Read Revelation's letter to the church at Thyatira

The letter to Thyatira contains a strong rebuke:

Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols (Revelation 2:20).

Ahab, king of Israel, had married Jezebel, a Phonecian Baal worshiper, although God had expressly forbidden intermarriage with heathens. This marriage led to Baal worship being introduced into Israel, even though it was supposedly done in the name of Jehovah.

So it was in the prophetic time of Thyatira. Pagan temples, symbols, and festivals were converted into Christian temples, symbols, and religious festivals. All this was done in the name of true worship of the divine God.

Speaking of this amalgamation, Arthur E.R. Boak declares this:

The long association between pagans and Christians and the rapid incorporation of new converts into the ranks of the Church (after Constantine's "conversion"), exercised a profound influence upon Christian beliefs and practices. Pagan belief in magic contributed largely to the Christian belief in miracles; and the development of the cult of the saints was stimulated by pagan concepts of inferior divinities, demigods and demons. Many pagan festivals were transferred into the festivals of the Church.ⁱ

Fornication and sacrifices to idols are the symbols of apostasy against God and His Son Jesus, the Word made flesh. We are to eat the flesh of the Son of God—to internalize His truth—not replace it with mere outward forms. Of this, the Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism says the following:

The missionary history of the [Catholic] Church clearly shows her adaptability to all races, all continents, all nations. In her liturgy and her art, in her tradition and the forming of her doctrine, naturally enough she includes Jewish elements, but also elements that are of pagan origin. In certain respects, she has copied her organization from that of the Roman Empire, has preserved and made fruitful the philosophical intuitions of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, borrowed from both Barbarians and the Byzantine Roman Empire—but always remains herself, thoroughly digesting all elements drawn from external sources...In her laws, her ceremonies, her festivals and her devotions, she makes use of local customs after purifying them and "baptizing" them.ⁱⁱ

The twin pillars of Roman Catholicism are faith in the Eucharistic mystery and faith in the intercessory role of Mary. The Catholic Church is even considering making this Marian role as co-advocate and intercessor an infallible church dogma. Neither of these two doctrines can be found in the Scriptures, and they are contrary to the very basis of the Christian faith. Salvation can be found in Christ alone (John 10:9).



Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

In the Eucharistic mystery, the bread and wine are said to literally become the body and blood of Christ. Christ's sacrifice on the cross is repeated during each mass, which too is contrary to the plain teaching of the Scriptures:

Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once when he offered up himself (Hebrews 7:27).



For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26).



But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12).

Ignoring a Second Chance


God gives opportunities for repentance. The period of papal supremacy spanned 1260 years, and during all that time Roman Catholicism would not repent from her unfaithfulness to God (Revelation 2:21-23).

When Rome rejected the message of the Reformation, the turmoil that followed led to the greatest sufferings in human history. At the Council of Trent in 1563, the Reformation message was officially set aside. Shortly thereafter Europe agonized under the plague and the 30-year war (1618-1648), but neither of these dreadful situations brought Rome back to a love of the truth.

God is patient with people He has made (See Exodus 34:4-10, 2 Samuel 24, 2 Chronicles 33). His people Israel constantly turned away from Him, but He was constantly providing opportunities for them to turn back to Him, even saying this:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

God is the same way with the people of Babylon. He longs for them to return to Him (Jeremiah 51:8-9). Just as God raised up Elijah with a message of reform in the days of Jezebel, so God raised up some within the Church who called for reformation during the Church's long history and even after its rejection of the Reformation.

Ahead to A Letter to the Church at Sardis