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‘I, John... was on the island called Patmos,
because of the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s
day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like
the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a
book what you see, and send it to the Seven
Churches.”
Rev. 1:9-11
The Seven Churches mentioned by St. John in
the Book of Revelation ( The Apocalypse)
are all found in Turkey and each was a
founding community of Christianity.
In the book of Revelation of the Bible are
written messages to seven of the most
prominent churches of the Roman Province of
Asia, which are located in western Turkey.
When we use the word “church” we mean a
group of Christians, not a building.
Therefore, on a tour of the Seven Churches,
we are not looking for remnants of church
structures. However, a visit to the
impressive excavations of the sites of the
ancient Roman cities where these seven
churches existed can be quite fascinating,
informative and moving. These sites show
marks of the passing empires and cultures of
the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Selcuk
Turks, Ottomans and the modem Turkish
Republic. A visitor to these ancient places
finds remains of massive pagan temples,
beautiful Muslim mosques, as well as many
Christian church buildings, which were of
course built much later in history.
The seven cities mentioned in Revelation
form what the Rev. John Stott calls “an
irregular circle”, and “are listed in the
order in which a messenger might visit them
if commissioned to deliver the letters”.
Sailing from the island of Patmos, to which
John had been banished, he would arrive at
Ephesus. He would then travel north to
Smyrna and Pergamum, southeast to Thyatira,
Sardis and Philadelphia, and finish his
journey at Laodicea. He would need only to
keep to what Professor William Ramsey calls
“the great circular road that bound together
the most populous, wealthy and influential
part of the Province, the west-central
region.”
Though the book of Revelation was penned by
the hand of the Apostle John, it is claimed
that these letters emanate directly from the
lips of the ascended and glorified Jesus
Christ. Stott notes that “in them, by praise
and censure, warning and exhortation, He
makes plain much of His will for His people.
The seven churches of Asia, though
historical, represent the local churches of
all ages and of all lands”. The onslaught on
the Church was physical through a
persecuting emperor and his deputies,
intellectual through false cults, and moral
through sub-Christian ethical standards. As
we look around the world today, the same
pressures are harassing different churches
and the messages in these letters are also
for the Church in the world. Stott says
“it’s a call to Christians to endure
tribulation, to hold fast to the truth, to
resist the deceptions of the devil and to
obey the commandments of God.” In each of
the seven letters, which follow, the risen
Christ lays emphasis, either in rebuke or in
commendation, of one particular
characteristic of an ideal church. Put
together, these characteristics constitute
the seven marks of a true and living
church.
The Letter to Ephesus urges Christians to
return to a love for Christ (Rev. 2:3-4 “You
have left your first love”). The Apostle
Paul spent two and a half years here on his
3rd missionary journey, and in Acts 19, a
riot broke out over the drop in sales of the
silver models of Diana’s temple. According
to an early tradition John replaced Timothy
towards the end of the first century as
leader of the Ephesian church, and probably
wrote his first epistle for them. The
excavations done by Austrians are considered
to be the largest excavated ruins in the
world.
The Letter to Smyrna encourages followers to
have a willingness to suffer for Christ
(Rev. 2: 10 “Do not fear what you are about
to suffer”). Smyrna is now the modern city
of Izmir, known in history as the “Pearl of
the Aegean”, and is located about 35 miles
north of Ephesus. If the first mark of a
true and living church is love, the second
is suffering, for a willingness to suffer
proves the genuineness of love. Polycarp,
the bishop of Smyrna in the 2nd century,
proved his love when he was martyred here.
Izmir (Smyrna) is the only one of the seven
that has had continuous Christian
congregations meeting within the
city. In the Letter to Pergamum,
Christ commends the church in regards to
holding to the truth (Rev. 2:12-13 “You hold
fast My name, and did not deny My faith”),
but then reproves them for tolerating some
false prophets. “The seat of Satan” (2:13)
may refer to this city being a strong center
of paganism with many temples on top of the
fortified hill known as an Acropolis.
Because of the strong worship of Asklepios,
the god of healing, it became a center of
medicine. The modem excavations of these
places are quite impressive.
The Letter to Thyatira gives emphasis to a
holiness of life (Rev.2:19-20 “I have this
against you, that you tolerate the woman
Jezebel “). It was the smallest of the seven
cities and was a garrison city used to deter
enemies from reaching Pergamum, 40 miles to
the northwest. It was a prosperous trading
center and the writer knew of the bronze
worker guilds there when he wrote “These are
the words of the Son of God, whose feet are
like burnished bronze” (2:18). Stott tells
us that “while the church manifested love
and faith, service and endurance, there was
moral compromise, a lack of righteousness of
character”.
The Letter to Sardis emphasizes the need for
inward reality behind the church’s outward
show (Rev. 3:1 “You have the name of being
alive, and you are dead”). Sardis was the
converging point of several inland roads
situated in a fertile valley at the foot of
Mount Tmolus. However, its ancient history
was more distinguished than its modern. Once
a splendid and wealthy city, but after
severe defeats, it fell greatly. Its
religious history, like its civil, belonged
to the past. The ruins unearthed give a
glimpse of the city’s beautiful past that is
now dead.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.” Rev. 3:22
The Letter to Philadelphia reminds of the
need for an evangelistic outreach to others
(Rev. 3:8 “Behold, I have set before you an
open door”). Like Sardis, it was in the
fertile region of the Lydian kingdom. The
severe earthquake of AD 17, which devastated
Sardis almost completely, demolished
Philadelphia. According to Prof William
Ramsey, the intention of the city’s founder
had been “to make it a center of the
Greco-Asiatic civilization, and a means to
spreading the Greek language and manners. It
was a missionary city from the beginning.”
The Letter to Laodicea emphasizes a
wholeheartedness in everything (Rev. 3:15-16
“You are lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold”). About forty miles southeast of
Philadelphia, there are three famous cities
clustered in a valley. Hierapolis stood on
the north of the river, while on the south
bank were Laodicea and Colossae.
Its beginnings and past are not clear but
Christ sends to this church the sternest of
the seven letters. There’s no mention of
heretics or persecutions, simply that they
were “neither hot nor cold”. The hot springs
of Hierapolis become lukewarm by the time
they reach Laodicea. Perhaps none of the
seven letters is more appropriate to the
modern Church than this one.
So as you can see, when a visitor comes to
these remarkable Roman ruins carrying his
New Testament and reflects on what happened
in the past and meditates on the universal
lessons to be learned today, a trip to the
Seven Churches of Revelation in modem Turkey
can be an unforgettable experience. Turkey,
with its thousands of ancient sites
reflecting its centuries of history and
culture spanning more than 5000 years
combined with its modem beauty, sunny
beaches, crystal-clear waters, exotic
bazaars, world-renowned cuisine, and
hospitable people, is a destination
guaranteed to be a life-changing trip.
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