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{{Short description|Seven major churches of Early Christianity}}
The '''seven churches of Asia''' are seven ]es mentioned in the ] of the ]. "Asia" as used here refers to ], and the churches were among the earliest ] churches on the ]. The sites of all seven churches are in modern-day ].
{{Redirect|Seven Churches|the Possessed album|Seven Churches (album)}}
{{About|the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation|other uses|Seven Churches (disambiguation)}}
] showing the island ] and the locations of the cities housing the seven churches]]
The '''Seven Churches of Revelation''', also known as the '''Seven Churches of the Apocalypse''' and the '''Seven Churches of Asia''', are seven churches of ] mentioned in the ] ]. All of them are located in ], present-day ].


== Description ==
Specifically, in the ], the ] sent to ] tells him (Revelation 1:11, ]):
According to ], on the island of ] in the far east of the ], ] instructed ] to "rite in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches, to ], to ], to ], to ], to ], to ], and to ]."{{efn|NA28: λεγούσης Ὃ βλέπεις γράψον εἰς βιβλίον καὶ πέμψον ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις, εἰς Ἔφεσον καὶ εἰς Σμύρναν καὶ εἰς Πέργαμον καὶ εἰς Θυάτειρα καὶ εἰς Σάρδεις καὶ εἰς Φιλαδελφίαν / Φιλαδέλφειαν καὶ εἰς Λαοδικίαν / Λαοδίκειαν.}} The churches in this context refers to the community or local congregations of Christians living in each city.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=The Greek New Testament|date=1994|publisher=Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft|author=John|author-link=Book of Revelation#Authorship|editor=Barbara Aland|editor2=Kurt Aland|editor3=Johannes Karavidopoulos|editor4=Carlo M. Martini|editor5=Bruce M. Metzger}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature|date=1979|publisher=University of Chicago Press|author=Walter Bauer|editor1=William F. Arndt|editor2=F. Wilbur Gingrich|editor3=Frederick W. Danker}}</ref>


⚫ == The seven churches ==
:What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto ], and unto ], and unto ], and unto ], and unto ], and unto ], and unto ].
The seven churches are named for their locations. The Book of Revelation provides descriptions of each Church.
* ] (Revelation 2:1–7): known for having laboured hard and not fainted, and separating themselves from the wicked; admonished for having forsaken its first love (2:4)
* ] (Revelation 2:8–11): admired for its tribulation and poverty; but for which it is foretold that it will suffer persecution (2:10)
* ] (Revelation 2:12–17): located where 'Satan's seat' is; needs to repent of allowing false teachers (2:16)
* ] (Revelation 2:18–29): known for its charity, whose "latter works are greater than the former"; tolerates the teachings of a false prophetess (2:20)
* ] (Revelation 3:1–6): admonished for – in contrast to its good reputation – being dead; cautioned to fortify itself and return to God through repentance (3:2–3)
* Philadelphia (called ] since 1390; Revelation 3:7–13): known as steadfast in faith, keeping God's word and enduring patiently (3:10)
* ], near ] (see ]) (Revelation 3:14–22): called lukewarm and insipid (3:16)


== Seven messages ==
⚫ The seven churches are located in:
The letters follow a common pattern. For example: the Lord first addresses each church and identifies Himself,<ref>2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14</ref> then defines things that He knows about the church in question.<ref>2:2–3, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15–17</ref> After this, a challenge or reproach is given,<ref>2:4–5, 10, 14–16, 20–25; 3:2–3, 9–11, 18–20</ref> followed by a promise.<ref>2:7, 10–11, 17, 26–28; 3:4–5, 12, 20–21.</ref> In all seven cases the admonition, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches",<ref>2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22</ref> is appended, although sometimes this comes before the promise and sometimes after.


Although the letters differ in length in accord with the needs of each community, all conclude with an appeal to hold fast and to listen to what the ] is saying to the churches. Each church is promised that everyone who conquers will be rewarded by Christ.{{Cn|date=October 2024}}
* ''']'''
* ''']'''
* ''']''', modern-day ''']'''
* ''']''', modern-day ''']'''
* ''']''',
* ''']''', modern-day ''']'''
* ''']''', modern-day ''']'''


