Crossroads Travel has been dedicated to providing
quality Christian travel programs at an affordable price. Our tours are
handled by qualified, friendly directors, safe and courteous drivers, and
knowledgeable local guides who are experts on their regions.
We use only modern motor coaches with climate
control and comfortable seats our tour programs include the best of each
region with a combination of historical, cultural, scenic and spiritual
variety mixed for your enjoyment. Our goal is to provide you with a well
planned schedule with no hidden coast resulting in unforgettable memories
that will last a lifetime.
The seven churches in Revelation refer to seven literal churches described in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3. These early Christian churches were located in Asia Minor during the era of the Roman Empire.
Seven Churches in Revelation – Sacred Places in Asia Minor
The seven churches in Revelation refer to seven literal churches described
in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3. These early Christian churches were located
in Asia Minor during the era of the Roman Empire. Although the actual churches
ceased to thrive in the centuries of Muslim control after the Romans, the
archaeological remains of all seven locations currently exist in present-day
Turkey.
Seven Churches in Revelation – Then and Now
The seven churches in Revelation are located in western Asia Minor
(present-day Turkey), accessible by way of the Aegean Sea and the ancient
trade routes between the West and East. For various reasons, whether trade,
military, or pure hedonism, these cities were major cultural hubs throughout
history. During the first few centuries after Jesus Christ, these
Roman-controlled cities were also important in early Christianity. Here are
the seven churches of Revelation as described by the writer John in the late
first century AD (click on the name to dig deeper into the archaeology):
Paul was certainly a Jew and, by his own testimony, a Pharisee, but he was
not a Judean. According to Acts 21:39, he announced when a captive in
Jerusalem that "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean
city...." Now Cilicia, a province of Rome, was in Anatolia, not in Judea, and
Tarsus a city on it's Mediterranean coast. It is easy to see, then, that Paul most likely
was familiar from a very early age with the region in which he was to travel.
By Paul's time (40-60 CE) Roman roads crisscrossed Anatolia, making travel
feasible not only along the coast or by sea but through the heartland. Where
precisely did Paul go? His letters and the Acts account show that he
established churches in at least two of the Roman provinces in Anatolia:
Galatia and Asia. There is ample evidence, for instance, that he lived and
worked in Ephesus in Asia. But his letter "to the churches of Galatia"
specifies no particular city, nor does it detail in what part of the province
the churches are located.
Paul in Anatolia (Asia Minor)