Thyatira:
Faithfulness Fourth Seal:
Religious Persecution 538 CE –
1516 CE
Spirituality
“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…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.” Revelation 2:19, 20, 24-26
Jezebel was a wicked queen who led the people of
her nation to abandon God and worship idols and she killed those who refused to
submit.(1 Kin. 16: 31; 21:25; 2 Kin. 9: 7, 22) In prophetic language, a woman represents a city and a group of people that have something in common (i.e. citizens of a city [“city”zens] have their place of residence in common). (see Appendix 2) Here, Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, so Jezebel is a city and a group of people (“city”zens) who have a religion in common since they believe they speak for God.
In
the year 533 CE the Roman Emperor Justinian declared that the Bishop of Rome
was to be the head of all Christian churches.
By the year 538 CE all opposition, both religious and civil, to this appointment
was crushed. The Bishop of Rome (city)
was firmly established in his authority over religious and civil matters. Those church members with the traits of
Balaam and the Nicolaitans (“city”zens) had finally attained all the power and
riches they had so desired (commonality).
They had set up a powerful church and were designing doctrines that
would strengthen their control and would lead the masses astray. But there were still believers who remained
faithful to the teachings and the spirit of Jesus although they did not fight
hard enough in the beginning against this false church with its false
doctrines. However, what was done was
done and Jesus told them to hang on and as a reward they would rule with him.
Experience
“ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…I looked, and
behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was
following with him. Authority was given
to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with
pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Rev. 6: 7, 8
Hades
is the Greek word for hell, and the experience of many of those who refused to
follow Jezebel, the teachings of this false church, went through hell on earth,
dying for their faithful adherence to the pure teachings of Jesus. The Inquisitions and persecutions, the
torturous and agonizing deaths of the faithful were unrivaled by anything in
history. Truly the ashen horse of Death
followed by Hades fell upon those faithful people.
