“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet [are] like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last [to be] more than the first.
“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest 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 fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
“But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have [already] hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 2:18-2918And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest 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. 21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28And I will give him the morning star. 29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 2:18‑29)).
Jezebel
Whereas Balaam placed a stumbling block before the children of Israel (Revelation 2:1414But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (Revelation 2:14)), Jezebel established herself among them as queen, seducing them and bearing children — the princes of the people. Balaam was a seducer, Jezebel a seductress. Balaam led the church into an unholy union with the world; Jezebel the prophetess, established herself within the professing church, pretending to have absolute authority there (1 Kings 19:2, 21:7).
Many of her accomplishments were achieved indirectly, through the crafty manipulation of others. Jezebel hated and persecuted the true prophets of God (1 Kings 18:44For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) (1 Kings 18:4)). While the rest of Israel suffered during the terrible drought, the prophets of Baal no doubt fared sumptuously at her own table. Thus she secured their allegiance.
When Ahab coveted the vineyard of Naboth, Jezebel by false accusation obtained for him that which was not rightfully his.
“And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, [and] eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite” (1 Kings 21:77And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. (1 Kings 21:7)). “And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, [even] against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died” (1 Kings 21:1313And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. (1 Kings 21:13)).
Throughout the history of the Church of Rome we plainly see the working of a Jezebel. As Rome strove for power, both ecclesiastical and temporal, she used every means at her disposal to put down any that would dispute her authority. But, even as there were 7000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:1818Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18)), there were those among that great Papal system that did not hold her doctrine, nor did they know the depths of Satan. Unfortunately, these true saints of God often met with death at the hand of that murderess, Jezebel. It has been suggested, and it may well be the case, that more blood has been shed by professing Christians in the name of Christianity than was ever shed by the pagan rulers during the great persecutions of the first four centuries.
The Chair of Saint Peter
Upon the defeat of Licinius (AD 324), the Emperor Constantine transferred the seat of his empire to Byzantium, and there built Constantinople. According to the plan of the Emperor there were now four patriarchs: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch (Syria), and Alexandria (Egypt). At the first General Council, held at Nice in AD 325, the Bishops of Alexandria and Antioch were declared to have, according to custom, the same authority over the churches subordinate to them that the Bishops of Rome had over those that lay about that city. But with the seat of civil authority moved to Constantinople, the Roman pontiff was left to pursue a path of relative independence. Rome, already a great city in the west, gained further recognition when she strongly supported the Nicene Creed.
The Roman bishops further strengthened their position by insisting that their bishopric descended from that of Peter, whom they considered the first among the Apostles. Leo I, bishop of Rome from AD 440-461, stated: “The apostle was called Petra, the rock, by which denomination he is constituted the foundation ... In his chair dwelleth the ever living, the superabounding, authority. Let the brethren therefore acknowledge that he is the primate of all bishops, and that Christ, who denieth His gifts to none, yet giveth unto none except through him.”6 Thus Leo the First, surnamed the Great, laid the foundation for the great spiritual monarchy of Rome.
Gregory I—AD 590
It is generally considered that Thyatira begins with the pontificate of Gregory the First, surnamed the Great, in AD 590. Gregory was well known for his almsgiving, and evidently the pastoral care of the church was the main object and delight of his heart. At that time the Lombard invaders where the terror of the Italians. Since the emperor offered no protection, the people turned to Gregory, the Bishop of Rome. Thus the Pope became for the population in Italy the protector against the Lombards.
Gregory was most zealous in bringing the gospel to the barbarous nations, winning them over to the Catholic faith. No people interested him more than the Anglo-Saxons of Britain. In AD 596, he sent 40 monks under the direction of Augustine on a mission for Britain. There Augustine obtained favour from Ethelbert, the king of Kent (south eastern England) and the missionaries were allowed to proceed to Canterbury, the king’s residence. It is said that by the end of the year 597, no fewer than 10,000 had been added to the Catholic Church by baptism. With Ethelbert’s baptism, Christianity in the Romish form became the established religion of his kingdom. Christianity was not new to the British Isles — there were famous monasteries in Ireland, Wales and Scotland — but there were several differences in the practice of the ancient Christianity of the island and what was brought by Augustine. When the British bishops refused to bow to the authority of the Bishop of Rome, bloodshed resulted (though not till after the death of Augustine, which occurred in AD 605), and Britain was brought under the domination of Rome for the next 1000 years.
The Romish system did not develop overnight; rather it was a slow and steady process of ever expanding power and influence. At the time of Gregory the First, the title “Pope” (from the Greek papa, signifying father) was not exclusively the title of the Roman Bishop. Indeed, Gregory argued against the notion of a Universal Priest — a Pope with exclusive authority — when John, the bishop of Constantinople, sought such a position. Gregory wrote to the Emperor Mauricius Augustus: “Now I confidently say that whosoever calls himself, or desires to be called, Universal Priest, is in his elation the precursor of Antichrist, because he proudly puts himself above all others.” We do not find this appellation applied to the Bishop of Rome until Gregory VII in 1049. Though Gregory was rather pious in his denouncement of John, the motivation may well have been, as others have suggested, the preservation of his own power.
Gregory’s faith was mingled with superstition. He believed in the working of miracles by relics, and has the reputation for being the “discoverer” of the fires of purgatory. Of the later he distinctly says, “We must believe that for some slight transgressions there is a purgatorial fire before the day of judgment.” Scripture is plain:
Under the patronage of Gregory, monasticism was greatly revived and widely extended. The worship of images, the idolatry of saints and martyrs, the merit of pilgrimages, were either taught or sanctioned by Gregory.