The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse

Ephesus

     This was a very important coastal city at the time of Apostle John.  It was the residence of the Roman Proconsul who governed the surrounding area and it was also a very important religious center of the Roman world through the Temple of Artemis, or Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world.  Besides this temple the city had many other major public works such as a very large theater with exceptional acoustics capable of seating 25,000 spectators, as well as major gymnasiums, baths, and a large library.  In the exceptionally mild climate of the area,  the majority of the inhabitants appear to be given over to the seductive arts and the love of pleasure until the introduction of the Christian religion.  Goddess Diana was considered to be the mother of the gods and her worship was often accompanied by the arts of magic and the witchcraft. This reminds us of the Catholic traditions regarding the worship of the mother of God through prayers and the use of idols. This resemblance is more than coincidental. It was the Council of Ephesus in the fifth century that legitimized the worship of Mary as the mother of God.  Apostle Paul's preaching in this city for three years had such an effect on the people that they stopped going to the pagan temple and buying religious items for temple worship.  This is mentioned in Acts 19:23-41 in the context of a riot in the theatre organized by the idol makers against the Christians.  There we read the idol makers’ complaint that the Christians regarded everything associated with this temple as despicable. This may be a false charge, but it is probably not far from the truth.  The message of the Gospel, while being mild in its essence, becomes a two edged sword to those who reject it.  It is only a matter of time before such people begin to see that an increase in the number of Christians becomes a threat to their very existence.  It is noteworthy that the riot against Paul was organized by the temple people in the theater.  Both of these structures were used to lead people astray from God by Satan and no doubt he felt right at home in these places to openly challenge God.  Paul mentions in I Corinthians 15:32 about an encounter with wild beasts at Ephesus.  This shows us that one of the uses of the theatre was to throw people to the wild beasts to be torn up for the amusement of the spectators.  While such temples, including this one, were later destroyed in Christian lands, the theatres remain to do the work of Satan.  It is also remarkable that not long ago historians were able to restore this city including its great theatre, but without its temple.

     This church had a lot going for it.  We read from the new testament that the apostle Paul and Timothy ministered there for a long time.  An old and reliable tradition states that the apostle John settled in this city with Mary the mother of Jesus.  The doctrines of the church were sound.  They had exceptional spiritual discernment.  They were able to distinguish between the true and the false apostles.  They hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.  The deeds of the Nicolaitans are explained in Revelation 2:14.  This is done in a symbolic fashion recalling the sin of Balaam who taught Balac to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit adultery.  It appears that these people were regular churchgoers and made a profession of faith, but also sought compromise with the world.  If we follow the reasoning of the Christian tradition of the Lord’s Supper where one symbolically eats the flesh of the Son of God, meaning that one devours the word of God to learn and to obey it with all his strength, the eating of things sacrificed to idols would mean that one is adapting the ways of the demons who are behind the idols.  Nicolaitans were taking the Pagan ways and adapting them to the Christian religion.  This interpretation also explains why they would condone adultery.  Pagan world had long since accepted adultery as a necessary evil among the refined and the upper classes of the society.  Nicolaitans, in their hunger for the unholy foods of the soul, took the same approach and removed adultery from their list of deadly sins.  Another outcome from this interpretation is that those who adapt pagan ways eventually turn to  the sin of spiritual adultery, meaning that they end up worshiping idols.  Jesus does not mince words when rebuking the Nicolaitans.  They have nothing going for them.  He hates their works, plain and simple.  These things being so, we are now reminded of the practices of the Catholic Church.  This church, in fact, prides itself in having taken pagan practices and having purified and converted them to Christian rituals.  This must mean that Jesus hates their works.  That is why the people of God in this church are commanded to come out of it in Revelation 18:4. 

     There appears to be some difficulty regarding how one would explain the admonishment of Jesus: “Thou hast left thy first love” in verse 4.  At first glance this admonishment appears to refer only to their declining affection for him.  However, in next verse (verse 5) they are not told to correct this situation by increasing their affection for him. They are told to repent and to go back to do the first works under the very serious threat of the removal of their candlestick. Therefore, the proper interpretation of the expression “Thou has left thy first love” is that their present works were not as good as their first.  This is not to say that affection for him is not important.  Of course, we must have great affection for the Lord.  But our affection for him must bear the fruit of good works.  The proof of love for Christ is the keeping of his commandments.  Many verses such as the following: “If ye love me, keep my  commandments.” (John 14:15), “He that hath my  commandments , and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21) and others in John 14:23-24, John 15:10, I John 5:3 confirm this fact.  This is in contrast to the church in Thyatira where their last works were better than their first. (Revelation 2:19)  In the kingdom of God there is no room for slackness.  Once a church is established, it must move forward.  No matter how great one’s first works are, they cannot be relied upon to carry one through to heaven.  The Christian must continually strive to better himself spiritually.  The last works must never be less than the first.  We see in this church that their last works were not bad at all.  They appear to be better than those of Thyatira where the church tolerated gross immorality and other deadly sins. (Revelation 2:20)  Nevertheless, they were experiencing a gradual decline from higher spiritual levels.  Worse yet, this decline was deliberate as they had left, not lost their first love.  We are not told in what manner they were failing.  Perhaps, they had become boastful of their good works as Paul finds it needful to remind them in Ephesians 2:8-9 that they were saved by grace and not of good works.  Perhaps, they had become unforgiving of one another’s trivial faults. (Ephesians 4:26, 4:32)  Perhaps, they had become careless with their speech, engaging in silly talk and coarse jesting. (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4)  Perhaps some of them attended the theater. (Ephesians 7:11-12)  None of these things appear to be deadly sins, but their overall direction was down.  We do not know whether they repented after reading this letter.  If the apostle John lived there and preached to them, it is very probable that they did repent and went back to do the first works for a time.

