Thyatira, which in the Greek language means "daughter," got its name in 290 B.C. in honor of the birth of King Seleucus I Nicator's daughter. The modern name of the ancient city is Akhisar (Akhissar), which means a white colored castle.
A Prosperous City
Thyatira was a prosperous trading town that was an important location on the Roman road from Pergamos to Laodicea. The city hosted a major cult of the pagan god Apollo (son of Zeus). The city was famous for its dyeing and was a center of the indigo trade.
The trade guilds in the city, which were well known, were more organized and in far greater numbers than in any other ancient Asia Minor city. Among its ruins were found inscriptions relating to a guild of dyers. Evidence suggests these artisans made use of the madder-root for making purple-colored dyes.
Every artisan in Thyatira belonged to a guild. Guilds were incorporated organizations that could own property in its own name and enter into contracts for construction projects. As such, they wielded a significant amount of influence. Two of the most powerful guilds were those of the coppersmiths and the dyers.
Apostle Paul Visits City
During his second missionary journey (Acts 16:13 - 15) the apostle Paul traveled to Philippi. On a Sabbath day, he meets a woman named Lydia, from Thyatira, who is praying near a river. Lydia is a seller of purple (either of the dye or cloth dyed in this color). She listens to Paul's preaching and becomes so convicted in God's way of life that she, along with her entire household, are baptized. It is likely Lydia, when she traveled back home, helped spread the gospel throughout the city.
Revelation's Warning
Thyatira is the fourth of seven churches who receive a spiritual evaluation directly from God through Jesus Christ.
I know your works, and love, and service, and faith, and your endurance, and your works; and the last are more than the first . . .
But I have a few things against you, because you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants into committing fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her fornication, but she did not repent . . .
But to you I say, and to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will not cast upon you any other burden, but hold fast what you have until I come . . . (Revelation 2:19 - 21, 24 - 25, HBFV).
Who is Jezebel?
God criticizes his church in the city for allowing a female, who is given the symbolic name Jezebel, to teach false doctrine to believers (Revelation 2:20 - 23). The real life Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab, considered the most evil king of ancient Israel.
Jezebel herself is considered one of the most evil people in all of Scripture. Her sins ultimately caught up with her when, years after her husband's death, King Jehu of Israel commanded that she be killed by being tossed out of a window (2Kings 9:30 -33)! Her notorious life earned her the spot as the fifth most mentioned woman in the entirety of the Bible and symbolic of the sins committed in Thyatira!