Before I move on from the church of Thyatira...as recorded in Revelation 2...there was this lady in the Book (Letter) of Acts...and she too was from Thyatira. Only twice is Lydia mentioned in the New Testament...yet her impact...was strong in establishing the Early Church...this new "Christian faith."...
A Gleaning from Acts 16:13-15
" On the Sabbath, we ( Saint Paul, Silas, Luke, and perhaps Timothy) went a little way beyond the city gates of Philippi, to the bank of the river where it was told to us we would discover a place of prayer (like a synagogue)...although there really wasn't an "official" synagogue in Phillipi.
Instead, we sat down and began to share the Good News with the women who had gathered there to hear our words...and open their hearts to hear the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures.
One of the women who listened as we spoke was "Lydia"...who came from Thyatira. She had travelled over 300 miles to settle in her new home in Philippi.
Lydia was a dealer in fabrics...but not just any fabric. Her fabric was made of purple in color and in that day cloth dyed in purple was an expensive color to purchase in the textile industry.
{NOTE: The color purple used to dye cloth was found in the juice of a particular shellfish, described as a "Murex", which is an ocean mollusk. This was an extremely expensive color of cloth to purchase.
There was a second method for making a purple dye on cloth, and this involved combining 2 plants: 1) Indigo...a dark blue plant and 2) maddin... a red color. This would have been a known method for someone like Lydia who came from Thyratira...for the region of Thyratira was well-known for its indigo plants.
Using the 2nd method as described above...would produce an almost "imitation purple" in comparison to the real expensive purple cloth made from the particular shellfish. This would make this type of purple cloth much more economical to purchase, and was quite fashionable in that day...for the color purple identified with the Roman Emperor.}
Lydia also happened to be a worshipper..of the God of Abraham...the one God belief within the Jewish faith.
{NOTE: It is interesting to note Lydia was a God type worshipper...BEFORE she was introduced to Saint Paul and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Lydia was most likely of Gentile origin, she had chose to honor the God of Abraham through learning of Jewish law and customs. She probably was more like an "outsider looking in" when it came to being a true part of the Jewish faith...yet her heart made her totally acceptable by this very God she had chosen to worship...the God of Abraham.}
During the conversation that took place on the river bank that day outside the city gates of Philippi, as Saint Paul addressed the women with the Good News of the Gospel, this God of Abraham looked down upon Lydia...and saw the condition of her heart and how it had desired to learn of Him and His love. So, God opened her heart as Paul spoke and she embraced the words of Paul and gave her heart and life to the Lord Jesus. She totally accepted the words Paul spoke and with confidence desired to be baptized...right there along the riverbank... with her entire household as well!
Then, that day Lydia expressed from the depths of her own heart a surge of welcome and hospitality to Saint Paul and the men who were with him.
It is perhaps at this moment with her heart receiving Him....she had become the first documented convert to Christianity...outside the Jewish faith.
Lydia then offered her home for Paul and his men to stay at. At first, Paul was hesitant to accept the invitation...not because she was most likely a single woman managing her own household, or because she might or might not have had children ( the Scriptures are silent as to the nature of Lydia's status), but rather because Paul and Silas in particular had not been welcomed in Philippi and were beaten and thrown in prison for a time for sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus....and certainly would not to see harm come in any form to Lydia or her household. Nevertheless, Lydia's persistence of having them in her household won out, and Saint Paul accepted her invitation."
Here is an interesting thought...well, I think so (lol):..."The Rahab/Lydia Connection"
1. Rahab, like Lydia, had heard about this God of Israel, and had already decided He is the True God...one worth risking her very life for...BEFORE the Israelites were to attack the city of Jericho. Lydia is described in the Scriptures as a worshipper of God, and as in the story of Rahab...she too was demonstrating through her actions she had become a...worshipper of God.