      The victors in this church are promised entry into the Paradise of God to enjoy the fruits of the Tree of Life.  This, of course, is a future event and most likely to take place at the end of the World.  The greatest rewards of the Christian are reserved for the afterlife.  While God answers prayer and keeps his faithful from temptation, one must not look to become a Christian for gain both in this world and the world to come.  I have no doubt that some faithful man of God such as Job did receive great blessings and material wealth in this world, but this fact, by itself, cannot be an indicator of the correctness of their walk with God.  Our primary example is the humble life of Jesus Christ, who had no possessions other than his clothes.  The apostles also carried on his work in trial and tribulation and tradition tells us that most of them had to lay down their own lives in martyrdom.  It is noteworthy that Jesus’ promise to the victors of this church did not include any sort of earthly reward.       

     The Goths destroyed the city and the temple of Diana in AD 262.  Thereafter, the city was rebuilt but it was gradually abandoned due to the silting up of its harbor.  By the time the Moslem Seljuks conquered the city in AD 1090 it was merely a small town.  Today, there are only ruins.

Smyrna

     This is one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean world.  It is a port city on the Aegean Coast located about 40 miles to the north of Ephesus.  In Roman times the city emerged as the center of a civil diocese and it was known to be in competition for the title “First City of Asia”.  Roman Emperors visited the city and it was famous for its wealth, beauty, library, school of medicine and rhetorical tradition.  Despite the many Jews living there, the city was overwhelmingly pagan.  On one end of  its main street stood the Temple of Zeus, and at the other end stood the Temple of Cybele.  There was a temple dedicated to the worship of Tiberius Caesar.  There was unusually strong opposition to Christianity from the people of the city.  We understand from the message of Jesus Christ to this city that Christians were under great tribulation.  There is also a reference to the professing Jews of the city as being from the synagogue of Satan.  These are very strong words from Jesus and we do well to pay attention to them.  They teach us that being Jewish, and even attending a synagogue will not exempt one from being counted among the enemies of God.  First Jesus strips the title Jewish from these people and then renames their house of worship as the synagogue of Satan.  While there were Jews in all the other cities of the seven churches, the ones in this city are singled out as being particularly aggressive in their opposition to Christ.  Jesus does not tell us the reason for this.  Perhaps, this was because of their cooperation with the pagans in attacking Christians as in the case of the martyrdom of Polycarp and many other Christians of the city.  Polycarp was a minister at the church in Smyrna.  We learn from the writings of Iranaeus that he was a disciple of the apostle John.  He was martyred around AD 156.  We find in the story of his martyrdom that the proconsul was unwilling to condemn him either to be thrown to the wild beasts or to be burned at the stake.  However, a large crowd of bloodthirsty Jews and pagans in the marketplace loudly demanded his execution.  Proconsul is known to have asked him one last time to deny Christ that his life might be spared.  We have the following well-known quote from Polycarp in response to this request:, "eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, who has saved me?"  The story goes on tell us that after he was tied to the stake and set on fire, the flames refused to consume him.  He had to be killed by the executioner’s sword.  We also have the story of Pionius’ martyrdom in this city around AD 250.  He was arrested and put to death because he would not sacrifice to the emperor Decius.  In his speeches before his execution he mentions the Jews of the city as being particularly vocal and aggressive against the Christians.

      The church of Smyrna is remembered above all else as the church of martyrdom and tribulation.  Therefore Jesus’ message to this church includes a firm assurance that they would be kept from the second death and that they would be awarded a crown of life.  Perhaps, the crown of life refers to the future events of Revelation 20:4-6 where those Christians, who had given their lives for Christ, come to life and sit on royal thrones to reign with him for a thousand years.  In both Pionius and Polycarp’s martyrdoms they refused to comply with emperor worship.  The passage makes special mention of those, who had not worshipped the beast nor his image.  Also, again in this passage the word of God refers to the exemption of the martyrs from the second death.  While we may not fully understand the nature of what exactly will take place in Revelation 20:4-6, we are certain that some of the saints who are martyred at this church in Smyrna will take part in those events and that the passage, though symbolic, definitely refers to Christians who are put to death for their testimony for Christ.

