NOTICE OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA

NOTICE OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA
THEY TEACH REPENTANCE
The sure word of prophecy has unfolded many a desolation which has come upon the earth; but while it thus reveals the operation, in some of its bearings, of the “mystery of iniquity,” it forms itself a part of the “mystery of godliness:” and it is no less the testimony of Jesus, because it shows, as far as earthly ruins can reveal, the progress and the issue of the dominion of “other lords” over the hearts of the children of men. The sins of men have caused, and the cruelty of men has effected, the dire desolations which the word of God foretold. Signs and tokens of his judgments there indeed have been, yet they are never to be found but where iniquity first prevailed. And though all other warnings were to fail, the sight of his past judgments and the sounding of those that are to come, might teach the unrepenting and unconverted sinner to give heed to the threatenings of his word, and to the terrors of the Lord, and to try his ways and turn unto God while space for repentance may be found, ere, as death leaves him, judgment shall find him. And may not the desolations which God has wrought upon the earth, and that accredit his word, wherein life and immortality are brought to light, teach the man whose God is the world, to cease to account it worthy of his worship and of his love, and to abjure that “covetousness which is idolatry,” till the idol of mammon in the temple within shall fall, as fell the image of Dagon before the ark of the Lord in which “the testimony” was kept?
Pergamos

THEY TEACH JUDGMENT
But naming, as millions do, the name of Christ without departing from iniquity, there is another warning voice that may come more closely to them all. And it is not only from the desolate regions where heathens dwelt, which show how holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; but also from the ruins of some of the cities where churches were formed by apostles, and where the religion Jesus once existed in its purity, that all may learn to know that God is no respecter of persons, and that he will by no means clear the guilty. “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
THEY TEACH CHRIST'S INTERACTION
What church could rightfully claim or ever seek a higher title than that which is given in Scripture to the seven churches of Asia, the angels of which were the seven stars in the right hand of Him who is the first and the last--of Him that liveth and was dead, and is alive for evermore, and that hath the keys of hell and of death; and which themselves were the seven golden candlesticks in the midst of which he walked? And who that hath an ear to hear, may not humbly hear and greatly profit by what the Spirit said unto them? (Revelation 2-3)
EPHESUS CHURCH LEFT FIRST LOVE
The Church of Ephesus, after a commendation of their first works, to which they were commanded to return, were accused of having left their first love, and threatened with the removal of their candlestick out of its place, except they should repent (Revelation 2:5). Ephesus is situated nearly fifty miles south of Smyrna. It was the metropolis of Lydia, and a great and opulent city, and according to Strabo) the greatest emporium of Asia Minor. It was chiefly famous or the temple of Diana, “whom all Asia worshipped,” which was adorned with 127 columns of Parian marble, each of a single shaft, and sixty feet high, and which formed one of the seven wonders of the world. The remains of its magnificent theater, in which it is said that twenty thousand people could easily have been seated, are yet to be seen (Acts 19:29). But “a few heaps of stones, and some miserable mud cottages, occasionally tenanted by Turks, without one Christian residing there,[521] are all the remains of ancient Ephesus.” It is, as described by different travelers, a solemn and most forlorn spot. The epistle to the Ephesians is read throughout the world; but there is none in Ephesus to read it now. They left their first love, they returned not to their first works. Their candlestick has been removed out of its place, and the great city of Ephesus is no more.
[521] Arundel's Visit to the Seven Churches of Asia, p. 27.
SMYRNA CHURCH WAS PERSECUTED
The Church of Smyrna was approved of as “rich,” and no judgment was denounced against it. They were warned of a tribulation of ten days (the ten years' persecution by Diocletian), and were enjoined to be faithful unto death, and they would receive a crown of life (Revelation 2:8-11). And, unlike to the fate of the more famous city of Ephesus, Smyrna is still a large city, containing nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants, with several Greek churches, and an English and other Christian ministers have resided in it. The light has indeed become dim, but the candlestick has not been wholly removed out of its place.
