Churches Established By A.D. 52 – Part 3

Church History: Churches Established By A.D. 52

Philippi – Established during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey; Act 16:12

Philippi is a city of proconsular Macedonia, so called from Philip king of Macedon, who repaired and beautified it; whence it lost its former name of Dathos. It was constituted a Roman "colony" by Augustus, and as such possessed certain peculiar privileges, which made it a "chief city of that part of Macedonia." This expression however, is supposed to mean that it was the first city the traveler met after landing at its port Neapolis, from which it lay ten miles northwest on an extensive plain. Here was fought the celebrated battle in which Brutus and Cassius were overthrown by Octavius and Antony, B. C. 42. Here, too, Paul first preached the gospel on the continent of Europe; A. D. 52, having been led hither from Troas by a heavenly vision. The first convert was Lydia; and the church which at one sprang up here was characterized by the distinguished traits of this generous and true-hearted Christian woman. Having cast out a spirit of divination from a young damsel here, Paul and Silas were seized and cruelly scourged and imprisoned. But their bounds were miraculously loosed, their jailer converted, and they permitted to pass on to Amphipolis. Luke appears to have remained here, and to have rejoined Paul when he again visited Philippi on his fifth journey to Jerusalem, A. D. 58, Ac 16:8-40; 20:3-6. The site is now strewn with ruins.
Paul's Epistle To The Philippians, written during his first imprisonment at Rome, A. D. 62, gratefully and warmly acknowledges the receipt of their gift by the hand of Epaphroditus, and their continued affection towards him; also their irreproachable Christian walk, and their firmness under persecution, Philippians 1:7; 4:23; 2:12; 4:10-15. See also 2Corinthians 8:1-2.11

Rhodes – Established Prior To Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Though Not Visited by Paul Until A.D. 58; Acts 21:1

Rhodes is an island and a famous city in the Levant, the ancient name of which was Ophiusa. Its modern name alludes to the great quantity and beauty of the roses that grew there. The island is about forty miles long and fifteen wide; its mountains are well wooded, and its valleys highly fertile. The city of Rhodes, at the northeast extremity of the island, was one of the most celebrated of the Greek cities. It was famous for its brazen Colossus, which was one hundred and five feet high, made by Chares of Lyndus: it stood at the mouth of the harbor of the city, on sixty marble columns, and continued perfect only fifty-six years, being thrown down by an earthquake, under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes king of Egypt, who began to reign B.C. 244. When Paul went to Jerusalem, A.D. 58, he visited Rhodes, (Acts 21:1). Modern Rhodes is a Turkish walled town of 15,000 inhabitants, and considerable commerce. The air of Rhodes is proverbially pure, and its climate serene.11
Rhodes is mentioned in the New Testament only as a point where Paul touched on his voyage southward from the Hellespont to Caesarea (Acts 21:1); but in 1 Maccabeus 15:23 we are informed that it was one of the states to which the Romans sent letters in behalf of the Jews.

Thessalonica – Established during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey; Act 17:1

This is a city and seaport of the second part of Macedonia, at the head of the Thermaic gulf. When Emilius Paulus, after his conquest of Macedonia, divided the country into four districts, this city as made the capital of the second division, and was the station of a Roman governor and questor. It was anciently called Therma. It was inhabited by Greeks, Romans, and Jews, from among whom the apostle Paul gathered a numerous church. There was a large number of Jews resident in their city, where they had a synagogue, in which Paul, A. D. 52, preached to them on three successive Sabbaths. Some of the Jews determined to maltreat the apostle, and surrounded the house in which they believed he was lodging. The brethren, however, secretly led Paul and Silas out of the city, towards Berea, and they escaped from their enemies. Thessalonica, now called Saloniki, is at present a wretched town, but has a population of about 70,000 persons, one-third of whom are Jews. When Paul left Macedonia for Athens and Corinth, he left behind him Timothy and Silas, at Thessalonica, that they might confirm those in the faith who had been converted under his ministry. He afterwards wrote to the church of the Thessalonians two epistles.10

Thyatira – Established during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey; Act 16:14
A city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, a Macedonian colony, anciently called Pelopia and Euhippia, now Ak-hisar. It was situated on the confines of Lydia and Mysia, near the river Lycus, between Sardis and Pergamos. It was the seat of one of "the seven churches," Revelation 1:11; 2:18, 24. The art of dyeing purple was particularly cultivated at Thyatira, as appears from an inscription recently found there; and it still sends to Smyrna, sixty miles southwest, large quantities of scarlet cloth. Ak-hissar is a poor town, with six thousand inhabitants, chiefly Turks.10
One of The Seven Churches: Letter Written to Church [Revelation 2:18]

Troas – Established during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey; Act 16:8

A maritime city of Mysia, in the northwest part of Asia Minor, situated on the Egean coast, at some distance south of the supposed site of ancient Troy. The adjacent region, including all the coast south of the Hellespont, is also called Troas, or the Troad. The city was a Macedonian and Roman colony of much promise, and was called Alexandria Troas. The Turks call its ruins Eski Stamboul, the old Constantinople. Its remains, in the center of a forest of oaks, are still grand and imposing. The apostle Paul was first at Troas for a short time in A. D. 52, and sailed thence into Macedonia. At his second visit, in A. D. 57, he labored with success, 2Corinthians 2:12-13. At his third recorded visit he tarried but a week; at the close of which the miraculous raising of Eutychus to life took place, Acts 20:5-14, A. D. 58. See also 2Timothy 4:13.