44. What are the 7 churches in Revelation?

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This question comes from a personal friend, who wants to know if there is something special, perhaps something symbolic about these seven churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3.

First of all, it is important to know that the seven churches that John mentions in chapter 2 and 3 were actual churches that existed at the time of his writing. These churches were planted long before John began writing Revelation, and continued afterward although in some cases not for long. These seven churches were at Ephesus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Pergamum, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, and were located in the area that was then called Asia (or Asia Minor).

It is good to have a Bible Dictionary on hand (I recommend Holman's) so you can look up where these churches were. Looking at a map, it is obvious that these seven churches were in somewhat of a circle, so they could be visited in order by a bishop, elder, or overseer. There were actually an eight and ninth church in this circuit, the church at Colossae for which the book of Colossians was directed, and the church in Hieropolis (Col 4:13) near Colossae and Laodicea.

And where were these churches on today's map? They were in what
is now western Turkey, southwest of Istanbul. They no longer exist today, and many were only mentioned this one time in the Bible. Some of the churches grew to be large, even through trouble and sorrow. Ephesians we know best by far, from the book of the same name in the Bible, and from the Apostle Paul's journeys to Ephesus in the book of Acts. It likely was the head church of the seven.

The fact that they were in what is now Turkey, means that these cities long ago fell under Muslim domination, and even before that, from the first century, this part of Turkey has fallen under various invader's control. It has been under the control of Islam now for 1300 years, except for short periods.

So, yes, John is writing to seven churches, some as small as a house church, to encourage, instruct, praise, and warn them about their behavior and their belief.

But, on the other hand, these churches may also be something special in two ways:

First, these seven 1st century churches are representative of every church that exists today. There is no church today that does not exhibit some of the good traits and bad behaviors that John warns these 1st century churches about. So if you see your churches' problem here, you'd better work to fix it -- at least your part of the problem.

Second, there is a viewpoint that used to be held more widely than it is today, that these seven 1st century churches are not only examples of the current church situation, but that in their specific order in Revelation, they are representative of the churches throughout history. That is, the church in Ephesus and the things Christ said to it, are representative of the early 1st century church. And that the next church, the church at Smyrna and the things Jesus said to it, are representative of the church under persecution in the last third of the 1st century. And so on, until you get to the church of Laodicea, which is representative of the church of the last days, considered almost always to be the church of the current period, lukewarmness being the primary characteristic.

Hopefully, this will help with understanding the seven churches of Revelation.
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