     The city was destroyed and its people were brutally massacred in 1402 by the Mongols under Tamerlane.  Thereafter It passed to the Moslem Turks.  Although severely damaged by major earthquakes in 1688 and 1778, it remained a prosperous port city in the Ottoman Empire with a large European population.  In 1919 the city was recaptured by the Greeks only to fall back to the Turks again in 1922.  The government of the Turkish republic replaced most of the Christian Greek population of the city by the Moslem Turks in 1923.  Today, unlike Ephesus, Smyrna survives as a crowded major city in Turkey.  There are still Christian churches and a small Christian population.

Pergamos 

     This city is located about 65 miles north of Smyrna and 16 miles from the coastline of the Aegean Sea.  The older part of the city was built on a hill to the north of the Caicus river.  Under the Roman empire the city was relocated to the plain below.  The word “parchment” comes from  Latin Pergamena Charta meaning “The paper of Pergamum”.  Parchment, made from animal skin, was apparently invented here for the purpose of transcribing the huge collection of books in the city library.  The city had the second largest library in the world after Alexandria that contained 200,000 scrolls.  There were temples dedicated to the worship of the Roman Emperors and a very important one dedicated to the worship of Ceasar.  The citizens were required to bring incense to this temple periodically and those, that did not comply, were blamed for the city’s misfortunes.  There were also other temples and large altar to Zeus.  Under the Roman laws the city’s governor had a special privilege called “the right of sword” which meant that he could execute anyone without appeal.  Jesus’ message begins by reminding everyone that he also holds a sharp two edged sword.  Though his sword is symbolic and refers to his word, it is nonetheless a far more potent weapon not to be compared to anything contrived by man.  It doesn’t stop at the flesh, but continues through the soul and the spirit.  “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)  Another important tradition of the city was the cult of Aesculapius with its symbol of a coiled serpent or two serpents entwined around a staff.  This symbol is still in use today as an emblem of those who practice medicine.

     Jesus tells this church that they dwell in a place where Satan’s throne is.  This is obviously a symbolic statement referring to the extremely ungodly environment of  the city.  However, one cannot miss the allusion in his remark to the throne like altar of Zeus.  This shows us that the pagans, who worshipped these ancient gods, actually worshipped Satan. What sin could be worse than worshipping Satan?  Yet, we see that this is the very thing that the ancients did when they worshipped idols.  Jesus goes on commending the church for those who would not deny their faith even in the days of Antipas who was martyred in this city.  Here we have high praise for a noteworthy Christian.  Jesus calls him “my faithful martyr”.  The heroic act of this man is so great that his name is placed in the last book of the Bible and he is counted among the greatest saints of God.  God also has seen it fit to preserve even the details of his martyrdom to this day.  According to the Greek orthodox tradition, Antipas was arrested and brought before the governor for not worshipping the gods.  The governor, being a learned man after the scholarly tradition of the city, reasoned with him that the ancient customs and traditions were more honorable than the new ones and that he should follow these by worshipping the gods.  Antipas countered very strongly by reminding the governor that even in the beginning of the world God valued obedience over age in the well-known story of Cain and Abel.  Cain, though being more ancient than Abel, was rejected by God and despised of all men even to this day for the murder of his brother.  In the same way, he continued, the impiety of the pagan Greeks, who worshipped idols, was despicable to the Christian Greeks who came later.  This enraged the governor and Antipas was thrown into the red hot altar of Caesar and roasted alive.  The word Antipas, in Greek, means “against all”.  Apparently he was the first of the Protestants.  He stood up against all people who did not follow Christ.  There were those Christians even in his time that advocated a compromise with the Pagans.  These are called Nicolaitans.  The sin of the Nicolaitans is described at length, as I understand it, in the interpretation of Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus.  Our most important lesson from the Pergamos letter is that Jesus wants all of his followers to oppose all teaching that even slightly deviates from the true Gospel.  Antipas did not have the spirit of compromise.  He told the pagans the truth of the gospel as it is.  This confrontation resulted in his immediate martyrdom.  To the Nicolaitans of the day, his actions and his death may have seemed like a tragic failure.  After all he was killed and how many pagans were saved by his death?  But how different things look from our time.  God conferred great honors upon him in heaven and his name is remembered fondly among all Christians of all ages.  The spiritual meaning of his name, his bold testimony before the opposing Pagans and the Nicolaitans, and his glorious martyrdom all point to God’s stamp of approval upon the origins of the Protestant movement.

     The victors in this church are promised hidden manna and a white stone with a new name on it.  The hidden manna stands in opposition to the meats openly offered to idols.  The meaning here is similar to the offer of the fruit of the tree of life in Ephesus.  In both cases those, who refrained from partaking in the wicked ways of their surroundings, are promised to partake of the eternal life of Christ.  The manna is hidden just as our life with Christ is hidden from the world. (Colossians 3:3)    The white stone refers to the custom of awarding a white stone to those not found guilty in the ancient Roman court system.  The new name on the white stone refers to their new and blessed state in the kingdom of God.

