ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (03/13/91)
In a series of articles I am going to present the entire Church history as
phrophezied in Revelation 2:1-3:22. These verses phrophezy concerning the
first Church to the last Church before the Lord returns.
If you would like a list of references on Church history please send me a
note.
Note: This posting is very long. It will be divided into seven parts (there
are epistles to seven Churches.) Each part will consist of one or more
subparts.
Part IV of VII - Subpart 1 of 3 of Part IV
CHAPTER 2
III. "THE THINGS WHICH ARE" --
THE SEVEN LOCAL CHURCHES
2:1-3:22
C. Church in Thyatira --
the Church in Apostasy
2:18-29
18 And to the (1)messanger of the church in (2a)Thyatira write: These
things says the (b)Son of God, Who has (3c)eyes as a flame of fire, and (d)feet
like shining brass:
(1) Gk. angel.
(2) "Thyatira" in Greek means "sacrifice of perfume," or "unceasing sacrifice."
As a sign, the church in Thyatira prefigures the Roman catholic Church, which
was fully formed as the apostate church by the establishment of the universal
papal system in the latter part of the sixth century. This apostate church
is full of sacrifices, as demonstrated in the unceasing mass.
(3) Gk. His eyes. In dealing with the worldly church, the church in Pergamos,
the Lord referred to Himself as the One Who has the sharp two-edged sword.
In dealing with this apostate church, the church in Thyatira, He refers to
Himself as the One Who has "eyes as a flame of fire, and feet like shining
brass." The worldly church requires the dealing of His smiting and killing
word, whereas the apostate church needs the judging of His searching eyes
and treading feet.
(a) Acts 16:14 (b) John 1:34; 5:25; heb. 1:2 (c) rev. 1:14 (d) Rev. 1:15
19 I (a)know your (1b)works and love and faith and service and endurance,
and that your last works are more than the first.
(1) The apostate catholic Church has many works and services. Her works in
the last days are more than in the past.
(a) Rev. 2:2 (b) rev. 2:2
20 But I have this (a)against you, that you tolerate the (1)woman
(b)Jezebel, who (2)calls herself a prphetess, and she (3c)teaches and leads
My slaves astray to commit (4d)fornication and to eat (4e)idol sacrifices.
(1) The woman here is the same one prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 13:33,
who added leaven (signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things) into the
fine flour (signifying Christ as the meal offering for the satisfation of
God and man). this woman is the great prostitute of Revelation 17, who
mixes abominations with the divine things. the pagan wife of Ahab, Jezebel,
was a type of this apostate church. (See Ref. 20(b).)
(2) Gk. says.
(3) The church in Pergamos had the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans,
and these are continued in the apostate church. Furthermore, the catholic
Church herself teaches, casuing her people to listen to her rather than to
the Holy Word of God. Her adherents are all drugged by her heretical,
religious teaching, not caring for Christ as their life and life supply,
as indicated by the tree of life and the hidden manna promised by the Lord
to the churches in Ephesus and pergamos (Rev. 2:7, 17).
(4) The apostate church is filled with all manner of fornication and idolatry,
both spiritual and physical. Even she hereself in chapter 17 is called the
great prostitute.
(a) Rev. 2:4 (b) 1 Kings 16:31; 19:1-2; 21:23, 25-26; 2 Kings 9:7 (c) Rev.
2:14-15 (d) Rev. 2:14; 14:8; 17:1-2, 4; 18:3, 9 (e) Rev. 2:14; 1 Kings
16:31-33; 18:19; 21:26
21 And I gave her time to that she might (a)repent, and she is (b)not
willing to repent of her fornication.
(a) Rev. 2:5 (b) Rev. 9:20-21; 16:9, 11
22 Behold, I will cast her into a (1)bed, and those who commit (a)adultery
with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works;
(1) A bed is normally used for sleep or rest, and abnormally for sickness.
The Lord indicates here that the apostate church is incurably sick and will
remain so until her final judgment.
(a) Rev. 17:2; 18:3, 9
-----
Robert W. Johnson
Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland
robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet)
robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET)
The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer
and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment. ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (03/30/91)
In a series of articles I am going to present the entire Church history as
phrophezied in Revelation 2:1-3:22. These verses phrophezy concerning the
first Church to the last Church before the Lord returns.
If you would like a list of references on Church history please send me a
note.
Note: This posting is very long. It will be divided into seven parts (there
are epistles to seven Churches.) Each part will consist of one or more
subparts.
Part VII of VII - Subpart 2 of 2 of Part VII
CHAPTER 3
III. "THE THINGS WHICH ARE" --
THE SEVEN LOCAL CHURCHES
2:1-3:22
G. Church in Laodicea --
the Church in Degradation
3:14-22
18 I counsel you to (1a) buy from Me (2b)gold (c)refined by (d)fire that
you may be (e)rich, and (f)white (3)garments that you may be clothed and that
the shame of your (g)nakedness may not be manifested, and (4)eyesalve to
(h)anoint your eyes that you may see.