Some ] typically interpret the seven churches as representing seven different periods in the history of the Western Church from the time of ] until the return of Jesus Christ.<ref>''Unger's Bible Dictionary'' (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p924</ref> ] states that "these messages by their very terms go beyond the local assemblies mentioned."<ref>Scofield, W. I., The Scofield Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) p1331</ref> He is of the opinion that the letters have a ] purpose disclosing the seven phases of the spiritual history of the Church. Other writers, such as ],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.preservedwords.com/disptruth/chap22-pv.htm|title=Chapter XXII|website=www.preservedwords.com|access-date=2017-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104065358/http://www.preservedwords.com/disptruth/chap22-pv.htm|archive-date=2018-01-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> ],<ref>Halley, H. H., ''Halley's Bible Handbook'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), p688</ref> ],<ref>Unger, M. F., ''Unger's Bible Dictionary'' (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p924</ref> and ]<ref></ref> also have put forward the view that the seven churches preview the history of the global Church.
There is a common ] for memorizing the seven cities: "Every smart person thinks, 'Start ... (ph)finish later.'"
] in ] of the seven angels]] Historicism has been criticised by the ] priest Dimitri Cozby, who writes that historicists take a greatly oversimplified view of church history: "Since ] is ] in origin its 'Church history' is strictly Western. The dispensations take into account almost nothing of Orthodox history after the period of the early councils which we share with the West."<ref name="cozby">{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/dogmatics/cozby_rapture1.htm|title=WHAT IS 'THE RAPTURE'? (PART 1 OF 2)}}</ref>


==Angels of the churches==
⚫ ]
Chapters 2–3 of the Revelation have specific messages for each of the seven angels of the seven churches. The message of each of the seven letters is directed to the angel of the particular church that is mentioned.
⚫ ]


]<ref>Hom., xiii in Luc., and Hom., xx in Num.</ref> explains that these "angels" are the ]s of the churches, a view upheld by ]. But ]<ref>Hær., xxv.</ref> explicitly rejects this view, and, in accordance with the imagery of the passage, explains it as the ]s.
]

John ] of the ], who walks among seven ]s and has seven stars in his right hand. {{bibleverse||Revelation|1:20|NKJV}} states that "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." The comparison of a teacher to a star is ].<ref>Dan., xii, 3.</ref>

]'s reason for interpreting angels of the churches as the ]s of the church is that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity, which is not true of the angels.<ref>Ep., xliii (al. clxii), n. 22.</ref><ref>'', ''Catholic Encyclopedia''</ref> Others would say that the falling away relates to the churches, not to the messengers, as each of the seven letters conclude with the words "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

The Amplified Bible states that Revelation 2:2 through to 3:18, "your" and "you" are in the singular, referring to the ''angel'' of each church. Much of what is said is rebuke and admonishment, so if the ''angels'' are heavenly beings, they may serve in some way as representatives of the sinful people in their churches. Jewish tradition maintained that every nation and individual has a guardian angel, and that when God is about to punish a nation, He first punishes its angel. There is even a story of Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, being rebuked by God for the sins committed in the time of Ezekiel. {{cn|date=March 2022}} So the original readers of Revelation might have assumed that the angels here are the guardian angels of the individual churches, sharing responsibility for the actions of the members.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for angels ('']'') is not only used for heavenly angels, but also used for human messengers, such as ] ({{bibleverse||Matthew|11:10|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|1:2|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|7:27|KJV}}) and God's prophets ({{bibleverse||Revelation|22:8–9|KJV}})<ref>], ''Unger's Bible Dictionary'', (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975) p52</ref> ] has noted that "The natural explanation of the 'messengers' is that they were men sent by the seven churches to ascertain the state of the aged apostle ... but they figure any who bear God's messages to a church."<ref>Scofield, W. I., ''The Scofield Study Bible'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) p1331</ref>

== ''The Seven Churches of Asia'' by Alexander Svoboda ==
In 1869, the London publishing firm ] published Alexander Svoboda's ''The Seven Churches of Asia''.<ref>Svoboda, A. ''The Seven Churches of Asia: with Twenty Full-Page Photographs Taken on the Spot, Historical Notes, and Itinerary''. Introduction by H. B. Tristram. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1869.</ref> ''The Seven Churches of Asia'' is divided into three primary sections: an introduction written by English clergyman and Biblical scholar H. B. Tristram, Svoboda's personal travel account visiting the Seven Churches sites, and an itinerary detailing Svoboda's route. The book also includes twenty full-page photographs of the Seven Churches sites, photographed by Svoboda. These images are the first produced and published photographs of the Seven Churches. Photographs from Svoboda's Seven Churches project were exhibited in the rooms of the Arundel Society in London in 1868.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=February 1868|title=Photographs From the Seven Churches of Asia|journal=The Art Journal|volume=74|pages=29}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity|History|Turkey}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

