Up until the 1800's, Revelation was interpreted to have the 7 churches stand for 7 church ages. Dozens of scholars from the 1400s to the mid-1800s wrote about the chronological fulfillment of these churches as segments of time in the prophecy. There is value in looking over their work, and you can find many authors on biblehub commentary or in the library. This viewpoint is proven out, not only in scripture but also in history. There are phrases used for the churches that are carried out in the prophecies showing this viewpoint of the church ages is valid. When we take that stance, we can easily find historical evidence for the linear fulfillment of over 2000 years of prophecy.
I covered this in the introduction, but this deserves to be repeated. There is an absence of 3 major end-time narratives, the antichrist, the 7-year tribulation and the rapture. The antichrist is not listed in any book of prophecy so claiming there's an antichrist is adding to the book of Revelation. The 7-year tribulation is the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy, fulfilled by Jesus in 29 AD. Finally, the rapture is the diaspora just before the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD as shown in the blog section.
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
We know from chapter 1 that the prophecy starts soon after John received it. This means the Ephesian church age starts with the first century church, and goes to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, about 400 years. From chapter 1 we know the stars are angels, or those in high church leadership, and the lampstands are the churches. In Isaiah 41 it shows how God holds his servant Jacob in his right hand, much like Jesus holds the stars in his right hand. Starting in verse 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Churches that follow the words of Jesus are upheld by him, they are strengthened and helped by him. Jesus knows how they tirelessly worked for the advance of the gospel. They didn't just send out the word, they worked to build churches and tested those who they appointed to lead their new flock. The book of Acts records how apostles of new churches were tested in chapter 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. The wolves in the book of acts are the false apostles Jesus warns the Ephesian church about.
In the book of first Timothy, Paul shows the consequences of those that were tested and found lacking. From chapter 1 verse 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Paul here gives a specific example of how testing those in leadership not only exposes their "shipwrecked" faith, but it lets us know that there's a consequence to teaching blasphemy. According to Paul, those men were handed over to Satan, and who knows how painful of a lesson they had to learn. Be very wise about what you follow, and especially what you teach. The warnings are clear, and teaching deception has heavy consequences.
3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
The term bearing up, is the same term that was used to describe Jesus carrying the cross. Look at Strongs 941 and we can see the same word used in Luke 14 and John 19. The early church had conflict within because of false prophets, and added to that, followers were bearing the weight of persecution from Rome itself. The first empire-wide Roman persecution of Christians occurred under Emperor Decius, starting around 249–250 AD when he required Christians to make sacrifices to pagan roman gods. The Roman government targeted Christians and if they didn't comply, some were martyred for the cause. This was the first of many blows to the efforts of Christianity in the Roman empire. Deliberate persecution of Christians within the empire resumed in 257 AD under emperor Valerian, culminating to a 10-year reign of terror under Diocletian, called the Diocletianic Persecution in 303 AD, the final and most severe persecution in the Roman Empire. This corresponds to Revelation chapter 6 where the saints cry out "how long." Books and churches were burned, and thousands were put to death in what history calls the Great Persecution. Take some time and look up the wikipedia page on this. If you have it in your mind that Nero's persecution was bad, facts will tell you that the Diocletianic Persecution was significantly worse.
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned (forsaken/released/sent away) the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
In this church age there was a significant event that changed the course of Christianity from the first works to a new work. The Edict of Milan in 313 was issued from emperor Constantine to make Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire. This led to the establishment of a Roman church and the first state-sponsored Ecumenical council that was convened by Constantine in Nicaea in 325 AD. The second council was held in Ephesus in 431, the very place of this lampstand of Jesus. Both these councils set the path of Christianity on a new trajectory, for example by claiming that Jesus was God, that Mary was the mother of god, the spirit of God was a separate, nameless entity, and that the trinity was the backbone of salvation. The councils turned baptism and communion into sacraments and some even claimed the blood of God atoned for their sins. The times were changed, Constantine decreed a 7-day solar calendar (which replaced their 8-day calendar,) making it impossible to keep the lunar sabbath. The seasons for the Levitical feasts were changed to coincide with pagan holidays. Other Jewish customs were abandoned for the sake of the newly-formed Roman religion.
