7 Churches of Revelation

(from the sights in Laodicea.)

I just returned home from sightseeing the Seven Churches from Revelation. The common theme was: they were all once a church and they are now all ruins. I must admit, it was a little upsetting to see nothing but broken pieces of rubble in places that once had a thriving church. Some were off in the fields, and others in the middle of modern city blocks. They are empty spaces that once were beacons of light. How sad.

But praise God that He is risen, and that the Word is living and active, even when human creation falls and human relations fail. We did a short Bible study of each site and what I realized is that all the problems Jesus addressed in His letters to these churches are, sadly, still things the modern church struggles with today.

The main street in Laodicea.

The library in Ephesus.

The cisterns of Smyrna.

The stadium in Pergamum.

The gymnasium of Sardis.

The ruins of Thyatira.

The remains of the church in Philadelphia.