PERGAMOS CHURCH HELD FAST
The Church of Pergamos is commended for holding fast the name of the Lord, and not denying his faith, during a time of persecution, and in the midst of a wicked city. But there were some in it who held doctrines and did deeds which the Lord hated. Against them he was to fight with the sword of his mouth; and all were called to repent. But it is not said, as of Ephesus, that their candlestick would be removed out of its place (Revelation 2:12-16). This city, the capital of Hellespontic Mysia, was situated on the right bank of the river Caicus, nearly sixty-four miles to the north of Smyrna. Its ancient consideration may be inferred from its possessing a library of two hundred thousand volumes, which Anthony and Cleopatra transferred to Alexandria. It is also noted as the birthplace of the physician Galen. It still, in its decline, retains some part of its ancient importance; and, under the name of Bergamo, contains a population which Mr. Macfarlane estimates at fourteen thousand, of which there are about three thousand Greeks, three hundred Armenians, and not quite three hundred Jews; the rest are Turks. The town consists of small and mean wooden houses, among which appear the remains of early Christian churches, showing, “like vast fortresses amid barracks of wood.”
Sardis

THYATIRA CHURCH WITH TARES
In the Church of Thyatira, like that of Pergamos, some tares were soon mingled with the wheat. He who hath eyes like unto a flame of fire discerneth both. Yet, happily for the souls of the people, more than for the safety of the city, the general character of that church, as it then existed, is thus described: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first” (Revelation 2:19). But against those, for such there were among them, who had committed fornication, and eaten things sacrificed unto idols, to whom the Lord gave space to repent of their fornication, and they repented not, great tribulation was denounced; and to every one of them was to be given according to their works. These, thus warned while on earth in vain, have long since passed, who all are daily hastening, to the place where no repentance can be found and no work be done. “But unto the rest in Thyatira (as many as have not known the depths of Satan) I will put upon you, saith the Lord, none other burden” (Revelation 2:24). There were those in Thyatira who could save a city. It still exists, while greater cities have fallen. Mr. Hartley, who visited it in 1826, describes it as “embosomed in cypresses and poplars. The Greeks are said to occupy three hundred houses, and the Armenians thirty. Each of them has a church.”
SARDIS CHURCH NEEDS REINFORCEMENTS
The Church of Sardis differed from those of Pergamos and Thyatira. They had not denied the faith, but the Lord had a few things against them, for there were some evil doers among them, and on those, if they repented not, judgment was to rest. But in Sardis, great though the city was, and founded though the church had been by an apostle, there were only a few names which had not defiled their garments. And to that church the Spirit said, “I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” But the Lord is long-suffering, not willing that any, should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And the church Sardis was thus warned: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee” (Revelation 3:2-3).
HISTORY OF SARDIS
Sardis, whose ruins now bear the modified name of Sart, is situated about sixty miles north-northwest from Ephesus, at the foot of mount Tmolus, and on the river Pactolus, so renowned for its fabled golden sands. This great and ancient city was the capital of the kingdom of Lydia, whose monarch, Croesus, when defeated in the plain before this city of Cyrus, was master of all the nations within the river Halys. This dominion then passed to the Persians, and Sardis became the residence of the satrap to whom the government was committed; and being at this time one of the most splendid and opulent cities of the east, was the chosen resort of the Persian kings when in this part of their empire. It surrendered quietly to Alexander, after he had defeated the Persians in the battle of the Granicus. Sardis continued a great city under the Romans, until the terrible earthquake which happened in the time of Tiberius. It was, however, rebuilt by order of that emperor: but subsequent calamities of the same description, with the ravages and spoliations of the Goths, Saracens, and Turks, have made it an utter desolation, reducing it to little better than a heap of ruins, in which, nevertheless, some remains of its ancient splendor may, be detected.
PHILADELPHIA CHURCH FLOURISHES
“And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write, These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth--I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name--Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world” (Revelation 3:9-10). The promises of the Lord are as sure as his threatenings. Philadelphia alone long withstood the power of the Turks, And in the words of Gibbon, “at length capitulated with the proudest of the Ottomans. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia,” he adds, “Philadelphia is still erect: a column in a scene of ruins” (Ch. 64). “It is indeed an interesting circumstance,” says Mr. Hartley, “to find Christianity more flourishing here than in many other parts of the Turkish empire: there is still a numerous Christian population; they occupy 300 houses. Divine service is performed every Sunday in five churches.” Nor is it less interesting in these eventful times, and notwithstanding the general degeneracy of the Greek church, to learn that the present bishop of Philadelphia accounts “the Bible the only foundation of all religious belief;” and that he admits that “abuses have entered into the church, which former ages might endure, but the present must put them down”--It may well be added, as stated by Mr. Hartley, “The circumstance that Philadelphia is now called Allah-Shehr, the city of God, when viewed in connection with the promises made to that church, and especially with that of writing the name of the city of God upon its faithful members, is, to say the least, a singular concurrence.” From the prevailing iniquities of men many a sign has been given how terrible are the judgments of God. But from the fidelity of the church in Philadelphia of old in keeping his word, a name and memorial of his faithfulness has been left on earth, while the higher glories promised to those that overcame, shall be ratified in heaven; and toward them, but not them only, shall the glorified Redeemer confirm the truth of his blessed words, “Him that overcome will I make a pillar in the temple of my God;” even as assuredly as Philadelphia, when all else fell around it, “stood erect,” our enemies themselves being judges, “a column in a scene of ruins.”
