Thurs.’s Devo. - The Dark Ages - 606-1520 A.D.

Read Rev. 2:18-20 Thyratira was a city of many rivers which brought many leeches. Thyatira hosted many artisans who came here to sell their wares. This is where Lydia, the seller of purple came to sell her clothes and was led to Jesus by Paul. The major religion of Tyratira was the worship of Apollo, the sun god. He was known as the “averted of evil” who presided over religious law and atonement of sins and how to get to get to the afterlife. He communicated his knowledge of “the future” and “the father’s will” through his prophets. This ritual was conducted by a woman who sat in a tripod chair and spoke through a trance. In order to be a part of the social and commercial life one had to be a member of this cult and participate in all the licentious orgies and pagan feasts. (A type of the mark of the Beast.) Thyatira means “dominating female.” In this age the dominating female is Mystery Babylon, the great whore. She is personified in Jezabel and is the bride of Satan - the opposite of the Bride of Christ. The devil always takes God’s plan and perverts it. He produces a counterfeit that looks so much like the real, but once it has seduced its followers, it shows its true colors, which are evil to the core. The false church of this age plundered and destroyed for over 900 years. She killed the arts, destroyed the sciences, and produced nothing but darkness. But, in the midst of such dark times, there remained a remnant of true believers who belonged to God and knew that their citizenship was not of this world. There were several men God rose up to be a standard, like Francis of Assisi, St. Patrick, and Peter Waldo of Lyons, but the messenger of the age seems to be Saint Columba. We’ll talk about him tomorrow. Lord, let us be a messenger from you to our generation. May our walk qualify us to speak for you.