take heed to
the prophetic word
is to pay attention
to the living Word
and enter into the Word
until the morning star
rises within us
and something from the heavens
shines over us.

We need to come
to the sure Word
and open up our whole being
to the Word
until Christ as the morning star
rises up in us
and shines over us.

Day 5
Rev. 2:26-28
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;
and to him
I will give
the morning star.

To overcome in Revelation 2:26
means to overcome Catholicism.
The overcomers,
the rest in Thyatira,
do not have
Jezebel’s teaching,
have not known
the deep things of Satan,
hold fast the Lord’s testimony
until He comes,
and keep the Lord’s works
until the end.
“My works” in verse 26
refers to the things
the Lord has accomplished
and is doing,
such as His crucifixion, resurrection, intercession, etc.,
in contrast to
the works of the apostate church
under the influence of Satan.

In Revelation 2:26
the Lord says
that to the one
who overcomes
He will give
authority over the nations.
This is
a prize to the overcomers
of reigning with Christ
over the nations
in the millennial kingdom.
This promise of the Lord
strongly implies
that those
who do not answer His call
to overcome degraded Christianity
will not participate in
the reign of the millennial kingdom.

In the millennial kingdom,
the ruler
is a shepherd.
In Psalm 2:9,
God gave Christ authority
to rule over the nations.
In Revelation 2:27,
Christ gives the same authority
to His overcomers.

In verse 28
the Lord gives a promise
to the overcomer,
saying,
“To him
I will give
the morning star.”
At Christ’s first appearing,
the wise men,
not the Jewish religionists,
saw His star.
At His second appearing,
He will be
the morning star
to His overcomers
who watch for His coming.
To all the others,
He will appear
only as the sun.

Revelation 2:28
tells us
that Christ
will give the morning star
to the overcomers.
The New Testament
reveals that Christ,
who is signified by
the heavenly luminaries, the lights,
is the bright morning star.
Concerning the types of Christ,
the entire Bible
begins with Him
as the light
and ends with Him
as the morning star, a luminary.
The morning star
appears in the darkest hour,
after midnight
and prior to the dawn.
This indicates
that Christ will appear
as the bright morning star
in the darkest time,
prior to the close of this age.

His appearing
as the morning star
and His appearing
as the Sun of righteousness
will not be at the same time.
The former
occurs before dawn,
and the latter
occurs after the dawning of the day.
As the Sun of righteousness
after the dawning of the day,
He will appear publicly
to all the people on the earth.
As the bright morning star
before the dawning of the day,
He will appear privately
to the overcomers
who are
watching, preparing, and waiting for Him.
While people
are sleeping soundly in the night,
He will secretly give Himself
as the morning star
to those
who love Him
and who watch and wait for Him,
that they
may have the priority
to taste
the freshness of His presence
at His coming back
after a long absence.
This will encourage them
to earnestly seek
the Lord’s presence
and be watchful
so that they
will be able to stand before Him
in the secret part of His coming,
when He will come as a thief.
Christ as the morning star
will be given
to the overcomers
as their first reward,
the earliest prize.
We must make ourselves ready
for the secret appearing of the Lord
as the morning star.

The “Star out of Jacob”
(Num. 24:17)
and the star appearing
at the Lord’s birth
consummate in
the morning star
in Revelation 2:28.
No star
is as bright
as the morning star.
At the darkest time,
within the overcomers
there is
a star shining.
The overcomers
will have and enjoy
the particular light,
Christ as the morning star.

Day 3
Rev. 2:24
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.

Col. 2:2
That their hearts
may be comforted,
they being knit together
in love
and unto all the riches
of the full assurance of understanding,
unto the full knowledge
of the mystery of God, Christ.

In Revelation 2:24,
deep things
means “depths”
as in Ephesians 3:18.
It figuratively denotes
mysterious things.
The Roman Catholic Church
has many mysteries
or deep doctrines.
Against the suffering church
there was
the synagogue of Satan;
with the worldly church
there was
the throne of Satan;
and within the apostate church
there are
“the deep things of Satan.”
The religion of the synagogue,
the world under Satan’s throne,
and the philosophy of the satanic mysteries
are all used by Satan
to damage and corrupt the church.

