14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, write, Thefe things faith the Amen, the faithful and true witnefs, the beginning of the creation of God: 15 I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will fpue thee out of my mouth: 17 Because thou fayeft, I am rich, and increafed with goods, and have need of nothing: and knoweft not that thou art wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayeft be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayeft be clothed; and that the fhame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-falve, that thou mayeft fee. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chaften: be zealous therefore, and repent 20 Behold, I ftand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will fup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to fit with me in my throne, even as I alfo overcame, and am fet down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith unto the churches. The fecond and third chapters contain the feven epiftles to the feven churches of Afia, Ephefus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Thele feven are addreffed particularly, because they were under St. John's immediate infpećtion; he (1) conftituted bithops over them; he was as it were their metropolitan, and refided much at Ephefus, which is therefore named the firft of the feven. The main fubjects too of (1) Tertull. adverf. Marcion. Lib, 4. Sect. 5. p. 415. Edit. Rigaltii. Paris 1675. Millii Prolegom. in Nov. this book are comprised of fevens, feven churches, feven feals, feven trumpets, and feven vials; as feven was alfo a myftical number throughout the Old Testament. Many contend, and among them fuch learned men as More and Vitringa, that the feven epiftles are prophetical of fo many fucceffive periods and ftates of the church from the beginning to the conclufion of all. But it doth not appear, that there are or were to be seven periods of the church, neither more or lefs; and no two men can agree in affigning the fame periods. There are likewife in thefe epiftles feveral innate characters, which are peculiar to the church of that age, and cannot be fo well applied to the church of any other age. Befides other arguments, there is alfo this plain reason ; the laft ftate of the church is defcribed in this very book as the moft glorious of all, but in the last state in thefe epiftles, that of Laodicea, the church is reprefented as wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked. But tho' thefe epiftles have rather a litteral than a myftical meaning, yet they contain excellent moral precepts and exhortations, commendations and reproofs, promises and threatnings, which may be of ufe and inftruction to the church in all ages. The form and order of the parts you will find the fame almost in all the epiftles; firft a command to write; then fome character and attributes of the speaker, taken from the vilion in the first chapter, and appropriated to the matter of each epiftle; then commendations or reproofs with fuitable promifes or threatnings; and then in all the fame conclufion, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith unto the churches. What therefore the Spirit faith unto one church, he faith in fome meafure to all the churches. The church of Ephesus in particular is admonished to repent, and forewarned that if he would not repent, her candlestick should be removed out of his place. But this admonition belonged equally to all the churches; and hath not the candlestick been accordingly removed out of its place, and the light of the gospel taken from them? Were they not ruined and overthrown by their herefies and divifions from within, and by the arms of the Saracens from without? and doth not Mohammedifm ftill prevail and profper in thofe countries, which were once the glory of Chriftendom, their churches turned into mofques, their worthip into fuperftition? Ephefus in particular, (2) which was once fo magnificent and glorious a city, is become a mean fordid village, with fcarcely a fingle family of Chriftians dwelling in it, as approved authors teftify. To the church of Smyrna it is predicted, that the should have tribulation ten days or ten years according to the ufual ftile of prophecy: and the greateft perfecution that the primitive church ever endured was the perfecution of Diocletian, which lafted (3) ten years, and griev oufly afflicted all the Afian, and indeed all the eaftern churches. This character can agree to none of the other general perfecutions, for none of the others lafted (4) fo long as ten years. As the commendatory and reproving part of thefe epiftles exhibits the prefent state of the churches, fo the promiffory and threatning part foretels fomething of their future condition; and in this fenfe, and in none other, can thefe epiftles be faid to be prophetical. The firft epiftle is addreffed to the church of Ephesus, as it was the metropolis of the Lydian Afia, and the place of St. John's principal refidence. It was, according to (5) Strabo, one of the best and most glorious cities, and the greateft emporium of the proper Afia. It is called by Pliny (6) one of the eyes of Afia, Smyrna being the other: but now, as eye-witneffes (7) (2) Hodie enim hæc urbs Afianæ olim magnificentiæ exemplum, plane fordet, cafulis et gurguitiis deformata, non civitas, fed vicus; et vix ibidem fupereft una Chriftianorum familia, ut ex certis conftat teftibus, iifdemque eruditis viris, qui hodiernam Ephetum defcripferunt, Smitho (Notit. Sept. Ecclef. Af. p. 4.) et Ricaultio. (de Stat. Eccl. Græc. p. 50.) Vitring. p. 72, 73. (3) Eufeb. Ecclef. Hift. Lib. 8. Cap. 15, et 16. Lactant de Mort. Periecut. Cap. 48. (4) Que perfecutio omnibus fere ante actis diuturnior-Nam per de- Сар. (5) Strabo Lib 14 p. 634. Edit. Paris. p. 941. Edit. Amftel. 