What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Was the church of Thyatira the Catholic Church, and before the apostasy (Sunday law) the church of God?"
Answer
The church of Thyatira historically represents the period of papal dominance (c. 538 to 1798 AD), in which the Catholic Church is identified as the apostate power “Isebel.” Before it reached this state of apostasy, the Christian church (especially in the phases of Ephesus and Smyrna) was the true church of God, but through its alliance with state power under Constantine a process of corruption began. During the time of Thyatira, however, faithful believers such as the Waldensians continued to separate themselves from the false teachings and were regarded as the true remnant of God.
Thyatira as a period of papal dominance
»Thyatira means “sweet fragrance of work or sacrifice and repentance” and is a description of the church during the 1260 years of papal dominance. This age of terrible cruelty and martyrdom of the true church improved its actual condition... Isebel is a figurative name that alludes to Ahab’s wife, who killed the Lord’s prophets, led her husband to idolatry, and fed the prophets of Baal at her own table. No more fitting picture could have been used to depict the papal atrocities.«
The fall of the church through its alliance with the state
»This church was once the church of God, one of the lampstands among which the Son of Man walked. But when this organization prostituted itself by aligning with the state, ... the oil was withheld from the lampstand and given to those who were willing to obey God more than the head of the church. God cares about character, not about name; and the faithful few to whom the light was entrusted were mentioned in a portion of the message to Thyatira.«
The separation of the faithful from the apostate organization
»During the period covered by Pergamus, the Spirit of the Lord was with the church as a church; but toward the end of this time a separation began to take place. In the following years an organization formed that still bore the name Christian; and another group separated from this first organization because of the practices of Balaam – idolatry and immorality practiced by those who were once truly Christians. Thus false teaching was the cause of the church’s apostasy, and one sign of its fall was that in its spiritual weakness it sought the support of state power. Under these conditions the message to the church of Thyatira is delivered.«
Isebel as a symbol of the papal church
»In every detail, even up to this final span of years, the story of Isebel is an allegory of church history during the time, times, and half a time – the three and a half years of papal dominance, the period covered by the message to Thyatira. ... Thyatira is Babylon itself, and the churches elsewhere called “daughters of Babylon” will share the fate of the mother, Thyatira.«
The true church in the wilderness
»The true church was driven into the desert during this time... Some Christians preserved their faith and integrity, even at the cost of their lives. Isebel is a figurative name... and marks it as the appropriate type of the papal church. ... Popery was only another form of idolatry.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
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