The Jewish element in the Apocalypse has hitherto been studied to the complete neglect of the Greek element in it. How incomplete it is became clearer to the writer as he better understood the nature of the Apocalypse while writing.
M. RAMSAY
Most of the subjects are taken from coins of the Imperial period; and hearty thanks are due to Mr. Margaret Ramsay for drawing twenty-two of the figures, to Miss Mary Ramsay for two, and Mr.
WRITING, TRAVEL, AND LETTERS AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
We notice that in the Gospels according to Mark and Luke, only three large parts of the day are mentioned - the third, sixth and ninth hours. But it does not follow that because the ancients were not accustomed to observe the progress of clocks, they were less accustomed to use the art of writing.
TRANSMISSION OF LETTERS IN THE FIRST CENTURY
Migration and intermingling of peoples were traditionally the natural law of the Greek world; and the process was greatly stimulated in the fourth century BC. The Christian letters contain the saving power of the Church; and in his letter correspondence his lifeblood flowed.
THE CHRISTIAN LETTERS AND THEIR TRANSMISSION
The Christian writings of the next two or three centuries were often inspired by something in the same spirit. Doubtless it was necessary to send messengers with letters frequently to the congregations in the province.
THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
The idea of the letter as the inevitable Christian form was fixed in the author's mind. It was also of all the seven cities the most dedicated to the name of.
RELATION OF THE CHRISTIAN BOOKS TO CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT AND LITERATURE
In the spirit is the essence of a new thought and a new life, not in words. 60-100, but arises from conditions and thoughts and expresses itself in the words of the period to which it belongs.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SEVEN LETTERS
On the left side of the platform, another scene from the ritual and life of the god is presented. The inconsistency, however, is due to the inevitable failure of the writer to fully carry out the symbolism.
AUTHORITY OF THE WRITER OF THE SEVEN LETTERS
Probably the most striking feature of the Seven Letters is the tone of unflinching and unlimited authority which inspires them from beginning to end. The letter of Clement to the Church of Corinth is not expressed as his own (though doubtless, and by general admission, it is his letter, expressing his sentiments concerning the Corinthians), but as the letter of the Roman Church. The tone of the letters is the same throughout. Ignatius does not have the right, like Paul or Peter or an Apostle, to issue orders to the Asian Churches.
He carries this tone to an extreme far beyond that of even the other Apostles, Paul and Peter, in writing to the Asiatic Churches. In a word, we must acknowledge the authoritative succession in the Asiatic Churches of those three writers: first and earliest he who speaks in the Pauline letters; secondly, him who wrote “to the elect who are attendants of the scattering in.
THE EDUCATION OF ST. JOHN IN PATMOS
He stood on the sand of the sea and saw the Beast rise out of the sea and come to the land of Asia; and he saw how the battle was fought and the victory won. John could read in the heavens the indication of the destinies and the history of his Churches. It is unfortunate that the Revisers deviated from the Authorized Version reading in 13:1;.
John was apparently an act of the emperor and ceased to be valid when his acts were declared invalid. Also at that later time a misconception arose about the character of the Flavian persecution.
THE FLAVIAN PERSECUTION IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA AS DEPICTED IN THE APOCALYPSE
Conversely, the Province was the form under which the people of Asia formed part of the Empire. No scholar now doubts that the account given in these words of the Apocalypse represents fairly accurately the proceedings in the Flavian persecution. The monster, which stands for the Province, is described as coming up from the earth.
Foreign products and manufactures were described as "sea" (qala>ssia): we use. Additionally, in the simplest language that Apocalypse acknowledges, it is announced that the Emperors series will continue for another season.
THE PROVINCE OF ASIA AND THE IMPERIAL RELIGION
In Pergamene times, the common cult was probably the worship of characteristic Pergamene deities (whose worship also spread to some Asian cities, as pointed out). There was then no strong national feeling in any of the races which inhabited the province, which was contrary to Roman loyalty. Again, Christianity in Asia was expressed in Greek, not in any of the native languages.
But the great cities of the province of Asia (as distinct from the country parts), except a few of the most backward Phrygian cities, were fairly thoroughly Greek in the first century after Christ; and everywhere. In the first century the state religion was simply the worship of the emperor or of Rome and the emperor.
