Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Study Helps
Interpretation
It was the apostle's comfort that he did not suffer as an evil-doer, but for the testimony of Jesus, for bearing witness to Christ as the Immanuel, the Savior; and the Spirit of glory and of God rested upon this persecuted apostle.
Read with
This thought runs through Revelation 1:9-13.
Glossary
- Asia Place
- Biblical region. Modern identification: Asia.
- Ephesus Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Ephesus.
- Laodicea Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Laodicea on the Lycus.
- Pergamum Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Pergamon.
- Philadelphia Place
- Brotherly love, a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, about 25 miles south-east of Sardis. It was the seat of one of the “seven churches” ( Rev. 3:7-12 ). It came into the possession of the Turks in A. D. 1392. Modern identification: Alaşehir.
- Sardis Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Sardis.
- Smyrna Place
- Myrrh, an ancient city of Ionia, on the western coast of Asia Minor, about 40 miles to the north of Ephesus. Modern identification: Izmir.