Summary: We look into the church at Thyatira in more detail to see how wicked it really was. That church parallels the Parable of the Leaven. It also represents the period of Church History with the development of the Roman Catholic Church that grew out of the Pergamum church.

16. THE KINGDOM PARABLES – THE FOURTH – THE LEAVEN – Part 3

NOW WHERE IS THIS PARABLE LEADING US?

We have seen in the first three parables of the kingdom that each parable associates itself with one of the churches of Asia Minor to whom John wrote, and also, that each parable associates with a period of church history, and it is all in order.

The Sower matches the church at Ephesus and the Apostolic period of history. The Wheat and Tares matches the church at Smyrna and the period of the great persecutions. It represents the period of church history from near the end of the Apostolic period until Constantine in A.D. 312. The Mustard Seed represents the church at Pergamum and the period of church history from 312 A.D. until the Roman Catholic Church became a definite identity. The Pergamum church grew up into the church at Thyatira. We did all that previously. Now for the church and historic period that represents the leaven.

[A]. THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA

As we have seen in all these churches the names are so significant to the Church History period. And each one is in order as well. It could not work if the order was not there. Thyatira follows Pergamum, which meant “married twice”, when the church got married to the world with Constantine and adopted Babylonian paganism. Wickedness entered the Church.

Thyatira is when Pergamum matured as the leaven did its work, and spawned something really terrible. Before we look into that church from Revelation it is important to know the meaning of the word. THYATIRA MEANS "PERPETUAL SACRIFICE," OR “CONTINUING SACRIFICE.” Some say it includes also "sweet perfume of sacrifice," and as we look into the period of church history later on, we will see how significant that is.

The letter to Thyatira was written by John under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and is the longest of the letters to the seven churches. The church had sunk very low and of course represents the period of church history where everything was evil and “low” in honouring God. In fact, God was not honoured.

[1]. JUDGEMENT OF AN UNHAPPY GOD. {{Revelation 2:18-19 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has EYES LIKE A FLAME OF FIRE, and HIS FEET ARE LIKE BURNISHED BRONZE, says this: “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.”}}

The very first thing God says to this church relates to judgement. Flame of fire and gleaming bronze are both symbols of judgement and used in Revelation 1 and 20. They are also consistent with the Old Testament types. This church had a lot of evil in it even though some there were faithful. It is the faithful ones who are addressed in verse 19. There is a lot of evil in that system that church represents.

[2]. JEZEBEL AND PAGAN WICKEDNESS IN THE CHURCH. {{Revelation 2:20 “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 and eat things sacrificed to idols,

Revelation 2:21 and I gave her time to repent and SHE DOES NOT WANT TO REPENT of her immorality.

Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her, INTO GREAT TRIBULATION unless they repent of her deeds,”}}

This is a serious matter. The focus is on Jezebel. Jezebel is not a literal woman in the church in Thyatria, one but stands for the old system of the Jezebel of old. Supposedly, Jezebel is the most wicked person (woman) in the bible; the most wicked not being in the bible; that is Semiramus. Both Semiramus and Jezebel held to the pagan anti-God Babylonian system.

This evil Babylonian system of religion was in the Thyatira church. Shortly we will look at this church in the history of the last 2000 years but it represents the growth of Babylonian paganism in the church and is expressed in the growth of the church of the Middle Ages and Medieval times.

In verses 21 and 22 God speaks about this church, and the pagan immorality of religion did not stop. There was no repentance and it continued RIGHT TO THE PRESENT, and this church will go into the Tribulation. We look at that later on. One serious trouble with this church is that the people there were tolerant of the paganism that was this church. It was an idolatrous church.

