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The seven churches of Asia (properly Asia Minor) are seven major churches of the early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All sites are in modern-day Turkey. In Revelation, Jesus Christ instructs John the Apostle to:
"Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
( Revelation 1:11)
19"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
(Revelation 1:19-20)
It should be understood that "churches," in this context, refers to the community of Christians living in each city, and not merely to the building or buildings in which they gathered for worship. This letter should also apply to the community of Christians today (the Christian Church, the Body of Christ).
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The churches receive their light from Christ and the gospel, and hold it forth to others. They are golden candlesticks; they should be precious and pure; not only the ministers, but the members of the churches; their light should so shine before men, as to engage others to give glory to God. And the apostle saw as though of the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in the midst of the golden candlesticks. He is with his churches always, to the end of the world, filling them with light, and life, and love. He was clothed with a robe down to the feet, perhaps representing his righteousness and priesthood, as Mediator. This vest was girt with a golden girdle, which may denote how precious are his love and affection for his people. His head and hairs white like wool and as snow, may signify his majesty, purity, and eternity. His eyes as a flame of fire, may represent his knowledge of the secrets of all hearts, and of the most distant events. His feet like fine brass burning in a furnace, may denote the firmness of his appointments, and the excellence of his proceedings. His voice as the sound of many waters, may represent the power of his word, to remove or to destroy. The seven stars were emblems of the ministers of the seven churches to which the apostle was ordered to write, and whom Christ upheld and directed. The sword represented his justice, and his word, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, Heb 4:12. His countenance was like the sun, when it shines clearly and powerfully; its strength too bright and dazzling for mortal eyes to behold. The apostle was overpowered with the greatness of the lustre and glory in which Christ appeared. We may well be contented to walk by faith, while here upon earth. The Lord Jesus spake words of comfort; Fear not. Words of instruction; telling who thus appeared. And his Divine nature; the First and the Last. His former sufferings; I was dead: the very same whom his disciples saw upon the cross. His resurrection and life; I have conquered death, and am partaker of endless life. His office and authority; sovereign dominion in and over the invisible world, as the Judge of all, from whose sentence there is no appeal. Let us listen to the voice of Christ, and receive the tokens of his love, for what can he withhold from those for whose sins he has died? May we then obey his word, and give up ourselves wholly to him who directs all things aright.[1]
The seven churches are located in:
- Ephesus
Ephesus (Greek: Έφεσος see also List of traditional Greek place names, Turkish: Efes) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). It was founded by colonists principally from Athens. The ruins of Ephesus are a major tourist attraction, especially for people travelling to Turkey by cruise ship via the port of Kuşadası.
Ephesus is believed by many to be the Apasa (or Abasa) mentioned in Hittite sources as the capital of the kingdom of Arzawa. Mycenaean pottery has been found in excavations at the site. The many-breasted "Lady of Ephesus", identified by Greeks with Artemis, was venerated in the Temple of Artemis, the largest building of the ancient world, according to Pausanias (4.31.8) and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, of which scarcely a trace remains. more..
- Smyrna
(modern day Izmir)
Smyrna (Greek: Σμύρνη) is an ancient city (today İzmir in Turkey) that was founded in a very early stage at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia and, aided by its advantageous port conditions that has been relatively easy to defend and its good inland connections, rose to prominence as of the Classical Era. Its importance can be said to have remained practically uninterrupted to this day. Its initial location at the northeastern corner of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir is commonly called "Old Smyrna", and the city after the move to a new location on the slopes of the Mount Pagos (Kadifekale today) at the time of Alexander the Great, constitutes Smyrna proper. The heart of that new city, principally dating from the late Hellenistic and early Roman period, before a great earthquake in 178, forms the large area of İzmir Agora Open Air Museum today. more..
- Pergamum
(modern-day Bergama)
Pergamon or Pergamum (Greek: Πέργαμος, modern day Bergama in Turkey, 39°7′N 27°11′E) was an ancient Greek city, in Mysia, northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakırçay), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period (see Hellenistic civilization), under the Attalid dynasty, 282-129 BC. more..
The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, the father of Philetaerus who came to power in 282 BC, were among the most loyal supporters of Rome among the Hellenistic successor states.