1707. Lib. 12. p. 577. Edit. Paris. p. 865. Edit. Amftel. 1707. (6) Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 5. Cap. 31. p. 280. Edit. Harduin. (7) Smith Sept. Afiæ Ecclef. Notit. Rycaut's Prefent State of the Greek Church. Chap. 2. Wheler and Spon's Voyage, B. 3. Van Egmont's and Heyman's Travels. Vol. 1 Chap. 9. have related, it is venerable for nothing but the ruins' of palaces, temples, and amphitheatres. It is called by the Turks Ajafaluk, or the temple of the moon, from the magnificent ftructure formerly dedicated to Diana. The church of St. Paul is wholly destroyed. The little which remains of that of St. Mark is nodding to ruin. The only church remaining is that dedicated to St. John, which is now converted into a Turkish mofque. The whole town is nothing but a habitation for herdfmen and farmers, living in low and humble cottages of dirt, fheltered from the extremities of weather by mighty maffes of ruinous walls; the pride and oftentation of former days, and the emblem in thefe, of the frailty of. the world, and the tranfient vanity of human glory, All the inhabitants of this once famous city amount not now to above forty or fifty families of Turks, without one Chriftian family among them: fo ftrikingly hath the denunciation been fulfilled, that their candlestick Should be removed out of his place. Smyrna was the neareft city to Ephefus, and for that reafon probably was addreffed in the fecond place. It is fituated (8) on lower ground than the ancient city, and lieth about forty-five miles northward of Ephefus. It is called Efmir by the Turks, and is celebrated not fo much for the fplendor and pomp of the buildings (for they are rather mean and ruinous) as for the number, and wealth, and commerce of the inhabitants. The Turks have here fifteen mofques, and the Jews feveral fynagogues. Among thefe enemies of the Chriftian name the Chriftian religion alfo florithes in fome degree. Smyrna ftill retains the dignity of a metropolis, altho' there are only two churches of the Greeks. But befides them here is a great number of Chriftians of all nations, fects, and languages. The Latin church hath a monaftery of Francifcans. The Armenians have one church. But the English, who are the most confiderable number, next to the Greeks and Armenians, have only a chapel in the conful's house, which is a thame, fays (8) Smith, Rycaut, Wheler and Spon. ibid. Van Egmont's and Heyman's Travels, Chap, 8. Wheler, Wheler, confidering the great wealth they heap up here, beyond all the reft: yet they commonly excel them in their paftor; for I efteem a good English prieft, an evangelift, if compared with any of the reft. Frequent plagues and earthquakes are the great calamities of the place; but the Chriftians are here more confiderable, and in a far better condition than in any other of the feven churches as if the promife was ftill in fome meafure made good to Smyrna, Fear none of those things, which thou shalt fuffer; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Pergamus, formerly the metropolis of the Hellefpontic Myfia, and the feat of the Attalic kings, is (9) by the Turks with fome little variation ftill called Bergamo, and hath its fituation about fixty-four miles to the north of Smyrna. Here are fome good buildings, but more ruins. All the city almoft is occupied by the Turks, very few families of Chriftians being left, whofe ftate is very fad and deplorable. Here is only one church remaining, dedicated to St. Theodorus; and that the name of Chrift is not wholly loft and forgotten in Pergamus, is owing to the care of the metropolitan of Smyrna, who continually fendeth hither a priest to perform the facred offices. The cathedral church of St. John is buried in its own ruins; their angel or bishop removed; and its fair pillars adorn the graves, and rotten carcafes of its deftroyers, the Turks; who are esteemed about two or three thoufand fouls in number. other fine church, called Santa Sophia, is turned into a mofque, and daily profaned with the blafphemies of the falfe prophet. There are not in the whole town above a dozen or fifteen families of miferable Christians, who till the ground to gain their bread, and live in the most abject and fordid fervitude. There is the lefs reafon to wonder at the wretched condition of this church, when we confider that it was the very throne of Satan; that they ran greedily after the error of Balaam, to eat things Jacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication; and that they held the impure doctrins of the Nicolaitans, which (9) Smith, Rycaut, Wheler and Spon. ibid. 7 Its Chrift |