![]() ![]() Do you know what a trade guild is? I suppose if you were to compare it to something today it would be like a union. They were famous for what you could call trade guilds. It became that center for commerce as people would travel through they became known for the many different items that they produced as well as kind of imported and exported. And under this Roman peace, the Pax Romana, that is when Thyatira really began to flourish. They are using it as kind of protection for Pergamum. And so by the time we get to this period the Romans have overtaken Thyatira. How would you like that to be your claim to fame? That someone else overran you and took over? That continues to happen to Thyatira over its history. If you were to try to research Thyatira, you will find that it most often is mentioned in history as a city that was conquered. And so beginning in the first records of history it was a military outpost. It became a commercial center because people had to travel through it to get to these bigger more important places. It was advantageous to be on a plain because then people could come through the city that much easier because it wasn’t a difficult place to get to it could become a commercial center and that is basically what happened to Thyatira. And because of that peace, all of those military disadvantages became commercial advantages. One of the things that is interesting is that during this Roman period, these Biblical times that we are talking about, there was peace. This is not the sort of place you would choose to set up a military embattlement. It is not high up on a hill or anything like that. And because it was on this flat plain, it is an open valley type situation, with no protection, no fortifications. You can’t tell by looking at this map, necessarily, but it was on a flat plain. And, as you consider why it was such an insignificant place, it was even an insignificant location. That seems to be the reason for its existence, originally. Seems like it may have been there to protect Pergamum. It wasn’t much of a place, as I said it was kind of insignificant. If it hadn’t been on this road, it probably wouldn’t even have been written about here in the Bible. In fact, that is what Thyatira was known for Commerce. One of the reasons that it was mentioned here, for one thing, is that it is located right along that highway that was a major highway of commerce. That is the area we are looking at on the map. Of course, Thyatira is kind of in the middle of Asia. So, if you want to turn over to Revelation chapter 2 verse 18 we are going to go into just a little bit of background before we get into the letter itself. ![]() And as we think about Thyatira today and the letter that is found in Revelation, we can see that the same issue threatens us today as well. It was such a difficulty that it was one of the most dangerous of all doctrines, which ultimately jeopardized their eternal life. That issue, in fact, was such a concern that it endangered their relationships. Yet, at the same time, they had a difficult issue that was threatening the health of the church. We find in Revelation that there are many compliments paid to the membership in Thyatira. Thyatira was a very interesting place because it was a place where the members were said to be very good at certain things. To the north was Pergmum and to the sound was Sardis, and then heading on to Philadelphia and Laodicia. Thyatira was located on a Roman road and you can kind of see it here on the map. ![]() Wouldn’t you love to be from a place like that? Doesn’t matter where you are from, it is pretty insignificant. We know less about Thyatira than any of the other cities because it was just such an insignificant kind of place. But it is a little bit of a paradox because Thyatira is the least known of the cities. This section in Revelation is the longest section of scripture of any of the letters to the seven churches. Revelation chapter 2 is going to be where we are going to pick it up tonight. Well, Thyatira is an interesting section in the book Revelation. So, Father, we put it all into Your hands and ask all this by the authority of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, we thank You for these things and we pray for Your guidance. We pray that You inspire us and guide us and direct us by Your word that we may learn to apply the things that you have written for us today. Loving Heavenly Father, God Almighty, thank you so much for your wonderful ways. Let’s ask God’s blessing on our Bible study as we begin. So, we will be talking about Thyatira tonight and is significance for us. ![]() We are continuing our series on the churched of Revelation to night and so we are digging into the next church in line, which is Thyatira. Welcome to everyone visiting with us on the web and all those that view the archives later on. Welcome to all of you who are here in Cincinnati. ![]()
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