Episode 6: To the church in Thyatira

 

(Edit: here is the video of this study: here). 

I am going to start putting my study notes for my Revelation series up on my blog for Monday nights Revelation studies. Even if you are not interested in watching the livestreams, you may find the questions helpful for going through the book of Revelation. If you are following along with the studies on Monday night, this gives you the questions in advance to reflect on and be ready for the study. Some of the studies, such as this one, will have several pages of supplemental research at the end for you to read through. I do not go through all of this on the night, but it is helpful to have some of this information for understanding the back ground of our passage in Revelation. I will update the studies later in the week with the video from the study as well. Also I will eventually put up the earlier studies as well, when I get a chance. 

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Revelation 2:18-28

Background information

The church and city of Thyatira are those which are least known among these seven churches and cities. All the other cities were quite major and are well known to historians now, however Thyatira never grew to be more than a large regional town, therefore there is not much known about it. Add to this the fact that its position along trade routes and therefore military routes, coupled with its inability to be adequately defended from attack, and you can see why there is not much known about this city. It would have been razed to the ground many times when attacked throughout the centuries.

There are some things known about this city though. “In classical times, Thyatira stood on the border between Lydia and Mysia. It was famous for its dyeing and was a centre of the indigo trade.^[4] Among the ancient ruins of the city, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in the city. More guilds are known in Thyatira than any other contemporary city in the Roman province of Asia (inscriptions mention the following: wool-workers, linen-workers, makers of outer garments, dyers, leather-workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave-dealers and bronze-smiths).” (Kistemaker)

There is a woman in Acts name Lydia who was a “seller of purple goods” (Acts 16:14; ESV), aka a merchant of purple cloth products (though the Greek word for purple can mean scarlet and other colours) who was converted by the ministry of Paul and Silas. Lydia would have been a wealthy woman, for “purple goods” could only be bought by the rich. In fact purple was seen as one of the colours of royalty because it was so expensive.  Because Lydia had contact with Paul and Silas, it is possible the church in Thyatira had a close but indirect connection with the Apostle Paul and his ministry. Though, you could probably argue that every church in the Roman Empire had a similar connection.

As with other ancient Greek cities Thyatira would have had many idols and temples to many gods and goddesses. This was standard ancient practice among all ancient cultures. There was one Egyptian monarch who attempted to make Egypt a monotheistic nation, worshipping only one god, his name was Pharaoh Akhenaten also known as Amenhotep IV, 1364-1347 B.C. (http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egypt/a/locegyptmonothe.htm), he is famous for this effort because it was so rare in the ancient world.  It was so rare as soon as he died the Egyptians reverted back to their polytheistic ways. Heck even the Jews couldn’t keep their spiritual hands off worshipping other gods. Polytheism was standard ancient practice.

However, Apollo Tyrimnaios, the sun god, was the tutelary divinity of this prosperous city and his worship was joined with that of the emperors, who were identified as Apollo incarnate and each, like him, the son of Zeus. Tutelary means guardian, therefore Apollo, the sun God was the guardian of Thyatira. The biblical significance of this will be seen later.

This is modern Akhisar, the city which replaced Thyatira. All that is left of the ancient city is ruins:

This is not surprising considering how often this city would have come under attack by ancient armies.

Here is a coin depicting Tyrimnaios Apollo, riding in his military brilliance. Tyrimnaios was also a warrior god, as was Apollo.

 An ancient rendering of Apollo

 A modern rendering of Apollo

Let’s now read Revelation 2:18-28,

 

1.     Verse 18 is a strong verse, why does Jesus introduce himself this way? He even gives himself a title in this address, whereas in the rest he refers to himself as “him who...”

 

2.     V19, How does verse 19 distinguish Thyatira from Ephesus? (cf. Rev. 2:2-3).

 

3.    V19, What more could a church want than the four commendations that this church has in this verse?

 

4.      What do the sins in this verse 20 remind you of from the Old Testament? So you think that the Jezebel mentioned in this verse is a real person or not?

