This inland city lay on an intersection of significant roads in Asia Minor, and so grew into an economically influential centre. People from various tribes and nationalities settled in Thyatira to benefit from its economic success. Inscriptions have been found indicating that trades in this city had their own unique guild (painters’ guild, weavers’ guild, pottery guild, etc.). Religion was intrinsically connected to the prosperity of any given guild. With people from various backgrounds engaging in the numerous trades characterizing the city, it is not surprising to learn that syncretism threatened the Christian church in Thyatira.
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.