Not only does Jesus warn this church to repent, but we can see God's condemnation of these actions prophesied in Daniel 7. The little horn in Daniel defied God and changed the times and seasons. Jesus warns his church to remember the first love, which means looking to the law to see the heart of God. We don't sacrifice a literal Passover lamb any more, but we recognize that Jesus IS the Passover lamb. The blood of animal sacrifices served a purpose but we have a most perfect sacrifice now. Looking to the heart of the law allows us to see God's face because the law was always about Jesus and his church. For example, Leviticus 8:23 describes the sanctification of priests by applying the blood of the sacrifice to your ear, your thumb and your toe. Jesus is the sacrifice so we apply his blood to hear, to do, and to walk in the strength and mercy of the new covenant. If you see the law as the shadow but Jesus is the substance, following the heart of the law will be a blessing. Paul's many letters tried to explain this transition of worship.
Jesus says to this church, remember where you have fallen. The word fallen is Strong's 4098 and can mean "to be cast down from a state of prosperity". The sabbath, the feasts, and the true nature of God and his son Jesus helps us to prosper in our Christian walk. The lies of the enemy cannot hinder us and we have eyes that see and ears that hear what is being said.
Verse 5 tells the Ephesian church to repent or the lampstand will be removed. Ephesus was a stronghold of Artemis, who pagans considered the great mother goddess. When we look to the book of Ephesians, we have Paul outlining the elements of spiritual warfare in chapter 6. Prophecy does not waste words or ideas, and this shows the importance of spiritual warfare. Artemis is a type and shadow of the Old Testament Asherah, and you can look in the Old Testament how the Israelites were warned and punished for worshiping her. Temples were made in her honor called Asherah groves, and she was also called the wife of God. Asherah was both the wife and mother of Nimrod, and the mother of the supposed god-child Tammuz...the blueprint for the pagan trinity. The Ephesian church did heed the warning about repenting. About 350 years after Paul penned his letter, the Ephesians destroyed the temple to Artemis, a grand testimony to the resiliency of Paul’s word to this church and light overcoming darkness. The light of this church remained lit until the 1300s when the Muslims overtook the area.
"6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’"
The word Nico means "victory" and laitan means "people, or laity." This term speaks to the domination of the Popes in Rome over the rest of the Western Roman empire, the laity in the Eastern Roman Empire and even the Emperor. The hate of the Nicolaitans was played out during the ecumenical counsels, such as during the Arian Controversy. The opponents, non-trinitarian Arians, would be labeled as heretics, and excommunicated. The Roman popes would get bolder in their victory over the laity concerning the trinity by going into actual combat against the non-trinitarian Arians, also called Barbarians or Hungarians.
These wars are described in chapter 8, and the church conquered 3 monarchs which were Arians, fulfilling the uprooting of 3 horns described in Daniel 7. The Roman church continued its quest for power, they did not repent. 70 years after the council of Nicaea the empire split into east and west, and the western empire fell in 476. With no emperor, the popes in Rome stepped in, continuing to strive for greater power, standing on a concept called papal authority. After the Great Schism in 1054 between the Roman and Orthodox churches, papal authority of the Roman popes was formalized. Those that conquered the works of the Nicolaitans are described in chapters 11 and 12 which will eat the tree of life. The two witnesses in chapter 11 were two groups of Christians that defied the Roman church and also kept the feasts and sabbaths. The papacy actually called them Insabbatai as a derogatory term. The term means "sabbath keepers." These churches were revived in chapter 11, and the fulfillment of that revival was shown in chapter 12 through the Reformation.
"8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
Smyrna was where they manufactured myrrh. When the myrrh fruit was crushed, it released an aroma that was used to anoint the priests. It was used in embalming as well, adding to the phrase of died and came to life. This church age comes at the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the death of the body of the dreadful beast in Daniel 7 referred to in verse 11 ... the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The fire is shown in the trumpet judgements of chapter 8. It is the head that seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed in Revelation 13. This revived head is one of the 7 heads of the European sea beast of chapter 13, the Holy Roman Empire. This head of the sea beast is called the accuser of the brothers in Rev 12:10. Satan is a title more than a name, and the meaning of Satan is accuser. The papacy is the synagogue of Satan. This church age goes from the fall of the western Roman empire in 476, the death of the body of Daniel's dreadful beast, to the revival of Holy Roman empire starting in 800. Historically this time period is called the dark ages. It literally became the dark ages during the Dark Winter in 536 when a volcano erupted and the world suffered a period of darkness for 18 months. There were two more eruptions causing a decade of darkness.
