The Seven Churches
of Asia

This is a devoted account of the seven congregations to whom Our Lord sent letters by the hand of John the Apostle, exiled on the isle of Patmos — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It sets before the reader the full text and structure of each letter, the history and archaeology of the city that received it, and a practical guide for those who wish to walk the same ground today.

Each of the seven letters follows the same apostolic pattern — an address, a self-description of Christ drawn from the opening vision, a commendation, a rebuke, an exhortation, and a promise to the one who overcomes. Together they form a single message, repeated seven times: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

The seven cities were not chosen at random. They lay along an established Roman road through the province of Asia, and a single messenger carrying the scroll of Revelation could visit each congregation in turn. That same circuit can still be traveled today, and much of what the letters describe — a temple, a synagogue, a dye-works, a water system — can still be seen among the ruins.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” — Revelation II:VII