We have seen
that the church
suffered persecution
from the synagogue of Satan
and that she
eventually became worldly,
dwelling in the place
where Satan dwells
and where his throne is.
All this
is the subtlety of the enemy.
…But here
in the fourth church
there is something
more serious than this.
It is
not merely a matter of
the synagogue of Satan,
the place where Satan dwells,
or where Satan’s throne is.
Now
Satan
has come into the church
and has saturated the church
with himself.
In the apostate church
are the deep things of Satan,
the mysterious teachings of Satan.
This is
the satanic philosophy.
The apostate church
does teach
the satanic mysteries.
This indicates
that the deep thought of Satan,
Satan’s concept,
has saturated
the apostate church.
Eventually,
this church
becomes the embodiment of Satan.
The proper church
is the Body of Christ,
but the apostate church
is the embodiment of Satan.
Christ indwells the church,
but Satan indwells the apostate church
in a subtle way.
Satan always acts
in a subtle way.
When he first came to man,
he came
in the form of
a beautiful serpent.
Yet that was
not merely a serpent
—it was Satan.
Satan always takes on
a good form.
No one
would imagine
that Satan could put on
the “church”
as his form.
But in the epistle
to the church in Thyatira
we see
that this is
the real situation of today’s Christendom.
Christendom
has become
an organ of Satan.
Although it
has the name Christ in it,
actually within it
there is Satan himself.
We all
must see this.

In the apostate church
there are
many so-called mysteries.
All the mysteries
taught by this evil church
are satanic philosophies.
One of their philosophies
is that if you
do not add things
to the truths of the Bible,
it will be difficult
for people
to accept them.
The Lord,
being wise,
likened this
to the leaven
put into the fine flour
that makes the bread
easy to eat.
The apostate church says
that if people
do not have a Christmas,
it will be difficult
for them
to accept the truth
regarding the birth of Christ.
The mass
is the leaven
added to the fine flour.
This is
subtle and evil.

This evil woman
…is gilded with gold,
precious stones,
and pearls,
the very materials
with which the New Jerusalem
is built.
…To be gilded
means to wear a facade,
to be superficially attractive,
to have
a pleasing or showy appearance
that conceals something evil.
Her appearance
is attractive outwardly,
but she
is detestable inwardly.
This woman
also has a golden cup
full of abominations
and the unclean things
of her fornication.
In typology,
gold signifies
the divine nature.
Apparently,
this evil woman
holds something of God,
but actually
she is
inwardly full of abominations.

The apostate church
teaches mysteries,
but not the mysteries
revealed in the New Testament
concerning God’s economy.
Rather,
the apostate church
teaches the mysteries of Satan.

Day 1
Rev. 2:18
And to the messenger
of the church in Thyatira
write:
These things
says the Son of God,
He who has eyes
like a flame of fire,
and His feet
are like shining bronze.

Matt. 13:33
Another parable
He spoke to them:
The kingdom of the heavens
is like leaven,
which a woman
took and hid
in three measures of meal
until the whole was leavened.

We come to the fourth church,
the church in Thyatira,
the church in apostasy.
Thyatira in Greek
means “sacrifice of perfume,”
or, “unceasing sacrifice.”
As a sign,
the church in Thyatira
prefigures the Roman Catholic Church,
which was fully formed
as the apostate church
by the establishment
of the universal papal system
in the latter part of the sixth century.
This apostate church
is full of sacrifices,
as demonstrated
in her unceasing mass.

The words
spoken by the Lord
in this epistle to Thyatira
become stronger and stronger.
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.

The Roman Catholic Church
was prophesied by the Lord
in Matthew 13:33,
in which a woman
took leaven
and added it to fine flour.
This woman
is the evil Jezebel
in Revelation 2:20.
Jezebel
was the pagan wife of Ahab,
king of Israel.
By her marriage to Ahab,
the people of the kingdom of God
became mixed with paganism.
In the eyes of the Lord
the Roman Catholic Church
became the same as this woman,
bringing many heathen practices
into the church.

Jezebel seduced the people
to worship Baal.
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.

By the teaching of this woman
many pagan and heathen things
were brought into the church,
causing fornication and idol worship.
The famous Roman Catholic cathedrals
are full of idolatry,
containing images of Peter, Paul,
and many other so-called saints,
as well as of Jesus and Mary.
Many people
come into these “churches”
with candles
just to worship these idols.
Many of the evil mysteries
within the Catholic Church
have been exposed
by writings in the past.
If we read
the history of the church,
we will discover
the actual fulfillment
of the prophecy of the Lord
in this epistle to Thyatira.
The fulfillment
was exactly as the Lord prophesied.
The thousand years
from the sixth century
to the time of the Reformation
in the sixteenth century
was a period of darkness.

The three women
in Matthew 13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 17
are the same person.
In Matthew 13:33
a woman
takes leaven
and hides it
in three measures of meal,
in Revelation 17:1-6
the evil woman
is riding on a beast,
and in 2:20-23
this same woman
is called Jezebel.
These three women all
refer to the Roman Catholic Church.
It is the Roman Catholic Church
that brings leaven
into the fine flour,
it is the Roman Catholic Church
that is the harlot
riding on the beast,
and it is the Roman Catholic Church
that is Jezebel,
corrupting Christianity.
In 1929
Mussolini signed an agreement
to give the Vatican
to the pope
as his territory.
From that time
the Vatican
became an independent state
with its own jurisdiction,
conducting diplomatic affairs.
It is truly a Jezebel.