Historical fact about Ephesios 2:1
Ephesios remained an important Assembly in Asia. From the middle of the 5th century onwards, Ephesios ranked as the second metropolis of the patriarchate of Constantinople. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian built a majestic congregation over the tomb of St John – the Assembly of St John.
In both 7th and 8th centuries, the Arabs twice briefly occupied Ephesios. In 1090 the city was captured and plundered, pillaged by the Selcuk Turks, the city was repeatedly raided by the Turks in the 12th century. A 12th century traveler described Ephesios as a city in ruins and the Assembly of St John in dilapidated state. There are no records about Assembly gathering life in Ephesios at the end of the 14th century. A late 17th century writer reported that the village of Kirkindje near Ephesios was, however, still entirely believers in Jesus. The village existed as a Christian village with the lineal descendants of the Ephesians believers until 1922, when the believers left as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Jews in Ephesus 1 Ancient Ephesus Metropolis of Ephesus Judaism in Ephesus Rome Jewish History in Ephesus
Historical event of the assemblies of Smuna 2:8
In the year 105, St Ignatius wrote about the Assembly of Smuna and commended them for their ‘immovable faith as if nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ’. St Polycarp, the taught ones of John served the Assembly from 115 to 155 and was martyred at 80 years old. Throughout the centuries, the Christian community grew in strength and numbers and Smuna became one of the more important archbishoprics in Asia Minor. The city was repeatedly attacked by Turks and captured a few times.
After the First World War, Greece laid claim to the Smuna area, and British and France encouraged Greeks to occupy Smuna and the Ionian hinterland. The Greek Expeditionary Force clashed with Turkish national army led by Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal), and were routed.
The Historical events of the Assembly in Pergamos 2:12
Ancient Pergamum was the center of pagan worship in Asia Minor, was once known as the "place where Satan dwells." Heresies continued in Pergamos in the 2nd century. From 5th century on the Assembly of Pergamos sided with the Alexandrians in their anti-Roman and anti-Byzantine policies. Later on, Pergamos became a center of the extreme form of Monophysitism.
What is Monophysitism?
Monophysitism is an error concerning the nature of Messiah that asserts Yeshua had only one nature and not two as is taught in the correct doctrine of the hypostatic union: Yeshua is both EL and man in one person. In monophysitism, the single nature was divine and not human.
During the 8th century, the city was besieged by Muslim force under Maslamah and fell. The city never recovered from the devastation wrought by the troops of Maslamah. In the 13th century, it experienced a brief renaissance but in 1330, Pergamos was described by traveler as a ruined city. Early in 14th century Pergamos fell under Turkish rule, Assemblies of believers were converted to mosques, and the population was massacred by Tamerlane in 1402. In the 17th century, the only active Assembly in Pergamos, dedicated to St Theodore, served only some 12-15 families. But in 1826 it was reported that there were 1500 Greeks in the city. Before the First World War, the Christians maintained 4 congregation in Pergamos. The Greeks left after 1922.
Jews in Pergamum - Jews in Asia Minor
The Historial event of Thuateira (Akhisar) 2:18
According to the Roman Catholic priest of Constantia in Cyprus, the Assembly of Thuateira had embraced the Montanist heresy by the middle of the 3rd century. In the 15th century,
What is Montanist?
Montanism, known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, the movement held similar views about the basic tenets of Christian doctrine to those of the wider Christian Assembly. It was a prophetic movement that called for a reliance on the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit and a more conservative personal ethic. Parallels have been drawn between Montanism and modern-day movements such as Pentecostalism, the charismatic movement, and the New Apostolic Reformation.
Thuateira fell to the Ottomans and renamed Akhisar اقحصار. In 1675, it was reported that there were no more than 10 Christians in the town. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Greeks and Armenians moved to settle in the town again and there were a few hundred Orthodox Christian families there. Assemblies were built and before the First World War there were 11000 Turks, 12000 Greeks and 800 Armenians. On August 28, 1922, the Greek mayor of Akhisar advised all the Greeks to leave as the Turkish army was advancing. Many refused to go. A few days later, Akhisar was occupied by the Turkish troops, and 7000 Greek Christians were killed. There has been no Christian community in Akhisar since 1922.