5.     Can you think of something Paul said that is reminiscent of what Jesus says here in verse 20? Jesus says, “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.”

5.1  What is Paul addressing here? He is addressing a woman, who is assuming authority, teaching, and encouraging sexual immorality. Does this clue you into what Jesus is addressing here that relates to something Paul said?

5.2  This verse is the direct inverse of what Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, “11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

5.2.1       What does Paul mean here that a woman will be saved through continuing “faith and love and holiness, with self control”? (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1-5, 5:14-16). 

 

6.     Bringing together vv14-15 (from the Church in Pergamum) and v20 of this passage what does this teach us about sexual immorality and idolatry (especially when it is being taught). I Corinthians 5 and 6 will be helpful in answering this question. So, therefore how should we combat sexual immorality in our culture and in our churches? Romans 1 is especially relevant here (especially verses 18-25), and Jeremiah 2:11-13.

 

7.     Vv20-22, How are we to treat Christians who engage in sexual immorality? How should we be treated if we are sexually immoral? (Deut 13:5; 14:2; 17:6, 12; 1 Cor 5:13) Note we need to distinguish here between wilful rebellion and repentant Christians who struggle with sin.

 

8.     Why are those who are being judged by God for being sexually immoral being told that unless they repent of her (Jezebel’s) works they will be judged, and very harshly (cf. ESV translation for this reading).

 

9.     The implications of verse 23 are far reaching for all of us, and this is a verse which most of us won’t want to apply to our lives, but we must. Firstly, as with many other verses in the Scriptures, there is a subtle implication about who Jesus actually is contained in this verse. The Old Testament teaches that it is the Lord who searches the heart (and implied mind) (cf Pr 21:2 Ps 139-23-24; 1 Chr 28:9), indeed it is the Lord alone who knows the heart of man (1 Kings 8:39). Yet in this verse it is Jesus who is the one who searches mind and heart! The clear implication here is that Jesus is God, he is the God who searches mind and heart, for this is an act of God alone. We all wish we could do it, but we can’t, not even with all our technology. But this still leaves a question which must be asked:

 

What is in your heart? What are the desires of your heart? Can you stand with confidence before God? If so why and how?

 

 

10.  V24, Why would a Christian want to learn the deep things of Satan? Is there a difference between learning and looking into?

 

11.  Vv24-25, There are some in Thyatira who are faithful and true! They are told to hold fast to what they have and to keep Jesus’ works to the end. What does this mean?

 

12.  What is your impression of the rewards for those who are faithful in vv26-29? How do these rewards motivate you to remain holy and stick with Jesus? (v24 also mentions a reward for obedience).  

 

13.  The smallest church receives the largest letter. What does this tells us about even the smallest churches? That they are noticed by God and he is taking account of what they do, whether right or wrong. His eyes do not gloss over even the smallest groups of his people.

Supplemental Research

Thyatira- Modern Akhisar

THYATIRA

THYATI'RA (thi-a-ti'ra). A city in Asia Minor, the seat of one of the seven apocalyptic churches (Rev 1:11; 2:18). It was situated in the confines of Mysia and Ionia, a little S of the river Lycus and at the northern extremity of the valley between Mt. Tmolus and the southern ridge of Temnus. It was one of the many Macedonian colonies established in Asia Minor in the sequel of the destruction of the Persian Empire by Alexander. The waters of Thyatira are said to be so well adapted for dyeing that in no place can the scarlet cloth out of which fezes are made be so brilliantly or so permanently dyed as here. So in the Acts (Acts 16:14) Lydia, the first convert of Paul at Philippi, is mentioned as "a seller of purple fabrics" from Thyatira. The principal deity of the city was Apollo, worshiped as the sun-god under the surname Tyrimnas. He was no doubt introduced by the Macedonian colonists, for the name is Macedonian. A priestess of Artemis is also mentioned in the inscriptions. The modern city of Akhisar, about 50,000 in population, marks the site of the ancient city in the territory that is now Anatolian Turkey. Nothing of the ancient city can be seen. Remains of a Byzantine church remind one that the gospel once came to this place. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.) 