(1) To "buy" requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church
needs topay a price for the gold, white garments, and eyesalve, which she
desperately needs.
(2) In the Bible our working faith (Gal. 5:6) is likened to "gold"
(1 pet. 1:7), and the divine nature of God, which is the divinity of Christ,
is also typified by "gold" (Exo. 25.11). We partake of the divine nature of
God by faith (2 pet. 1:1, 4-5). The degraded recovered church has the knowledge
of the doctrines concerning Christ, but not much living faith to partake of
the divine element of Christ. She needs to pay the price to gain the golden
faith through the fiery trials that she may participate in the real "gold,"
which is Christ Himself as the life element to His Body. Thus she may become
a pure golden lampstand (Rev. 1:20) for the building of the golden New Jerusalem
(Rev. 21:18).
(3) In figure, "garments" signify conduct. "White garments" here refer to
conduct approvable to the Lord, which is the Lord Himself lived out of the
church, and which is required by the degraded recovered church for her
nakedness.
(4) The "eyesalve" needed to "anoint" their eyes must refer to the anointing
Spirit (1 John 2:27), Who is also the Lord Himself as the life-giving Spirit
(1 Cor. 15:45). The degraded recovered church also needs this kind of eyesalve
for her blindness. For all these three items she must pay the price.
(a) Isa. 55:1; Matt. 25:9 (b) 1 Pet. 1:7; 1 Cor. 3:12-13 (c) Mal. 3:3
(d) Rev. 1:14; Heb. 12.29 (e) Rev. 2:9 (f) Rev. 3:5 (g) Rev. 16:15
(h) John 9:6-11; 1 John 2:20, 27
19 As many as I (a)love I rebuke and (b)discipline; be (1)zealous
therefore, and (c)repent.
(1) Gk. boiling.
(a) Rev. 1:5; Heb. 12:6 (b) Heb. 12:5-11 (c) Rev. 2:5
20 Behold, I stand at the (1a)door and (b)knock; if anyone (c)hears
My (d)voice and (2)opens the door, I will (e)come in to him and (3)dine
with him and he with me Me.
(1) "The door" is not the door of the individuals, but the door of the church.
The Lord as Head of the church is standing outside the degraded church,
knocking at her door. The degraded recovered church must realize this!
(2) The door is the door of the church, but the door is opened by
individual believers. The Lord is dealing with the whole church, but the
acceptance of the Lord's dealing must be a personal matter. The Lord's
dealing is objective, but the believer's acceptance must be subjective.
(3) Gk. to take the principal meal of the day at evening. See note 7(5)
in chapter 2.
(a) James 5:9 (b) Luke 12:36 (c) Rev. 2:7; John 10:27 (d) Rev. 1:15
(e) John 14:23
21 He who (1a)overcomes, to him I will give to (2)sit with Me on My
(b)throne, as I also (c)overcame and (d)sat down with My Father on His throne.
(1) To "overcome" here means to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the
degraded recovered church, to buy the needed items, and to open the door
for the Lord to come in.
(2) To sit with the Lord on His throne will be a prize to the overcomer that
he may participate in the Lord's authority in the coming millenial
kingdom.
(a) Rev. 2:7 (b) cf. Rev. 20:4; Matt. 19:28 (c) Rev. 5.5; 17.14; John 16:33
(d) Eph. 1:20; heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2 (e) Rev. 22.1
22 He who has an (a)ear, let him hear what the (b)Spirit says to the
(1)churches.
(1) The seven churches not only signify prophetically the progress of the
church in the seven ages, as we have seen, but also symbolize the seven kinds
of churches in church history: the initial church, the suffering church,
the worldly church, the apostate church, the reformed church, the recovered
church, and the degraded recovered church. The initial church had its
continuation in the suffering church; the suffering church turned into the
worldly church; the worldly church became the apostate church. Hence, the
first four churches eventually issue in one kind of church, that is, the
apostate church, the Roman Catholic Church. Then the reformed church, as a
reaction to the apostate church, came into existence as another kind of church,
a church not fully recovered. Hence, following this, the recovered church
was raised up as a full recovery of the proper church life. By the
degradation of the recovered church, the degraded recovered church became
into being. This may be counted as the fourth kind of church. All these
four kinds of churches will remain until the Lord comes back. Undoubtedly,
only the recovered church can fulfill God's eternal purpose, and only she
is what the Lord is after. We must take the Lord's choice.
(a) Rev. 2.7 (b) Rev. 2:7
-----
Robert W. Johnson
Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland
robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet)
robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET)
The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer
and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment.