Seven Churches Of The Apocalypse
The Turkish Churches that were warned about the Four Horsemen of the
Dec 12, 2006
Considering the rest of the Bible is full of people being martyred, stoned to death, fed to lions and crucified, Revelations has a lot of competition in the scary department.
As a small boy I used to read the New English translation of Revelations in bed at night. Not surprisingly it gave me nightmares. I was convinced that Armageddon and all the ensuing horror was just about to take place. I imagined rivers running with blood and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse unleashing war, pestilence, famine and death.
The Book of Revelations was written by the somewhat shadowy figure we now know as St John the Divine. He is also known as St John of Patmos and may also have been St John the Apostle, to whom Jesus entrusted his mother before he died. Tradition has it that John brought the Virgin Mary to live near Ephesus in Asia Minor, now modern Turkey. John also lived there for a time before he was banished to the island of Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian.
Depending on your point of view and personal beliefs the Book of Revelations may be a genuine vision or just the product of a fevered mind. Or it may simply be a clever piece of propaganda designed to bolster the fledgling Christian Church by hinting that the end of the world was imminent.
Whatever its source reading it now while visiting the locations of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse offers a fascinating insight into life in Turkey nearly 2,000 years ago.
At that time 'Church' referred to the congregation rather than a particular building so don’t expect to find the buildings where those early Christians worshipped. The early Christian Church was often established in Jewish communities at the height of the Roman Empire. It was time when Christians were being persecuted so they had to keep a very low profile often just meeting in each others homes.
What you can see are remnants of ancient Roman cities and synagogues but the landscape may barely have altered. You can walk in the footsteps of the Apostles and on the marble street at Ephesus may well be treading on the very same stones as St Paul.