(SEE LYDIA, the probable agent of carrying the gospel to her native town). Thyatira lay a little to the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis (Strabo 13:4, who calls it "a Macedonian colony"); on the Lycus, a little to the S. of the Hyllus, at the N. end of the valley between Mount Tmolus and the southern ridge of Tetanus. Founded by Seleucus Nicator. On the confines of Mysia and Ionia. A corporate guild of dyers is mentioned in three inscriptions of the times of the Roman empire between Vespasian and Caracalla. To it probably belonged Lydia, the seller of purple (i.e. scarlet, for the ancients called many bright red colors "purple") stuffs (Acts 16:14). The waters are so suited for dyeing that nowhere is the scarlet of fezzes thought to be so brilliant and permanent as that made here. Modern Thyatira contains a population of 17,000. In Rev 2:18-25, "the Son of God who hath eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass," stands in contrast to the sun god.

Thyatira

One of the Seven Churches of Asia, Thyatira signifies "sweet savor of labor" or "sacrifice of contrition." This church is the only one that is commended for an improvement in spiritual things, yet tolerated Jezebel. It was a city in the province of Asia, on the boundary of Lydia, and Mysia. It had no illustrious history and is scarcely mentioned by ancient writers. Located in a small outpost town of little importance, compared to the other 6 cities.

Thyatira was a garrison town, a center of commerce, and the records preserve references to more trade-guilds. Lydia, whom Paul met in Philippi, was a Thyratiran seller of "turkey red", the product of the madder-root. Necessity for guild membership in a trading community must have strengthened temptation to compromise.

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelation 2:18-29

Jesus charges the church with tolerating the false prophetess Jezebel, even though it was a church of charitable works. A female oracle called the Sambathe presided over a lucrative fortune-telling business. The preoccupation with female religion may have been an influence on this church, as it allowed the corrupt ministry of Jezebel. Either there was a Jezebel in the church, or the Lord just likened her to the evil person Jezebel that lived in the time of Elijah.

The sun god Apollo Tyrimnaios was the tutelary divinity of this prosperous city and his worship was joined with that of the emperors, who were identified as Apollo incarnate and each, like him, the son of Zeus. Possibly this is why Christ is represented with the eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze, as the Son of God. Thus the celestial Christ, the son of God, is set over against and above the emperor, who as the incarnate Apollo is the son of Zeus. The final promise to the Church of Thyatira was that Christ would give the conqueror, the martyr, the morning star which the faithful will see in the new age: a symbol of a new day. Peter mentioned the morning star arising in your hearts.
[298, 338, 339, 353, 359] 

“The religion of an ancient city always summed up its character in brief. The Thyatiran religion is obscure, and our chief authority lies in the coins of the city. A hero Tyrimnos represents the Thyatiran conception of the city's function in the world. He goes forth on horseback with the battle-axe over his shoulder, the fit representative of a military colony, to conquer, and to dash his enemies in pieces. How far he may have a Macedonian origin, as brought with them by the first Macedonian soldiers who were settled there, remains doubtful; but his aspect in art is entirely that of a common Anatolian heroic figure, as shown in Figure 26.

This hero Tyrimnos is closely related in nature to the tutelary god of Thyatira, whose full titles are recorded in inscriptions: he was styled Propolis because he had his temple in front of the city, Propator as the divine ancestor (doubtless both of the city as a whole and specially of some leading family or families), Helios the sun-god, Pythian Tyrimnaean Apollo, a strange mixture of Hellenic and Anatolian names. This god is never named on the coins, so far as published; but he often appears as a type on them, a standing figure, wearing only a cloak (chlamys) fastened with a brooch round his neck, carrying a battle axe over one shoulder, and holding forth in his right hand a laurel-branch, which symbolises his purifying power. This elaborate and highly composite impersonation of the Divine nature, with so many names and such diversity of character, seems to have been produced by a syncretism of different religious ideas in the evolution of the city. Examples are given in Figures 27, 28.

