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Thyatira

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Akhisar, the site of ancient Thyatira, is a thriving modern city, but with almost no remains of its old self to be seen except the ruins of an ancient temple, possibly to Apollo, a colonnaded road, and a large church. The city is on the main road between İzmir and Bursa, a road which runs somewhat parallel to the coast road from İzmir to Pergamon. Akhisar lies in the valley of the Lycus (Kum Çayı) River (not to be confused with the Lycus near Laodicea), one of the chief tributaries of the Hermus (Gediz) River.

According to Pliny the Younger, Thyatira was founded by the Lydians and was called Pelopia. In the third century B.C. Seleucus Nicator took Lydia and garrisoned the place with Macedonian troops, renaming it Thyatira (town of Thya). Lysimachus, another of Alexander’s generals, was then in control of Pergamum. Thyatira was on the border of both empires; first one side held it and then the other. In 190 B.C. Pergamum took it and strengthened it as a protection against the Seleucids of Sardis and beyond. A less defensible city is hard to imagine, lying as it does among softly rolling hills with only a bump for an acropolis. But it became an important outpost for the protection of Pergamum and Sardis, two of the world’s greatest capitals at different times.

The coins of the ancient town give us clues as to the kind of gods worshipped there. The chief god apparently was the sun god, Apollo-Tyrimnos, portrayed wearing only a cloak fastened with a brooch under his chin and carrying a battle-axe over his shoulder. Another coin shows the god astride a horse ready to go forth to battle. The military character of the city is well attested in these coins. After 132 B.C. when Roman influence became stronger, emperor worship was a part of Thyatiran ritual and the emperor was identified as Apollo incarnate.

Josephus tells us that Seleucus probably settled a colony of Jews in Thyatira early in his rule, knowing that a garrison of soldiers alone could not produce a viable community. This is substantiated by inscriptions indicating the many trade guilds in the city. Even informal scratchings on theater seats or city pavements have provided archeologlsts with details of life 2000 years ago, and perhaps should give us pause in our annoyance at the quantities of red paint splashed across walls today. Could it be that “Amerika” might be discovered 2000 years hence because of some leftist slogan still Intact on a university building?

No other city seems to have had so many guilds as Thyatira: coppersmiths, bronze workers, tanners, leather workers, dyers, workers in wool and linen, potters, bakers, and slave dealers. A member of one of these, Lydia of Thyatira, whom Paul met outside the city of Phillppi

(Acts 16:14) was a seller of purple goods. These may have been woolen and linen dyed Tyrian purple  a deep crimson made from snails and so expensive that robes of this material were worn as a mark of royalty. In Byzantine times “born in the purple” (porphyrogenitus) was the title of the son born after his father ascended the throne. Although snails are no longer used for this dye, in the Roman Catholic Church the phrase “promotion to the purple” still indicates elevation the the rank of cardinal. Lydia, who must have been a person of some means, was a worshipper of God and apparently a Gentile who had been attracted to Judaism in Thyatira.

In the first sentence of the letter in Revelation to the angel of the church in Thyatira there is a reference to “the Son of God, whose eyes flame like fire and whose feet gleam like burnished brass” (Rev. 2:18). Was John here comparing the emperor of Rome, who, as the incarnate sun god Apollo was the son of Zeus, with Christ? The word translated “burnished brass’ is used nowhere else In the New Testament; it is one that the guild of bronze workers would recognize.

The members of the church of Thyatira were commended for doing more than they did at first (Rev. 2:19). However the fact that they made no effort to control the prophetess Jezebel was a cause of concern (Rev. 2:20). Jezebel was probably either a pseudonym or a general reference to licentiousness. The original Jezebel was a Phoenician Baal-worshipper and wife of Ahab, King of Israel. She left behind her a name for “obscene idol worship and monstrous sorceries” (II Kings 9:22).

Libertinism has been a constant threat to the Christian church. Had the followers of Jesus compromised with their non-Christian friends, the Christian group would have sunk and been engulfed by paganism. The threat to the church here was not from outside the church, not from emperor-worship or persecution, but from within in indulgence and lack of moral responsibility: “I am the searcher of men’s hearts and thoughts” (Rev. 2:23). But to those who hold fast, “I will give authority over the nations… and I will give him also the star of dawn” (i.e., immortality) (Rev. 2:26, 28).

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By Apollo on July 7, 2001   /   Ancient Cities of Turkey, Biblical Sites in Turkey, Cities in Turkey, Must-See Places in Turkey   /   1 Comment
Tags: akhisar, thuateira., thyateira, thyatira, Θυάτειρα
1 Comment
  1. Naim M.A
    9:18 pm on August 19, 2003

    Letter to Thyatira (which means “sacrifice of contrition” or “sweet savor of labor”)

    Read this letter’s full text in Revelation 2:18-29

    Background

    Thirty kilometers west of Pergamon on the imperial Roman road lay Thyatira where the town of Akhisar lies today. Apollo, the sun god, was the chief deity of the city. The city was also noted for its industries, the most notable being the dying of cloth particularly in the colors purple and crimson.

    Prophetic Application

    The church of Thyatira represents the Church of the Middle Ages. Thyatira received the longest of the letters, containing grave information about the conditions that would prevail. The Church would be inundated with false doctrines and persecuted for faithfulness to God and His Word.

    The spirit of compromise that started with Pergamos would reach its zenith in the time of Thyatira. As the name “sweet savour of labor” implies, works as a means to obtaining grace would become a prominent feature of the time. The introductory statement in the letter to Thyatira highlights this point:

    I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first (Revelation 2:19 NKJV).

    In this time of spiritual darkness, the truth was abandoned and Christianity was replaced by the old pagan form of sun worship dressed in a garb of Christianity. Forms, rituals, objects, and works replaced the elevating truths of the Gospel. Pagan deities masquerading under Gospel titles replaced Jesus, and the ancient Babylonian mysteries were reintroduced.

    Even the pagan vestments with their prominent purple and crimson colors were introduced as the vestments of the priesthood. The symbols of Dagon, the fish god, became symbols of the so-called “shepherds of the flock.”

    The promise of the ultimate victory of Christ stands as a rebuke to the Church of the Middle Ages:

    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 (Revelation 2:26-27).

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The big tip is to try and go completely private. Many of the large tour companies offer private tour and they are going to charge a significant amount of money for the tour guide. However, many locations offer self-guided tours and therefore you have the ability to supply your own tour guide. Easily Book your guided private Ephesus tours, to see all the treasures of Ephesus Turkey. It's often said that Turkey has more ancient cities and classical ruins than does Greece. Well, it's true, and the Aegean coast holds a great number of sites, including Ephesus, the grandest and best-preserved of them all.

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