Thyatira

The corrupt church.

’“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. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 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. “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who has not known the depths of Satan, as they say, 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— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ — as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.”

General interpretation: Satan has a foothold in this church. Although its basis is genuine, many members have been seduced away. This is not an outright heresy in teaching, like Pergamos, but rather the luring away of individual members. God warns that his eyes are like flames of fire, he sees the corruption in their hearts. The members are part of an organisation called Jezebel, who are spiritual adulterers. Through all ages, many have been tempted to cope or get ahead in life by joining some group promising the comfort of belonging and security. Many of these organisations even use innocent looking charity organisations (like Rotary or Lions) for recruitment purposes.

Those who participate will find that their families will eat the bad fruit of their actions, and they and their families will experience troubled lives and sickness as prophesied in this letter.

At our present time, the foremost organisation dabbling in the deep secrets of Satan must be the Freemasons. It is clear, to any who wish to investigate, that the Freemasons are fronts for demonic powers and of Satan himself. They lure young men of promise into their midst and, by peer pressure, seduce them to make them make a lifelong commitment. Only once they’re deeply embedded do they find out they are worshipping Satan. At this stage they can’t withdraw without huge consequences.

Note the later reference in this letter to the morning star. Satan, before his fall, was once the bright morning star. (Isaiah 14:12, also the Latin word for “morning star” is Lucifer); for those family members living with and those working amongst these corrupted men, if they persevere through the spiritual and physical attack, they will receive the reclaimed morning star as a gift.  The morning star, taken away from Satan when banished from heaven, will now be given to the overcomers who have resisted him. There is no explanation of what exactly the morning star is, but is probably a decoration. I agree with those saying that it is symbolic of the actual morning star, the planet Venus. This is the brightest ‘star’, a primary decoration in the heavenlies. So will we, who are overcomers from such a background, be decorated by the Father.

God will also give freely, to his servants that repent and resist, the power that corrupt men seek.  God will give them, the overcomers, power over nations during the coming Millennium and rulership over the nations and authority and ability to apply strict discipline. (the‘iron rod’)

In many countries, it may be that many of the once flourishing Protestant churches were infected by this organisation, with many leaders belonging to it or affected by its doctrine. These churches have all suffered a large decline in membership.

The text highlights the results of this spiritual adultery:

Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 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. “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who has not known the depths of Satan, as they say…”

It is very common for counselors who do prayer ministry to come across individuals experiencing major problems who have been affected by such generational ‘cursing’. When a grandfather or other ancestor has been a Freemason, it is very noticeable that their wives and offspring, often grandchildren too, suffer from major physical problems. In addition, they are accident prone, often involving head-wounds, and many cases infertility can also be traced back to Freemasonry. The cross of Jesus needs to be placed between the person and the cursing. Note the Freemasons themselves are responsible themselves for speaking out these curses. Prayer ministries such as ‘Elijah house’ have trained prayer warriors who can engage with these victims and help them towards freedom from such cursing.

End-time interpretation: This is more specifically for those wishing to escape from the clutches of Satan, those who are captive or enmeshed with the demonic. Jesus’ eyes are like a flame of fire, piercing the heart, knowing its condition.  For them and those family members who are affected by the demonic, there is much encouragement. Those who break with it, trust Jesus for release, endure the consequences and are overcomers, they can hold on to Jesus’ words: ”to him I will give power over the nations and…I will give him the morning star.”

The Antichrist is likely to  use organizations such as the Freemasons, which is probably the Jezebel of this time, to arise into prominence. As their influence and power expands, their methods and tools will become more open and aggressive.

Like in the time of Hitler’s Germany, peer pressure during the end-time persecution will be extreme. The Antichrist will pull many into his net. Government officials, the military and civil servants will be forced to comply. The above promise is for those not being swept along with the tide, for those who are standing firm. For them there will be much opposition and pressure. But to those who are overcomers, when abandoning power and control over their own circumstances, they will be given control of nations.