2. Rahab was a business woman who ran an inn in Jericho...located in the very outer walls of Jericho itself. Although their professions were quite different...both Lydia and Rahab's hearts were not. They both sought out...this God of Israel to put their entire trust in.
3. Both Rahab and Lydia offered their own homes in an unselfish act of hospitality...Rahab hiding out the spies from Israel that had secretly gotten in the city of Jericho, and Lydia, not allowing fear to stop her from inviting Saint Paul and his friends to stay in her home...even though the people of Philippi had violently treated both Paul and Silas.
4. Rahab had spoken to with the Israelites who had come to spy out the city of Jericho, and pleaded with her own life that she is sworn to the the True God of Israel, and asked for mercy not only for her own life...but the lives of her entire family. Lydia, in the Book of Acts, openly received the Good News of Jesus...and not only demonstrated her willingness to follow Him, but also that of her entire family...and they were all baptized along the riverbanks that day.
5. Rahab used a fabric...a scarlet cord hung down the outside wall of Jericho...to distinguish her and her family...and where her heart was committed to. Lydia, a merchant of fabric as well, used her profession to assist in declaring the Good News of Christ Jesus...to those in the city of Phillipi...offering refuge to Saint Paul and his followers.
6. Rahab later married Salmon... who had a son named Boaz...who married a Gentile woman named...Ruth. Rahab became a direct descendant of King David...and later to the very lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Rahab is mentioned as a woman of great faith in Hebrews 11:31.
7. Lydia became known as the first documented convert to Christ Jesus from Europe, and her acts of kindness led to the beginnings of an Early Church in...Philippi itself...perhaps in the very home of...Lydia!
And, what does Saint Paul later write in regards to the church at Philippi...in the letter to the Philippians?
A Gleaning from Philippians 4:1
" My dear friends...it is you I truly love and long to be with...for all the work I have done in spreading the Good News...is expressed in my joy...for you! You are the real source of a personal pride...you are my reward...for all the work I have done! I consider you the "crown" of all my journeys...and continue to encourage you to...stay true to the Lord!"
I think both Lydia and Rahab....proved themselves true to Him... 2 very unexpected characters in the Bible, from 2 different times in history as well as from 2 entirely different cultures...and 2 entirely different professions....that literally help to not only influence....but change the course of history!
A Gleaning from Acts 16:13-15
" On the Sabbath, we ( Saint Paul, Silas, Luke, and perhaps Timothy) went a little way beyond the city gates of Philippi, to the bank of the river where it was told to us we would discover a place of prayer (like a synagogue)...although there really wasn't an "official" synagogue in Phillipi.
Instead, we sat down and began to share the Good News with the women who had gathered there to hear our words...and open their hearts to hear the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures.
One of the women who listened as we spoke was "Lydia"...who came from Thyatira. She had travelled over 300 miles to settle in her new home in Philippi.
Lydia was a dealer in fabrics...but not just any fabric. Her fabric was made of purple in color and in that day cloth dyed in purple was an expensive color to purchase in the textile industry.
{NOTE: The color purple used to dye cloth was found in the juice of a particular shellfish, described as a "Murex", which is an ocean mollusk. This was an extremely expensive color of cloth to purchase.
Using the 2nd method as described above...would produce an almost "imitation purple" in comparison to the real expensive purple cloth made from the particular shellfish. This would make this type of purple cloth much more economical to purchase, and was quite fashionable in that day...for the color purple identified with the Roman Emperor.}
Lydia also happened to be a worshipper..of the God of Abraham...the one God belief within the Jewish faith.
