The Church of Smyrna in Revelation

Smyrna was a port city about 70 kilometers north of Ephesus, located at the mouth of the fertile Hermus River valley. It vied with Ephesus for the honor of being the “first city of Asia.” Smyrna was Rome’s “most loyal and oldest ally in history” even before Rome’s rise to power (according to the ancient […]

The Church of Ephesus in Revelation

Ephesus was the most important of the seven cities in the province of Asia. Located at the mouth of the Cayster River on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, it was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, after Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch in Syria. Ephesus was a Roman garrison city and a […]

Tyre and Sidon

Tyre and Sidon were famous cities in the ancient Near East and are significant in both the Old and New Testaments. Tyre was a Phoenician seaport on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel; Sidon was another important Phoenician seaport, the oldest Phoenician city, located twenty kilometers north of Tyre. Both cities are now in modern-day […]

Patmos

Patmos is one of the islands in the Aegean Sea, located west of modern-day Turkey. Although it is geographically close to Turkey, it is the northernmost island of the Dodecanese Islands, which belong to the Republic of Greece. The island is about 12 kilometers long from north to south and 10 kilometers wide at its […]

The Major Campaigns of Assyrian King Sennacherib

The Assyrian Empire (935–612 BC) was a state that emerged in Mesopotamia (the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now modern-day Iraq). By the late 8th century BC, Assyria had grown powerful, successively conquering eastern Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Babylonia, and Egypt. Its capital was established at Nineveh, near modern-day Mosul in Iraq. […]

The Seven Churches of Revelation

“Asia” was a province of the Roman Empire, located in the western part of what is now Turkey (Asia Minor). The seven churches of Asia were seven major early Christian churches documented in the New Testament book of Revelation. According to Revelation Chapter 1, Christ instructed the author, John of Patmos, to: “Write on a […]

 The Background of Revelation

The book of Revelation is also known as the “Revelation to John” or the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The title comes from the first word of the original Greek text, Apokalypsis, meaning “unveiling” or “revealing.” The book unveils the things “that must soon take place” in God’s plan, bearing witness to the suffering churches of […]

Cush

The name “Cush” comes from the Bible, and its territory is described in two places:  First, in Genesis 2:13, “The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.” Here, “Cush” refers to a region in Asia Minor’s Mesopotamia, but its specific location is […]

Assyrian King Sargon II and the Anti-Assyrian Coalition

The Assyrian King Sargon mentioned in Isaiah 20 is the historical Sargon II, whose name means “Son of the Sun.” He reigned from 722–705 BC. He was the son of Shalmaneser V and the father of Sennacherib. Sargon II’s name appears only once in the Bible, in Isaiah 20, but his role is very significant; […]

The Roman Baths

The Roman Bath was a place where ancient Romans bathed. By the mid-3rd century BC during the Roman Republic, Romans had already realized that cleanliness contributed to good health and believed that profuse sweating could expel diseases. People began using the vapor from hot springs for wellness, convinced that a sweat bath would bring health. […]