== Further reading ==
* ], ''Halley's Bible Handbook'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), p684
* ], ''The Scofield Reference Bible'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967), p1332
* {{cite book |url=http://philologos.org/__eb-lttsc/ |last=Ramsay |first=W. M. |author-link=William Mitchell Ramsay |title=The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1904 |access-date=2012-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183150/https://philologos.org/__eb-lttsc/ |archive-date=2018-04-19 |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite book |last=Ruskin |first=John |title=], Letters 73—96 (1877—1884) |date=29 October 1877 |publisher=] |editor-last=Cook |editor-first=E. T. |editor-link=Edward Tyas Cook |series=The Works of John Ruskin |volume=XXIX |location=London |publication-date=1907 |pages=296–304 |chapter=Letter 84: The Last Words of the Virgin |author-link=John Ruskin |editor-last2=Wedderburn |editor-first2=Alexander |chapter-url=https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/documents/ruskin/27-29ForsClavigera.pdf#page=1950}}
* Hemer, Colin J. ''The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting'' (JSOT Press, 1989), p. 283

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
*
* , see section titled "Spread of Christianity in Asia Minor"
*
* ], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616111515/http://download.branham.org/pdf/ENG/BK-AGES%20An%20Exposition%20Of%20The%20Seven%20Church%20Ages%20VGR.pdf |date=2020-06-16 }}, Voice of God Recordings, Jeffersonville, Indiana, 1965.
* by Pastor Rocky Veach
*

{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Apocalypse}}
{{Seven churches of Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Churches Of Asia}}
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Latest revision as of 20:17, 17 December 2024

Seven major churches of Early Christianity "Seven Churches" redirects here. For the Possessed album, see Seven Churches (album). This article is about the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. For other uses, see Seven Churches (disambiguation).
Map of western Anatolia showing the island Patmos and the locations of the cities housing the seven churches

The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven churches of early Christianity mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey.

Description

According to Revelation 1:11, on the island of Patmos in the far east of the Aegean Sea, Jesus instructed John of Patmos to "rite 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." The churches in this context refers to the community or local congregations of Christians living in each city.

The seven churches

The seven churches are named for their locations. The Book of Revelation provides descriptions of each Church.

  • Ephesus (Revelation 2:1–7): known for having laboured hard and not fainted, and separating themselves from the wicked; admonished for having forsaken its first love (2:4)
  • Smyrna (Revelation 2:8–11): admired for its tribulation and poverty; but for which it is foretold that it will suffer persecution (2:10)
  • Pergamon (Revelation 2:12–17): located where 'Satan's seat' is; needs to repent of allowing false teachers (2:16)
  • Thyatira (Revelation 2:18–29): known for its charity, whose "latter works are greater than the former"; tolerates the teachings of a false prophetess (2:20)
  • Sardis (Revelation 3:1–6): admonished for – in contrast to its good reputation – being dead; cautioned to fortify itself and return to God through repentance (3:2–3)
  • Philadelphia (called Alaşehir since 1390; Revelation 3:7–13): known as steadfast in faith, keeping God's word and enduring patiently (3:10)
  • Laodicea on the Lycus, near Denizli (see Laodicean Church) (Revelation 3:14–22): called lukewarm and insipid (3:16)

Seven messages

The letters follow a common pattern. For example: the Lord first addresses each church and identifies Himself, then defines things that He knows about the church in question. After this, a challenge or reproach is given, followed by a promise. In all seven cases the admonition, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches", is appended, although sometimes this comes before the promise and sometimes after.

Although the letters differ in length in accord with the needs of each community, all conclude with an appeal to hold fast and to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Each church is promised that everyone who conquers will be rewarded by Christ.

Some historicists typically interpret the seven churches as representing seven different periods in the history of the Western Church from the time of Paul until the return of Jesus Christ. Scofield states that "these messages by their very terms go beyond the local assemblies mentioned." He is of the opinion that the letters have a prophetic purpose disclosing the seven phases of the spiritual history of the Church. Other writers, such as Clarence Larkin, Henry Hampton Halley, Merrill Unger, and William M. Branham also have put forward the view that the seven churches preview the history of the global Church.

Mosaic in St Mark's Basilica of the seven angels

Historicism has been criticised by the Eastern Orthodox priest Dimitri Cozby, who writes that historicists take a greatly oversimplified view of church history: "Since dispensationalism is Protestant in origin its 'Church history' is strictly Western. The dispensations take into account almost nothing of Orthodox history after the period of the early councils which we share with the West."

Angels of the churches

Chapters 2–3 of the Revelation have specific messages for each of the seven angels of the seven churches. The message of each of the seven letters is directed to the angel of the particular church that is mentioned.

