“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ‘I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.’” Revelation 2:18-19.
The above has been added for context this post will be concerned with Revelation 2:20-29.
“Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.” Revelation 2:20.
While the woman called Jezebel in the church of Thyatira was a real person who may have influenced the church’s members to literally commit sexual immorality and eat things offered to idols, the Jezebel of the dark ages was a deceiving spirit who led the church into gross error.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” 1 Timothy 4:1-3.
This deceiving spirit goes all the way back to Babylon, about five thousand years ago where most of the gods of idolatry can be traced back to. And the cult led by Semiramis the wife of Nimrod began.
She was the origin of the mother and child, and the mother of god heresy; see post on Revelation 2:12-15, April 23, 2022.
This same spirit influenced the Jezebel of the Old Testament, literally causing Israelites to engage in extremely perverse sexual immorality, to eat things sacrificed to idols and worship them.
For more on Jezebel here are some references: 1 Kings 16:30 to 21:25 and 2 Kings 9:1-37.
There are many other things in the passages in 1 Kings but well worth the read, especially in the New King James and New American Standard Bibles.
Again this demonic spirit leads a woman to seduce the church at Thyatira to bring them under condemnation.
Here we see these Jezebel doctrines of demons infiltrating the church of the dark ages, and continuing on to this very day. Always seducing Christians and blinding others to the knowledge of the simplicity of eternal salvation through the shed blood of Christ alone.
The Jezebel spirit will arise again, more powerful than ever in the apostate super-church of the first half of the tribulation, which will be examined when we come to Revelation chapter 17.
God uses terms like adultery and fornication to express how He feels about our worshiping other gods/idols because they are like committing adultery against Him.
Anyone who has been the victim of adultery or who has been hurt by sex outside of marriage can feel this same kind of pain and see not only why He forbids this sort of activity but how He feels when people turn from Him to idols.
“For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:4-5.
God refers to this spiritual sexual immorality (fornication) in this manner.
“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.” Jeremiah 5:7.
“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them.” Ezekiel 23:37.
One expositor noted that, “to eat things sacrificed to idols” represents the abomination of merging of the church with the world system. Scripture says this of the world.
“But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20.
“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:15-16.
The ungodly men who had wriggled their way into church hierarchy were anxious once again to embrace the world’s ways and the wicked one was only too happy to help.
“And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.” Revelation 2:21-23.
The Lord gave this church time to repent, and she did not, yet that is not all, she will go into the great tribulation if she does not repent.
The Roman Catholic Church was the dominant church for a thousand years, still exists and she is still corrupted by man made traditions, adding them to the burdens that her faithful followers must carry.
“Those who commit adultery with her”, are the kings of the earth, even today many countries are strongly influenced by this church. This would also affect her members who are not true Christians.
“I will kill her children with death”, most of them will die during the tremendous seven year upheaval of the tribulation.
However, look at the partial list of doctrines of the church and the terrors her children have already suffered:
431 A.D. Worship of Mary begun
593 A.D. Doctrine of purgatory inaugurated
600 A.D. Prayers directed to Mary
630 A.D. Mohammed leads first jihad
732 A.D. Battle of Tours (Muslims defeated in Europe)
786 A.D. Worship of icons and relics
793 A.D. Viking raids and wars continued until about 1000 A.D.
900 to 955 A.D. Magyars raid Europe, beginning date approximate
1079 A.D. Celibacy of the priesthood
1184 A.D. The Inquisition
1190 A.D. Sale of Indulgences
1215 A.D. Transubstantiation, Eucharist becomes actual body and blood of Christ
1229 A.D. Bible ownership by laity forbidden
1275 A.D. to as late as 1850 the little ice age killed millions through poor crops, famines, and diseases. The cause is uncertain, though some blame volcanic eruptions.
1334 to 1351 A.D. Black Death kills 1/3 to 1/2 of European population
1545 A.D. Tradition given equal authority with Bible
This is a church that did all it could to discourage people from coming to the knowledge of the truth.
The Bible when read was in Latin, a dead language, at other times it was chained to a bench and if you could read Latin you needed to go to wherever it was imprisoned to learn the word of God.
At times there was a death penalty for owning a Bible.
At other times the Bible was forbidden to be owned by a layman who was told that the word of God had to be explained by a priest to be understood, this is the Holy Spirit’s job, not a priest’s.
Even today many Catholics believe that it is useless to read the Bible, since they could never understand it.
The sale of Indulgences made a great deal of money for the church since for a price you could shorten your stay in purgatory, a place not mentioned in Scripture.
This, plus the complete immorality of the priests he met in Rome is what started to light a fire under Martin Luther.
And the Inquisition, responsible for the most unimaginable demon instigated torture and death of those the church saw as a threat to itself, was started by order of a Pope.
With a word, the Vicar of Christ caused the always agonizing, dehumanizing, humiliating death of hundreds of thousands perhaps millions of Christians and Jews.
Do not let an atheist tell you that the Christian church was responsible for the Inquisition; it was sadistic godless men under the guise of Christianity who murdered God’s people.
“But to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they call them, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations [Gentiles] – ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the potter’s vessels shall be broken to pieces’ – as I also have received from My father; and I will give him the morning star.” Revelation 2:24-28.
There are many Christians within the Catholic Church, whether of the laity, priesthood or nuns who are serving Christ with a whole and sincere heart and it is these that the Lord addresses.
And He tells them to “hold fast what you have till I come”, and for this fidelity He promises them “the morning star”, which is Himself.
“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” Revelation 22:16b.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:29.
Revelation 2:20-29 taken from godisrevealed.com updated on 10-1-16, reposted on 5-2-22.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.