Verse 11
This is the first of twelve times that John wrote that he received instruction to write what he saw (cf. Revelation 1:19; Revelation 2:1; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 2:12; Revelation 2:18; Revelation 3:1; Revelation 3:7; Revelation 3:14; Revelation 14:13; Revelation 19:9; Revelation 21:5). The "book" in view was a roll of papyrus made from a plant that grew in Egypt. Normally papyrus scrolls were about 15 feet long. [Note: Frederic G. Kenyon, Handbook to Textual Criticism of the New Testament, p. 30.]
The cities where these churches met formed a wedge on the map pointing northwest. A messenger carrying John’s revelation would have traveled north from Ephesus to Smyrna and on to Pergamum. He would then have turned southeast to reach Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The whole Book of Revelation was to go to these churches, not just the special letter to each one contained in chapters 2 and 3.
Why did God select these churches in these particular towns? Obviously He did not do so because of their superior spirituality. Their popularity was not the criterion either since we read about only Ephesus and Laodicea elsewhere in Scripture. John knew of conditions in each of these churches, and God led him to communicate individual messages to them. Probably they were representative congregations from which this book could circulate easily. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 1-7, pp. 93-94.]
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