Origen explains that these "angels" are the guardian angels of the churches, a view upheld by Henry Alford. But Epiphanius explicitly rejects this view, and, in accordance with the imagery of the passage, explains it as the bishops.

John sees a vision of the Son of man, who walks among seven lampstands and has seven stars in his right hand. Revelation 1:20 states that "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." The comparison of a teacher to a star is scriptural.

Augustine of Hippo's reason for interpreting angels of the churches as the prelates of the church is that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity, which is not true of the angels. Others would say that the falling away relates to the churches, not to the messengers, as each of the seven letters conclude with the words "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

The Amplified Bible states that Revelation 2:2 through to 3:18, "your" and "you" are in the singular, referring to the angel of each church. Much of what is said is rebuke and admonishment, so if the angels are heavenly beings, they may serve in some way as representatives of the sinful people in their churches. Jewish tradition maintained that every nation and individual has a guardian angel, and that when God is about to punish a nation, He first punishes its angel. There is even a story of Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, being rebuked by God for the sins committed in the time of Ezekiel. So the original readers of Revelation might have assumed that the angels here are the guardian angels of the individual churches, sharing responsibility for the actions of the members.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for angels (άγγελος) is not only used for heavenly angels, but also used for human messengers, such as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2, Luke 7:27) and God's prophets (Revelation 22:8–9) C.I. Scofield has noted that "The natural explanation of the 'messengers' is that they were men sent by the seven churches to ascertain the state of the aged apostle ... but they figure any who bear God's messages to a church."

The Seven Churches of Asia by Alexander Svoboda

In 1869, the London publishing firm Sampson Low, Son, and Marston published Alexander Svoboda's The Seven Churches of Asia. The Seven Churches of Asia is divided into three primary sections: an introduction written by English clergyman and Biblical scholar H. B. Tristram, Svoboda's personal travel account visiting the Seven Churches sites, and an itinerary detailing Svoboda's route. The book also includes twenty full-page photographs of the Seven Churches sites, photographed by Svoboda. These images are the first produced and published photographs of the Seven Churches. Photographs from Svoboda's Seven Churches project were exhibited in the rooms of the Arundel Society in London in 1868.

See also

Notes

  1. NA28: λεγούσης Ὃ βλέπεις γράψον εἰς βιβλίον καὶ πέμψον ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις, εἰς Ἔφεσον καὶ εἰς Σμύρναν καὶ εἰς Πέργαμον καὶ εἰς Θυάτειρα καὶ εἰς Σάρδεις καὶ εἰς Φιλαδελφίαν / Φιλαδέλφειαν καὶ εἰς Λαοδικίαν / Λαοδίκειαν.

References

  1. John (1994). Barbara Aland; Kurt Aland; Johannes Karavidopoulos; Carlo M. Martini; Bruce M. Metzger (eds.). The Greek New Testament. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
  2. Walter Bauer (1979). William F. Arndt; F. Wilbur Gingrich; Frederick W. Danker (eds.). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press.
  3. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14
  4. 2:2–3, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15–17
  5. 2:4–5, 10, 14–16, 20–25; 3:2–3, 9–11, 18–20
  6. 2:7, 10–11, 17, 26–28; 3:4–5, 12, 20–21.
  7. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22
  8. Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p924
  9. Scofield, W. I., The Scofield Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) p1331
  10. "Chapter XXII". www.preservedwords.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  11. Halley, H. H., Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), p688
  12. Unger, M. F., Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p924
  13. Branham, W. M., An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages (Jeffersonville, Indiana: Voice of God Recordings) 2005
  14. "WHAT IS 'THE RAPTURE'? (PART 1 OF 2)".
  15. Hom., xiii in Luc., and Hom., xx in Num.
  16. Hær., xxv.
  17. Dan., xii, 3.
  18. Ep., xliii (al. clxii), n. 22.
  19. Angels of the Churches, Catholic Encyclopedia
  20. Merrill Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975) p52
  21. Scofield, W. I., The Scofield Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) p1331
  22. Svoboda, A. The Seven Churches of Asia: with Twenty Full-Page Photographs Taken on the Spot, Historical Notes, and Itinerary. Introduction by H. B. Tristram. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1869.
  23. "Photographs From the Seven Churches of Asia". The Art Journal. 74: 29. February 1868.

Further reading

External links

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Apocalypse". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Seven churches of Asia
Ephesus is located in TurkeyEphesusEphesusSmyrnaSmyrnaPergamonPergamonThyatiraThyatiraSardisSardisPhiladelphia (modern Alaşehir)Philadelphia (modern Alaşehir)LaodiceaLaodicea
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