- Thyateira
(modern-day Akhisar)
Thyateira (also Thyatira) is the ancient name of the modern Turkish city of Akhisar ("white castle"). The Turkish equivalent ot Thyateira is Tepe Mezarligi. It lies in the far west of Turkey, south of Istanbul and almost due east of Athens. Although it is about 50 miles from the Mediterranean, it would have been closer in ancient times, as the sea has retreated some. In classical times, Thyateira stood on the border between Lydia and Mysia. It was famous for its dyeing and was a center of the indigo trade. Among the ancient ruins of the city, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in the city. more..
- Sardis
Sardis, (also Sardes, Greek: Σάρδεις), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times. As one of the Seven churches of Asia, it was addressed by the author of the Book of Revelation in terms which seem to imply that its population was notoriously soft and fainthearted. Its importance was due, first to its military strength, secondly to its situation on an important highway leading from the interior to the Aegean coast, and thirdly to its commanding the wide and fertile plain of the Hermus. more..
- Philadelphia
(modern-day Alasehir)
Alaşehir (also known as Philadelphia) is a city, center of the district of the same name, in Turkey's Manisa Province. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay (Cogamus in antiquity), at the foot of the Bozdağ (Mount Tmolus in antiquity). The city is connected to İzmir by a 105 km. railway.
It stands on elevated ground commanding the extensive and fertile plain of the Gediz River, (Hermus in antiquity) presents at a distance an imposing appearance. It has several mosques and Christian churches. There are small industries and a fair trade. From one of the mineral springs comes a heavily charged water popular around Turkey. more..
- Laodicea
(near modern-day Denizli)
Laodicea on the Lycus – Greek: Λαοδικεια προς του Ληκου), also transliterated as Laodiceia or Laodikeia; Latin: Laodicea ad Lycum; earlier Diospolis and Rhoas – was the ancient metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana (also attributed to Caria and Lydia), built on the river Lycus, in Anatolia near the modern village of Eskihisar (Eski Hissar), Denizli Province, Turkey. more..
Upon which all honour is ascribed to him, as worthy to open it.
These churches were in such different states as to purity of doctrine and the power of godliness, that the words of Christ to them will always suit the cases of other churches, and professors. Christ knows and observes their state; though in heaven, yet he walks in the midst of his churches on earth, observing what is wrong in them, and what they want. The church of Ephesus is commended for diligence in duty. Christ keeps an account of every hour's work his servants do for him, and their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. But it is not enough that we are diligent; there must be bearing patience, and there must be waiting patience. And though we must show all meekness to all men, yet we must show just zeal against their sins. The sin Christ charged this church with, is, not the having left and forsaken the object of love, but having lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Christ is displeased with his people, when he sees them grow remiss and cold toward him. Surely this mention in Scripture, of Christians forsaking their first love, reproves those who speak of it with carelessness, and thus try to excuse indifference and sloth in themselves and others; our Saviour considers this indifference as sinful. They must repent: they must be grieved and ashamed for their sinful declining, and humbly confess it in the sight of God. They must endeavour to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as when they first set out in the ways of God. If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit is slighted, we may expect the presence of his displeasure. Encouraging mention is made of what was good among them. Indifference as to truth and error, good and evil, may be called charity and meekness, but it is not so; and it is displeasing to Christ. The Christian life is a warfare against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh. We must never yield to our spiritual enemies, and then we shall have a glorious triumph and reward. All who persevere, shall derive from Christ, as the Tree of life, perfection and confirmation in holiness and happiness, not in the earthly paradise, but in the heavenly. This is a figurative expression, taken from the account of the garden of Eden, denoting the pure, satisfactory, and eternal joys of heaven; and the looking forward to them in this world, by faith, communion with Christ, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit. Believers, take your wrestling life here, and expect and look for a quiet life hereafter; but not till then: the word of God never promises quietness and complete freedom from conflict here. [2] ( Rev 2:8-11) References
- John (1994). Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger. ed. The Greek New Testament. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
- Walter Bauer (1979). William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker. ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press.
- Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14
- 2:2-3, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15-17
- 2:4-5, 10, 14-16, 20-25; 3:2-3, 9-11, 18-20
- 2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-28; 3:4-5, 12, 20-21.
- 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22
- Apoc., 1:13, 20.
- Hom., xiii in Luc., and Hom., xx in Num.
- Hær., xxv.
- Dan., xii, 3.
- Ep., xliii (al. clxii), n. 22.
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01486a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia, article Angels of the Churches]
Notes
- « Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible, available in the public domain.
- « Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible, available in the public domain.
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