The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting

by Colin J. Hemer

With a new foreword by David E. Aune This modern classic by Colin Hemer explores the seven letters in the book of Revelation against the historical background of the churches to which they were addressed. Based on literary, epigraphical, and archaeological sources and informed by Hemer's firsthand knowledge of the biblical sites, this superb study presents in the clearest way possible a picture of the New Testament world in the later part of the first century and its significance for broader questions of church history.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology, Religion, History

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid resource on the historical setting of the books of revelation. I’ll come back to it when I study Revelation; honestly I didn’t read every word this time! But again, if you want an immersion in the historic setting of the churches in first century Asia Minor that received Revelation, this is worth it. Note, it’s scholarly and not all the Greek is translated, which was a bit frustrating (I forget the Greek I once knew!).

[Kenneth Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenged and changed many of my assumptions regarding the historical settings, conditions, and proper interpretation of the seven letters of Revelation. It quickly become my primary commentary/background text in preaching through Rev 2-3. Rather than relegating each church to either being a "good" church (Philadelphia, ie.) or "bad" church (Laodicea), Hemer's work led me to a more nuanced, fair-minded consideration of the history, and the challenges faced by each of the churches. While there are many sermons, commentaries, and theologies that present strong cases for particular theological viewpoints, (ie, the Historical Prophetic view, that supposes each church represents a particular age of church history), this is the one book I would recommend to any preacher intending to preach on the seven churches, and make the most powerful application and correspondence to the experience of his or her congregation today.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, along with Weima’s (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) are must reads when studying the seven churches of Revelation 2-3.

Hemer’s book is of a more technical nature with the focus being on cultural and archaeological background. Consequently, the reader needs to remember that such background is often speculative and needs to be used with wisdom and discernment Nevertheless, anyone reading the seven letters knows that this section of Scripture is rich in cultural illusions and implications.

Homer’s reworking of his dissertation done under the famous New Testament scholar, F. F. Bruce, is considered an update and, by many, a replacement for the well-renown work of Sir William M. Ramsey on the seven churches.

Pastors will regret not having these two books in their study when exegeting and expositing the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.

[Brian Pate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in conjunction with a Sunday School series at our church in Brazil. It is a brilliant in its exhaustive research and insightful conclusions, but it was tedious to read.

Hemer provides the cultural background to the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. He includes everything historical, archaeological, linguistic, and cultural information. He also rightly deals with much of the OT background to these letters.

[Rodney Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The greatest strength of this book may also be its greatest weakness. The letters to the seven churches of Asia incorporate multiple allusions to local situations and conditions to which the recipients were privy, but we twenty-first century readers are largely unaware of them and are often left to guess, often wrongly, as to what John was trying to communicate. True, there are multiple more easily recognized Old Testament allusions, but some of them are more obvious in the original languages of the Bible than in modern English. So, it takes a tremendous amount of scholarship to pore over the historical, archaeological and scriptural evidence, far, far more than the layman is capable of accomplishing, to properly interpret such a controversial book of the New Testament as Revelation. Furthermore, different theologians bring their own preloaded biases to the table that affect their conclusions and interpretations. In a way, the situation is not unlike a courtroom in which a jury of non-experts has to weigh the arguments of dueling expert witnesses who are advocating potentially mutually exclusive interpretations of the available evidence. Which expert do you find more credible, each one of whom has probably forgotten more about his field than you will ever know? The day is fast approaching when we all will stand before the judgment seat of God to give account for our words and actions, some of which are direct outgrowths of our choices of what experts we have chosen to believe, and I don’t think an excuse like “Preacher so and so said . . .” or “Pastor so and so said . . .” will cut it. Ready or not, willing or not, we will own our choices. It is with this recognition in mind that I can read one biblical language and hope to learn another one, that I go as deep in my Bible studies as I do. That and James 3:1. I find the thought of incurring the harsh judgment of leading someone astray by means of sloppy theology to be absolutely terrifying. So, I really appreciate a book like this that documents detailed research into the historical background of the seven churches and, when there might be more than one explanation for something, discusses their relative merits, leaving me, the non-expert, better equipped to draw my own conclusions.

As much as I loved the scholarship of the book, I also recognize that it is also a weakness in that the way it is presented makes it less accessible to the layman. When the late Doctor Hemer quotes inscriptional evidence or an ancient writer, he rarely bothers to translate it into English from the original Greek or Latin. I recognize that his normal audience of biblical scholars can probably read that with ease and that translator choices can artificially skew the meaning of a statement in one direction or another. Yet, such features of the book make it more opaque to a layman than it might otherwise be. I say this because I think it would be a great resource for someone trying to better understand the book of Revelation, especially its ethical implications for Christian conduct, but I also wonder just how well various friends who could benefit from it might actually be able to fully understand it.

[Anja Noordam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been helpful if I knew Greek. Just because we went to Asia a few months ago and studied the letters to the churches made this book readable. To read it without having been there would be so much harder. I'm not sure I would have finished it otherwise

[George Mayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, if not always conclusive, study of Revelation 2-3 in its historical context. Extremely informative, but not necessarily for a lay reader. The main weakness is his assumption that the reader is an able translator of the Greek and Latin, and thus he doesn't provide translations of the ancient texts he examines.

[Mike Dili · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could be a hard read, but if you are interested in understanding the historical and cultural context of the seven churches, it is a MUST read.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible amounts of detailed information here. Great source text, however Hemer puts in scads of untranslated Greek, and my Greek isn’t that good… so that was a roadblock

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably the only book I will ever read that will get a 4 star that is also endorsed by a catholic theologian. You must clearly understand what this book is and decide if you want to read it for it to be useful to you or not.

It is a in-depth treatise on the historical setting of the seven churches from archeological findings, historians, folk lore and facts. He distinguishes between where he gets his info (1/3 of the book is his reference section). Anyone doing a study on the seven churches for teaching would be benefited by this text, but just remember it all based on findings outside of the bible.

This book is very commonly used as a source for other commentators on Revelation.

If you understand what you are getting and are careful this book will serve you well. It is definitely not for everyone though.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid historical-critical approach to the Letters to the Churches in Revelation. Hemler's approach focuses on the "Sitz im Leben" of each of the churches, comparing linguistic, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence to the text of Revelation. He is well-versed in the geography and literature relating to this part of the ancient world and presents his case easily. Helmer does not have an overriding thesis as much as he is trying to survey possible backgrounds for some very short NT letters. Along with a recent commentary or two, this work is a helpful tool for reading Rev 2-3 in light of its historical setting.