     This city also was overrun by the Mongols in 1401 and then passed to the Moslem Turks as it happened with Smyrna.

Thyatira

     Thyatira is located 45 miles southeast of Pergamos on a fertile plain on the great Zab river.  Thyatira is mentioned in the book of Acts in the context of the story of Lydia, a seller of purple fabrics. (Acts 16:14)  The city was well known for its trade guilds.  These guilds were made up of workers in wool, linen, leather, bronze, pottery, and many other trades.  The city also was a center of the worship of Apollo, the son of Zeus the chief of the Gods.  Jesus Christ introduces himself to this city as the Son of God in contrast to Apollo the false son of God.  The remainder of his introduction “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze” addresses the metal workers of the city in familiar terms.  It appears from secular history that these trade guilds were associated with the worship of the guardian gods.  The guilds met frequently in a pagan temple for a common meal, which was considered the beginning of a pagan religious ritual.  Thereafter they continued with the worship of the gods.  The worship of the gods involved immoral practices.  The food served in the meals was sacrificed to the pagan gods.  Needless to say, a Christian could not, in good conscience, participate in these guild meetings.  On the other hand one who did not participate suffered economic ruin.

     Jesus commends this church for their works.  Their last works are greater than their first works.  This is good and acceptable before God.  A church must grow in good works together with their love for Christ.  This was an industrious city.  The people of the city worked hard and the business of the city flourished.  We know these things from secular literature and a study of the city’s history.  However, God has given us hints that this was so even without an extensive study of history.  The story of the businesswoman Lydia in the book of acts and Jesus’ introduction of himself in terms familiar to the metal workers of the city speak volumes to the serious students of the Bible.  We learn from this that every word of the Bible is important.  Many stories have deeper meanings that can be understood only in the context of other events.  What is emphasized and what is downplayed in a story often points us in the right direction.  There is much profit in extensive study of the Bible.  In fact a special blessing is promised to those who study the book of Revelation. (Revelation 1:3)  God values hard work.  He values hard work even when people do it without glorifying his name.  This city became prosperous through hard work even while they worshipped Apollo.  It appears that the new converts of the city carried over their work habits into the kingdom of God.

     Stress often accompanies hard work and those, who work hard, often feel that they are entitled to special privileges over and above other people.  This is the temptation of the industrious people.  They separate themselves from the rest of the society and establish lodges, associations, secret societies etc..  Since such people tend to judge one another in terms of their worldly accomplishments and not by their spiritual values, these organizations invariably become worldly and corrupt even when founded by Christians.  It appears that there was such a group in the church at Thyatira.  The members of this group made a profession of being Christians and attended church, but they also separated themselves from the others by their special knowledge of the spiritual matters above and beyond what is taught in the Gospels.  Jesus calls this knowledge “the depths of Satan”.  The leading member of this group was a woman who called herself a prophetess.  Jesus calls her “Jezebel” after the most wicked woman in the entire Bible.  The most egregious sin of this group was adultery and this was followed by the spiritual adultery of the eating of the meats sacrificed to the idols in a religious context.  Jesus does not give us the details of their special doctrines.  The emphasis of the story is on the sin of adultery.  Who knows how and in what context they justified this gross sin nor is it important for us to know.  What is vitally important for us to know is that Jesus threatens to judge this woman and the members of her group with great tribulation and even death.  This would be done as an example to all the other churches.  The judgment of God on adultery is often brought on by the many horrible and incurable diseases that accompany this sin.  There is reference to this kind of punishment in the message of Jesus, “Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 2:23)  In I. Corinthians 6:13-20 we are told that the sin of adultery is committed against one’s body.  The body of the Christian is to be the temple of God, suitable for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The scripture could not be more explicit regarding this matter.  Those, who commit this sin, damage their bodies.  In many cases the damage is serious enough to cause great suffering and death.  We are told to flee the sin of adultery in I. Corinthians 6:18 and 2. Timothy 2:22.  This advice is substantially different from that given in James 4:7 where we are told to resist the Devil.  What this means is that we must avoid our eyes and our minds from the temptation of this sin.  The people in Thyatira in Jezebel’s group should have left fellowshipping with her.  When they gathered for their meals and the atmosphere of the meeting changed to one conducive to this sin, they should have left without looking back.  While we are told in the gospels that Jesus ate with sinners, this was always done only when such people were sorrowful of their way of life and showed an inclination to repentance.  We cannot imagine Jesus becoming friendly with this woman and her group.  If someone still wants to argue the position that we cannot run away from the company of the Jezebels of this world, that they need our company to be saved, that we must be a good influence upon such people by being close friends with them etc., I would advise them to give serious thought to Revelation 2:20-24, and especially to the verses 22 and 23.  Does it look like Jesus would enjoy their company when they are in this state of deliberate mortal sin?  He is, in fact, angry with them and despite his love for them, he is threatening them with painful disease and death.

