Page:Theapocalypseofs00berruoft.djvu/48

 "27. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken,

28. As I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star.

29. He that hath an ear, let him hear what thd spirit saith to the churches."

18. Fifty miles southeast of Pergamus lay the ancient city of Thyatira. Diana was greatly venerated here as at Ephesus, but Apollo was the chief divinity in whose honor games were celebrated. Lydia, a woman converted by St. Paul at Philippi, was from Thyatira. At the beginning of the third century the population was almost entirely Christian.

In the Middle Ages the Turks changed the name of Thyatira to Ak-Hissar (White Fortress). The population today numbers about 22,000, mostly Mahomedans and Greek schismatics.

19, 20. The bishop of Thyatira is praised for his faith and for his good work in the ministry. Unlike Timothy, his zeal has increased, yet there is one fault for which he is reproved. He has not sufficiently guarded the faithful against the teachings of a certain false prophetess who is stigmatized as "a Jezabel." Through