Connecting to history

Sometimes good literature has great symmetry in it. The first three chapters of Revelation certainly fit in here. Each of the 7 letters opens with an identifier that takes one back to the last several verses of the first chapter which is identifying Jesus as a person worthy of remembering. In the opening of this letter, the identifier "eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze" connect directly to one of the main businesses in town, the metal workers. They not only made coins but other objects as well, such as armor and weapon parts. So, if Jesus was introducing himself to Christians in the town as one who knew them intimately, he had to name himself with an identifier that showed he had knowledge of the main guild in town in which some of them may have worked, but at least most of them respected or were beholden to. Jesus was perhaps saying that he was at least as powerful as the main guild was also, so he was not beholden to them nor would the Christians be if they were to follow him more closely.

Jesus also referred to a prophetess in Thyatira. That would be the priestess of Sembethe. She had been delivering oracles that "beguiled" or "seduced" the Christians into eating meat offered to idols and sexual intercourse. This doesn't take a wild imagination to understand what her oracles must have contained. Meat can be eaten without it having to represent the idol it was offered to. And, of course, if that is true, then sex can be separated from love so that it doesn't have to represent one's sharing of souls or one's giving of love. Of course, that also gets into the temple worship that seems to have existed in association with Artemis as well, that is, the association of sex with offerings to the great goddess Artemis.

A quotation was also given that Thyatirans could appreciate. "To the one who conquers (his temptations), I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." On some of the coins minted at Thyatira is the figure of Thyrimnos, the local legendary military hero. He always carried a double edged ax over his shoulder and was wearing a general's cloak. On one coin he is joined by a Roman general and both were referred to as the "sons of Zeus." So, militarily ruling with power might have an appeal or at least an immediate point of understanding by a Thyatiran.

One can derive all of this without any trouble if he just takes the time to do a little study of the history of Thyatira. Already the original listener to ths letter is attentive because he just might be thinking that Jesus knew the kind of person a Thyatiran was. Jesus would know the environment he lived in and understand him that much better. So, he would give an ear to hear "what the spirit is saying to the churches."