Why are only seven churches written to in Revelation?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

In the book of Revelation, seven letters are written to seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:4; Revelation 2–3). These were the prominent seven churches in Asia minor during the time in which John wrote the book of Revelation. All of these cities were in modern-day Turkey, near the island of Patmos, where John was exiled. Paul’s letters indicate that there were also churches in cities like Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Rome, and others. While we can't know exactly how many churches there were by AD 90, we know that there were many small communities of believers scattered throughout various regions. Yet only these seven were written to because they were prominent churches of the time, formed a circular route for communication, and what was written to them is applicable to all churches. These letters would have been given to each particular church and then likely circulated for other churches to learn from as well. In these letters, Jesus specifically reminded the churches of His character, acknowledged what each church was doing well, and individually warned them of their sins and need for repentance or challenged them to action. The letters to the seven churches in Revelation call us to make application to our own lives today by remaining steadfast, vigilant, and fully committed to Him.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The letters to the seven churches are only found in the New Testament.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• In the book of Revelation, Jesus gave John seven letters to write to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:4; Revelation 2–3).
• Each church received both correction and encouragement to walk faithfully in their relationship with Christ, and each church was encouraged to do these things on the basis of who God was and how He intimately knew them and loved them (Revelation 1:5).
• Jesus called each of the seven churches to specific actions based on their spiritual condition. To Ephesus, He called them to return to their first love, rekindling their passion for Him (Revelation 2:4).
• To Smyrna, He encouraged them to remain faithful despite coming persecution (Revelation 2:10).
• Pergamum was called to repent and turn away from false teachings (Revelation 2:14–15).
• Jesus warned Thyatira against tolerating a false prophetess and urged them to hold fast to the truth (Revelation 2:20).
• Sardis had a reputation of being alive, but was really dead, and was called to wake up and strengthen what remained (Revelation 3:1).
• Philadelphia was commended for enduring patiently and was encouraged to continue holding fast (Revelation 3:11).
• Lastly, Jesus urged Laodicea to turn from their lukewarm faith and to seek true spiritual richness through repentance (Revelation 3:16).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Each church's message, though specific to its historic situation, offers application for our lives today. Jesus is still the head of the Church (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:23), whom He loves and for whom He gave Himself. Jesus knows each of us and our churches intimately and desires for us to live for Him. Reflecting on the seven churches, we are called to evaluate our own lives. We can seek to love God more fully like Ephesus, to endure difficulty, hardship, and persecution like Smyrna, to combat false teaching like Pergamum, to remove and not tolerate false prophets and falsehood like Thyatira, to wake up from slumber and not just give an appearance of being spiritually alive like Sardis, to patiently endure like Philadelphia, and to not be complacent and lukewarm like Laodicea. Although the letters in Revelation were only written to seven churches, we can make application to our own lives. The same Savior who walked among the early churches walks among us today, urging us to remain steadfast, vigilant, and fully committed to Him.

UNDERSTAND

• The seven churches in Revelation were prominent churches in Asia Minor, representing key Christian communities during John's time.
• The seven churches formed a circular route, making the letters easily shareable among the churches.
• The number seven symbolizes completeness, meaning the letters addressed issues relevant to all churches, not just the seven mentioned.

REFLECT

• How does reflecting on the seven churches in Revelation challenge you to evaluate your relationship with God today?
• In what areas of your spiritual life do you sense the need to remain more steadfast and vigilant?
• How can you apply the lessons from these seven churches to deepen your commitment to Christ?

ENGAGE

• Besides understanding the letters in Revelation literally with a historic interpretation, others believe that these seven churches represent historical time periods of the Church. For example, the church of Ephesus would resemble the first churches while Laodicea represents today's lukewarm churches. While there are some connections and correlations between the commendations and corrections of the seven churches to churches today, there is no hermeneutical warrant to interpret the Bible this way. This approach makes a symbolic or allegorical interpretation that is not warranted by the text. Though much application can be made to churches today, and to us as individuals, the view that these churches represent historical periods is unlikely.
• Revelation includes many sets of seven, which makes it obvious that there is intentionality behind that. There are seven churches (Revelation 1:4; 2:1–3:22), letters (2:1–3:22), spirits (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6), golden lampstands (1:12, 20; 2:1; 4:5), stars (1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1), seals (5:1, 5; 6:1), horns (5:6), eyes (5:6), angels (8:2, 6; 15:1, 6, 7; 15:8; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9), trumpets (8:2, 6), thunders (10:3, 4), thousand people (11:13), heads (12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7, 9), crowns (12:3), plagues (15:1, 6, 8; 21:9), golden bowls (15:7; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9), hills (17:9), kings (17:10, 11), and seven final visions (20–21). Seven in the Bible symbolizes completeness or perfection, so having seven churches likely symbolized the totality of the Church with its good qualities and issues across time. What is true of all the churches is that Jesus walked among these churches and that they belonged to Him (Revelation 1:12–16).
• What can we learn about Jesus’s leadership over the Church from His intimate knowledge and specific guidance to each of the seven churches?