TheSeven Churches of Revelation, also known as theSeven Churches of the Apocalypse and theSeven Churches of Asia, are seven churches ofearly Christianity mentioned in theNew TestamentBook of Revelation. All of them were located in then-Greek-speakingAsia Minor, and currently sit within the borders of present-dayTurkey.
According toRevelation 1:11, on the island ofPatmos in the far east of theAegean Sea,Jesus instructedJohn of Patmos to "[w]rite in a book what you see in your visions, and send it to the seven churches, toEphesus, toSmyrna, toPergamum, toThyatira, toSardis, toPhiladelphia, and toLaodicea."[a] .[1][2]
The seven churches are named for their locations. The Book of Revelation provides descriptions of each Church.
The letters follow a common pattern. For example: the Lord first addresses each church and identifies Himself,[3][full citation needed] then defines things that He knows about the church in question.[4][full citation needed] After this, a challenge or reproach is given,[5][full citation needed] followed by a promise.[6][full citation needed] In all seven cases the admonition, "He who has an ear, let him hear what Spirit says",[7][full citation needed] 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 whatSpirit is saying. Each church is promised that everyone who conquers will be rewarded by Christ.[citation needed]
Somehistoricists typically interpret the seven churches as representing seven different periods in the history of the Western Church from the time ofPaul until the return of Jesus Christ.[8]Scofield states that "these messages by their very terms go beyond the local assemblies mentioned."[9] He is of the opinion that the letters have aprophetic purpose disclosing the seven phases of the spiritual history. Other writers, such asClarence Larkin,[10]Henry Hampton Halley,[11]Merrill Unger,[12] andWilliam M. Branham[13] also have put forward the view that the seven churches preview the history of the global Church.
Historicism has been criticised by theEastern Orthodox priest Dimitri Cozby, who writes that historicists take a greatly oversimplified view of history: "Sincedispensationalism isProtestant 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."[14]
To prevent dogmatism,Helena Petrovna Blavatsky advised humankind to keep an open mind when it comes to literature. According to her channelings of theSeven masters there is no higher truth than divine truth.[citation needed]
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[15] explains that these "angels" are theguardian angels of the churches, a view upheld byHenry Alford. ButEpiphanius[16] explicitly rejects this view, and, in accordance with the imagery of the passage, explains it as thebishops.
Johnsees a vision of theSon of man, who walks among sevenlampstands 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 isscriptural.[17]
Augustine of Hippo's reason for interpreting angels of the churches as theprelates of the church is that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity, which is not true of the angels.[18][19] 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 Spirit says."
The Amplified Bible states that Revelation 2:2 through to 3:18, "your" and "you" are in the singular, referring to theangel of each church. Much of what is said is rebuke and admonishment, so theangels are heavenly beings, they may serve in some way as watchers of the sinful people in churches.[citation needed] The founders of the churches made the assumption 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, or divine energy incarnated, such asJohn the Baptist (Matthew 11:10,Mark 1:2,Luke 7:27) and God's prophets (Revelation 22:8–9)[20]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.
In 1869, the London publishing firmSampson Low, Son, and Marston published Alexander Svoboda'sThe Seven Churches of Asia.[21]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.[22]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Apocalypse".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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