In the late 300s, there had been an Arian missionary, Ulfilas, who went to the Germanic tribes and converted them, giving them an alphabet and translating bibles in their language. These converts expanded to become the Goths - the Ostrogoths and Visigoths - who attacked Rome during the trumpet judgments in chapter 8. The Huns would also attack and a remnant of those invaders settled in Hungary, called the Hungarians naming themselves after the Arian sect of Christianity. They suffered slander from the Roman church, as well as mistreatment and starvation when they entered the empire as refugees. This mistreatment by Rome fed the resentment that would later result in the attacks against the empire and the city of Rome itself.
The Word of God was preserved through this age by monks in monasteries throughout Europe. They lived quiet, simple lives, giving themselves over to vows of poverty and chastity. The monks were devoted to the word, studying it and transcribing new bibles, so they were considered rich by God. The poverty of this church is in contrast to Satan’s synagogue, or the Roman Catholic Church, which grew in power and authority while the remnants of the western Roman Empire fell into conflict with each other. The papacy and the Holy Roman Empire threw the monks into prisons, called monastic prisons or ecclesiastical prisons. The 1000 years is 10 prophetic days in this example. The red dragon beast in chapter 20, called Satan, was a dragon whose head was the Holy Roman Empire. Not only did the head of the dragon beast stay in power for right at 1000 years, but so did the harlot, seated on the many waters of the Holy Roman Empire. Both tested and persecuted the church. The papacy attacked the lampstands in chapter 11 and the dragon attacked the saints in chapter 12, even to the death. But after a time the churches rose up and were revived and were given a crown of life.
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
This church age is during the middle ages - specifically the high middle ages, from about 900 to 1300 AD. We were introduced to Satan and his synagogue in the Smyrna church age. In 800 AD, Satan is revived as one of the heads of the European Sea beast in chapter 13. This head, the Holy Roman Empire, had a throne, or the seat, where the harlot sat. In chapter 17 she was seated on many waters, or a multitude of peoples and nations and languages which is an accurate description of the Holy Roman Empire in the middle ages. The harlot's seat was called the Papal States, a small area of land in Italy, including the city of Rome, adjacent to the Holy Roman Empire.
Jesus has a very harsh word for the papacy here, saying I know where you dwell, at the throne of Satan. Throne is a term of authority as seen in Strongs 2632. During the Middle Ages, particularly between 1000 and 1300, the papacy asserted significant authority over European monarchs, arguing that spiritual power of the papacy was superior to temporal power of kings. Popes deemed themselves more powerful than kings and emperors, and even excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1076. This reached its peak under Pope Innocent III when he convened the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. This council enacted 70 reformatory decrees aimed at strengthening church authority and enforcing moral reform. This council defined the doctrine of transubstantiation, and mandated annual confession. This is explained well in this YouTube video, I recommend you watch When Faith Turned to Fear - The Fourth Lateran Council 1215.
This church age has an interesting fulfillment because it is said that Antipas was killed in Geneva, Switzerland. Geneva would have been located in the Holy Roman Empire. In the first century, the city of Pergamum had a throne to Satan, the altar of Zeus. This very altar was relocated to Berlin, Germany, in 1878. Berlin was also a city that would have been located in the Holy Roman Empire. Looking at these verses prophetically, Antipas was a martyr for the faith. The Cathars and the Waldensians of chapter 11 refused to deny Jesus but many suffered the same fate as Antipas. They held fast and the Reformation was birthed in the very place the dragon lived because Martin Luther was from Germany.
14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
God explains the interaction between Balaam and Balak in 4 chapters of Numbers, starting with chapter 22. Balak was the king of Moab, and he saw the Israelites come out of Egypt camping near his land. He was intimidated and wanted a diviner to curse them so they wouldn't overtake the Moabite people. The king's men went out to the east near the Euphrates to find Balaam and brought him to the king to curse Israel. Numbers 22-24 shows that Balaam was not able to pronounce a curse on the Israelites, but later in Numbers 32, it tells how Balaam encouraged the Moabite women to entice Israel to join themselves to Baal Peor. This is also mentioned in Psalm 106 and the commentary explains they were worshipping the dead.
The Roman church lured the common people to commit this sin and practice sexual immorality. First, in 431, they declared Mary to be divine and sinless, and the mother of God. This idea expanded to the church venerating her as a holy intercessor even making a rosary of prayers to her in the 1100s. Not only did they worship and pray to Mary, in 610 AD Pope Boniface IV consecrated a pagan shrine, the pantheon, and called it a church, dedicated to Mary and the saints. God commands his followers to tear down the high places, not consecrate them. Pope Boniface also instituted a feast day called All Saints Day to the saints and Mary as a day to worship and offer up prayers to them. In the Middle Ages, the feast day was moved to November 1, with all hallows eve being October 31. In 837 Pope Gregory 4th ordered it to be celebrated across the Frankish Empire, which included the Holy Roman Empire. Look at the customs of All Saints’ Day, it's the precursor what's now known as "Halloween."
