Keypoints
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The apostle Paul journeyed through parts of Turkey and there are remains of the towns and cities he visited. |
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The last book of the Bible includes the letters sent to the early churches that were in Turkey 2000 years ago. |
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The advice and warnings given in those letters is just as relevant to us today. |
Almost 2000 years ago the apostle John had a vision on the Isle of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea. What he saw in that vision is recorded in the last book of the Bible, Revelation.
At the start of that book there are the 'open' letters that were sent to seven churches on the western side of the country now called Turkey.
If you read Revelation chapters two and three, you will see that each letter is addressed to an angel:
1 - ‘Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus’ [ 2.1]
2 - ‘unto the angel of the church in Smyrna’ [2.8]
3 - ‘to the angel of the church in Pergamos’ [2.12]
4 - ‘unto the angel of the church in Thyatira’ [2.18]
5 - ‘unto the angel of the church in Sardis’ [3.1]
6 - ‘to the angel of the church in Philadelphia’ [3.7]
7 - ‘unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans’ [3.14]
These angels were not the angels in heaven. Rather, the term refers to the elders of each ecclesia. The word ‘angel’ means 'a messenger', and it was the duty of the elders in each ecclesia to convey the message of Jesus to their members.
The advice and warnings in the 7 letters are just as relevant to us today
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In each case the word ‘church’ is the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ or ecclesia, meaning a body of 'called-out' ones, people called out of the world to be separate from its God-dishonouring ways and to dedicate themselves to God. This call is still open today to those who are willing to heed the message of God’s Word and act upon it.
By reading the letters in the light of archaeological discoveries, we can see why the message to each ecclesia was expressed in a particular way.
 Ephesus
At the time the Book of Revelation was written, at the end of the 1st century AD, the city of Ephesus was already old, past its time of glory, economically stagnant and weary. Spiritually, the Ephesian ecclesia was in a similar condition, hence the admonition: ‘I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love…repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent’ [2.4,5].
The great temple of the goddess Diana, or Artemis, was falling into disrepair and disrepute. This once great light of the pagan world, this candlestick of false worship, was flickering uncertainly. The true ecclesia of God, however, must not allow its light to go out; if it did, the ecclesia would not be allowed by God to continue and Christ would come and remove his candlestick from the city.
Christ’s message to the Ephesian elders continues:
‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God’ [2.7].
Many of the coins of ancient Ephesus depict a sacred date palm, regarded by the worshippers of Diana as a tree of life. While the devotees of the idol ate of that tree of life (as they supposed it to be), the followers of Christ were exhorted to partake of the real tree of life - the Word of God. The lesson would have been all the more powerful for the contrast between the false worship around them, leading only to death, and the life-giving words of Jesus.
This is still true today. It is essential that we carefully distinguish between the true teaching of the Bible, and the false teachings of the churches of Christendom.
Smyrna
The city of Smyrna had a turbulent history. It was destroyed in about 600 BC and lay in ruins for the next 300 years. Then Smyrna came to life again, being re-founded in about 300 BC. In effect, the city died and later rose from the dead. Hence the opening of the letter, ‘These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive’ [2.8]. The death and resurrection of Jesus were of far greater and more lasting importance than the death and resurrection of a city. Nevertheless, the analogy drawn from the history of their city would not have been lost on this ecclesia.
The message to Smyrna contains a reference to a crown of life:
‘…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life’ [2.10].
This would have reminded the 1st century readers of the cluster of fine buildings on the hilltop above the city, known locally as the ‘crown of Smyrna.’
The call to faithfulness is a call to the ecclesia to fulfil in the deepest way the historic reputation of the city. Men and women today are called to search out the truths of the Bible for themselves and not to rely on what other people say about the Bible. Personal salvation requires personal study of the Word of God.
Pergamos
Pergamos, or Pergamum, was one of the greatest centres of the worship of the Roman Emperor. In the imperial cult, the power of the Roman State had been harnessed to the blasphemous worship of a man. The presence of the great pagan temple and its ritual made the authority of Rome oppressively apparent in this city. In Pergamos the worship of the emperor had been made the touchstone of civic loyalty. A faithful Christian was branded as a traitor, however law-abiding he or she might be in other ways.
When the letter to Pergamos speaks of ‘he which hath the sharp sword with two edges’ we see an oblique reference to the imperial power which so strongly challenged Christ in this centre of the state religion. The question for the believers was - who is really worthy to be worshipped, Caesar or Christ? That is a question that must be answered by us too as Jesus said to his contemporaries:
‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s’ [Matthew 22.21]
The true follower of Jesus obeys all the laws of the land except where they conflict with the law of God. When this happens they must stand firm and, as the Apostle Peter said to the Jewish Council, ‘we ought to obey God rather than men’ [Acts 5.29].