     Jesus’ letter to this church makes a point that those in the church, who did not keep company with Jezebel and her group, will not be punished with disease and death.  There appears to be a large group of people in this church that practice their religion as taught by Christ with the accompanying good works to show for it.  Though these people may themselves be acceptable to God for their works and despite the fact that God gives them full credit for this by exempting them from the punishment, they fall short in an important aspect of their lives.  In verse 20 Jesus warns the church that they should not be tolerating Jezebel in their company.  It must be that the sins of Jezebel’s group were well known to most of the members of the congregation, but no one came forward and spoke to them about it.  They kept silent or worse yet gossiped about it amongst themselves.  This enabled Jezebel to recruit more of the people of God to commit even worse sins.  The proper conduct of the church elders should have been to investigate this group in order to verify the reports of their gross sins.  Once it is established that they indulged in gross sin, they should have been told first in private and then finally in public that their way of life was incompatible with the Christian religion.  If this had been done, these people would most likely leave the church on their own.  Even if they chose to stay in defiance, the battle lines would have been drawn very clearly and their efforts to recruit more of the servants of God to their ranks would fail.  This approach is not without its risks.  For example, in a public confrontation if Jezebel’s group mustered enough powerful votes to their side, they could force the true Christians to leave the church.  One can imagine even worse outcomes.  However, Jesus makes it clear that he does not prefer a passive stance in such cases.  In fact, a passive stance is probably the worst course of action other than joining this group.  One can argue that Jesus heaps praise on the passive Christians of this church and offers them great rewards at the end.  How can such people fall short before him? Their prudent course of action of not judging their brethren keeps the church united and strong. Why create needless divisions?  Who is to say that they will not repent tomorrow by the good example of the others?  Who is without sin that can warn these people?  These are strong arguments.  If the sins of this group had not been so serious, these arguments would have been right.  But we are told that some sins are worse than others and when we see our brethren engaging in deadly sins, we have an obligation to God to warn them.  It appears that adultery is one of those sins that we should be concerned about if it takes place among Christians attending church.  This letter to Thyatira is specifically written to emphasize this point.

     The victors in this church are promised a position of authority over the nations.  Verse 27 is a direct quote from Psalm 2:9.  Even a casual reading of Psalm 2 shows us that one day Jesus will rule over the nations.  The transfer of rule over the wicked nations of the earth from Satan to Jesus will take place in the battle of Armageddon.  This passage, together with Psalm 2 and Revelation 20:4, conclusively prove that Jesus will delegate some of his authority to rule over the nations to his saints.  There are so many questions regarding what will happen in the millennium, and the state of the departed saints that I cannot possibly answer from my limited knowledge of the scriptures.  But I will state that I am not inclined to believe that Jesus will rule from a literal throne in Jerusalem or that the departed saints of Thyatira or any other church will be literally resurrected to be placed in positions of leadership over the nations.  No one can deny that God could bring some of these saints back to the earth in bodies that we can see as it happened in the mount of transfiguration with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-5) or at the time when Jesus gave up his spirit and some of departed saints rose from their tombs and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52-53).  But, just as the expression  “ I know where thou dwellest, even where  Satan's   throne  is;” (Revelation 2:13) does not mean that Satan sat on a literal throne in Pergamum, the expression “they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4) does not have to mean that Christ and his saints exercised authority over the nations from literal thrones in Jerusalem.  I am fairly certain that when Christ rules with his saints in the millennium, it will be a spiritual rule.  The physical aspects of this rule will be handled by his people who are alive at that time.  These people will be filled with the spirit of Christ and his saints in such a way that their works will be indistinguishable.  The victors are also offered the morning star.  This refers to very close companionship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ himself is called the morning star in Revelation 22:16.

     Thyatira was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 15^th century.  It was renamed Akhisar under the Moslems.  Modern Akhisar is an active and prosperous city, but there are no Christian churches.

Sardis

     This city was located about 30 miles south of Thyatira and 50 miles inland from the Aegean sea on a spur at the foot of mount Tmolus.  Sardis, at one time, was the capital of the kingdom of Lydia.  The kingdom of Lydia was conquered by Cyrus the great of Persia in 546 BC.  The city is known as the first city where gold and silver coins were minted for the first time.  The last king of Lydia was Croesus, who is famed for his great wealth.  Much of his wealth is thought to have come from a gold bearing stream that ran through the city called the Pactolos river.  The strategic location of the city made it easy to defend it.  It was located on a high plateau with steep sides of rock walls.  There was only a narrow road on one side that allowed access to the city.  This caused the inhabitants of the city to concentrate only on the defense of that side of the city.  Twice in the city’s history it was conquered by soldiers climbing over the steep walls one at a time.  The first time by the Persians in 546 BC and the second time by the Seleucids in 195 BC.  Sardis came under Roman rule in 133 BC.  The Romans established the city as the capital of the Roman province of Lydia.  The pagan religion of the city was the impure worship of the goddess Cybele.  The massive ruins of a temple built in honor of this false goddess may still be seen.