2 Peter 2:15-17 also shows the teaching of Balaam, taking money to prophesy a curse over the followers of God. At the Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Innocent III called anyone who opposed the papacy, including the Cathars and the Waldensians, heretics, and demanded their destruction. The church would inquire about a person's faith to see if it matched up to the Roman Churches decrees of righteousness. These inquiries - the Inquisition - paved the way for the Roman church to kill their opponents, even though they were blessed by God. Not only did the Roman church persecute and kill godly people, they did it for money. The lands and properties of those that were killed were confiscated by the Church and the crown.
To see the stumbling block, we can look at the term the sons of Israel. This term gives us a mental shift to the area of the holy land. In chapter 7 the literal sons of Israel were sealed, and in chapter 9 it also refers to this seal. Chapter 9 deals with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire - the Byzantine empire. The churches in the eastern empire, called themselves the Orthodox church, they didn't have popes, and did not always agree with the edicts issued by the Roman papacy. This culminated into the great schism of 1054. This schism is the precursor to the crusades, military ventures sent by the papacy in order to recapture the holy land for Rome. The fourth crusade of 1204, solidified this rift between the papacy and the Orthodox church, because the crusaders attacked Constantinople, not Jerusalem. Constantinople was the capitol of the Byzantine empire, and its defeat contributed to the decline of the empire. At the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, Pope Innocent III made another fateful decision by defining communion as transubstantiation. Jesus rebukes Balaam for this practice, stating here that they are eating food sacrificed to idols. The process of transubstantiation means the ordained priest goes through a ritual calling on the spirit to change the bread and wine into the literal body and blood of Jesus so those in attendance can eat the body and blood as well.
Communion was meant as a way to remember Jesus. Prophetically, the act of eating is a way to transform us, or nourish us, by what we “eat.” When we eat the bread, we are to become bread as Jesus was. When we drink the wine, we are to take on the covenant that Jesus sealed in his blood. As often as we eat bread and drink wine, we are to remember his life and his covenant, and discipline our lives to Him. The act of communion has no holiness unless we are willing to remember Jesus and change our mindset. This is covered in the blog Bread & Wine, Communion or Sacrificing to Idols. There is too much to cover so the blog is more appropriate to give understanding and bible references. This practice was completely embraced by the Roman church, and used as a stumbling block for the Orthodox church. Even though the Orthodox church broke away, some still hold to the teaching of Balak, that Jesus' literal body and blood are being consumed during communion. If your church believes the same, repent!
Yet another stumbling block was decided at the 4th Lateran Council when Roman Catholics were required to go to yearly confessions to a priest so the priest could forgive them. Penance was prescribed by the priest which later became a financial payment to help restore the coffers of the papacy after their many inquisitions and crusades. This penance was required so the laity could be “cleansed” to take communion. If they didn't comply, they could be barred from the church and denied a Christian burial, which is part of the prophecy in Revelation 11:8-10. True forgiveness comes when we repent to God, through the name of Jesus, not through the works of a priest-ordered penance.
"17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Hidden manna is spiritual understanding from God. In the Old Testament this understanding was sent through the law and the prophets, now it is sent through the words and life of Jesus himself.
Joseph Benson's commentary explains the white stone: “The ancients on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones, black = condemn, white = acquitted, sometimes written on small smooth stones,” Those who conquer will receive spiritual understanding and will not be condemned at the time of judgement, at the great white throne.
A new name is described in Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God. 4 No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
And again in Isaiah 65:15...but to His servants He will give another name. 16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight. The church that was forsaken and desolate would be called Hephzibah, My delight is in her. and Beulah means married. Jesus has a white stone for his church, and a new name. He did not leave his church desolate but delights in her and her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
Jan Hus from Czechoslovakia, whose name means goose, was one martyr who invoked this oath when he was condemned for opposing the sale of indulgences and favoring biblical authority over church leadership. The church condemned him and later executed him by burning him at the stake in 1415. The oath he invoked was "You are going to burn a goose, but in one hundred years you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil" and 102 years later Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the All-Saints Church in Whittenburg, Germany.
18“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
The Thyatira church age is the early modern period, or the renaissance period and reformation, 1400s - 1700s.
