Summary of the Seven Churches (Part 2).
The Message to Thyatira Is Different. As mentioned earlier, the churches of Revelation, as a whole, exhibit spiritual decline. That decline also is clearly manifested in the messages to Ephesus, Pergamum, and Sardis. But the message to Thyatira goes against the established structural pattern of the previous messages in several ways. First, the message to Thyatira is twice as long as the other six messages. This length is fitting to its role at the centre of the chiasm and the long period of persecution that it represents during Christian history. Second, within the church of Thyatira is a faithful remnant, just as at other difficult times for the people of God, such as the time of Elijah, there was a faithful remnant (see 1 Kings 19:18.). Third, Thyatira is the only church about which Jesus says that their “latter works exceed the first” (Rev. 2:19). This was the Protestant Reformation. While all the previous churches were either in decline or holding steady, Thyatira already was improving. Placed at the centre of the history of the seven churches, this positive message means that God is bringing people out of apostasy and through the subsequent messages preparing the church for the second coming of Jesus. While Satan accuses God’s followers to discourage and distract, Jesus and the Holy Spirit rebuke to encourage and to heal.
Laodicea and the Final Era of Earth’s History One of the best pieces of evidence for applying this church to the end of time is the connection between Revelation 3:18 and Revelation 16:15.
No other text in the Bible contains the four major words found in both of these passages. Both verses contain the Greek words for “seeing”, “clothing”, “shame”, and “nakedness”. This inclusion is a striking parallel. Within the verses speaking about Armageddon (Rev. 16:14–16), there is a call to end-time watchfulness in the language of Laodicea (Rev. 16:15, compare Rev. 3:18). This call is striking evidence that Laodicea represents the final church of earth’s history and a remnant of such makes it all the way to the end.
There are four women portrayed in Revelation. Two are positive figures; and two are negative. The first is Jezebel, the leader of the opposition to the faithful ones in Thyatira (Rev. 2:20–23). The second is the godly woman of Revelation 12 (Rev. 12:1, 2, 5, 6, 14–17). The third is harlot Babylon (Rev. 17:1–7, 16). The fourth is the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7, 8). All four are ultimately associated with the church, either positively or negatively. Jezebel, the opponent of Thyatira, anticipates harlot Babylon, who is dressed like the high priest (Rev. 17:4). If the first part of Thyatira represents the medieval church, then the two images are very closely related.
Opposition to Christ often wears a Christian face. Similarly, the woman of Revelation 12 represents the faithful people of God throughout history. The bride of the Lamb in Revelation 19:7, 8 represents the faithful of God at the end of history symbolized by the New Jerusalem. So it stands to reason that the woman of Revelation 17 represents all those who oppose God, especially religious powers that unite with secular worldly powers to form an end-time Babylon. “Woman” in Revelation represents those who profess to be followers of Christ, but depending on which woman, the profession may not be sincere.
Lord give me strength to stay faithful
Hi Ross,
Thank you for this series.
Very informative, and thought provoking.
However I didn’t receive #49.
Blessings
Des
Hi Ross I did not receive 49 either.
Did I send it too you?