JESUS CHRIST’S MESSAGE TO THE THYATIRA CONGREGATION

This congregation, the fourth of the seven to receive its message, was commended for the love, faith and endurance it had shown. Its ministry was also approved; its “deeds of late are more than those formerly.” But, though the congregation had these commendable qualities, a very bad condition had also been allowed to develop and remain within this congregation. In this regard the Lord’s condemnation declared: “You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols.” This “woman” was probably given the name Jezebel because her wicked conduct resembled that of Ahab’s wife, and because of her callous refusal to repent. It seems, however, that only a minority of the Thyatira congregation was approving of this Jezebel influence, since the message went on to speak “to the rest of you who are in Thyatira, all those who do not have this teaching, the very ones who did not get to know the ‘deep things of Satan.’”—Rev. 2:18-29.

TIBERIAS

(Ti·beʹri·as).

1. A city built by Herod Antipas about 21 C.E. and named after Tiberius Caesar, emperor of the Roman Empire at the time. It was situated about fifteen air miles (24 kilometers) NE of Nazareth, on a comparatively narrow strip along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 feet (207 meters) below the level of the Mediterranean. Tiberias was some eleven miles (18 kilometers) around the sea from Capernaum and six miles (10 kilometers) above where the Jordan leaves that body of water. Here Herod as the tetrarch made his residence. Nearby, to the S of the city, were famous warm springs. The city is mentioned only once in the Scriptures.—John 6:23.

2. The Sea of Galilee was sometimes called Tiberias, after the city by that name located on its western shore.—John 6:1; 21:1.

TIBERIUS

(Ti·beʹri·us).

The second emperor of Rome. He was born in 42 B.C.E. as the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla, but when his mother married Augustus in 38 B.C.E., Tiberius became the adopted son of the emperor. At the age of 31, upon the insistence of his stepfather, he divorced his wife Vipsania Agrippina and married Julia, the daughter of Augustus.

Augustus chose Tiberius as his successor only after others whom he preferred above Tiberius had all died off. On August 17, 14 C.E., Tiberius began to rule. John started baptizing “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,” which fifteenth year ran from August 28 C.E. to August 29 C.E.—Luke 3:1-3.

Tiberius lived until March 37 C.E., and hence was emperor for the entire period of Jesus’ ministry. It was therefore Tiberius’ image that was on the tax coin brought to Jesus when he said, “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar.” (Mark 12:14-17; Matt. 22:17-21; Luke 20:22-25) Tiberius extended the law of laesa majestas (injured majesty) to include, in addition to seditious acts, merely libelous words against the emperor, and presumably on the strength of this law the Jews pressured Pontius Pilate to have Jesus killed. (John 19:12-16) Tiberius later called Pilate to Rome because of Jewish complaints against his administration, but Tiberius died and Caligula succeeded him before Pilate arrived.

As an emperor Tiberius had both virtues and vices. He restrained spending on luxuries and so had funds to use generously to build up the empire’s prosperity, as well as reserves to assist recovery from disasters and bad times.Tiberius viewed himself as a man not a god, declined many honorary titles, and generally directed emperor worship to Augustus rather than to himself.

His vices exceeded his virtues, however. He was extremely suspicious and hypocritical in his dealings with others and his reign abounded with ordered killings, many of his former friends being numbered among the victims. He consulted astrologers. At his villa on Capri where he spent the last ten years of his life, he indulged his perverted lusts in a most debased manner with men kept for unnatural purposes.

Not only was Tiberius despised by many individuals, such as his schoolteacher Theodorus the Gadarene and his stepfather Augustus, but also by his subjects in general. After his death, the Senate refused to deify him. For these reasons and others too, Bible scholars see in Tiberius a fulfillment of prophecy that says “one who is to be despised” would arise as the “king of the north.”—Dan. 11:15, 21.

TIBHATH

(Tibʹhath) [slaughter].

A city N of Palestine from which David took a great quantity of copper after striking down Hadadezer, king of Zobah, at Hamath, some 140 miles (225 kilometers) N of Dan. (1 Chron. 18:3, 8) In the parallel description of David’s campaign at 2 Samuel 8:8 Tibhath is apparently called Betah. (See BETAH.) Some suggest that Tibhath may have been named for Nahor’s son Tebah. (Gen. 22:24) In harmony with its being part of the Aramaean kingdom of Zobah, the location of Tibhath was probably in the valley lying between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. Traces of ancient copperworks have been found in Lebanon, in harmony with the Biblical account.