Bible Encyclopedia: Thyatira

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

THYATIRA

thi-a-ti'-ra (Thuateira): Thyatira was a wealthy town in the northern part of Lydia of the Roman province of Asia, on the river Lycus. It stood so near to the borders of Mysia, that some of the early writers have regarded it as belonging to that country. Its early history is not well known, for until it was refounded by Seleucus Nicator (301-281 B.C.) it was a small, insignificant town. It stood on none of the Greek trade routes, but upon the lesser road between Pergamos and Sardis, and derived its wealth from the Lycus valley in which it rapidly became a commercial center, but never a metropolis. The name "Thyatira" means "the castle of Thya." Other names which it has borne are Pelopia and Semiramis. Before the time of Nicator the place was regarded as a holy city, for there stood the temple of the ancient Lydian sun-god, Tyrimnos; about it games were held in his honor. Upon the early coins of Thyatira this Asiatic god is represented as a horseman, bearing a double-headed battle-ax, similar to those represented on the sculptures of the Hittites. A goddess associated with him was Boreatene, a deity of less importance. Another temple at Thyatira was dedicated to Sambethe, and at this shrine was a prophetess, by some supposed to represent the Jezebel of Revelation 2:20, who uttered the sayings which this deity would impart to the worshippers.

Thyatira was specially noted for the trade guilds which were probably more completely organized there than in any other ancient city. Every artisan belonged to a guild, and every guild, which was an incorporated organization, possessed property in its own name, made contracts for great constructions, and wielded a wide influence. Powerful among them was the guild of coppersmiths; another was the guild of the dyers, who, it is believed, made use of the madder-root instead of shell-fish for making the purple dyestuffs. A member of this guild seems to have been Lydia of Thyatira, who, according to Acts 16:14, sold her dyes in Philippi. The color obtained by the use of this dye is now called Turkish red. The guilds were closely connected with the Asiatic religion of the place. Pagan feasts, with which immoral practices were associated, were held, and therefore the nature of the guilds was such that they were opposed to Christianity. According to Acts 19:10, Paul may have preached there while he was living at Ephesus, but this is uncertain; yet Christianity reached there at an early time. It was taught by many of the early church that no Christian might belong to one of the guilds, and thus the greatest opposition to Christianity was presented.

Thyatira is now represented by the modern town of Ak-Hissar on a branch line of the Manisa-Soma Railroad, and on the old Roman road 9 hours from Sardis. Ak-Hissar is Turkish for "white castle," and near the modern town may be seen the ruins of the castle from which the name was derived. The village is of considerable size; most of the houses are of mud, but several of the buildings erected by Caracalla are still standing, yet none of them are perfect. In the higher part of the town are the ruins of one of the pagan temples, and in the walls of the houses are broken columns and sarcophagi and inscribed stones. The population of 20,000 is largely Greek and Armenian, yet a few Jews live among them. Before the town is a large marsh, fever-laden, and especially unhealthful in the summer time, formed by the Lycus, which the Turks now call Geurdeuk Chai. The chief modern industry is rug-making.

E. J. Banks

Greek

2363. Thuateira -- Thyatira, a city of Lydia
... Thyatira, a city of Lydia. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: Thuateira
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo-at'-i-rah) Short Definition: Thyatira Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2363.htm - 6k

2403. Iezabel -- Jezebel, the symbolic name of a false prophetess
... Iezabel Phonetic Spelling: (ee-ed-zab-ale') Short Definition: Jezebel Definition:
Jezebel, name given to a false prophetess of Thyatira, possibly borrowed from ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2403.htm - 6k

3070. Ludia -- Lydia, a Christian woman
... Transliteration: Ludia Phonetic Spelling: (loo-dee'-ah) Short Definition: Lydia
Definition: Lydia, a lady resident of Philippi, native of Thyatira in Lydia ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3070.htm - 6k

Library

Thyatira
... THYATIRA. In the Epistle to Thyatira we have the reference to another and more
intensified form of idolatry as developed and established ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/thyatira.htm

I Know Thy Works
... XXX I Know thy Works. To the angel of the church in Ephesus"in Thyatira"in
Sardis"in Philadelphia"in Laodicea write: I know thy works.' [2] "Rev.2-3 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/murray/working for god/xxx i know thy works.htm

Spiritual Condition of the Congregations. --The Seven Churches in ...
... 3. Churches of amixed character, viz., those of Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira.
In these cases commendation and censure, promise and threatening are united. ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 50 spiritual condition of.htm

Lydia, the First European Convert
... CH SPURGEON,. At the [39]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "And a certain woman
named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/lydia the first european convert.htm

The Seven Assemblies as a Whole (I. 11).
... on the ground that it could not have been written by John, inasmuch as (among other
reasons) there was no Christian Church in existence at Thyatira in the time ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the seven assemblies as a.htm

John's Salutation to the Churches.
... The seven churches to which John sends salutation, were those of Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, 1:11. ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/johns salutation to the churches.htm

The Morning Star
... Thyatira was a little place, with a weak church, with small hopes and great
discouragements, much troubled by the work of a false prophetess, tempted by "the ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/xl the morning star.htm

Epistles to the Seven Churches.
... Epistle to the Church in Thyatira. "And ... teach. In this particular the church
in Thyatira appears in contrast with the church in Ephesus. ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/epistles to the seven churches.htm

The Angels of the Seven Churches.
... to write down what he saw, and to send it to the Seven Churches in Asia, "unto Ephesus,
and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter iv the angels of.htm