{NOTE: It is interesting to note Lydia was a God type worshipper...BEFORE she was introduced to Saint Paul and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Lydia was most likely of Gentile origin, she had chose to honor the God of Abraham through learning of Jewish law and customs. She probably was more like an "outsider looking in" when it came to being a true part of the Jewish faith...yet her heart made her totally acceptable by this very God she had chosen to worship...the God of Abraham.}
During the conversation that took place on the river bank that day outside the city gates of Philippi, as Saint Paul addressed the women with the Good News of the Gospel, this God of Abraham looked down upon Lydia...and saw the condition of her heart and how it had desired to learn of Him and His love. So, God opened her heart as Paul spoke and she embraced the words of Paul and gave her heart and life to the Lord Jesus. She totally accepted the words Paul spoke and with confidence desired to be baptized...right there along the riverbank... with her entire household as well!
Then, that day Lydia expressed from the depths of her own heart a surge of welcome and hospitality to Saint Paul and the men who were with him.
It is perhaps at this moment with her heart receiving Him....she had become the first documented convert to Christianity...outside the Jewish faith.
Lydia then offered her home for Paul and his men to stay at. At first, Paul was hesitant to accept the invitation...not because she was most likely a single woman managing her own household, or because she might or might not have had children ( the Scriptures are silent as to the nature of Lydia's status), but rather because Paul and Silas in particular had not been welcomed in Philippi and were beaten and thrown in prison for a time for sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus....and certainly would not to see harm come in any form to Lydia or her household. Nevertheless, Lydia's persistence of having them in her household won out, and Saint Paul accepted her invitation."
Here is an interesting thought...well, I think so (lol):..."The Rahab/Lydia Connection"
1. Rahab, like Lydia, had heard about this God of Israel, and had already decided He is the True God...one worth risking her very life for...BEFORE the Israelites were to attack the city of Jericho. Lydia is described in the Scriptures as a worshipper of God, and as in the story of Rahab...she too was demonstrating through her actions she had become a...worshipper of God.
2. Rahab was a business woman who ran an inn in Jericho...located in the very outer walls of Jericho itself. Although their professions were quite different...both Lydia and Rahab's hearts were not. They both sought out...this God of Israel to put their entire trust in.
3. Both Rahab and Lydia offered their own homes in an unselfish act of hospitality...Rahab hiding out the spies from Israel that had secretly gotten in the city of Jericho, and Lydia, not allowing fear to stop her from inviting Saint Paul and his friends to stay in her home...even though the people of Philippi had violently treated both Paul and Silas.
4. Rahab had spoken to with the Israelites who had come to spy out the city of Jericho, and pleaded with her own life that she is sworn to the the True God of Israel, and asked for mercy not only for her own life...but the lives of her entire family. Lydia, in the Book of Acts, openly received the Good News of Jesus...and not only demonstrated her willingness to follow Him, but also that of her entire family...and they were all baptized along the riverbanks that day.
5. Rahab used a fabric...a scarlet cord hung down the outside wall of Jericho...to distinguish her and her family...and where her heart was committed to. Lydia, a merchant of fabric as well, used her profession to assist in declaring the Good News of Christ Jesus...to those in the city of Phillipi...offering refuge to Saint Paul and his followers.
6. Rahab later married Salmon... who had a son named Boaz...who married a Gentile woman named...Ruth. Rahab became a direct descendant of King David...and later to the very lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Rahab is mentioned as a woman of great faith in Hebrews 11:31.
7. Lydia became known as the first documented convert to Christ Jesus from Europe, and her acts of kindness led to the beginnings of an Early Church in...Philippi itself...perhaps in the very home of...Lydia!
And, what does Saint Paul later write in regards to the church at Philippi...in the letter to the Philippians?
A Gleaning from Philippians 4:1
" My dear friends...it is you I truly love and long to be with...for all the work I have done in spreading the Good News...is expressed in my joy...for you! You are the real source of a personal pride...you are my reward...for all the work I have done! I consider you the "crown" of all my journeys...and continue to encourage you to...stay true to the Lord!"
I think both Lydia and Rahab....proved themselves true to Him... 2 very unexpected characters in the Bible, from 2 different times in history as well as from 2 entirely different cultures...and 2 entirely different professions....that literally help to not only influence....but change the course of history!
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