Thyatira was certainly inhabited before the time of Seleucus. The site is so favourable that it must become a centre of population from the beginning of history in the valley. But it was made a city by Seleucus with a great accession of population. Previously it had been a mere Anatolian village round a central temple. The foundation of the garrison city was not without effect on the religion of the locality. It was inevitable that the newcomers should worship the god whose power in the country had been proved by the experience of generations; but they brought with them also their own religious ideas, and these ideas necessarily affected their conception of the nature of this god whom they found at home in the land and whose power they respected and trusted. Tyrimnos, whatever his origin may have been, was the heroic embodiment of the spirit of the garrison city; and the Anatolian god of the locality took into himself some of the nature of the hero, as Helios Tyrimnaios Pythios Apollo, a conception at once Anatolian, military, and Hellenic. The god united in himself the character of all sections of the population, so that all might find in him their own nature and the satisfaction of their own religious cravings.

Figure 28: The Emperor and the god of Thyatira supporting with joined hands the Imperial Trimnean Pythian Games

He stands for his city in alliance-coins with Pergamum; and frequently a female figure, wearing a turreted crown (the accepted representation of the genius of any fortified city), holds him forth on her extended right hand (as on Figure 27), thus intimating that Thyatira was devoted to the service of this god. In Figure 28 the Emperor Elagabalus, in the dress of a Roman general, is shown with his right hand in that of Apollo Tyrimnaios, supporting between them an urn, over which is the name "Pythia." The urn is the regular symbol of those gymnastic and other competitive sports in which the Hellenic cities delighted; and the name inscribed above shows that the Thyatiran games were modelled upon the Pythian games of Greece. Between the Emperor and the god is an altar flaming with the sacrifice. The coin was, indubitably, struck in gratitude for some favour granted by the Emperor in connection with those games in Thyatira. What the favour was can be determined with great probability.

The union of the Emperor and the god in supporting these games is the symbolic fashion of intimating, in a way adapted for the surface of a coin, that the Emperor and the god were united in the honour of the festival, that is to say, the festival was no longer celebrated in honour of the god alone, but included both Emperor and god. In other words Elagabalus sanctioned the addition of the honourable title Augustan to the old Tyrimnaean festival. During the third century the feast and the games regularly bear the double title, an example of the closer relation between the Imperial and the popular religion in Asia under the later Empire.

Seleucus I, the founder of Thyatira, is mentioned by Josephus as having shown special favour to the Jews and made them citizens in the cities which he founded in Asia. The probability that he settled a body of Jews in Thyatira must therefore be admitted, for he knew well that soldiers alone could not make a city (see chapter 11). Beyond this it is not possible to go with certainty; but some slight indications are known of the presence of Jews in Thyatira. Lydia the Thyatiran in Philippi was "God-fearing," i.e., she had come within the circle of influence of the Synagogue. Professor E. Schurer in a very interesting paper has suggested the possibility that the sanctuary of Sambethe the Oriental (Chaldean, or Hebrew, or Persian) Sibyl in the Chaldean's precinct before the city of Thyatira might have been formed under Hebrew influence: according to this suggestion the sanctuary would have arisen in an attempted syncretism of Jewish and pagan religious ideas. But this remains as yet a mere tantalising possibility.