The Climax of Ecclesiastes' Exercises Seems to have Been Reached ...
... in Smyrna; caught in the dangerous eddy, and drifted to the whirlpool of the world
in Pergamos, followed by the developed Papal hierarchy in Thyatira, with the ...
/.../jennings/old groans and new songs/chapter x the climax of.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Thyatira

a perfume; sacrifice of labor

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Thyatira

a city on the Lycus, founded by Seleucus Nicator, lay to the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis, 27 miles from the latter city, and on the very confines of Mysia and Ionia, so as to be sometimes reckoned within the one and sometimes within the other. Dyeing apparently formed an important part of the industrial activity of Thyatira, as it did of that of Colossae and Laodicea. It is first mentioned in connection with Lydia, "a seller of purple." (Acts 16:14) One of the Seven Churches of Asia was established here. (Revelation 2:18-29) The principal deity of the city was Apollo; but there was another superstition, of an extremely curious nature which seems to have been brought thither by some of the corrupted Jews of the dispersed tribes. A fane stood outside the walls, dedicated to Sambatha --the name of the sibyl who is sometimes called Chaldean, sometimes Jewish, sometimes Persian-- in the midst of an enclosure designated "the Chaldaeans' court." This seems to lend an illustration to the obscure passage in (Revelation 2:20,21) which some interpret of the wife of the bishop. Now there is evidence to show that in Thyatira there was a great amalgamation of races. If the sibyl Sambatha was in reality a Jewess, lending her aid to the amalgamation of different religions, and not discountenanced by the authorities of the Judeo-Christian Church at Thyatira, both the censure and its qualification become easy of explanation. (The present name of the city is ak-Hissar ("white castle"). It has a reputation for the manufacture of scarlet cloth. Its present population is 15,000 to 20,000. There are nine mosques. --ED.)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Thyatira

A city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, a Macedonian colony, anciently called Pelopia and Euhippia, now Ak-hisar. It was situated on the confines of Lydia and Mysia, near the river Lycus, between Sardis and Pergamos. It was the seat of one of "the seven churches," Revelation 1:11; 2:18,24. The art of dyeing purple was particularly cultivated at Thyatira, as appears from an inscription recently found there; and it still sends to Smyrna, sixty miles southwest, large quantities of scarlet cloth, Acts 16:14. Ak-hissar is a poor town, with six thousand inhabitants, chiefly Turks.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A city of Asia Minor, on the borders of Lydia and Mysia. Its modern name is Ak-hissar, i.e., "white castle." Here was one of the seven churches (Revelation 1:11; 2:18-28). Lydia, the seller of purple, or rather of cloth dyed with this colour, was from this city (Acts 16:14). It was and still is famous for its dyeing. Among the ruins, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in that city in ancient times.

Thesaurus

Thyatira (4 Occurrences)
...THYATIRA. thi-a-ti'-ra (Thuateira): Thyatira was a wealthy town in the northern
part of Lydia of the Roman province of Asia, on the river Lycus. ...
/t/thyatira.htm - 12k

Lydia (5 Occurrences)
... (2.) A woman of Thyatira, a "seller of purple," who dwelt in Philippi (Acts 16:14,
15). She was not a Jewess but a proselyte. ... (see THYATIRA.). Int. ...
/l/lydia.htm - 12k

Thyati'ra (3 Occurrences)
Thyati'ra. Thyatira, Thyati'ra. Thyine . Multi-Version Concordance
Thyati'ra (3 Occurrences). Acts 16:14 and a certain woman, by ...
/t/thyati'ra.htm - 7k

Dye (1 Occurrence)
... In New Testament times Thyatira was famed for its dyers (Acts 16:14). (see
COLOUR.). Noah Webster's Dictionary. ... See also LYDIA; thYATIRA. ...
/d/dye.htm - 15k

Depths (56 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SATAN, DEPTHS OF. (ta bathea tou Satana): Found
in Revelation 2:24, and has reference to false teaching at Thyatira. ...
/d/depths.htm - 22k

Jezebel (20 Occurrences)
... Moffat (Expositor's Greek Testament) aptly renders, "that Jezebel of a woman alleging
herself a prophetess." Some members of the church at Thyatira "under the ...
/j/jezebel.htm - 26k

Dyeing
... clotted blood and of a blackish hue" (Pliny). See also LYDIA; thYATIRA. Besides
the shellfish above mentioned, several other species ...
/d/dyeing.htm - 14k

Philippi (8 Occurrences)
... One of these was named Lydia, a Greek proselyte from Thyatira, a city of Lydia in
Asia Minor, to the church of which was addressed the message recorded in ...
/p/philippi.htm - 36k

Nicolaitans (2 Occurrences)
... Except that reference is probably made to their influence in the church at Thyatira
also, where their leader was "the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a ...
/n/nicolaitans.htm - 10k

Listening (47 Occurrences)
... Acts 16:14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira,
one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to ...
/l/listening.htm - 19k

Bible Concordance

Thyatira (4 Occurrences)

Acts 16:14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Revelation 1:11 saying, " What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies : to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Revelation 2:18 "To the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write: "The Son of God, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished brass, says these things:
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Revelation 2:24 But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don't have this teaching, who don't know what some call'the deep things of Satan,' to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Thyatira

Thyatira: John Given a Message For

Thyatira: The Hometown of Lydia, a Convert of Paul

Related Terms

Lydia (5 Occurrences)

Thyati'ra (3 Occurrences)

Dye (1 Occurrence)

Depths (56 Occurrences)

Jezebel (20 Occurrences)

Dyeing

Philippi (8 Occurrences)