Philadelphia

LAODICEA CHURCH LETHARGY
“And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” (Revelation 3:14, etc.) All the other churches were found worthy of some commendation, and there was some blessing in them all. The church of Ephesus had labored and not fainted, though she had forsaken her first love; and the threatened punishment, except she repented, was the removal of her candlestick out of its place. A faithless and wicked few polluted the churches of Pergamos and Thyatira by their doctrines or by their lives; but the body was sound, and the churches had a portion in Christ. Even in Sardis; though it was dead, there was life in a few who had not defiled their garments; “and they shall walk with me in white, said the Lord, for they are worthy.”
But in what the Spirit said to the church in Laodicea, there was not one word of approval; it was lukewarm without exception, and therefore it was wholly loathed. The religion of Jesus had become to them as an ordinary matter. They would attend to it just as they did to other things which they loved as well. The sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross was nothing thought of more than a common gift by man. They were not constrained by the love of Christ more than by other feelings. They could repeat the words of the first great commandment of the law, and of the second, that is like unto it; but they showed no sign that the one or the other was truly a law to them. There was no Dorcas among them, who, out of pure Christian love, made clothes for the poor. There was no Philemon, to whom it could be said, “The church in thy house,” and who could look on a servant as “a brother beloved;” There was no servant who looked to the eye of his Father in heaven more than to that of his master on earth, and to the recompense of eternal reward more than to the hireling wages of a day; and who, by showing all good fidelity, sought to adorn the doctrine of God his Savior in all things. There was nothing done, as everything should be, heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. The power of the world to come, and of that which now is, hung, as it were, even balanced in their minds; each had its separate influence and weight, even to a scruple; and they were kept distinct, as if there should never be any interference between them, or as if they were to hang in separate scales.
This was given unto the world, and that unto God, as if these Christian men had been full of the faith, that the revealed will of the Most High had no title to a supreme ascendancy over them, that all “the deeds done in the body would never be brought into judgment, and that lukewarmness was requital enough for redeeming love. Their only dread seemed to be lest they should be righteous overmuch. And for fear of that, which would have been inconsistent with their character, though not with their profession, they disregarded the words of one who was wiser than Solomon, and who had laid down his life for their sakes: they did not strive to enter in at the strait gate; to be perfect was no purpose of theirs; there was no fight in their faith, no running in their race, no wrestling in their warfare, no victory in their work. Yet they could show a goodly form or framework of religion, on which they had raised many a high hope.
Laodicea

They trusted to redemption through Christ, while they were not redeemed from sin, nor actuated by the love of God. They used the means of grace, but neglected the end for which that grace had appeared. They were rich, they thought, and increased with goods, and had need of nothing. But they wanted zeal; and all they had was nothing worth. Whatever they vainly imagined themselves to be, the Spirit knew them truly, and told them what they were, even wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. They had done no evil, they thought, but they did little good. And they neither felt nor lived as if they knew that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Their lukewarmness was worse, for it rendered their state more hopeless than if they had been cold. For sooner would a man in Sardis have felt that the chill of death was upon him, and have cried out for life, and called to the physician, than would a man of Laodicea, who could calmly count his even pulse, and think his life secure, while death was preying on his vitals. The character of lukewarm Christians, a self-contradicting name, is the same in every age. Such was the church of the Laodiceans. But what is that city now, or how is it changed from what it was?
