Revelation was written to seven churches in Asia Minor. Because Jesus warned his people of the coming judgment, is it possible that John wrote to those churches because the churches in Judea had dispersed, moving out of the area of the coming judgment?
That’s an insightful and quite plausible line of reasoning — and one that actually fits well within a preterist or covenant-transition framework like the one you’ve been developing in your book.
Let’s break it down:
1. The Historical Context of the Seven Churches
The seven churches of Asia Minor (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) were all located in the Roman province of Asia — far to the northwest of Judea. These were Gentile-majority congregations, but almost certainly included Jewish believers who had fled earlier persecution (Acts 8:1, 11:19). That dispersion began decades before Revelation was written, likely after Stephen’s death and during various waves of Judean unrest.
So by the time of John’s exile on Patmos (probably the late 60s AD or possibly early 90s depending on view), many Judean Christians had indeed relocated throughout the empire, including to Asia Minor.
2. The Pastoral and Prophetic Purpose
If we read Revelation in a preterist context, it makes sense that Jesus would address those communities outside Judea before the impending judgment on Jerusalem (AD 70):
- They were his covenant people, the extended body of believers now scattered abroad.
- They would soon witness the fall of the old order (the temple, priesthood, sacrifices).
- They needed reassurance that God’s promises remained secure, and that the judgment was not on them but on the apostate city.
John thus writes to seven representative churches — symbolic of the whole Church (seven = completeness) — who were safe from the physical destruction soon to come, yet spiritually connected to it through covenantal fulfillment.
3. The Dispersed Judean Connection
There’s a strong case that many early Jewish Christians had indeed fled Jerusalem when Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 were heeded. Church tradition says they escaped to Pella and other regions beyond the Jordan. Others may well have continued northward into Syria and Asia Minor, where synagogues already existed and communities were receptive.
Thus, when John writes to those seven assemblies, it’s quite possible he is addressing mixed congregations that included former Judeans — men and women who had left the “area of judgment” and were now living in the broader Gentile world.
4. The Symbolic Implication
So yes — from a theological standpoint, it’s very fitting that:
- Jesus’ final revelation is sent not to Jerusalem but to the Church in exile.
- His word of prophecy goes out to those who had obeyed his warning and departed from the doomed city.
- The new covenant community, now geographically removed from Judea, represents the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16) — the remnant preserved through judgment.
In short:
It is entirely consistent — historically, theologically, and covenantally — that John wrote to the churches of Asia Minor because they embodied the dispersed, surviving people of God, positioned beyond the reach of the coming judgment on Jerusalem.