Thyatira
Thyatira was noted for its brass working, hence the suitability of the reference to fire and brass: ‘like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass’ [2.18]. The Greek word which has been translated into English as ‘fine brass’ may be a technical term for a local type of brassware. Thyatira’s other famous industry, the manufacture of pottery, is reflected in Christ’s words concerning those who will assist him with his future mission to subdue the nations:
‘And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they (the nations) be broken to shivers’ [2.27].
In order to participate in trade in Thyatira, it was necessary to belong to a trade guild, but that meant participating in pagan worship, in which no true Christian could have any part. Hence the mention of some who were advocating compromise ‘to eat things sacrificed unto idols’ [2.20]. There could be no compromise, as conscientious objectors from that day to this have recognised.
The terms of the promise ‘to him will I give power over the nations’ [2.26] may reflect Thyatira’s long military history. Those in the Thyatiran ecclesia who stood firm in the old martial spirit of the town were holding a spiritual frontier. Many established churches have eroded this spiritual frontier. They attempt to compromise between the teaching of the Bible and the desires of men. If we wish for the salvation of God there is no compromise - we must follow His Word come what may.
Sardis
The city of Sardis was built on a rock platform 1500 feet above the surrounding plain. Sardis trusted carelessly in its natural defences. Yet, on at least two occasions, it was attacked by invaders who, just like thieves, scaled the unguarded cliffs and so gained access to the supposedly impregnable city. Those in the Sardian ecclesia knew what the words of Jesus in the letter meant: ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief’ [3.3]. The lesson for us is perfectly plain. Jesus said:
‘Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord doth come’ [Matthew 24.42].
The garments mentioned in Christ’s message i.e. ‘have not defiled their garments’ [3.4] and ‘clothed in white raiment’ [3.5] may echo the chief trade of Sardis, which was the making and dyeing of woollen clothing.
The return of Jesus to the world will catch the vast majority of men and women unawares. But there is no need for you to be caught out if you study the Bible and prepare yourself for his coming.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia stood at the opening of the mountain pass which was the gateway to the central region of Asia Minor. In political terms it saw itself as a door which it could open and shut as it pleased. But as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned, it is Jesus who has the key and opens the door. So in the letter to Philadelphia we read:
‘he that shutteth, and no man openeth’ … ‘I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.’ [3.7,8]
It was the practice in Philadelphia to reward those who served the city by inscribing their names on pillars in the temples. For the brethren and sisters of Christ, no such honour was possible - but the promise of Jesus was of far greater and lasting concern to them:
‘Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God … I will write upon him my new name’ [3.12].
The honours and recognition of the world are as nothing compared to the things that God has promised to us. Indeed, pursuing the ephemeral honours offered by the world may mean that we lose the everlasting honours of the kingdom of God.
On three occasions earthquakes destroyed the city of Philadelphia. Each time, as it was rebuilt, it took a new name, sometimes the name of the reigning Roman emperor. Jesus promised to his faithful disciples that they would be incorporated into his new city (New Jerusalem), with his new name upon them [3.12].
Laodicea
Laodicea was famous for wealth derived from garments made from black wool and for eye salve. When a disastrous earthquake devastated the city in AD 60, it rejected the assistance offered by Rome. It boasted that it did not need any outside help. Likewise, the ecclesia there thought it had need of nothing. The ecclesia was heedless of its spiritual bankruptcy:
‘Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ [3.17].
The warning was based once again on local colour:
‘buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed…and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see [3.18].
The black garments exported all over the Mediterranean, the famous eye ointment, the wealth of the city, are all there, forming a background for the writer’s reproaches.
Laodicea was also famous for one other thing: the nauseous lukewarm water supply, useful only as an emetic. So Jesus says to this complacent ecclesia:
‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth’ [3.16].
If we wish to share in the salvation from sin and death that God offers, we cannot afford to be lukewarm towards His Word the Bible. Nothing less than a whole-hearted dedication to the teaching of the Bible will be of any use at all.
So each of the seven letters alludes to customs and conditions in the city to whose ecclesia it is addressed. In these allusions we have a further evidence of the inspiration of the Bible. What author, unaided by God, could have produced a series of letters that draw so vividly on local conditions in such a remarkable way? Truly we have here the inspired Word of God.
If we take away just one lesson from our brief study of these seven letters, let it be the certainty that the reward God offers to those who follow Him by obeying His Word, will be very great. But there is no room for compromise. So we urge you to examine your own position – whether or not you have any religious beliefs – and make up your mind to read the Bible and mould your life on its teaching.
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