THE CITIES OF ASIA AS MEETING-PLACES OF THE GREEK AND THE ASIATIC SPIRIT
How important in the writings of the New Testament these Asiatic foundations were to the Greek kings is very clear from a glance at the list of cities. Contemporary experience in the cities of the eastern Mediterranean countries shows where such colonists could best be found. Furthermore, the Jews, an essentially oriental race, found the strong oriental tinge in Seleucid politics far more congenial to them than could the Greek colonists.
The royal policy was successful because it was in accordance with the trends of the time. The prosperity, both material and intellectual, of the cities was very great under the kings.
57 But it was an outrage to the old mind and an almost unthinkable thing, that people could be fellow citizens without getting involved in the worship of the same city gods. The manner in which this result was achieved must be clearly understood, as it throws much light on the position of the Jews in the Greco-Asiatic cities. The position of the Jews in the Ionian cities is illustrated by an incident which occurred in 15 B.C.
In him, all the experiences of the Jews in Asia Minor are brought into focus. He had come into close contact both with the Hellenistic Jews in the diaspora and with the Christianized pagans in the Asian cities.
THE PAGAN CONVERTS IN THE EARLY CHURCH
Many of the pagan devotees carried in their processions small shrines containing representations of their gods;. One of the most distinctive and significant features in the writings of Ignatius is his emphasis on silence, as something particularly holy and divine. For him, the "mysteries" of the Faith would have been very inadequately described by such a cold scientist.
Certainly Ignatius derived his idea of "mysteries" at least in part from the experiences of his pagan days. Both views are true, but both are partial: neither makes a complete statement of the case.
THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA
Of the seven cities mentioned in the Magnesian title, five can be enumerated with practical certainty, namely the three rivals. In the same way, it is clear that the Church of Asia as a whole is in turn representative of the entire Catholic Church. Province; and the Church of the Province in turn stands for the whole Church of Christ.
It may be assumed that the same was the character of the unknown Laodicean letter. The facts just mentioned seem to imply that the most important churches of the Lycus Valley were established as early as A.D. found.
ORIGIN OF THE SEVEN REPRESENTATIVE CITIES
In those two circles - the general Anatolian circle of Peter the First and the particular Asian circle of the Apocalypse - it is clear that. Now what is true of Laodicea must apply to the rest of the Seven Churches. All arrangements would have to be made to suit the means of communication existing in the province of Asia, roads and places.
Thus we find that the seven letters are intended for a well-marked district, embracing the greater part of the province of Asia; and natural resources, together. The importance of the seven letters becomes apparent even in such a small but interesting matter as this.
PLAN AND ORDER OF TOPICS IN THE SEVEN LETTERS
Each of the seven churches was a mission center; but only Philadelphia is depicted as the missionary Church. The resistance to the Nicolaitans is the primary factor in determining the character and form of the Seven Epistles. The literary form that the writer of the Seven Letters loves more than any other is comparison and contrast.
The modern reader has almost everywhere to add one side of the comparison, only for the author. In the general estimation of the world, and in their own, they formed a group apart, while the others were second-rate.
EPHESUS: THE CITY OF CHANGE 97
Smyrna, the desolate place of Ionian Ephesus, now lay behind the city (as Hipponax says). The importance of this change of type arises from the character of the Great Goddess. The city's coins again began to bear the old name Ephesus.
Antiochus the Great; and the Asiatic spirit again became dominant through the influence of the Syrian monarch. Ephesian Artemis and the god or goddess of the city to which the other contracting party belonged.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS
The previous history of the Ephesian Church was one of labor and achievement, persistent and energetic. But the cooling of the first Ephesian enthusiasm was a flaw inherent in human nature. There is one characteristic that belongs to Ephesus, distinctive and unique among the cities of the Seven Churches: it is change.
In the question which seemed to the writer above all others the critical problem of the day, the Ephesians agreed with him and hated the works of the Nicolaitans. For the Ephesian who overcomes, the promise is that he will eat of the tree of life, which is in the Garden of God.