Being a Full Account of the Seven Letters Sent by Our Lord
to the Seven Congregations of the Province of Asia Minor
Revelation II:I — III:XXII · c. AD XCVI · The Island of Patmos
No. IV · Revelation II:XVIII–XXIX
The Corrupt Church
The Letter in Full
18And 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; 19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20Notwithstanding 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. 21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23And 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. 24But 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. 25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27And 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. 28And I will give him the morning star. 29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.Revelation 2:18–29 · King James Version Also available in the NRSVue, an ecumenical modern translation
"The Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass" — a gaze that discerns even hidden compromise.
Works, charity, service, faith, and patience — "and the last to be more than the first."
Tolerating "that woman Jezebel," a self-styled prophetess teaching believers "to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols" — very likely the compromise demanded by the city's powerful trade guilds.
Hold fast what you have until He comes; the one who keeps His works to the end is given "power over the nations."
Authority "as the potter's vessels," and "the morning star."
History & Ruins
Of the seven cities, Thyatira was the least prominent politically but among the most active commercially, known especially for its dyers' guild and its purple-dye trade — the same trade practiced by Lydia, "a seller of purple," whom Paul converted at Philippi. Guild membership required participation in feasts honoring pagan gods, likely the very pressure behind the letter's rebuke.
No great temple or monument survives here as at the other six cities; ancient Thyatira lies almost entirely beneath the modern town, with only a small excavated plaza visible near its center.
The least visible ancient remains of the seven, near modern Akhisar.