     It appears that Sardis gradually declined in importance from the time of the Lydian Empire.  In 26 AD when the cities in the area competed for the honor of building a temple to Caesar, Sardis boasted only about its glorious past and nothing about their present accomplishments.  We see from the two invasions of the city that the inhabitants of the city were not very vigilant in keeping a careful watch for the enemy.  Christians have to put the old man of the flesh behind and strive towards spiritual perfection in Christ.  Jesus tells the Sardis church that they have to wake up and complete the works of righteousness (Revelation 3:2).  It is very clear that the majority in this church did not abandon their old ways of sloth.  They continued in Christ without spiritual growth.  The scripture tells us that we are to be watchful in all things.  We have the following advice from the Holy Spirit through the pen of the apostle Peter: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring  lion , walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:    Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1. Peter 5:7).  The apostle Paul tells us that we cannot neglect our salvation (Hebrews 2:2).  We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philemon 2:2).  Nature even teaches us that just about everything comes to ruin through neglect.  No farmer will get a harvest, if he neglects to sow the seeds.  No one will pass an exam, if they neglect to study.  No country will escape defeat in battle, if they neglect their defense.  This is much more so in spiritual matters.  One of the worst tendencies of the flesh is to think that one can reach a point in this life where all will be well.  The scripture assures us that there is no such point in life.  We will not get there until after the resurrection in paradise.  The lives of the apostles were full of trials.  We read that Jesus had no possessions and no rest in this world.  The torments endured by the early Christians are still remembered even by the unbelievers.  If we are too comfortable in this life, our Christian walk is suspect.  None of the early believers were powerful man who prospered in this world such as Job or Moses or Daniel. We are not to seek power and prosperity in this world, rather spiritual prosperity in Christ through spiritual labor.

     Jesus had almost nothing good to say about this church except to say that there were a few that had not soiled their garments.  This expression probably refers to some type of sin where it would be improper to go into detail in a public letter.  Perhaps, we can get an idea from the book of Proverbs regarding the nature of this sin. “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his  clothes  not be burned?  Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?  So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.” (Proverbs 6:27-29)  Here we see that symbolically one’s clothes are burned through the sin of marital infidelity.  Jesus also calls this church dead while they are living.  Various other passages describe one given to the sin of adultery and lasciviousness as being dead while living: “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Timothy 5:6),  “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4), “whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice  dead” (Jude 1:12).  Therefore, it is most probable that the Christians of the Sardis church had a serious problem in this area.  Jesus warns them in the strongest terms.  Unless they repent, he will visit them as a thief in the night when they least expect it.  They will be sorely punished.  A very similar warning is given to those Christians who are alive at the time just before the battle of Armageddon: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15).  Since we are most probably living at this time period, we would be most foolish to ignore this very appropriate and timely warning from Jesus.

     Another lesson we can learn from the state of this church is that we cannot judge a church by its reputation or even by the soundness of its doctrine.  Sardis appears to have no failings in these two areas.  Our Lord himself states that it has a good name to being alive.  They have no false doctrines as in the other churches.  They come short in a part of their walk with Christ that is largely hidden from public view.  This is often true with many churches in our age.  Many people will defend their walk with Christ by pointing out that they are members of such a church with a godly reputation among the Christian community.  Jesus tells us in this letter to Sardis that a good reputation, even among the godly, is no guarantee that a church is acceptable in his sight.  Of course, we do not get letters from Jesus Christ to our churches any more nor do we see the miracles of the new testament age.  The only guide we have now is the Bible.  Therefore, we must study the Bible with a humble attitude always keeping an open mind to what God has to say.  It does us very little good if we read it and interpret it according to the teachings of a church.  All churches have shortcomings.  Even what we may think are the best churches may be no better than the church at Sardis in the eyes of Jesus. 

     The city of Sardis somewhat flourished under the Romans and later under the Byzantium empire until it was overrun and destroyed by Tamerlane of the Mongols in 1402.  Today there are only ruins at the location of the city in Turkey.