LAODICEA'S BACKGROUND
Laodicea was the metropolis of the Greater Phrygia; and, as heathen writers attest, it was an extensive and very celebrated city. Instead of then verging to its decline, it arose to its greatest eminence only about the beginning of the Christian era. “It was the mother-church of sixteen bishoprics.” Its three theaters, and the immense circus, which was capable of containing upward of thirty thousand spectators, the spacious remains of which (with other ruins buried under ruins) are yet to be seen, give proof of the greatness of its ancient wealth and population, and indicate too strongly, that in that city where Christians were rebuked without exception for their lukewarmness, there were multitudes who were lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. The amphitheater was built after the Apocalypse was written, and the warning of the Spirit had been given to the church of the Laodiceans to be zealous and repent; but whatever they there may have heard or beheld, their hearts would neither have been quickened to a renewed zeal for the service and glory of God, nor turned to a deeper sorrow for sin, and to a repentance not to be repented of. But the fate of Laodicea, though opposite, has been no less marked than that of Philadelphia. There are no sights of grandeur nor scenes of temptation around it now. Its own tragedy may be briefly told. It was lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot; and therefore it was loathsome in the sight of God. It was loved; and rebuked, and chastened in vain. And it has been blotted from the world. It is now as desolate as its inhabitants were destitute of the fear and love of God; and as the church of the Laodiceans was devoid of true faith in the Savior, and zeal in his service. It is, as described in his Travels by Dr. Smith, “utterly desolated, and without any inhabitant, except wolves, and jackals, and foxes.” It can boast of no human inhabitant, except occasionally when wandering Turkomans pitch their tents in its spacious amphitheater. The “finest sculptured fragments” are to be seen at a considerable depth, in excavations which have been made among the ruins. (Arundel's Travels, p. 85.) And Col. Leake observes, “There are few ancient cities more likely than Laodicea to preserve many curious remains of antiquity beneath the surface of the soil; its opulence, and the earthquakes to which it was subject, rendering it probable that valuable works of art were often there buried beneath the ruins of the public and private edifices.” A fearful significancy is thus given to the terrific denunciation, “Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
PERSONAL CHALLENGE TO EVERY CHRISTIAN
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Each church, and each individual therein, was weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, according to their works. Each was approved of according to its character, or rebuked and warned according to its deeds. Was the church itself pure, the diseased members alone were to be cut off. Was the church itself dead, yet the few names in which there was life, were all written before God, and not one of those who overcame would be blotted out of the book of life. All the seven churches were severally exhorted by the Spirit according to their need. The faith delivered to the saints was preached unto them all; and all, as Christian churches, possessed the means of salvation. The Son of man walked in the midst of them, beholding those who were, and those who were not his.
By the preaching of the gospel, and by the written word, every man in each of the churches was warned, and every man was taught in all wisdom, that every man might be presented perfect in Christ Jesus. And in what the Spirit said unto each and all of the churches which he that hath ears to hear was commanded to hear, the promise of everlasting blessedness, under a variety of the most glorious representations, was given, without exception, restriction, or reservation, to him that overcometh. The language of love, as well as of remonstrance and rebuke, was urged even on the lukewarm Laodiceans. And if any Christian fell, it was from his own resistance and quenching of the Spirit; from his choosing other lords than Jesus to have dominion over him; from his lukewarmness, deadness, and virtual denial of the faith; and from his own willful rejection of freely-offered and dearly-purchased grace, sufficient, if sought, and cherished, and zealously used, to have enabled him to overcome and triumph in that warfare against spiritual wickedness to which Christ hath called his disciples; and in which, as the finisher of their faith, he is able to make the Christian more than conqueror.
But if such, as the Spirit described them and knew them to be, were the churches, and Christians then, what are the churches and what are Christians now? Or rather, we would ask of the reader, what is your own hope toward God, and what the work of your faith? If, while Christianity was in its prime, and when its divine truths had scarcely ceased to reach the ears of believers from the lips of apostles, on whose heads the Spirit had visibly descended, and cloven tongues, like as of fire, had sat; if, even at that time, one of the seven churches of Asia had already departed from its first love; if two others were partially polluted by the errors in doctrine, and evils in the practice, of some of their members; if another had only a few names that were worthy, and yet another none; and if they who formed the last and worst of these, thought themselves rich and increased with goods, and that they had need of nothing; and knew not that, being lukewarm, they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; have you an ear to hear or a heart to understand such knowledge? and do you, professing yourself a Christian, as they also did, see no cause or warning here to question and examine yourself, even as the same Spirit would search and try you, of your works, and charity, and service, and faith, and patience?
What is your labor of love, or wherein do you labor at all for his name's sake, by whose name you are called? What trials does your faith patiently endure? what temptations does it triumphantly overcome? Is Christ in you the hope of glory, and is your heart purified through that blessed hope? To a church we trust you belong; but whose is the kingdom within you? What principles ever actuate you which Christ and his apostles taught? here, in your affections and life, are the fruits of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance? Turn the precepts of the gospel into questions, and ask thus what the Spirit would say unto you, as he said unto the churches.