[3]. WAGES ARE PAID IN ACCORDANCE WITH DEEDS. {{Revelation 2:23 “and I will kill her children with pestilence and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts, and I WILL GIVE TO EACH ONE OF YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR DEEDS”}}

Verse 23 is all about judgement and it surely happened, but only in part. The major judgement is still coming (verse 22). The end of verse 23 is consistent that everyone will face judgement, both Christian and non-Christian, to be judged according to the deeds done. I have done this in great detail in the series on the Great White Throne and The Judgment Seat of Christ - https://sermoncentral.com/sermon-series/the-great-white-throne-and-the-judgment-seat-of-christ-sermon-series-from-ron-ferguson-24580

{{Revelation 20:13 “The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them and they were judged, EVERY ONE OF THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS”}}

{{Romans 2:5-6 “but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, WHO WILL RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”}}

[4]. GOD ALWAYS HAS HIS FAITHFUL REMNANT. {{Revelation 2:24 “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.”}}

Throughout history in every situation God has a remnant people, ones who are faithful amid the most adverse circumstances. The Thyatiran church was a very bad one having developed from the mutant mustard seed and now infiltrated by the leaven of wickedness. However there were faithful ones there who did not ascribe to the wickedness of what the church stood for.

God placed no other burden on them. That means that their resistance to the evil was intense and they battled to maintain the orthodoxy of their faith. God saw that to be enough and no other weight was to be added.

[5]. BE RESOLUTE AND HOLD FAST IN YOUR FAITH. {{Revelation 2:25 “Nevertheless what you have, HOLD FAST until I come”}}

This is the message to all God’s people in all centuries. Hold fast! In other words, be committed and be faithful. These people in the church did not have all the truth, but what they had they needed to hold that secure. It is lamentable today that in some churches, you battle to find any who have the truth. Churches are becoming more liberal and WOKE and deniers of the truth; actors and performers and touting an evil prosperity teaching from hell. We are right at the end of the Church age and the Lord will come soon for His Bride.

Of course for many of us the “until I come,” means the Rapture when the Lord comes to claim His Bride to remove her from the wrath that comes upon the whole world. I know some hold that as the Second Coming but I have taken great pains in some messages to explain why that is not the case.

Those of us who have studied prophecy and current events for a long time know that the Rapture is just so close. I thought it was amazing that in September 2025 President Trump addressed the vile, wicked, demonic United Nations and spent time on Israel. The leader of the free world spent time supporting Israel against the whole United Nations while Albanese from Australia and Starmer of Britain spewed out their venom against Israel. God took note:-

{{Genesis 12:2-3 “and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing. I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU AND THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,”}}

[6]. THE PROMISES OF BLESSING

{{Revelation 2:26 and HE WHO OVERCOMES, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

Revelation 2:27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father,

Revelation 2:28 and I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”}}

The overcomer is the one who resists the evil of his generation and that means in the churches as well. One does not like chastising the churches all the time, but we live in days when too many churches have lost their way and adopted liberalism, WOKEness, and plain paganism, and “Hollywood hype”. The Lord wants overcomers. I really need to do a whole message on being an overcomer but maybe another time.

For the overcomer in Thyatira, and we can project that to all overcoming believers, a number of precious blessings are promised –

(a). Authority over nations to rule them.

(b). He will be given the morning star.

The only time we can rule over nations is when the Lord is reigning and is King over the whole earth in His Millennial Kingdom reign, that is, His Millennial reign spelled out so often in the Old Testament. Begin with Isaiah 11. It locks into this timeframe – {{Revelation 20:2-3 “and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and BOUND HIM FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, UNTIL THE THOUSAND YEARS WERE COMPLETED. After these things he must be released for a short time.”}}

This church at Thyatira, full of wickedness, can not be excused. It was a disgrace as a whole, with the gems of true believers in it. The period of Church History it represents was a dark one and we will do that soon. However I want to look more into this church at Thyatira so fully taken over by the leaven of wickedness that permeated the whole world.

I said earlier that we could not associate any specific meaning to the three measures of meal the woman took to leaven, and I hold to that. However all three breakdowns of world society have become affected by intensifying wickedness. THE RULE AND LEADERSHIP OF MAN. THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE WORLD (the ordinary people under their rulers). THE WHOLE OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL WORLD (of churches and Christian profession). All is permeated with wickedness and it is getting much worse.

THE GREATER PICTURE OF CHURCH HISTORY - THYATIRA

The Sower represents the Apostolic period. The Tares represents the great suffering of the church up until 312 A.D. The Mustard tree represents the wickedness entering the church from Emperor Constantine onwards. The Sower and the church at Ephesus are linked. The Tares and the church at Smyrna are linked. The Mustard seed and the church at Pergamum are linked.