Philadelphia

     Jesus reminds this church that he alone has the possession of the key of David.  The term “key of David” has special significance.  One who carried this symbolic key had power and authority of the king in ancient Israel.  The allusion is to the infinite power and authority God has given to Jesus.  In the following verses he gives them assurances that he fully intends to exercise this power and authority in their behalf.  Specifically he promises them that he would open a door for them that no one could shut.  This refers to an opportunity for them to minister.  It would not matter that they seemed to have little strength.  That is they were poor and few in numbers and the wealthy and the powerful of the city paid no attention to them.  This would all change soon after the writing of this letter.  The Jews of the city from the Synagogue of Satan would be shown that they were the ones following the wrong path.  Instead of attacking and tormenting the Christians, they would come to the church in Philadelphia and humbly ask the Christians to lead them to the true path.  We would think that the idol worshiping gentiles of the city would not be too far behind the Jews.  The ministry of the church at Philadelphia would be given great power and authority to lead people to Christ in the city and the countryside.  They were also to be protected from a specific trial that would come upon the whole world.  While we do not know how these events took place at that time, we know that in time this city became a bedrock of the Christian faith.  The history of Eusebius tells us that the prophetess Ammia, who lived in the city about the time of the apostle John, was of the rank of the four daughters of Phillip, and of the prophet Agabus mentioned in the book of acts (Acts 21:8-11).  One might ask the secret of the power of this church as opposed to the other churches.  The answer is readily given by Jesus in verse 10.  They had perseverance.  This is one of the most important qualities of the Christian life, if not the most important.  Christians must persevere in the Christian walk.  It is well known that the fall of mankind from paradise was caused by the lack of perseverance in the walk of faith first by Eve and then by Adam.  While many saints of God would be willing to give their lives in martyrdom, very few of them persevere in perfect Christian walk through many years.  The importance of perseverance and the value God places on perseverance cannot be overemphasized.  God sees the wonderful perseverance of the Philadelphia saints and begins rewarding them even while they are on earth.  The lack of perseverance in saints is the greatest danger facing us in our times.  Many ministers of God, after persevering in correct doctrine and walk for many years, appear to be giving in to a spirit of compromise with the world.  The easy path before the flesh is always the spirit of compromise.  This is done sometimes for love as in the case of Solomon and for peace and unity as it is being done today.  The only warning to the exalted saints at Philadelphia comes at verse 11 where they are told to be careful to continue in perseverance of the Christian walk, lest they lose their crown.  While Calvinists may be open to some criticism for the precise wording of some of their doctrines regarding predestination and the limited atonement, they are to be credited for showing the world that “Perseverance of the Saints” doctrine (The letter “P” of TULIP principles stands for “Perseverance of the saints”) is one of the main pillars of the Christian doctrine.  It is also noteworthy that the saints of this denomination are the least known for doctrinal compromise for the sake of peace and unity within the Christian community.

     The city was named Philadelphia meaning “brotherly love” after the king of Pergamum, Attalus II Philadelphus, (159-138 BC) whose truth and loyalty to his brother Eumenes won him the epiteth Philadelphus.  Afterwards the city went through several name changes in the Roman times.  In verse 12 Jesus tells the saints in the city that they would eventually be transformed into a heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, where they would take his new name.  Ancient writings show us that the city was started as part of a project by Alexander the Great and his successors to spread the Greek culture.  The location of the city at borders of many nations confirms this fact.  We learn from this that God makes use of unbelieving rulers to fulfill his purposes even from ancient times.  In this case he caused the ancient Greeks to establish this city as a mission to hellenize the barbarians.  Later on he reclaimed the city from the pagans and converted it into a missionary city for the cause of Christ.

     History records that Philadelphia became an independent Christian city near the time of the end of the Eastern Roman empire.  Long after all the cities in the area had been taken, this city stood alone and could not be conquered by the Moslems.  Finally it succumbed to a combined Byzantine and Turkish army near the end of the 14^th century.  This shows us how far the Christians of the Eastern Empire or Byzantium had fallen into sin and deprivation so as to join with the Moslems against an ancient Christian city, especially one that was mentioned with great praise as being a missionary city in the Word of God.  Today the Moslem city of Alasehir stands in its place.  The name means reddish city and it is derived from the color of the reddish-brown hills around it.  This is another name change in the long history of the name changes of the city.  In the coming Millennium of the rule of Christ, we would pray and hope that God would reclaim this city from the enemies of Christ as he did from the pagans in ancient times and rename it back to Philadelphia.  In the day of judgment Moslems will be hard pressed to answer why they changed the name of an ancient city meaning “brotherly love” to reddish-city.

Laodicea

     This was a very wealth city located 45 miles southeast of Philadelphia and approximately 100 miles east of Ephesus in the fertile Lycus valley and on the banks of the river Lycus.  In the district of Hierapolis, six miles to the southeast of the city, there were mineral hot springs.  Hot water from these springs was transported to the city in conduits.  The city was on one of the main trade routes and it was famous for its wool industry, its banking firms, and its medical school, which was well known for an eye medicine that it produced.  We find in the historical records that in 51 BC Cicero was able to cash a large amount of bank checks in this city.  The glossy black wool, produced in this city, was renowned throughout the Roman world and it was much sought after for weaving garments.  We also read in the annals of Tacitus that though the city was destroyed in a major earthquake in 61 AD, it was rapidly rebuilt with the funds of the surviving residents without the customary  aid of the Roman Government.