What the Spirit said unto primitive and apostolic churches, over which “the beloved disciple” personally presided, may suffice to prove that none who have left their first love, if ever they have truly felt the love of Jesus--that none who are guilty of seducing others into sin and uncleanness--that none who have a name that they live, and are dead--and that none who are lukewarm, are worthy members of any Christian communion; and that while such they continue, no Christian communion can be profitable to them. But unto them is “space to repent” given. And to them the word and Spirit speak in entreaties, encouragements, exhortations, and warnings, that they may turn from their sins to the Savior, and that they may live and not die. But were there one name in Sodom, or a few in Sardis, that are the Lord's, he knows and names them every one; and precious in his sight is the death of his saints. Some, on the other hand, may be sunk into the depths of Satan, though in outward fellowship with a church, were such to be found, as pure as once was that of Thyatira. Whatever, therefore, the profession of your faith may be, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness; that kingdom which is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and that righteousness which is through faith in Christ, who gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it. And whatever dangers may then encompass you around, fear not--only believe; all things are possible to him that believeth.
It was by keeping the word of the Lord, and not denying his faith, by hearing what the Spirit said, that the church of Philadelphia held fast what they had, and no man took their crown, though situated directly between the church of Laodicea, which was lukewarm, and Sardis, which was dead. And dead as Sardis was, the Lord had a few names in it which had not defiled their garments--Christians, worthy of the name, who lived, as you yourself should ever live, in the faith of the Lord Jesus--dead unto sin, and alive unto righteousness; while all around them, though naming the name of Jesus, were dead in trespasses and sins. Try your faith by its fruits; judge yourself that you be not judged; examine yourself whether you be in the faith; prove your own self; and with the whole counsel of God, as revealed in the gospel, open to your view, let the rule of your self-scrutiny be what the Spirit said unto the churches.
Many prophecies remain which are not here noticed. But were any gainsayers to ask for more obvious facts and some demonstration of the truth of prophecy, which your own ears might hear and your eyes see, you have only to hear how they speak evil of the things that they understand not--how they speak great swelling words of vanity to allure others, promising them liberty while they themselves are the children of corruption; you have only to look on these scoffers, and mockers, and false teachers, who have come in the last times; who walk after their own lusts, who despise government, who are presumptuous and self-willed, and who foam out their own shame, to hear and to see the loud and living witnesses of the truth of God's holy and unerring word. (2 Peter 3:3; Jude 1:13.) Such have been, and such are, the enemies of the Christian faith. Yet it calls them from darkness to light, and from death to life. Turn ye, turn ye: why, it asks of these boasters of reason, why will ye die?
If you have seen any wonderful things out of the law of the Lord, and have looked, though from afar off, on the judgments of God that have come upon the earth, lay not aside the thought of these things when you lay down this book. Treat them not as if they were an idle tale, or as if you yourself were not to be a witness--and more than a witness--of a far greater judgment, which shall be brought nigh unto you, and shall be your own.
If, in traversing some of the plainest paths of the field of prophecy, you have been led by a way which you knew not of before, let that path lead you to the well of living waters, which springeth up into everlasting life to every one that thirsts after it and drinks. Let the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be to you this wellspring of the Christian life. Let the word of God enlighten your eyes, and it will also rejoice your heart. Search the Scriptures, in them there are no lying divinations; they testify of Jesus, and in them you will find eternal life. Pray for the teaching and the aid of that Spirit by whose inspiration they were given. And above all Christian virtues, that may bear witness of your faith, put on charity, love to God and love to man, the warp and woof of the Christian's new vesture without a seam; even that charity, or love, by which faith worketh, which is the fruit of the Spirit, the end of the commandment, the fulfilling of the law, the bond of perfectness, and a better gift and a more excellent way than speaking with tongues, or interpreting, or prophesying, and without which you would be as nothing, though you understood all mystery and all knowledge. From the want of this the earth has been covered with ruins. Let it be ours, and however poor may be your earthly portion, it will be infinitely more profitable to you than all the kingdoms of the world, and all their glory. Prophecies shall fall; tongues shall cease; knowledge shall vanish away; the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up; but charity never faileth.
If you have kept the word of the Lord, and have not denied his name, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. But if heretofore you have been lukewarm, and destitute of Christian faith, and zeal, and hope, and love, it would be vain to leave you with any mortal admonition; hear what the Spirit saith, and harden not your heart against the heavenly counsel, and the glorious encouragement given unto you by that Jesus of whom all the prophets bear witness, and unto whom all things are now committed by the Father. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as l also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”