The Seven Churches In Revelation

"People ask me often what do the seven churches in Revelation stand for?"

The modern country of Turkey is home to all seven of the churches mentioned in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. At the time it was written, around 100 AD, the churches were located in a region of the Roman empire known as Asia Minor.

Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse, is the last book in the New Testament. While the rest of the New Testament is made of narratives and instructional letters, Revelation is an apocalyptic work. It consists of visions, predicts future dramatic events, and uses a great deal of symbolic language. Interpretation of the Book of Revelation is a task that has kept biblical scholars busy for centuries.

However, Revelation begins like most other New Testament books: as a letter from a prominent church leader to various churches. The author of Revelation identifies himself as John, who had been exiled to the island of Patmos for his Christian faith. This John is generally believed to be St. John the Apostle, the beloved disciple of Jesus and the author of the Gospel of John.

In the opening chapter of Revelation, John send his greetings then describes a vision he had on Patmos. The remainder of the book consists of his descriptions of what he saw and heard. John relates that while he was "in the Spirit" one Sunday, he heard a voice say, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

Turning around, John saw the voice belonged to a brilliant white figure, clothed in a white robe and with eyes blazing like fire. The figure told him the trembling John not to be afraid, and identified himself as the Risen Christ: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." The vision again commanded John to write everything that he will hear and see.

John's vision recorded in Revelation began with specific messages to seven different Christian communities in modern-day Turkey. Some are addressed to the "angel" of that city, the meaning of which is not known for certain. It may symbolize the spirit of that city or refer to an actual heavenly or earthly messenger (the Greek word for angel also means "messenger").

The messages also speak of stars and lampstands, which the robed figure explained in Chapter 1: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

Again, the seven churches described in Revelation 2-3 are seven literal churches at the time that John the apostle was writing Revelation. Though they were literal churches in that time, there is also spiritual significance for churches and believers today. 

The first purpose of the letters was to communicate with the literal churches and meet their needs at that time. 

The second purpose is to reveal seven different types of individuals/churches throughout history and instruct them in God's truth.

A possible third purpose is to use the seven churches to foreshadow seven different periods in the history of the Church. There are pros and coms with this view, and each of the seven churches could describe issues that could fit the Church in any time in its history. 

The main focus should be on the message God is giving us through the seven churches. 

The seven churches are:

(1) Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) - the church that had forsaken its first love (2:4).

(2) Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) - the church that would suffer persecution (2:10).

(3) Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) - the church that needed to repent (2:16).

(4) Thyatira( Revelation 2:18-29) - the church that had a false prophetess (2:20).

(5) Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) - the church that had fallen asleep (3:2).

(6) Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) - the church that had endured patiently (3:10).

(7)Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) - the church with the lukewarm faith (3:16).

Characteristics of the churches can be found at this link: http://www.bibleexplained.com