We see in chapter 1 the term "son of God” means prophet and eyes a flame of fire is intense spiritual insight and discernment. We are looking for a church that speaks prophecy and authority, and would be called "on fire for God!" The Reformation was the first works of fire and the latter works of the Reformation resulted in the holy fire of the Great Awakenings starting in the 1730s. There were several waves of revival, starting in England and America, and eventually sparking a missionary movement to Africa and China. The eyes of Jesus, the flaming spiritual truth of repentance and coming judgement, spurred these missionaries to break out of traditional church settings and travel to open places to preach and seek deliverance. For example, during the Welch Revival, John Wesley went out to the unsaved to preach his message and expected God to move with signs and wonders. One deeply concerned doctor who was skeptical of the healings went to one of the revivals to see for himself. He had a change of heart after witnessing a woman being healed, saying he was “convinced it was not fraud, nor yet any natural disorder. But when both her soul and body were healed in a moment, he acknowledged the finger of God.”
Chapter 1 also shows the feet are those of a messenger who brings good news, and burnished bronze reminds us of the brazen altar and the bronze laver used for washing before entering the tabernacle. The pastors and missionaries preached an urgent, emotional need for individual sinners to turn from sin, experience conversion, and receive God's grace. This is the word of sacrificial fire and cleansing needed to enter the most holy place. Repentance removes our sin so we can be presented spotless.
Jesus again contrasts his righteous followers to the Roman church by calling her a prophetess. Jezebel was the queen who not only controlled the king but the prophets as well. Here, prophetic jezebel is a woman, a wife, which is similar to the woman riding the dragon in chapter 17. In the 1500s the Society of Jesus was formed which is the largest Catholic fraternity. The church sent them out as their political arm in the counter-reformation to stop the protestant churches. The Jesuits were called "God's marines" and "soldiers to Christ" but they maneuvered like the false prophets of Jezebel to infiltrate religious thought by starting colleges that catered to higher thought as well as Catholic doctrines. They would be authors, like Manuel de Lacunza, going under the Jewish pseudonym Rabbi Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra, who wrote a book about the rapture and millennial reign. This book influenced the rapture theory of Darby as well as Scofield who used this false prophecy in his Bible. The Scofield Bible was published in the US in 1907, the same time period that the US earth beast was called the false prophet.
The Jesuits were also sent out missionaries to the farthest reaches of the earth. We see them as the dragon in chapter 12, and this speaks to the great chain on the dragon in chapter 20. These missionaries built churches and schools and established Catholic doctrine in many parts of the Spanish and French colonies, as well as in Asia.
21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
in verse 20 you have porneai, a harlot, or an idolater, sexual immorality of an unmarried person. In verse 22 you have moicheuó sexual immorality by a married person. In chapter 17 the word for woman can mean the wife, so this is preparing us for the change of the papacy from the harlot on many waters, to the wife of Babylon seated on the beast.
This transition happens after the sickbed which are the vial judgements in chapter 16. It's also after the great tribulation, which is the coming on the cloud in chapter 19. This coming on the cloud is also associated with the great winepress, which predicts WWI and WWII. The daughters of Babylon will be struck dead through the plague of mourning in chapter 18:7, defined in Isaiah 47:7-9, which is after WWII and before judgement day. This day is upon us very soon. The verse above further explains that following those events will be a time that Jesus will search our minds and hearts and give us according to our works. This is the time of judgement when he will open the books, - some to eternal damnation, some to eternal life.
"24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
England conquered Jezebel by not only defying the church but passing laws that made Catholics enemies of the state. Isaiah 30:8-14 describes how the rebellious are crushed like earthen pots. England crushed the papacy not only through the Act of Supremacy, but also by seizing priests that refused to accept the royal supremacy, by imposing fines on those who did not attend Protestant services, and most severely by calling Catholicism treason, as well as the Jesuits after the Gunpowder Plot. Jesus granted this nation authority over other nations through their colonization of other lands. At the height of Imperialism, the sun never set on the British Empire. Interestingly, the King James bible is still one of the most popular bible versions, fulfilling the words "until the end."
The morning star was also given to England, as John Wyclif was considered the morning star of the Reformation. He was critical of the papacy and felt that all Christians should have access to the Bible in their own language. He translated the first complete English bible from the Latin Vulgate bible. He was died over 50 years before the printing press was invented, so his version didn't reach the masses like the one commissioned by King James.
Chapter 2 (pdf)
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