Now for the parable of the Leaven and the church at Thyatira. The Church period for this church is the growth of the Roman Catholic Church developed from Pergamum. It has an indefinite start as it slowly grew and permeated all of Christianity. The Roman church that matches the leaven is still in existence. The leaven that affected this church is very clear to any student who studies what the church represents. I do not want to be judgmental here to devout people in that church but history is history, practice is practice, and doctrine is doctrine. Let us mention some of those (just a few among so many). These have grown from the leaven that matured in the professing church.

[1]. The Mass. This is the core of the Roman Catholic Church as part of the “continual sacrifice” (the meaning of Thyatira – it is so fittingly accurate). The sacrifice of the Mass is ongoing when Christ is put to death on altars all over the world and His body is eaten and His blood drunk. It is paganism at its worst. {{Hebrews 10:12-14 “but He, HAVING OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOR ALL TIME, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. BY ONE OFFERING HE HAS PERFECTED FOR ALL TIME THOSE WHO ARE SANCTIFIED.”}}

[2]. Indulgences. This teaching went on for years where people could pay money to the church or do great things for the church to suffer less in Purgatory. It is probably one of the greatest historic abuse of the Roman Church. This Babylonian teaching, still believed in, helped spark the Protestant Reformation. Here is a more “moderate” view of Indulgences - [[“One of the most egregious abuses was the sale of false indulgences. Clergy would often peddle fake indulgences to unsuspecting believers, claiming they could absolve sins or reduce time in purgatory for a fee. This not only financially exploited the faithful but also eroded trust in the Church.

"The sale of indulgences was a lucrative business, with unscrupulous clergy preying on the fears of the faithful, selling them false promises of salvation."

The impact on the faithful was profound. Many felt deceived and betrayed, leading to widespread disillusionment with the Church. The practice became so rampant that it attracted criticism not only from outside the Church but also from within its ranks.”]]

[3]. The worship of Mary. Catholics say they only admire Mary, but do not worship, but bowing down and kissing feet, etc. IS worship. Mary is elevated to Queen of Heaven paralleling the worship of the queen of heaven Jeremiah spoke of and condemned, and attributing all to Semiramus – {{Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:17-25.}} All Catholics pray to Mary, elevating her to deity, for millions around the world praying at any given time to Mary must represent omnipresence and omniscience for the one being prayed to. That belongs only to God alone.

[4]. The forgiveness of sins. Only God can forgive sins, not a priest. Call no man “Father”. {{Matthew 23:9 “and do not call anyone on earth your father for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”}}. The Church has degraded faith to elevate good works.

[5]. Holy water. This is from a Catholic site – [[“Holy water is a sacramental used widely in Catholic practice with deep spiritual meaning. It is ordinary water blessed by a priest, set apart for sacred use. Catholics encounter holy water in churches, homes, and during specific rituals like baptisms. Its use reflects a belief in God's grace working through physical signs.”]] It is NOT a biblical practice but has come from Babylon teaching that entered the church. The Old Testament mentions of purifications, have nothing to do with holy water.

[6]. Simony. [[“One of the most notorious abuses was the practice of simony, the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices. This corruption extended from the lowest ranks of the clergy to the highest echelons of the Church hierarchy. Bishops and even Popes were sometimes appointed based on wealth or political connections rather than spiritual merit.

Simony not only compromised the integrity of the Church but also led to a clergy more interested in amassing wealth than tending to the spiritual needs of their flocks. The sale of indulgences, a practice that reached its zenith during the Late Middle Ages, further exemplified the Church’s financial exploitation. Parishioners were led to believe that purchasing indulgences could absolve them of sins or reduce their time in purgatory, creating a lucrative revenue stream for the Church.”]] (From Church and State).

There are many more but I don’t want to continue. At the Reformation, a lot more abuses of this Church became evident. Jezebel was in the Church - Revelation 2:20 - and the wicked doctrines of Babylonian paganism had taken over. That was the leaven doing its evil work. I suggest if you want to look more into this that you go read “The Two Babylons” by Alexander Hislop. I believe it is now online. The book is amazing - one of the most footnoted and referenced books I have ever encountered. (It is quite heavy reading though).

That will bring us to the end of this Parable of the Leaven. This was a very difficult one to put together (Also I have Catholic friends) so I hope it reads properly.