The history of Thyatira is a blank. Its fate in the many centuries of fighting between Mohammedans (Arabs first, then Turks) and Christians must have been a sad one. It is one of those cities whose situation exposes them to destruction by every conqueror, and yet compels their restoration after every siege and sack. It lies right in the track of invasion: it blocks the way and must be captured by an invader; it guards the passage to a rich district, and hence it must be defended to the last, and so provoke the barbarity of the assailant: but it could never be made a really strong fortress in ancient warfare, so as to resist successfully. Yet the successful assailant must in his turn refortify the city, if he wants to hold the country. He must make it the guardian of his gate; he must make it a garrison city. Its situation defines its history; but the history has not been recorded.

The same local conditions which ensured for Thyatira so unfortunate a fate in unsettled times favoured its prosperity in a period of profound peace. The garrison city could never be a large one, for a multitude of inhabitants devoted to the arts of peace would seriously detract from its military strength. But in the long peace of the Roman Empire Thyatira ceased to be a mere military city, though the historical memory and the military character of the municipal religion still persisted. The city grew large and wealthy. It was a centre of communication. Vast numbers passed through it. It commanded a rich and fertile vale. Many of the conditions of a great trading city were united there.

This period of great prosperity and increase was only beginning when the Seven Letters were written. Thyatira was still a small city, retaining strong memories of its military origin, and yet with fortifications decayed and dismantled in the long freedom from terror of attack, which had lasted since 189 BC. Yet the Roman peace had at first brought no prosperity, only oppression and extortion. When the Empire at last was inaugurated, prosperity returned to Asia (see chapter 10); and Thyatira soon began to take advantage of its favourable situation for trade, though it was not till the second century after Christ that the full effect became manifest.

The coinage of Thyatira is a good index of the character of the city. As a military colony, in its earlier stage of existence, it struck various classes of coins, including cistophori. This coinage came to an end before 150 BC; for the military importance of Thyatira lay in its position as a frontier city; and that ceased after 189 BC. It was not until the last years of the reign of Claudius, 50-54 AD, that it began again to issue coins. They gradually became more numerous; and in the latter part of the second century, and in the third century, the coinage of Thyatira was on a great scale, indicating prosperity and wealth in the city.

It is therefore not surprising that more trade-guilds are known in Thyatira than in any other Asian city. The inscriptions, though not specially numerous, mention the following: wool-workers, linen-workers, makers of outer garments, dyers, leather-workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave-dealers and bronze-smiths. The dealers in garments and the salve-dealers would have a good market in a road-centre. Garments were sold ready made, being all loose and free; and from the mention of dealers in outer garments we may infer the existence of special trades and guilds for other classes of garments. The woman of Thyatira, a seller of purple, named Lydia, who was so hospitable to St. Paul and his company at Philippi (Acts 16:14), belonged doubtless to one of those guilds: she sold not simply purple cloth but purple garments, and had emigrated to push the trade in Thyatiran manufactures in the Macedonian city. The purple in which she dealt cannot be regarded as made with the usual dye, for that was obtained from a shell-fish found chiefly on the Phoenician and the Spartan coasts. The colour in which Lydia dealt must have been a product of the Thyatiran region; and Monsieur Clerc, in his work on the city, suggests what is at once seen plainly to be true, that the well-known Turkey-red was the colour which is meant. This bright red is obtained from madder-root, which grows abundantly in those regions. It is well known that the ancient names of colours were used with great laxity and freedom; and the name purple, being established and fashionable, was used for several colours which to us seem essentially diverse from one another.

Figure 29: The Thyatiran bronzesmith

A special interest attaches to Figure 29. The divine smith, Hephaestus, dressed as a workman, is here seated at an anvil (represented only by a small pillar), holding in his left hand a pair of forceps, and giving the finishing blow with his hammer to a helmet, for which the goddess of war, Pallas Athene, is holding out her hand. Considering that a guild of bronze-smiths is mentioned at Thyatira, we cannot doubt that this coin commemorates the peculiar importance for the welfare of Thyatira of the bronze-workers' handicraft; and we must infer that bronze work was carried to a high state of perfection in the city.