Thyatira is our last visit to the seven congregations of Revelation. I want to show you some amazing parallels between what is written in the Bible about Thyatira and the artifacts that come from this city.
First I will show you a connection between the message to the Christians in Thyatira from the Bible book of Revelation. I will also show you evidence of the deep connection between the Bible character of Lydia and this city. Let’s start.
“I will refine you like copper.”
Revelation 2:18: To the angel of the congregation in Thyatira write: These are the things that the Son of God says, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine copper.
New World Translation – Study Bible
Jesus used metaphors that people could relate to. Thyatira is no exception.
Thyatira was a center for manufacuring. This is revealed in the coins minted in Thyatira. For example, they reveal that it had many trade guilds such as tanners, leather workers, linen workers and coppersmiths. In fact there were more trade guilds in Thyatira than in any other Roman city in Asia Minor*.
But what interests us is the copper trade guild. In fact many of the coins minted in Thyatira were of copper*. Coppersmiths were in abundance. That is because copper was also used for armor and weapons.
Here is a coin from Thyatira. It shows a metal worker preparing a helmet and presenting it to Apollo.
The official museum of Thyatira is in Manisa, Turkey. The museum is located here. There are many coins like the one above of Thyatira that depict these trade guilds. Below is first century Roman helmet with copper.
A Metaphor That Thyatirans Could Relate To
Now, back to what Jesus said. He said, “the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine copper.” Here was a metaphor that the residents of Thyatira could relate to. Fiery flame for refining copper was a regular sight in this city of trade guilds.
This is a similar metaphor Jesus uses when addressing the congregation in Sardis. To them he said that they should buy gold “refined by fire”. Working with gold was common in this city because of it’s abundance. Read about it here.
The Difficulty for Christians
Not only do we understand Jesus’ metaphor better, but we understand the difficulty for Christians. Belonging to a guild was mandatory for anyone pursuing a trade. It was much like local trade unions today. The guild would protect it’s members and take actions to protect it’s interests.
Each guild had a god or goddess to which it paid homage. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says: “Every such guild had its patron god, its feasts, its social occasions which could at times become immoral revels.”* This made life difficult for Christians. This worship included sexual orgies, parties and banquets. The Christians could not participate in such activities. The result was loss of income.
Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira
We get an additional little detail about Thyatira from the Bible.
Acts 16:14 – “And a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira and a worshipper of God, was listening, and Jehovah opened her heart wide to pay attention to the things Paul was saying.”
Acts 16:14 – New World Translation – Study Edition
One of the main trade guilds in Thyatira was the dyeing of purple*. This was possible by means of a special plant that grew there called madder. It’s root gives an indigo/purple color. To this day people use it to dye fabrics.
Here is a picture of a madder plant. Notice that it looks like an ordinary green leafy plant on top, but the root system below is a reddish purple.
Therefore it is not surprising that Lydia was a “seller of purple”. A well known trade in the city. She had the appropriate connections to make a business of it since this was her city of birth.
Today this reddish-purple is known as Turkey Red*. Here is a picture of it as a dye for yarn.
Purple Dye Made Lydia Wealthy
Trading purple goods apparently made Lydia wealthy. Acts 16:15 makes reference to her household. Of course this could refer to relatives, but it could also imply that she had slaves and servants. Even the fact that she hosted four men – Paul, Timothy, Luke and Silas – indicates that she had a large house and was successful. Acts 16:40 also says that Paul met with “the brothers” at Lydia’s home. This tell us that her home was large enough as a meeting place for the group of Christians in Phillipi.
And it’s not just the scriptures telling us that purple dye from Thyatira was a lucrative business. There are at least two inscriptions talking about the purple dye trade guild in Thyatira. For example, here is one from the museum in Istanbul. It comes from Thessaloniki. I have not been there yet to photograph it, so I insert a rendering of it here.
the eighteenth street dedicates it to the memory of Menippos Severos, son of Amicon, who came from Thyatira” – Istanbul Museum
There are other inscriptions besides these ones of those who were of the purple dye trade in Thyatira*. But this is the point: Thyatira was a city where purple goods could be purchased. And people of this trade travelled to other cities to trade goods. This included the Bible character Lydia.
“These are the things that the Son of God says“
The expression, “Son of God” is only made once in the entire book of Revelation. It is here when addressing the Thyatirans. And it is no coincidence.
Here is a coin that you can find at the museum. It depicts the chief god of the city Tyrimnos (or Apollo). Tyrimnos was known as “Son of Zeus”. He is on the right hand side of the coin below.
To elevate his status, the Roman Emperor put himself beside Tyrimnos (left side). Hence the emperor also adpoted the title “Son of Zeus”. This expression gave divine status to those that held the title. Of course the Christians could not attibute any divinity to any Roman god or emperor. Thus it was fitting that Jesus chose to use the expression “Son of God” when addressing the Christians in Thyatira.
An name erased from Thyatira
Lying in the grass among other ruins is an inscription. It dates to the first century, about the time that the apostle John would have written his letter to the Christians in Thyatira. It mentions the emperor, but his name has been curiously removed.
Who was this emperor? Mostly likey it is one of the most hated and feared emperors of the Roman empire – Domitian*. Early christian historians like Eusebius of the 4th century says that he exiled John to Patmos*. He instigated widespread persecution.
Though we do not know whose name was erased, Domitian is the more likely candidate. After his assassination, the Roman senate was so thoroughly incensed at his legacy, that they ordered his memory erased. His statues and coins were melted. Christians and Roman elite alike wanted to close this chapter of foregettable history. Here we see the evidence.
Conclusion
That completes our tour of the seven congregations of Revelation. Here are the visits to the last sex of the seven congregations. In each you will find interesting connections to the book of Revelation and what we saw there. Enjoy.
SARDIS, TURKEY – 3 INTERESTING CONNECTIONS TO THE BIBLE
PHILADELPHIA, TURKEY | 3 THINGS YOU MUST SEE
LAODICEA, TURKEY | THREE INTERESTING FINDS
SMYRNA, TURKEY – PICTURES OF AN ANCIENT CITY
EPHESUS – VALUABLE BIBLE CONNECTIONS TO THE ANCIENT CITY
PERGAMON – WHICH TEMPLE IS THE ‘THRONE OF SATAN’?
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