     The wealthy state of the city immediately brings to mind the parable of our Lord regarding the rich man. “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a  camel  to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24).  While there were serious problems in all the other churches with the exception of Philadelphia, none of them is rebuked so strongly as the church of Laodicea.  This is in accordance with the main principals of the Gospel. While we all desire comfort and riches during our days on earth, these things can be insurmountable hindrances to attaining spiritual comfort and heavenly riches.  Perhaps no other story of the Bible than that of king Solomon and the spiritually wretched state of the wealthy Laodicea church show us the truth of this statement.  How could a church fall into such horrible state of sin and misery that Jesus threatens to spit them out of his mouth and that he has to keep on knocking at their door and keep on calling their names to be let in.  What makes all this even more bitter is the fact that these things take place in the Gospel age.  The people of this church are of the same generation as the apostles and they have the first hand accounts of the miracles.

     Many scholarly saints have stated with reasonable accuracy that this church is somewhat similar to the church of the last days.  While we agree with this line of reasoning, we believe that one has to be careful not to get carried away with this comparison.  The church of Laodicea is still in the gospel age.  It is indeed fallen very badly, but its corruption has not gotten as far as the corruption of the false church of the last days.  Its gospel, though lukewarm, is not compared with sorcery (Revelation 9:21, 18:23).  The lesson we must learn from this church is that without repentance, its future course is utter corruption and wickedness matching or exceeding that of the unbelievers.  Here are the reasons for our belief that this church is a precursor to the church of the last days. 

     As in the other letters, Jesus addresses this church in familiar terms as if he had been living in their city for a long time.  We can, in fact, take this a step further and observe that he talks to them not only as if he were a member of their community, but also as if he was there in their hearts and in their deepest thoughts.  We learn from this that nothing is hidden from him.   

     The lukewarm state of this church is comparable to the lukewarm water piped to the city from the thermal springs.  The residents of the city are wealthy due to the large scale manufacture and sale of garments.  Therefore Jesus advises them to buy spiritual gold from him together with white garments of righteousness.  The medical school of the city is famous for its eye medicine and Jesus uses this opportunity to remind them of their need for spiritual eyesalve, which only he can sell.  Of course, Jesus does not sell these spiritual gifts as the merchants of the world do.  We have the sad story of Simon the sorcerer in the book of Acts, who actually believed that the gifts of the Holy Spirit could be purchased with money (Acts 8:18).  These gifts are offered freely to the believers, but their price is paid in repentance as Jesus makes clear in verse 19.  The rich man cannot purchase these gifts by large donations to the church.  Though it is good for one to give much to the cause of the Lord, it is clear from the story of the rich ruler (Luke 18:18-30) and the story of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-30) that riches give one no advantage in purchasing the infinitely valuable spiritual gifts of the Kingdom of God.

     No discussion of this city would be complete without mentioning the meaning of the name of the city.  The word Laodicea means the “rule of the people” or “the judgment of the people”.  We see in this city that if people are left to themselves, they will take the easy way out of the Kingdom of God.  They will opt for the sin of compromise rather than taking a stand for the Gospel.  Though this fact may appear to be self evident, yet it seems to be lost to the majority of the Christians of the present age.  In our age one talks about the value of democracy in church governance.  It is considered a wonderful thing when a congregation decides spiritual matters by majority vote.  Nothing could be worse.  No congregation, not even one composed entirely of the greatest saints of all the ages, can be trusted to determine the worth of spiritual matters.  The highest authority, the only authority for determining the worth of spiritual matters is the Word of God.  All spiritual decisions must be made from the Bible.  The Bible says so.  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto  all  good works.” (II Timothy 3:16).  If nothing else, this verse settles it.  No one is to trust in their hearts. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and  desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).  If one claims that the Bible is written a long time ago and it mostly addresses the concerns of those living in Ancient Rome.  The answer is readily apparent.  It is a good thing that it was written long time ago.  Since then God has raised up many spiritual and scholarly man who interpreted the Bible for us.  We are in fact astounded by the unbelievable number of books which interpret the Bible.  All we have to do is spend a few minutes on a verse of the Bible and read its interpretations, which are freely available in many libraries and even on the internet.  Though some of these interpretations will appear to contradict one another, this will be no stumbling block to anyone who seeks the truth with prayer.

     This church is threatened with reproof from Jesus.  Our Lord does not mince words.  While he has not gone into the details of what they would have to endure if they did not repent promptly, we can be assured that it will be more than a few rainy days.  We get a good hint of what awaits them from the following verses “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many  sleep.  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (I Corinthians 11:28-32).  These saints in Corinth are chastened by the Lord for not observing the Lord’s supper properly and as a result many of them are ill and some of them have already died from their illness.  After threatening them with such reproof, Jesus encourages them by telling them that he is still outside and knocking on their door.  If they hear his voice and open the door of their hearts to him, that is if they genuinely repent and partake of the Lord’s supper in a worthy manner, they will have become his intimate friends.  This way in addition to avoiding his unpleasant chastening, they will have the right to sit with him on his throne.  This means that they will share in the spiritual rule of Jesus over the nations in the millennium (Revelation 20:4).

     The city did not fare well after the invasions of the Mongols and the Turks in the thirteenth century.  Today the abandoned ruins of Laodicea are in a place called Eski Hisar near the Turkish town of Denizli.